Hospital stay 3.0: Tyler's Birth Story

A few weeks ago we learned that our baby boy was measuring larger than expected for his gestational age. We also learned that his sac of water was also higher than it should be. Bigger babies, bigger water sacs I guess. Didn't mean there was anything wrong, but both factors pointed to an earlier than originally estimated due date. Last Tuesday I had a repeat of that growth ultrasound to check to see how large he was and to check the water level. They told me his estimated weight was already at 9.9 pounds and I was only at 36 weeks. But he was otherwise looking good, head down, really low down in the pelvis. Nothing to do but wait and wonder when it was all going to happen. And I was uncomfortable! But I knew I had limited days left before birth and did my best to get errands done and get rest as much as I could. I also at that point began to accept that there was little chance I'd get the VBAC birth that I wanted. I just wanted him our healthy and alive.

Last Wednesday I made a mistake in cooking dinner and basically ruined it. To tired to come up with another dinner we decided to let me rest and went out to Fridays. Ellie was less than manageable. Its been a long time since we have taken her out to a real restaurant like that. But hey, at least I didn't have to cook the meal or clean it up. Afterwards we stopped for a couple of things at Target and headed home. Ellie was wired from the evenings events and took longer than usual to get to bed. Finally got myself to bed shortly after the Cubs game started. Sleep has been a challenge for a while now, I was just so uncomfortable. 11PM rolled around and I felt my water break. Got me out of bed quick to say the least. I ran to the bathroom to make sure it was what I thought it was. I ran to the living room (a fast waddle anyway) to tell Eric it was time to go. Problem was what to do with Ellie. I called my mom a dozen times and for some reason, the phone that was right next to her, did not wake her up. So we loaded up our hospital bags and a very tired Ellie and got in the car. Woke my mom at her house, left Ellie and drove to the hospital. I continued to gush water every where. I didn't want to ruin my shoes so I  walked into the hospital barefoot and soaked from the waist down. It was SO gross. I had to ask for towels to sit on on the wheelchair or I would have left a trail down the hallway. I had no idea I had that much water to loose! Yikes! Minor contractions had begun in the car along with a lot of pressure.

I was taken straight to a L&D room and finally changed out of the gross clothes. And then we waited. Waited for my doctor to show up, waited for contractions to get stronger, waited to see what all was going to happen. They had me on a monitor to watch contractions and baby's heartbeat. I was contracting and it was getting more painful. But baby wasn't doing well. He wasn't doing awful but even after several position changes, his heart was sluggish at best. My doctor was really great. He is a huge supporter of VBAC and really wanted what was best for us. Seeing that he was already estimated at over 9 pounds and that they were worried about his heartbeat and we hadn't even scratched the surface of labor yet, he did encourage me to have the csection. And I agreed. I refuse to risk loosing another baby simply because I desired a certain kind of birth.

So my second csection was much less stressful than my first. We kinda were all talking and laughing through most of it. Once they could see him the commentary went like this "His long hair is ready for a pony tail!" "Is that an umbilical cord or a fire hose?" "Look at the size of that head!" "Kim, this boy was never going to come out, he's huge." (Nurse) "I'm having a hard time holding him he is so heavy, Kim look to your left." "Dad, come on over and introduce yourself." I did look to my left and oh my word, all I saw were rolls of fat!. 4:27am, 9 pounds 5 ounces, 20.5 inches long. Ellie was 9 even and 19 inches. Born at 36w6d he actually qualifies as a preemie. Biggest preemie I ever heard of. That said, he also falls under the category of wimpy white boy as you'll see why. 

Thank the Lord, he did not require any NICU time. He had some trouble regulating his blood sugar directly after birth but that resolved pretty quickly. He even latched pretty quickly while in recovery but never really started feeding. Early babies tend to have more trouble with breastfeeding. they grow tired and fall asleep before they are able to coax out the colostrum (early milk) and/or have trouble creating/keeping the latch. So even though we are home, we are still working on feeding. After 24 hours he was testing high for bilirubin which could lead to jaundice if not addressed. He simply wasn't getting enough from me to flush the stuff out of his system. So we started supplementing with formula and pumping and working with lactation for a latch. 

The first night we got no sleep at all. The second night was only quick naps here and there. The third night was pretty good with only a few wake ups (he was in nursery for a car seat test) and the forth night I was up with him more than Eric since I was actually able to get out of bed more and tend to him. Now we are home and he has been sleeping pretty much all day. He barely wakes up to eat. Which adds to the latching problems. So that pretty much sums it up. Here are some favorite pictures. 

Baby Gradberg watch 2017

Today I am 35 weeks. I am huge. I've gain about 45 pounds and everything hurts. Sciatica, ligaments, the whole belly really. 'Tis the end of the journey. Baby should be around 7 pounds, plus the extra water I mentioned last entry. This past Sunday I started experiencing my first ever Braxton Hicks contractions. For those of you unaware, BH  can happen throughout a pregnancy but are rarely felt until 3rd trimester. I never felt them with Ellie so this is a new experience for me. They started out so irregular and so short that I wasn't paying a lot of attention to them. And it was usually when I was doing too much, like grocery shopping.  BH don't mean labor has begun, they are kind of like practice contractions and its just something my body does. They don't affect the baby or cause any dilation. Being my first experience with this  I have been hyper alert to them. My doctors say if I have more than 6-8 in an hour I should get checked out to make sure its not actually labor. Esp this early.

Well, yesterday I was getting 5-6 an hour but pretty irregular and not at all painful. Just like a tight squeeze. All while I was basically being a couch potato and doing very, very little. They tapered off just before I went to bed, of course after I broke down and finally called the on call doctor, and slept really well thankfully. But as soon as I got up this morning they were stronger and coming every 15 mins. I thought for sure it had turned into real contractions. But nope, tapered off again. I had a non-stress test scheduled for this morning so Eric decided to stay home just in case we needed to go to the hospital. Only one 'contraction' during the 15 min test and they said it was just BH, nothing real. So I didn't get to see a doctor today.

I do think it means by body is getting ready to kick this baby out. Walking anywhere to do anything is quite painful so I am sitting a lot. Drinking a lot of water and basically waiting for labor or my water to break. We would all like to meet him but 36 weeks would be a little better for him to be born. Every week he stays in the better off he will be and hopefully  not have nicu time. We still run a high csection risk. If water breaks and he is breach, csection. If water breaks and no labor starts (like Ellie), csection. I just pray that I can have my baby and keep him with me and bring him home with me like I want, like we did with Ellie. Financially it would be more than difficult for us to pay both his and my high deductible insurance. But having him get help if he needs it is so much more important than money.

So now we wait. When will be the little man's birthday?