The hardest labor I’ve had:
Thursday evening I got food poisoning.
By midnight it became something more than just food poisoning.
At 12:50am I woke Stanley up and told him I think I may need to go to the hospital soon. He went back to sleep thinking he was dreaming. (He’s on meds that make him groggy so he has a pass.)
I tried to deal with it on my own for a little longer.
1:50am I woke Stan again, “I’ve been having contractions every 2-3 minutes apart, I’m still getting sick, and baby isn’t moving as much… I think we need to call 911.”
Stan wakes up this time, helps me downstairs, and calls 911.
About 5 minutes later the medics are coming into the living room.
I have two medics surrounding me, one with Stan getting all of my information.
My main medic says, “we’re going to check your blood pressure and see what’s going on.”
My blood pressure is taken, and each medic nudges one next to them, points at the machine, and look at each other.
The one talking to Stan says, “is this normal?”
“Since her surgery a few weeks ago, this has been consistent.”
“This is preeclampsia and she is unstable and needs to be taken to the closest hospital immediately.”
“Okay, but we’re supposed to go to MADIGAN?”
“Sir, she’s dying. She’s very unstable, we can’t go 40-50 minutes like this. If we go to Good Sams and they get her stable enough, they’ll transfer her.”
I get in the truck, my medic places an IV, he checks to make sure baby is not coming now… super awkward! 😂
Sirens start and I’m being rushed down meridian without stopping once.
I get to Good Sams, my nurse helps me change, a doctor comes in looks at my vitals and explains I need to be induced immediately or csection. Since I’ve had successful inductions and Anna is my 4th, I can try induction first.
She checks me and I’m already in labor. So starting Cytotec will be successful!
They then tell me I need to be started on Magnesium Sulfate, antibiotics, and a special saline fluid.
They start out giving a BOLUS dose of the MS. The next thing I know is my nurse looks at me with a serious face, and starts calling my name… then alarms are going off. I hear her ask me, “Tammy? Tammy are you okay? Oh my God.” And she runs out of the room bringing back other nurses. I can’t respond. I can’t breathe. And my heart is slowing. The room is going black.
They stop the BOLUS, throw oxygen on me, and my heart and lungs start working again.
They get me stable and start the MS on a much lower dose.
I’m now able to start Cytotec.
I needed only a half a dose total for labor to become active.
Nerrisa arrives!
Labor is getting more intense. My back is so effed up an epidural is not an option.
Because of everything going on with my blood pressure and needing MS, I’ve been put on bedrest.
4 hours in and my nurse and Stan go to help me turn.
“Ummm… I think my water just broke.”
Nurse tests it and yup. It’s my water. And it’s clear, thank God.
My nurse tells me any second my contractions will be more intense now.
And man, oh man, was she right.
No epidural but I have the option for some meds through IV.
My nurse starts pushing it through at 5hrs, and my doctor comes running in… “DON’T GIVE HER ANY IV MEDS SHE TRANSITIONS FAST AND IT WILL STOP BABY FROM BREATHING!!!”
*as my nurse is finishing pushing it.*
At this point I’m now in so much pain, and in hysterics. I’m already freaking out about having a baby at 36 Weeks, now I’ve just done something that could stop her from breathing.
I call my mom and the kids are in the background.
My mom calms me down. The kids pray over me and Anna.
I just had to get past an hour after this dose so it would be out of her system.
Nerrisa and Stan are sitting there counting down the timeframe for me.
We’re past an hour. My nurse comes in. She tells me part of why I am in so much pain is that Anna’s head is stuck.
She turns me onto my left side, places a peanut between my legs. And within 5 minutes I went from 5/6 to complete and gave birth.
Anna came out with her arm wrapped around her neck and her elbow did some damage on the way out to me.
As she came out you could hear a pin drop.
There were 8 specialists in my room ready to help both of us. When I had Kathryn I had a stroke once the placenta came out, so they were there for me, and a whole team since Anna was a preemie.
Silence. It felt like forever.
Then, she screamed.
The room became busy and she was placed on my chest.
After an hour she was allowed to nurse, and she did so good for 20 minutes.
They tested her blood sugar and found it was dropping. As was her temperature.
They fed her formula and then placed her back on me skin to skin.
The room became quiet again. Except for Anna.
She was doing what they call “singing.” It’s a noise preemies make when their lungs aren’t working quite right.
She was taken from me and went to the NICU.
A few hours later she was back in my room and I nursed her for 40 minutes.
Then she started singing again.
She was taken again, and this time placed on oxygen.
I didn’t see her again for nearly 24 hours.
I am still finding out information about my health. It was such a scary and traumatic time.
I’m finally getting healthier and she’s been doing amazing!
These socks are the one thing that I was able to have prepared for my labor!
My blood pressure started to spike again, here.
My best friend and assistant trying to cool me down!
Here’s where her head got stuck and labor was so incredibly intense.
Nurse turned me onto my left side to try and get her head to move.
Needless to say, it was working.
My husband never left my side.
Nurse put the peanut between my knees, and she went in the right position!
Next thing I know, I say I have to push, and my nurse pulls my catheter immediately, and then followed baby Anna.
Since I had an IV in the crook of my elbow, I needed a little help to get her to nurse. My husband and the staff were fantastic at helping me!
This is when the NICU nurses took her to try and help get her lungs to work the first time.
Her room in the NICU.
Third time I got to hold her and nurse her. Her nurse was so impressed with how well she was able to latch on. Especially for being a preemie!