They hooked me up to the monitors – apparently I was having contractions and didn’t know it. They kept the blood pressure cuff on measuring my BP every 30 minutes, had me eat and gave me Tylenol. Honestly, I didn’t have a headache when I walked in the doors, although I told them I did. I did actually get a headache while I was there and it never completely went away. My blood pressure was totally normal and there was no protein in my urine. So I could go, right???? Nope! They decided to draw blood and run some labs. It felt like it took them forever to do the blood draw and get the results back. Just when I thought I was going to go home – about 4 hours after I got there, the midwife came in to tell me that my liver enzyme levels were high. They consulted with the MFM and decided that I would come back on Thursday to have them re-checked. They said I didn’t need to go to my regular OB appointment, so I asked the Dr. if she could do a cervix check since I wouldn’t be seeing my OB. She went ahead and amused me and I was still 2cm, 60% effaced which was the same as the previous week and after my OB had done some membrane stripping. I pretty much thought I would be going home and resuming life as normal until baby decided he was ready to come out. The only difference is that the Dr. recommended that I stop working, even though I had planned to finish out the week. So I agreed and was suddenly off work for 4 months!
I did a little research on elevated liver enzymes that night on Dr. Google and found 3 possible causes. 1)Cholestasis of pregnancy, which is accompanied by itching. I had some itching, but had attributed it to Jeff cutting the weeds and grass outside. I had mentioned it at the hospital and the Dr. said my itching did not present in the right way for this. The other two possibilities were Pre-eclampsia and HELLP Syndrome. Both usually have other indicators, such as elevated blood pressure and high platelets, which I did not have. All three conditions generally just meant delivery the baby as soon as possible if already full term and then the issues would be resolved.
Two days later, on Thursday, I showered and headed to Labor and Delivery in the morning so I didn’t have to waste my whole day. I arrived around 10:00am. Again, they hooked me up to the monitors and drew my blood. As always, they had difficulty finding a vein and had to use my hand. The midwife was the same as Tuesday and she had said she had dreamt about me at night and hoped to see me today. She basically said that it looked like I would be staying if my liver enzymes were still elevated. When my labs came back the Dr. and midwife came in to tell me that my liver enzymes were still high. The plan was to admit me right away and induce me. The midwife did an ultrasound to ensure that there was enough fluid and then did a cervical check and some very serious membrane stripping. That time it was actually uncomfortable which was a first! Then I was admitted to the hospital and moved to a very large room. I called my mom and husband to let them know the plan. While they were on their way, I got settled and they began hooking me up to an IV (which was ridiculously hard for them…). Around 2pm I received a Cytotec pill which they used as a first attempt to induce me.
The next several hours were pretty uneventful. I was having contractions every 1-3 minutes, but to me, they were not painful. I barely noticed them at first and often confused them with the baby moving. As time went on, they became more forceful, but I still described them as uncomfortable, not painful. At 7pm, my regular OB arrived, which was a surprise! She did a check and I was 2.5 cm and 80% effaced. My OB was again surprised that the cervix check didn’t bother me. I started to realize I might have a very high tolerance to pain! My dad and little sister came to visit that evening. I took many trips to the bathroom with my IV and bounced on the ball because the bed was so uncomfortable and my tailbone hurt. At 9pm, my contractions were still 1-3 minutes apart and the doctor was going to break my water at around 10 or 11 and start pitocin if I wasn’t progressed any further. I asked to take a walk, since it would be my last chance probably. Mom and I took a half hour walk around the rotunda and I felt each contraction every minute and a half, but could still walk and talk through them.
At 11pm, I wasn’t quite 3 cm, so the Dr. broke my water. They did not start the pitocin because my contractions were too close together and they felt it would cause distress for the baby. Finally after my water was broken, the contractions started getting stronger. By 1am, I was ready for the epidural. I could get through the contractions okay, but they were so often that I never had any time to recover it seemed like. They started the IV and I waited for the anesthesiologist. At 2am on Friday the 14th, after what it seemed like I waited for ever, the anesthesiologist came for the epidural. I was shaking like crazy, which tends to happen when I get a full bag of fluids. Unfortunately, this reminded me of the last time I received a bag of fluids and anesthesia (when I had the D&E for our angel baby). The epidural went fine, although the Dr. had a little trouble since my cartilage was tough and I have slight scoliosis. The epidural was much stronger on the left side and I was able to move my right side a bit. At this time they also put in a catheter for me (hooray, I loved not having to go to the bathroom anymore!) and started the pitocin. My regular OB came and checked on me at 3am and went ahead and inserted an internal monitor on the baby to see if that would help with some progress. Then I started to get some sleep!
At 10am, I was still stuck around 5cm. The plan was to check in 2 hours and do a c-section if there was no progress. The magnesium made me incredibly hot and sweaty and drowsy so I slept most of the time. My nurse, Frankie, was incredible at moving my body for me and she would switch my position every two hours, from one side to the next. I wasn’t allowed to be on my back as the baby responded negatively to that. At 12:50pm, I had progressed to almost 7cm, so I was allowed to keep going. I don’t remember a whole lot about this time anymore since I was so out of it from the magnesium. Mom and Jeff had to use the mini fan with the spray bottle on me non-stop and I laid with a wash cloth over my face a lot too. Unfortunately at 3:30pm, the Dr came in with bad news. I was still at 7cm and they had done another blood draw that showed my liver enzymes were elevated even more. In addition, my white blood cell count went up, which indicated an oncoming infection. My urine was incredibly dark; the color of iced tea, so the Dr. stated he thought the best decision was to have a c-section. My body was shutting down and I might be developing a kidney infection. The baby was still doing perfect – every single professional who had come into the room over the past 2 days commented on how great his activity was – but I was not doing so well. I immediately said okay to the c-section.
The team worked very quickly prepping me for the c-section. I was able to help move myself from bed to bed and Jeff put on his special suit. I was wheeled into the surgical room and the anesthesiologist started the anesthesia. Unfortunately, it made me nose all stuffed up and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. It was almost like I was having a panic attack because I really thought I wouldn’t be able to get enough air. The anesthesiologist humored me and put the oxygen blo-bi mask on me. I also got nauseous and had to throw up just a little. Dr. DeLeon started the surgery and it seemed like just 5 minutes later, baby was out. It was 4:30pm exactly. I immediately cried and no longer was terrified about being able to breathe. I think they called out “he’s bald.” Jeff took pictures and a little bit later they shouted out that he was 9lbs 7oz, 20.75 inches and had blonde hair after all. He was wrapped up and then placed by my head so I could see him and talk to him. I remember talking to him and saying “he knows my voice.” He looked absolutely perfect. I could not get over his color. It turns out he got a 9 and a 10 on his Apgar scores. Hardly any baby gets a 10! I was so proud. Dr. De Leon was still finishing up and it seemed like it was taking a while and was not an easy job – I heard a snippet of the conversation and it seemed like it was “messy.” But we chatted about Peruvian food – Lomo Saltado and when he finished, he said “Nailed it!” like Sean Spencer in Psych. This relieved some of my anxiety.
I was wheeled into the recovery room where baby Elliott was. He looked soooo healthy! They did his glucose check because his weight was so high, but his sugar was actually low (not diabetic). The put him on my chest and he rooted toward the left side and breast fed for 49 minutes. How incredible! They checked his sugars again and they were perfect in the 50 range. They took our picture and did his footprints and a lot of other things that I barely remember. My blood pressure was fine and it looked like I wouldn’t have any lingering problems. What a moment – I was holding a perfect baby finally-- after a very long road of 3 pregnancies (one miscarriage, one fatal birth defect, and nearly nearly 13 consecutive months of being pregnant) – and I was basking in the glory! I couldn't love my boy any more :)
