Brenna's Early Birth
My husband and I tried for 3 years
to get pregnant and finally after many
rounds of Clomid - we found a
combination (Humegon, Clomid, HCG, IUI)
that worked. We were thrilled to find
out that I was pregnant and so excited
to finally be experiencing the joy of
upcoming parenthood. My pregnancy was
very nice even though there could have
been problems. I have a double uterus
and my OB checked my cervix every week
after week 14. Luckily it stayed nice
and closed and I did not need a
cerclage. We know that I was at risk for
preterm labor because of the shape of my
uterus but I began relaxing after 30
weeks.
On November 30, 1998 at 33 weeks
exactly I had a conversation with
another teacher at my school about water
breaking and that night I suffered
PPROM. My husband was away on a business
trip so my sister in law took me to the
hospital and we both expected to have
the baby that night. My daughter had
another idea though and I did not go
into labor at all. My OB kept me in the
hospital though and I was given steroids
to help her lung development and IV
antibiotics for 2 days in case I had an
infection. The fetal biophysical profile
showed that all was well with the baby
and the tests for infection came out
negative so the decision was made not to
induce me because the baby was fine and
better off inside me at this point. The
OB said that if I did not go into labor
on my own by 36 weeks than I would be
induced.
I laid in the hospital for 12 days
on my left side and on December 12, 1998
my daughter decided it was time to make
her appearance. My contractions started
at 2:00 am and were about 15 minutes
apart so I called the nurse about 3:00
am when they got to about 7 minutes
apart. The nurses put me on the fetal
maunder and called for the OB to come
and check me. I had not had a cervical
check the whole 12 days because of the
risk of infection so when I was checked
and 2 cm dilated the OB was not sure
that it was labor. He came back in an
hour about 5:30 am and I was at 3 cm and
100% effaced so they wheeled me to L &
D. I received an epidural around 7:30
and was 4 cm and by noon I was at a 10.
I had to wait for the OB to come in and
my nurse helped me start pushing. She
was so good with me I could not believe
it! The OB came in and I was doing so
well that I pushed once and Brenna's
head came out and he had to tell me to
stop pushing because the neonatal team
had not arrived yet! I finally got to
finish pushing and my daughter Brenna
was born at 12:41 pm on 12/12/98 at 34.5
weeks. She weighed 5 lbs and was 17
inches long.
She was taken to the NICU where she
received IV fluids for low blood sugar
and spent 2 days there. Then she had
jaundice and was moved to the step down
NICU and kept under the lights for 2
more days. She came home 4 days after
her amazing birth and is now a very
happy 3 month old. I can't wait to do
it again and give her a brother or a
sister.
|
|
