I was pregnant with my 3rd child and
expected to have another uneventful
pregnancy. It wasn't to be... After a
day at the swimming pool with my 2
younger children I came home and put
them to bed. I took a nap on the
couch waiting for my husband to come
home. A few hours later I woke up
because I heard a pop. I remembered
hearing the same thing when my water
broke with my first two children
(during labor). I lay there
thinking, "Surely that wasn't my
water." I said to my husband, "I
think my water broke." I got up to go
to the bathroom and nothing happened.
As I stood in the doorway on my way
back out a bunch of fluid gushed out.
We loaded up the kids and headed to
the ER. I live 120 miles away from
the nearest L&D and NICU. I was
scared to death. I had always been
told that the baby must be delivered
within 24 hours of your water
breaking. I didn't think he had a
chance. The doctor in the ER had us
drive to a hospital that was capable
of dealing with this situation. Upon
arrival they tried to get a sample to
test, but were unable to. I had a
horrible dr. insist on a vag. exam,
even after I initially refused.
This was the worst night of my life.
I thought my son was going to die and
we kept praying that I wouldn't go
into labor. Two days later I got my
first steroid, then another the next
day. We were worried because the
monitor was showing signs of cord
compression and I wasn't regaining any
fluid.
So after 7 days (on my birthday) my
doctor recommended inducing me. I was
started on Pitocin shortly after lunch
and nothing was happening by dinner
time. The baby started having decels
and I had a nurse that was absolutely
clueless. However, she was smart
enough to call a nurse who did have a
clue. As soon as the nurse was the
monitor she knew. So she immediately
checked me and yelled,"We have cord!"
Immediately 9 people show up in my
room. She kept her hand up there
holding the baby off his cord. She
kept saying,"He's fine, I can feel the
cord pulsing." I think that was the
only thing that kept me sane at that
moment.
Within 30 minutes my son was born by
emergency c-section. He weighed 3lbs.
9oz. and was breathing on his own.
After about an hour they put him on C-
PAP because he was struggling a bit.
But by the next day, the first time I
saw him, he was off of it.
He stayed in the NICU for 26 days and
on a apnea/brady monitor for 5
months. He had hernia surgery at 2
months old and RSV 3 weeks after
that. But since then he has been
relatively healthy. Looking at him
now you would never suspect he was a
preemie. He has almost caught up in
size and is as smart as can be.
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