Hi everyone, my name is Heather Barrow
and here is our story. I apologize in
advance for the length but I figured
it might eat up some time for those of
you in the hospital:) I refer to
everything as “We” below because my
husband Bennett did as much work, if
not more, to ensure the healthy
delivery of our baby. He was so strong
for both of us, our baby and our
daughter through out this time and I
am so lucky and blessed to have him.
This was my second pregnancy. I had a
daughter in December of 2008 at 39w4d,
no problems or complications. I
noticed a small amount of fluid
leaking on 2/16/09 (I was 24w3d) and
called the DR because I knew something
wasn't right. Bennett and I went to
the hospital where they confirmed I
had ruptured. They admitted me to L&D
and I and started having contractions
immediately. They gave me Terbuteline
(sp?) in order to try to get the
48hours of steroids on board and
started me on IV antibiotics. The Dr's
were positive would deliver within 48
hours and were very grim about my
baby's survival chances. They told us
all of the horrible statistics (90% go
into labor with-in 48 hours,
infection, placental abruption, cord
prolapse, etc.). We also had a
consult with a neonatologist the first
day and L&D and heard how sick our son
would be, “if he survived at all”, if
he were born at 24 weeks.
We met with our pastor that day and we
decided that God was in control of our
future and refused to listen to the
negative reports from the doctors. We
had a choice to be fearful, upset and
stressed out; or to have hope and
faith that everything would turn out
positively and this experience will be
positive in the end for our family. We
decided from day 1 that being stressed
out and negative was not good for the
baby and would not help me to keep him
in longer and to try to see the
positives every day. The first day
while we were in L&D we realized that
we were supposed to leave for vacation
that very day in the Cayman Islands.
Thankfully, this had happened at home
or we would have been stuck in the
Caymans until after the delivery. I
can’t imagine their hospital has a
high-risk OB unit, or a level III
NICU. Not to mention the support of
our friends and family. We thanked
God that we were home when it happened!
I was on 100% hospital bed rest for 8
weeks and 2 days; I could get up once
a day to use the bathroom and every 2
or 3 days for a 3-minute shower.
Bennett did everything from bringing
me lunch to helping me brush my teeth
in bed. I had one hour monitoring
sessions 2X a day and weekly
ultrasounds. The monitoring sessions
were great at first because we got to
hear Hill’s heartbeat. They became
stressful very quickly as I would have
too many contractions or Hill’s heart
rate would decelerate due to him
rolling briefly on his cord. The bed
rest was the hardest thing I have ever
done (or will ever do) because it
meant I could only see my daughter for
about an hour each day. Luckily we
live within 15 minutes of a wonderful
hospital so Bennett was able to be at
the hospital constantly and our family
and friends were able to take care of
Claire (my daughter). Our friends and
family were amazing and organized
someone to bring us a home-cooked meal
every night in the hospital and prayed
for us constantly.
Our son, Hill, always looked great on
the monitor but his fluid level never
went above an AFI of 5. It ranged from
0-5AFI, staying usually around 2. All
of his fluid was also usually around
his feet, which I can't imagine did
his lungs much good:) I also leaked 24
hours a day throughout the entire 8
weeks. We had a couple of scares and
were sent to L&D but always made it
back up to the high-risk floor, where
the nurses and doctors were wonderful.
My son was also breech the entire
time, which was a big reason for the
complete bed rest due to cord
prolapse. The thought of cord prolapse
was very difficult for me since I
never knew how he was between the
monitoring sessions. We had mixed
feelings of wanting him to stay in as
long as possible and concern that his
environment was so stressful.
We were scheduled for a C-Section on
4/22 when he would have been 34 weeks
and I went into labor on 4/15, at 33
weeks. I had an emergency C-section
when my contractions were about 2
minutes apart. There were at least 15
Drs in the room between the OBs and
neonatal team. We had prayed for the
best doctors and nurses to be on call
if we went into labor and the
neonatologist who had started the NICU
at our hospital happened to be on call
that day-God is good:) My son, was
born at 4lbs 13.5OZ screaming at the
top of his lungs. He was perfect and
absolutely beautiful! He never needed
any breathing support at all. The
respiratory team in the delivery room
just sort of stood around and
watched:) He stayed in the NICU for 2
weeks to learn how to feed and had to
go under the lights for 48 hours due
to jaundice but had no other issues at
all.
Hill is 6 weeks old now (5/29) and is
a completely normal newborn baby. He
is around 7 pounds and actually
already rolled over twice from his
tummy to back this past weekend.
For those of you currently on bed
rest - Never ever give up on your
precious baby, no matter when you
ruptured, or how long you are on bed
rest. God is in control of each of
your lives and has a plan for your
baby and family. My entire stay at the
hospital I would try to visualize him
as a normal baby and just wanted to be
on the other side of this. Whenever I
would get a bad report from the doctor
I would imagine the story our pastor
would tell of this miracle at Hill’s
Baptism. I kept a journal of my
feelings, issues going on with the
baby and with a prayer list, so I
could look back at how far we had come
each day and week. My prayer list of
course had very important things
like “please keep Hill safe make him
able to breath on his own” but also
small things like, “can I please go
into labor on a shower day” (which I
did!) I checked off each prayer as
they were answered.
We also tried to use our time in the
hospital to be a positive influence on
the nurses, doctors, techs,
housekeeping staff and other workers.
We were always kind to everyone and
would have a party for the staff for
every big milestone (26 weeks, 28w,
32w, 34). Nothing fancy, cake one
time, bagels another. We happened to
be 32 weeks around Easter so we
provided Easter lunch for the nurses
working that day. I feel like all of
the positive energy we put out, came
back to us multiplied in many
different ways, and is still coming
back to us. The nurses also loved us
and sent us home with a bedpan signed
by everyone. We have it up in our
bathroom to remind ourselves of that
time and what we overcame.
Most importantly, we would pray
constantly when we felt stressed or
discouraged and Bennett would write
daily bible quotes on our dry erase
board based on how we were feeling. I
wanted to post my favorites for you in
the hopes that it might encourage
someone else who is having a bad day.
"Now faith is being sure of what we
hope for and certain of what we do not
see" Hebrews 11:1
“A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the
bones” Proverbs 17:22
“Be anxious for nothing. But in
everything by prayer and supplication,
let your requests be made known unto
God. And the peace of God, which
passes all understanding, shall keep
your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus”
Philippians 4:6-7
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong
and courageous. Do not be terrified;
do not be discouraged; for the Lord
your God will be with you wherever you
go”
In his heart a man plans his course,
but the Lord determines his steps”
Proverbs 16:9
Trust in the Lord with all of your
heart and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways
acknowledge him; and he will make your
paths straight” Proverbs 5:36
Finally…my Favorite one that we put on
Hill’s birth announcement:
“We prayed for this child and the Lord
has granted us what we asked of Him”
Samuel 1:27
If anyone has any questions or would
like to talk, feel free to email me at
heather.barrow@hotmail.com or my
husband at barrobh0@hotmail.com
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