Eden's birth story

The story of Eden's birth is definitely not what I expected. I never even got to feel what real labor pains feel like. At about 8 pm on Monday the 20th I started to feel this strange tightening in my lower rib cage starting by my sternum and radiating around even to the back. At first it wasn't too bad and I had had pain sort of like it before so I didn't worry too much. The pain slowly got worse and worse to the point where I had to lay down and even that didn't help much. Derek wasn't home from work yet so I didn't know what to do, I started getting really scared. I didn't know what the pain was but it was bad so my mind started to fill with all sorts of scary ideas. I even thought I might be having a heart attack because my heart was pounding pretty hard.

When Derek got home I told him how much pain I was in and he suggested I call the emergency number of my Dr.'s office. I had been thinking of just going to the ER. I'm glad he suggested this. I called the office and actually was able to get my Dr.'s phone number which I was happy about because I don't really like the other Dr.'s at the office. I called her and she told me she wanted me to come into labor and delivery at the hospital to be checked out.

Arriving at the hospital was kind of weird considering at that point we didn't even know what was wrong and I wasn't even in labor. The nurse did all the basic things and asked me a lot of questions. It sort of sounded like the might send me home until they called my Dr. She ordered a urine test, blood test and EKG. The urine and blood test where to check for pre-eclampsia. If you have it there will be protein in your urine and liver enzymes in your blood. I didn't have much protein in my urine but I had a pretty alarming number of liver enzymes in my blood. I was told I have pre-eclampsia and that my labor would have to be induced and possibly have a c-section. I am so grateful for a knowledgeable Dr., without her ordering those tests its scary to think what might have happened to me. We were pretty excited that we would have our baby soon. It all felt so surreal that she would finally be here.

Here's me, already started on the epidural and magnesium.

From the blood test they also found that my platelet count in my blood was starting to get low as well. I found out later this is another condition called HELLP syndrome. It means that if I bleed to much my blood wouldn't be able to clot very well, which means I could potentially lose a lot of blood. This worked out great for me because that meant getting my epidural in before my platelets dropped any lower. They got it in right as the began inducing my labor so I never felt any pain. They also started me on the most horrible medication on the planet-magnesium sulfate. This was because pre-eclampsia can cause seizures so the magnesium helps prevent this. It makes you feel hot and so tired and lethargic that you can't function. I had to stay on it for an entire day after the delivery as well.

After about 4-5 hours of being on the pitocin, I was still only dialed to 3 and a half. My Dr. came in to tell me that I would have to have a c-section. My platelet counts had continued to fall so the sooner the better. My daughter would be here soon! I wasn't really scared to have a c-section at this point. I was just happy I would get to meet my daughter soon. I felt very well taken care of by all the Doctors and nurses so I knew everything would be fine. 

The surgery went really well. I had a nice Dr. up by my head to talk me through what was going on and to reassure me and tell me I was doing good. Derek was also right next to me. He was too scared to actually watch the surgery. He looked so cute in his OR clothes :). Eden took a while to get out. My Dr. told me later that she was so wiggly that her little arms and legs where getting stuck. Because of where her head was they where worried about her air being cut off so my Dr. had to cut me just a little further to get her out finally. It really helped build the anticipation of her arrival. When she finally came out the Dr. by my head told me to lift my head to look over the sterile field. There was my beautiful daughter. All I managed to say was "Oh my gosh!", then I just started crying tears of joy. She was actually here! I don't think I've ever been happier. She was taken from there to be weighed and tested. I already missed her so much. Derek brought her back to me after this. She got a 9/10 on her APGAR score and had almost no trace of billirubin. She was 7 pounds 3 oz and 19 and a half inches long, so healthy and beautiful. I couldn't stop kissing her. I call her my little angel baby.

After this life got much more difficult, more difficult than anything I've ever experienced. The magnesium I was on made me so dizzy and drowsy I could barely function. My blood counts and platelets where very low as well so that didn't help my cause either. Breast feeding Eden was a bit of a challenge. The first night was so hard. I need a lot of help but the nurses almost seemed to busy to really help. Eden cried and I cried. Eventually I got her to eat and everything was ok. I couldn't even stay awake though while she ate, I was so out of it. The nurses tried to get me up a couple times because that is what they usually do the day after a normal c-section. I couldn't even sit up without almost falling over from the dizziness and pain. I cried some more.

The next morning they took me off the magnesium and things started looking up from there. I slowly started feeling better and I even was able to eat solid food. I was able to get up to the bathroom a couple times and even go on a walk. The next day I took a shower and went on a lot of walks. I felt almost back to normal. They were still waiting for my platelet counts to come up and they finally did that day. I could go home the next day!

Going home was very surreal. I sort of felt like I had been out of town or something. It was so good to finally be home though.