Monday at my regular appointment I was still had high blood pressure and was still not dilated. Dr. Brunner was concerned about my BP so we decided that an induction was necessary. We went to the hospital Tuesday night and got admitted and I was given the meds to get me dilated. After 12 hours of Cirvatal (sp?) in I was still not dilated so they started the Petosin (sp?) early Wednesday morning. After being checked all day the progression was about a centimeter an hour which meant for a long day of waiting. About 8:30pm it was finally time time push Mr. Oliver out. Well, as I suspected all along he had his own plan and is going to be stubborn, and hour and a half later we had made no progress, Oliver's heart rate was a little fast and I was starting to run a temperature. Therefore a c-section was decided to be done. Because of the heart rate and my temperature, it was suspected that Oliver might have an infection in the amniotic fluid so he would have to go directly to the NICU to get IV antibiotics, he cannot be on the regular mother/baby floor and have an IV :( It is hospital policy that if they suspect this infection they start treating it right away with antibiotics and run test simultaneously, with results taking 48 hours to be returned so he would have to stay in the NICU at least 48 hours until his results came back negative, which they did! (more to follow on the NICU experience)
Back to the C-Section- We were third in line so we had to wait...at 11:37 pm on Wednesday August 22, 2012 Oliver was finally born!!! We was perfect in every way. That first cry will forever be engrained in my mind. It was magical!!! We weighed in at 7 pounds 3.5 ounces, and was 19 inches long. I was so drugged up and hadn't eaten in over 24 hours so it is hard to remember some of that evening but that first cry and seeing that face come over the curtain was amazing! Seeing James hold him for the very first time was so special as well.
We exited the OR and headed back to the room, the NICU wasn't quite ready for us so Oliver got to join me back in the recovery room for a few minutes. It didn't take long before the grandparents and aunts found us too. Everyone got to take a peek and James and I got to hold him a few. I remember telling James that I was too out of it and felt insecure holding him. A few minutes later Oliver was taken to the NICU to be admitted and start his IV's, I would be wheeled up there before being admitted into my room. By 4:00am we were in our room and Oliver was upstairs. That is hard, sad feeling. I kept thinking, this is not fair he is healthy, he's fine, he should not be up there but then again if he did have this infection he was in the best place for him and that was really what was important. I also had to remind myself that it was only going to be 48 hours.
Then the waiting really began! It was about 1:00 Thursday afternoon before I was given permission to get out of bed and move to the wheelchair so I could be moved wheeled upstairs to see Oliver! I was so excited yet unsure what I was going to see. NICU has a negative connotation, which is why James and I kept it on the DL while we were in the hospital. When we got up there he was fine, other than an IV in his arm. Such a relief but still not excited that I had not had time to bond, hold, love, or start breastfeeding. But again, this wasn't serious, just an inconvenience and precaution. Just as we were about to bust out of the NICU on Friday the nurse noticed that Oliver's resting heart rate seemed low, so an EKG was ordered, those results would not be back until Saturday so he would have to stay another day upstairs. It turned out that his EKG was fine and that due to the fact that the nurses in the NICU don't handle healthy, full term baby very often they were spooked by his numbers. Again, praise the LORD everything with him has been fine! Saturday early evening Oliver was finally brought downstairs to room-in with us. I was more than excited!!! It had been a long waiting game and I was tired of going up and down between floors.
As for me....well this darn blood pressure is going to haunt me. Since the beginning of the month I've been fighting high blood pressure. It is not at a scary level but it is not great either. They are watching it very, very close and I've been put on meds for a short while. This also is something that was keeping us in the hospital. So much that on Sunday they were still considering keeping me another day of observation but she eventually decided that my BP would probably get better at home with Oliver than send Oliver home and me stay Thank goodness!
We enjoyed our first night home last night and survived. Oliver is doing well and I'm taking it easy. It's hard for me to sit and rest while James is up keeping our house running but it is necessary right now so I don't end up in the hospital or on more meds for this silly blood pressure business. Enjoy the pics!!!
And while all this is happening my amazing husband was holding down the fort! He was going to feed Oliver, when I couldn't be there, he was organizing our visitors, keeping me calm, making sure Moe was taken care of and just being FABULOUS!!! Love you honey!!!
We can't wait for you all the meet Oliver really soon!
All our love!
