Welcome, Abigail!
Sorry that it’s taken me so long to update the blog—here I was encouraging everyone to check it for updates and I haven’t posted anything new in almost a month! Well, detailed below are a few stories from Abby’s birth and long journey home, as well as a bunch of pictures! Please e-mail us with any pictures that you’ve taken, as well :)
So, it starts on Monday, February 9th, when I decided to call the doctor regarding a nagging headache I’d had all day. They told me to come in for a blood pressure check, and surprise, surprise, it was sky high, so off to triage I went! For those of you in the know, triage became my home away from home in the last few weeks of pregnancy!
Anyway, once I got there, I went through the same routine and expected to be released in about 2 hours. Once I hit the 2 hour mark, the doctor came in and said that he thought it was time for me to deliver, since my blood pressure had been so unpredictable. So now the phrase “Be careful what you wish for” entered my head—I had been begging to be induced from 37 weeks and now that it was a reality, I was not prepared!
They moved me over to Labor & Delivery and within minutes, Mike arrived. I got hooked up to all the monitors, got my IV, and they started me on Pitocin to increase contractions. Most of what happened after that was a blur, but I will try to recall some details! That night was fairly smooth—Mike and I both got our computers out (labor must have been boring prior to wireless internet, huh?) and did some work, surfed the net, etc. I taught Mike how to play Jin. We did a little reading. Pretty boring, really.
Well, I should have wished for boring, because once things got interesting, they got real interesting! I was in a fair amount of pain by 7 AM and already asking for the epidural! They gave me a few different medicines to take the edge off the pain, but I was rather uncomfortable, and by 3 cm, I’d had it! So, in came the anesthesiologist and I got the glorious drug known as the epidural. God Bless Dr. Jaffe! Finally, I was able to get some rest. By the time I hit 5 cm, it was around 3 PM on Tuesday, and in my opinion, the epidural was starting to wear off.
Around that time, the doctor came in an explained that every time they tried to increase the Pitocin, the baby’s heart rate would drop and she would go into distress. So, they told us that the best option would be a c-section. They gave us a minute to discuss it, and we decided to go ahead with what was best for the baby. Everything happened pretty fast after that. They got me all prepped for surgery, Mike got into his scrubs, and we were off the operating room.
Once in the OR, I met the anesthesiologist and he gave me a “super-epidural,” as I describe it. I couldn’t feel anything from the neck down and the experience was very out of body. They brought Mike in and 20 minutes later, Abigail Margaret Wojewodka was born! She had a very loud cry and was extremely alert. Mike went over to the scale and said hello and she stopped crying and looked right at him! She was a Daddy’s Girl right from the start :)
After that, they stitched me up, and took me to recovery while Abby went to the nursery for her first bath and to be checked out, etc. I stayed in recovery for WAY too long (almost 3 hours) and finally was able to go to my room and be reunited with my daughter, Mike, Grandma and Grandpa Chapman and Grandma and Grandpa Wojewodka.
I was in a lot of pain that night, but it got better every day. We had a lot of visitors and expected to be released on the sweetest day of the year, Valentine’s Day. We were waiting in our room, all dressed and ready to go, when the nurse told us we couldn’t leave because my iron was too low and I needed to stay for one more day L Well, one day turned into 5, because my blood pressure was still unpredictable. After consulting with a cardiologist, they decided to put me on magnesium to prevent seizures, while giving the blood pressure medicine a chance to work its magic. Finally, my BP stabilized by Tuesday night and we were released on Wednesday afternoon, February 18th.
Thank You so much to everyone for the well wishes, the prayers, the good thoughts, etc. We truthfully believe that’s what got us through a very long 9 days in the hospital and brought all of us home safe and sound J A special THANK YOU to my wonderful husband, who was by our side every second and was so amazing. We love you!
Abby's First Moments
"Hey Dad, what's up?"
Our Family
Mommy and Abby
1 comments:
Beautiful!! So sorry to hear about your long stay though. I am glad all worked out ok and glad Abby was healthy the whole time!!!! Congrats again and hope these first weeks at home are running smoothly. I just remember being SO IN LOVE and SO TIRED LOL....all worth it though
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