This story is our story. In no means, I'm putting this story to scare anyone but instead, I'm hoping to educate many of you that like me had no idea that this complication even existed.
The day I became a mom, is a day I will never forget.
Bella was born via C-section due to a cord prolapsed. Cord-Prolapsed is a complication that doesn't happen often, statics say is about 1 in 300, and it's where the umbilical cord comes, or falls out before the baby! This means that the main supply of oxygen to the baby is compromised and may cause abnormalities or even death on the baby if not taken out in time. All of the stated above is the reason why it has taken me so long to talk about it, but the fact that I have a healthy baby girl makes it worth telling.
Here is our story:
I had a great pregnancy from begging to end. At 20 weeks I started having Braxton Hicks and was put on a slight bed rest but by the next appointment I was off, and then came the day my water broke.
The morning of March 17th came and I had my 38-week appointment early since my doctor was going out of town the next day. She checks me and I was at 2cm and 90 effaced. Since it was my first baby she said it could take a couple of days, and that she would see me next week.
I was devastated. I wanted to hold my Bella and truly I was already too tired, too out of breath and everything hurt.
I came home and laid down , talked to my husband, cried a little and took a nap.
At 10:30, as I was getting up I heard something funny but kept on with my day. Helped out in our home daycare, but by 1 pm I had already had 4 changes of clothes.
In my head, I never even thought my water had broken. I was expecting a water show and that was nothing like it.
So if you are reading this and have not had a baby don't except a water show like the movies. It doesn't always happen like that.
At 5 pm one of the moms in the daycare, an L&D nurse, came to pick up her daughters and I remember asking if this could be pee. First-time mom: check!
She told me she was going to get me a test strip to check if it was amniotic fluid or pee and just to lay low, but I had plans to take her older daughter , my first baby, to the Cinderella movie and I was not about to back out.
In all of this Lester was playing soccer and even though I told him we really thought it was nothing!
After the movie, I drop my babe off and picked up the test strip and went home.
I took the test and after a very blue strip I called Lester and told him to come home slowly as I had zero pain. I finished packing a few bags as he showered and we called the doctor who told us to meet her at the hospital.
Packed up the car and took my birthing ball and towel on board. We prayed and headed to the hospital which was 7 minutes away.
Yes, we measured it a few times! Again first time parents. :)
At 12 am on March 18th the hospital confirmed that it was amniotic fluid and started my Pitocin.
Going into this, I had no birthing plan except that I wanted to go as natural as possible.
I was admitted and my Pitocin was started, 6 , now we know that the amount was set too high. We believe that it had to do with the fact I was getting close to the 24-hour mark of my water breaking but we don't really know.
Soon after that, my Pitocin went up to 8 and the contractions started coming and hard. I labored for 2 hours,to only advance to 4cm, with contractions at 100 and a few times with Bella's heartbeat at 0. Every single time it happened we were told that the monitor was defective.
After the 5th time, the heart monitor went that low, I was told I had to stay in the bed and that's when things went downhill.
I started experiencing back labor and the pain was too much to handle so I was given a muscle relaxer which dropped my blood pressure to 42/55. This was the
first time my room got filled with nurses and doctors waking me up and putting me on my side.
At 6 am my contractions were back and lasting a little over 1 min with 15 seconds off and then back again. My doctor came and asked if I wanted an epidural and I tried my best to stay put but by 8 am ( March 18th) I couldn't take it.
So I gave in and got an epidural.
Bella's heart was not doing any better and once our new nurse came in she got worried and called our doctor. A few minutes later our doctor came in to check on Bella's heart and me on last time before leaving (remember she was going on vacation) the nurse pulled her aside and showed her the chart. She examined the chart and explained that since they were losing her heartbeat so often she was going to put an internal monitor on her head.
Keep in mind that when your water breaks they try not to check you as often to avoid infection so I hadn't been checked in a few hours, and when my doctor lifted the sheets she discovered my cord hanging out.
My mom was next to her and all I remember was she got white as paper. I clinched to Lester's hand as hard as I could.
From there on it was a blur. I remember my doctor screaming out codes, doctors all around me, nurses taking my earrings and jewelry off, handing Lester papers and pushing my mom aside.
As my doctor screamed to everyone around us I understood we need an emergency C-section and only had minutes to take her out.
As they started to wheel me off all I could think was this was a nightmare.
It wasn't happening.
I quickly began to look around me as I came back to the reality of what was going on as a male doctor joined us running to the OR pushing my ribs down to keep Bella from moving and a pretty blonde nurse sat at the end of my bed holding Bella's head. We got to the doors where Lester had to stay and I couldn't let him go. Lester is the sane was, the calm one my rock and comfort. And today he was the hand holding me while my floor was literally falling.
This all happened within 2 minutes but they were the longest two minutes in the world. I grabbed my doctors hand and told her I need my husband with me and I begged harder than I ever had. She got him scrubs but little did we know that he had no time absolutely to even get the shoes on.
I kid you not it was like a scene, a horrible scene, taken out of a movie and to top it off when we got to the OR hall they realized that the OR was not ready. (Set up)
I just remember them pushing me in the room anyways, as I watched the doors close behind me leaving Lester on the other side . In the room, my doctor kept repeating make the OR ready now and the squirming of people around me and all I could do was cry.
I got on the table and they started squirting liquid on my belly and on she went to cut. Because they were in such a rush to get her out I didn't get the hand ties and the drape was put up came after I saw her cut.
The room became silent as my doctor told me "here she comes"
Followed by no cry....
I think at this point my body had just had too much!
I pulled on my anesthesiologist coat and asked my doctor over and over again why she wasn't crying.
As much as I hated that moment, the no cry moment, I knew she was ok. I knew that God had given us this child and was not going to take her away.
.... and all the sudden there it was. The most beautiful sound I have ever heard. After this, I don't remember much other than telling Lester to stay with Bella.
Lester says that he was allowed to come in after Bella was born and they took the baby to us and I saw her and told him to leave with her.
I woke up a few hours later shaking in a recovery room with too many blankets to count and a heater at the end of the bed , an oxygen mask and the most beautiful baby on my breast.
She had the sweetest face ever and was our dream come true. At that moment I knew it was all worth it.
Every single step was worth it.
March 18th goes down in my history as the worst day turned into the best day of my life. I'm so thankful to God for allowing us surpass this hurdle and become parents to the biggest light in our world.
Cord prolapsed is one of the many complications that can happen during labor.
This was our.
Just like everything in our life all the glory is to God.
For not only holding Bella through this but also giving our doctor and staff the knowledge of what and how to deliver Bella, as neither of them had ever experienced a prolapsed cord only read about it.
And thank you for reading this extremely long post! ;)
