After a long day of teaching, my water broke right when I got home around 4pm Wednesday. My mom rushed over from working on the store - luckily only a few blocks from the house - to get me to Sacred Heart ASAP. I called Steve (who was at work and without a car because I was suppose to pick him up when he got off at 5) to let him know what was going on. Fortunately, his dad was available to pick him up and get him rushed over to the hospital as well.
They got me all checked in and determined that Allison was definitely on her way. Steve and his parents showed up not long after they got me into the room. They had the family wait in the waiting area for a time while they finished up admissions with Steve and I. When they were able to come back in, we all played the waiting game as I did my best to breathe through contractions. My sister-in-law, Jauharallah, was able to come and join the action after she finished up her nursing shift. It is so nice that we have a Sacred Heart staff member in the family. Steve's parents stayed as long as they could before they had to head home.
After several hours I did decide to receive pain management. The doctor came in and placed the epidural - that was a struggle but ended up being worth the relief. After they placed it they also decided to check my cervix. I was up to a 6 - more than half way there! We had a little scare with a blood pressure drop but they gave me a quick shot and placed me on some oxygen and it came right back up.
After I was fully dilated we started in with some mild pushing. At this point my team was Jauharallah, Steve, my mom, and our amazing delivery nurse Tom. We tried several different positions of pushing to get things going. Once baby's head was mostly visible, they called in the team of doctors - an OB to play catch, and several Intensive Infant Care doctors to get Allison set up on her machines first thing.
Steve held one leg, my mom held one leg, and Jauharallah helped with my back. After several good pushes, out she came at 2:57am. She gave us two little cries before they started in with the machines. Steve cut the cord and they whisked her over to a little station they had set up with all of her equipment. Steve and Jauharallah went over to watch as they were getting her all set up. My mom stayed by my side as the doctor finished up with my delivery. They wheeled Allison's station to my bedside for a short moment so that I could take a look at her before they took her up to the Intensive Care Unit. I may be bias, but she is the cutest baby in the world! She was making the sweetest little pouty face as they wheeled her away.
After they got me all stitched up, it was time to move rooms. Out of labor and delivery and into mother-baby recovery. Unfortunately in this case it is only mother recovery. After they got me settled into my new room, Jauharallah and my mom headed home to get some rest after a long night. The NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) doctor came to give us an update on Alli's condition. They were able to get her on the right combination of drugs and oxygen to get her stabilized and we could now go and visit her.
Steve headed up right away while I waited on the nurses approval. When Steve got back he headed straight for the couch and fell asleep. Once the nurse checked all my vitals, she wheeled me up to have a visit with Allison. Her stats were great and she was nice and sedated. It was fun to talk to her and watch her wiggle her sweet little toes, but it was really hard to see that she needed so many tubes, wires, and machines to keep her going.
After my visit I came back to the room to try for some rest. I slept almost two hours when the nurses came in to have me eat some breakfast and again check on my vitals. Steve and I were now awake for the rest of the day. We had several visits from friends and family and paid Allison many visits as well. We finally got some on and off sleep through Thursday night.
Today is now Friday, and Allison's stability (blood oxygen levels, blood pressure, heart rate, etc.) has had its ups and downs but she is still just sleeping away. The surgeons will make some decisions about her surgery after she has a few days of good stability. I will update with any big news we receive.
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