Addison Lee's arrival!

This is going to be a long post...FYI

Michael, Mom, and I had been sitting around the house since January 2nd waiting on my beautiful Addison to make her appearance into the world and it was getting really old! We were all so ready to get the show on the road, but Addi had a different plan for us! I had a TERRIBLE headache on Saturday that lasted all day long. I knew something was wrong when the extra strength Tylenol did not help at all, but Michael's mom suggested that we should get a blood pressure cuff and check my pressure. My blood pressure was scary high (155/94) so we put in a call to my doctor's office. Dr. Owens (Dr. Fliedner was not on call) had me go over to the hospital to have some tests done and then decide what to do from there. My blood pressure was extremely high and I had protein in my urine, which meant that I was dangerously close to having seizures. I was admitted into the hospital right away and started on a magnesium drip (which is a serious muscle relaxer...not good for labor). I was still not dilated at all, but we didn't have time to ripen my cervix, so the doctor just decided to induce me at 10:00 pm.

My contractions were not too bad, but I really did not want to get an epidural yet because I didn't want it to slow down my labor...especially since I was on the magnesium drip. They started to get really intense (1 minute apart) at 3:00 am so I decided to try a really strong pain medicine. It helped me relax for a while, but my water broke at 4:30 and I really couldn't handle them any more. So I got an epidural and I was in HEAVEN! I could feel the contractions, but there was no pain :-) I thought that my labor was progressing nicely because my water had broken, however when the nurse checked me I was only 1 cm and Addi's head was still really high (they couldn't even feel her head). After about 30 minutes Dr. Owens informed the nurse that we should move ahead with the c-section. My blood pressure wouldn't be able to handle 12+ more hours of labor so my c-section was scheduled for about 30 minutes later.

I really started to freak out because this is not how I saw Addi's birth in my head. The thought of having a c-section was really scary...that's major surgery!! Before I knew what was happening, the anesthesiologist was in my room pushing a ton of medication into the epidural. I was so numb that I couldn’t swallow the right way and it felt like I wasn’t breathing. That was scary! Michael had to wait in the hallway as I was prepped for surgery…it felt like hours before I got to see him again.

I was on so many drugs that I really didn’t know what was going on during the surgery. It took about 10 minutes to get Addi out of my tummy. The doctors showed her to me over the curtain for literally 1 second before they took her away. Michael stayed by my side until Addi was out and taken to the assessment table. I started to cry because all I wanted to do was see her! The NICU nurse came over to me and told me that they were going to take her for a couple of hours to make sure that the magnesium drip didn’t hurt her, which made me cry even more. Before they took her away, they brought her over to me so I could see her but I couldn’t touch or kiss her at that time.

Michael went with Addi to the NICU while they finish the surgery on me. I was crying the entire time…I was scared, alone, and my baby girl was some where without me for the first time. It was very emotional. After the surgery, I was wheeled back into my room. The room was empty because my mom when to find Addi and Michael. I spent the next few hours in bed waiting for Addison to come to my room. All I wanted was to be with her. Finally, she was brought to our room at 2:00 pm (keep in mind she was born at 8:13 am).

Over all, it was a terrible experience. I hated every minute that I had to be away from my daughter. Everything would have been fine if they would have let me be with her. The NICU gave her 2 formula bottles; one in the morning when she got there because she was going to be there for a few hours, and then one right before they brought her to me (which was extremely stupid because I could have fed her myself). I pretty much spend that first part of that first day crying, but everything was much better when I finally got to see my baby.

Overall, the c-section experience was horrible. The ONLY good thing to come out of that is Addi! I would rather forget the entire thing and just remember holding Addi in my arms for the first time.

The hospital stay was wonderful! All of the nurses were really nice and helpful. It felt more like being in a hotel rather than a hospital. I’m nervous now about beginning our new life on our own. I worried that I won’t be able to sooth my baby when she cries or read her and know what she wants. I know we will work through all of this, but it is a really scary thing!

Well…I’m pretty tired (go figure). Bye for now J