A Baby Story (Part 3 of 3)

It was a little over two hours later, around 1:30 am, when Mindy was finally out of the OR and brought into the recovery room. She was given a blood transfusion for the blood that she lost. We stayed in the recovery room until 4 AM at which point we were finally moved back to the labor and delivery room with Carter where we attempted to feed him for the first time. We were both very happy that he started to breastfeed with relative ease.

Mindy has no memory of the events from right after Carter was born to the first feeding around 4 am and even then her memory is very vague. In fact the whole morning’s events are very limited. That afternoon however, the drugs that she had been given during the c-section where mostly worn off and we were together as a family, enjoying each others’ company. That evening we finally moved to the Mother Baby unit in the hospital and Mindy even made the walk with very little assistance. Mindy was very happy to be able to start eating again.

On Saturday several family members and friends stopped by to visit, then Sunday morning we were discharged from the hospital. At that time Carter had started to develop a slight case of jaundice and we were told to take him to his pediatrician the next day, but overall he was very healthy. On Monday at the pediatrician, we were told to keep an eye on his color and if it worsened then we should go back in, but it appears to be clearing up. Mindy continues to improve on a daily basis and is doing very well for only a week after the c-section.

We continue to thank God for the successful delivery of our son and pray that he continues to be healthy. We ask that you keep us in your prayers as we continue to grow as a new family together.

A Baby Story (Part 1 of 3)

Okay so where to begin? Wednesday evening we made our way to Parkridge East Hospital to begin the induction. We arrived shortly after 8 pm and completed the necessary paper work for admissions. Around 9 pm we checked into our room for the next two days. The room itself was fairly nice; one of the larger labor and delivery rooms they had. They have some very small rooms and we were thankful for the extra space.

They started prepping Mindy for the process, drawing blood, starting the fluid IV drip, etc. Cervidil was scheduled to begin sometime from 9-10 but was delayed significantly. Before the nurses came back they had two busses and three wheelchairs come in for delivery and then a couple hours later around midnight had three more, so it wasn’t started until right before 1:30 Thursday morning. At that point we were finally able to get some sleep for the long day ahead.

Tuesday morning around 8:30 the Pitocin was administered to start the contractions. Two hours later Mindy was right at 4 cm and our Midwife, Amy Miller Anderson, decided to break the water. Because contractions intensify once the water is broken, Mindy decided it was time for the epidural to be administered. It took a while for the anesthesiologist to arrive in the room and by that point Mindy was very grateful for the relief. The afternoon progressed uneventfully except it appeared around 3 o’clock that she had dropped off the normal dilation curve which was a little bit of a concern. But when the Amy rechecked at 6 pm and she had reached 9 cm! Amy said she would go change and would be back to begin the pushing process. At 6:45 pm it began.

...

A Baby Story (Part 2 of 3)

Before it began Amy (the midwife) said that 2 -3 hours was the longest they recommend pushing to lower the stress on both mother and baby. At first things seemed to be going well and that Carter would be born vaginally. As we progressed into the second hour the apparent progress had slowed but enough progress had been made to hope that it would still be successful. However, the further into the hour we went the more apparent it was becoming his downward movement had stopped. As we approached the third hour we started to discuss the next options.

Amy left at the beginning of the third hour to call the doctor to prepare for a possible cesarean section which gave Mindy a chance to rest. It turns out that Doctor Sabrina Collins was already headed to downtown Chattanooga to perform a c-section at Erlanger. About 30 minutes later Amy re-enter and Mindy decided to continue to push until the doctor made her way back to our hospital on the chance that he would become unstuck.

At the end of the third hour it was very apparent that he was not going to be born without help. Once Dr. Collins arrived the only option left on the table was a c-section and so the preparations began. They took her back into the delivery operating room while I waited in the hallway until they gave me the all clear to enter. Once in the room with her we were both waiting anxiously for him to be born. As the procedure progressed Mindy could definitely fell the pressure and a dull ache and so they started to administer additional sedatives.

Once Carter was born, at 11:07 pm, we heard “he’s a big boy” from the nurses and doctors in the room. Once they had him cleaned he weighted in at large 9 lbs 3 oz. They showed him to both Mindy and I and at that point Mindy’s memory of the night’s events are hazy at best as they put Mindy under deep sedation. They gave Carter to me to hold and for a few minutes we were all three together for the first time as a family. I then walked Carter to the nursery for his first exam.

After taking a few pictures of Carter, the concern then turned to Mindy and her recovery. It was taking longer than expected for her to emerge from the OR. It was then explained that they were having difficulty stopping the uterus from bleeding further and that she had lost around double the normal amount of blood during the procedure.

...

Carter is born!!!

On Thursday, March 15 at 11:07 pm, Carter James Herman entered this world and our lives. He weighted 9 lbs 3 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. This being the end of his fourth day of life, it seems so far that he is doing quite well. The biggest concern at this point is he has a slightly elevated level of jaundice, but so far nothing that is a concern. We just have to watch it carefully and make sure he eats regularly and gets some sunlight during the day.

We have uploaded pictures in the gallery from the first few days and, as time permits, over the next few days will fill you in on how the delivery went.

Labor?

Wednesday morning Mindy started having mild, but consistent contractions. This lasted until Thursday evening with a few that where irregular. But it wasn't to be, this morning they had subsided and gone back to being very irregular. Regardless we did visit the doctor today instead of waiting until our Monday appointment. At this point things haven't progressed and our midwife doesn't expect anything for at least a few more days, but also said thing can obviously change at any point.

So we continue to wait.