Odin's Birth Story: Episode II

Click here to access Episode I of Odin's Birth Story

So the epidural had me feeling comfortable for a while, but then the magnesium had me hating life. As I began to feel weaker and weaker from the magnesium, I realized how difficult pushing the baby out was going to be (not that I thought it would be a piece of cake to begin with), and I started to wonder how - or frankly, if - I was going to be able to do it. Before the magnesium, giving birth seemed like a tremendous task, but after the magnesium it loomed like an impossible feat. Anyway, once my contractions were really close together I started the pushing phase, and all I could think was, 'This is never going to work' because I was so weak I couldn't even lift my limbs, so how was I supposed to have the strength to push out a baby? With each contraction, I grasped for as much strength as I could find and gave it every ounce of energy I had. Matt had to lift up my head and shoulders with each push because I couldn't do it myself. As time went on, I really did feel like I wasn't going to be able to push the baby out and the doctor would decide I would have to have a cesarean. And actually, that was nearly the case. After over an hour of pushing, it became clear to the medical team that I was so weak I probably couldn't push the baby out on my own, so the doctor used forceps to help Odin out. The use of forceps wasn't something I had even thought about, but at that point I realized I needed as much help as I could get, and if it prevented me from needing a c-section, I was ok with it.

It took a few more pushes with the forceps to get Odin delivered, and I remember several things very distinctly from that moment: first, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief that he was finally out, because since it had been over 24 hours since my water had broken, I had started to feel a sense of urgency and I wanted to make sure he wasn't in there too long; second, I remember being concerned because for the first few minutes after Odin was born I didn't hear him make any noise at all. A few minutes seems like a terribly long time when you're waiting to hear your child cry for the first time. The midwife kept going back and forth from where Odin was to where I was, and reassuring me that he was ok, which was incredibly helpful, but I really wanted to hear some kind of noise out of Odin. The midwife would come over to me and say things like, "I know you can't hear him right now, but I promise you he's ok. He has good color and he looks great." Strangely enough, I never did hear Odin cry in the delivery room; actually, neither Matt nor I heard him cry until more than 24 hours after he was born. He made noises and he hiccupped, but he didn't cry at any point when he was with us during his first day. It was certainly not what we expected, but he was healthy and that was a huge relief. After Odin was assessed and cleaned up - and after I had the chance to say hello to him for a couple of seconds - he was whisked off to the nursery, and Matt went along with him so that he could give our families the news that the baby was finally born. When the nurses were wheeling Odin down the hallway to the nursery, they didn’t stop to let our families come over and see him; our family members had just enough time to catch a glimpse of him as they ran down the hall next to him! Everyone was so happy that he had finally made his entrance into the world!

Mommy meets Odin face-to-face

Meanwhile, I was in the labor and delivery room getting stitched up - the forceps had caused some internal lacerations, and then there were external stitches necessary as well. I was so exhausted; between giving birth and being on the magnesium I don’t think I’ve ever been so exhausted. At that point, I just wanted to rest and I hoped I would be able to get some sleep very soon. I was lying there thinking, ‘I can’t believe Odin is really here!’ and feeling groggy. And then, all of a sudden, everything in the room changed. Because Odin was five weeks early, there were a lot of extra people from the NICU in the room when he was born, just in case he had any issues or complications. Some of those people had gone with Odin to the nursery, but some of them were still in the room with me. The doctor who was stitching me up suddenly said, in an urgent voice, “Postpartum hemorrhage.” As soon as those words came out of her mouth everyone in the room got very serious and very efficient in their words and their movement. The doctor called out an order to push Hemabate, a drug that helps blood to clot, through my IV. I was feeling weak already from the magnesium, but I noticed that I was now feeling extremely lightheaded and a little dizzy. I felt like I was going to pass out. The nurse right next to me called out, “BP sixty over thirty.” I remember thinking, huh, 60/30 - that doesn’t sound good. It was surreal; Matt had just walked out of the room with Odin a few minutes before, and everything was just fine. I was thinking, What if I pass out and don’t wake up? How shocking will it be for Matt if he left me here, perfectly fine, and then minutes later learns I bled to death? Did I just give birth to a son who will never know his mother? I realize these thoughts may seem overly dramatic; reading them now I can see how it would seem that way. But if you had been in the room with me at the time, you would have a much better understanding of how serious the situation was, and why I was thinking about the possibility of not getting the opportunity to raise Odin. I didn’t have the energy to panic, but the gravity of the situation was definitely not lost on me. It was scary. I had no control over anything. I am grateful to the medical staff who helped me. I am glad things turned out well, and I consider myself lucky.

There will be one more ‘episode’ about Odin’s birth story, which will include my recovery, his time in the NICU, and bringing him home.

Odin's Birth Story: Episode I

Odin Andrew Ball was born at 2:15 a.m. on December 12, 2012. He weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces, and he was 18.5 inches long. His arrival was a bit of a shock, because he wasn't due to be born until January 14. Since I'd had a normal, healthy pregnancy, I didn't expect Odin to come five weeks early.

My labor really started on Monday, December 10, though I didn't realize it at the time. I went to work that morning, and at around 9:00 a.m. my lower back started aching and I had some pain in my lower abdomen. At 11:30 a.m. I decided to go home. I knew I was having contractions here and there, but they weren't painful or strong, so I figured they were Braxton-Hicks contractions and were no big deal. But all I really wanted to do was lie down. I assumed I was just feeling "off" that day and hoped I'd feel better later on. I responded to all of my e-mails and headed home to rest; for the rest of the day I just laid on the couch and either napped or watched TV. I had a couple contractions in the evening that were more intense, but I still didn't think they were anything to worry about.

Monday night I went to bed and woke up at about 1:40 a.m. because I had to get up to pee; in my third trimester my bladder would typically wake me up twice during the night, and I'd usually wake up sometime around 1:30 for the first bathroom trip, so this was completely normal for me. I went back to bed, pulled up the covers, closed my eyes, and then BAM! my water broke. I leapt out of bed so fast I nearly fell when my feet hit the floor. I was so shocked that I had to sit down for a few minutes and try to wrap my brain around what was going on. I took a deep breath and said, "Okay. That just happened." Although I should’ve waited, I went ahead and woke Matt and let him know I would be calling the midwife to find out exactly what I needed to do. Since I wasn’t having painful contractions I told him we wouldn’t be in any huge rush even if we needed to get to the hospital. I called the midwife and she told me that I did need to come to the hospital, and that because my water had broken I definitely wouldn’t be able to leave once I was there. I hadn’t yet packed a bag to take to the hospital, so I gathered the things I would need and got everything ready to go. Then Matt and I drove to the hospital in the rain.

We arrived at the hospital at around 3:15 a.m. Thankfully I had pre-registered so I didn’t have a ton of paperwork to deal with when we got there. Matt and I were supposed to have had our tour of the birthing center on Tuesday evening, so obviously we didn’t need to attend since I was already admitted to the hospital by then. I got settled into my (huge) labor and delivery room, had blood taken (they needed to know my platelet count so that they’d know whether an epidural was an option for me since I’d had a very low platelet count 1-2 months prior), and answered a bunch of questions asked by a nurse. My blood pressure was surprisingly high (my BP had been normal throughout my pregnancy), but the midwife let me rest for a bit to see if it would go down on its own, and after a couple of hours it was back to normal. I figured I was just a bit anxious from the shock of my water breaking unexpectedly and knowing I was going to give birth five weeks early. A few hours later I was put on pitocin to strengthen my contractions and help labor to progress; since my water had broken, they wanted to deliver the baby as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours. As the day went on, I did have stronger, more intense (and more painful) contractions, and they started to come closer together as well.

Later in the morning I took a shower and then tried to rest some more as labor progressed. The more pain I experienced, the hotter I became. I had the thermostat in the room turned down twice to make it cooler, and by Tuesday evening all of my poor family visitors were freezing. They each literally had two blankets covering them (see photo of Christi). I felt bad that they were so cold, but if I hadn’t lowered the temperature I think I would’ve melted. By early evening, my contractions had become so painful that I decided to get an epidural. I was very thankful that my platelet count was high enough that I had this option. I can honestly say I don’t remember anything at all about actually getting the epidural – I must’ve blocked the most painful part of the day from my memory; I don’t remember what the person looked like – or even whether it was a man or a woman – who administered it, and I don’t remember sitting up for it. But after a little while I felt soooo much better, and I was spending much less energy on just dealing with the pain.

Unfortunately, around 10:00 p.m. my blood pressure was very high again and the consulting doctor was concerned it might cause me to have seizures (eclampsia), so she made the decision to put me on magnesium to lower my blood pressure. I don’t know if you’ve ever been on magnesium, but it was the WORST. While it did lower my blood pressure, it also made me feel groggy, completely weak (I couldn’t even lift my legs up off the bed), and completely drained any energy I had left after laboring all day. Standard protocol is to keep a patient on magnesium for 24 hours after the baby is delivered, so unfortunately I had a whole lot more magnesium misery ahead of me. The magnesium also made me unable to focus my eyes, so for a whole day after Odin was born I couldn’t see straight; it felt like my eyes were crossed and I couldn’t un-cross them. Needless to say, I was thrilled when they finally stopped the magnesium – after a couple of hours, I was back to normal.

At sometime between 12:45-1:00 a.m. I started pushing. It was hard. I had no energy whatsoever. But Odin did finally make his entrance into the world and his exit from my uterus! I’ll cover that part of the experience in episode two.

Thanksgiving and My 32-Week Belly

Well, it's the Monday after Thanksgiving, and I'm exhausted. But my long weekend was very nice, so I'm not complaining. Matt and I do a three-stop Thanksgiving each year - early dinner at my parents' house, later dinner at Matt's parents' house, and then we spend time with friends at Joe and Sarah's house. It makes for a very long day, but getting to see everybody makes it well worth it.

My pregnancy is going well for the most part; I still feel decent, though I do get tired faster than ever. I will see a hematologist next Monday because my platelet count is so low and has only continued to drop. Probably I'll be started on Prednisone to see if that'll boost my count, and if that doesn't work perhaps a transfusion will be in order. Low platelet count, or Thrombocytopenia, is hardly rare (it occurs in 7-8% of pregnancies), and since I have no history of this problem, it is likely due to the pregnancy (Gestational Thrombocytopenia) and will probably go away within a few months after I give birth. The baby isn't really at any greater risk because of the platelets being low; the main concern (at least for me!) is that if the count drops too low I won't have the option of getting an epidural during labor and delivery. There is also an increased risk of hemorrhage, since platelets are what help your blood to clot. But I'm hoping that the hematologist will be able to get my platelet count up so that by the time Odin is ready to be born, I won't have anything to worry about.

On Thanksgiving, I got Christi to snap a couple of belly photos since it has been so long since I've posted any. On Thanksgiving I was 32 weeks pregnant. (For the record, I don't know why it looks like I have sweaty armpits, because I promise you I didn't, even though my parents' house was as hot as an oven.)

 I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. Can you believe Christmas is only a month away?!

Baby Shower!

Saturday Christi hosted a baby shower for me. It was held at my house, which was really too small for the number of people we had, but it worked out well anyway. Matt and I were very blessed to have so many people come and celebrate with us. Everyone was so generous and we were given many gifts that will be much needed once Odin arrives.

The adorable banner my sister and mom made.

I admit I wasn't as prepared for the shower as I should've been since it was held at my house; I forgot about all sorts of things I should've taken care of before the day of the shower - like washing my dusty wine glasses (I obviously haven't used them in a while, so it didn't even occur to me) and a number of other things that just slipped my scattered mind. I blame pregnancy (I'm told you can randomly blame pregnancy for stuff like that, so I'm taking full advantage while I can). Thankfully I had wonderful family on hand who made all the problems disappear. They were awesome and made the day less stressful for me.

Christi did a wonderful job planning everything; I know she put a lot of time, effort, and worry (not to mention money) into it and I'm so grateful for all her hard work. It was great to have everyone together, but we even received gifts from friends and family who couldn't make it to the shower, either because they live far away or because their schedules didn't allow them to attend. It was so thoughtful of them to send gifts along even though they couldn't join us.

My friend Tammy made an awesome football-themed diaper cake (check out the football rubber duckie on top!), which was cleverly stuffed with bath toys, a hooded towel, and washcloths.

Diaper cake, Brittany & Christi, and Mom!

Matt and I received everything from baby clothes, blankets, toys, bottles, diapers, and books to a pack-and-play, travel system, rocking sleeper, high chair, baby monitor, and breast pump. And lots in between, too! Most importantly, it was just another instance of our friends and family showing us support and encouragement, and being excited for us. People have babies every day; most of our friends and family have had the experience themselves. So for everyone to still be excited for us (and with us) is awesome - it makes the experience so much more fun for us, whereas if everyone was all, "been there, done that, no big deal" it wouldn't be as much fun to share the experience with everybody.

Truth.

Here's a look at my 7-month belly (yes, I'm getting good mileage out of that dress) - sorry I don't have a better one at the moment:

The trifecta: 7-month belly, pale legs, and giant blue Santa sack.

Delicious cake, pretty ladies, and wee favor plants.

I had a great time at the shower, and I thank everyone who attended, helped out, brought food, etc. Thanks again to Christi, who put so much into it so that it would be special for me. It was a fun day for us, and it only got us more excited about meeting baby Odin!

29-Week Belly...Best I Could Do

Although I am 30+ weeks pregnant now, the latest photos of my belly are from Mike and Katharine's wedding, which was on October 27th (when I was 29 weeks). First of all, I have to say that it was a beautiful wedding and I couldn't be happier for my 'little brother.' I'm so proud of him and I'm happy that he married a wonderful woman in Katharine.

Here's a shot of Mike and me taken just after the wedding ceremony. It's the closest thing I have to a recent belly photo, even though it's not taken in profile. Maybe once Mike gets back from his honeymoon in Hawaii (lucky duck) I can get him to take a proper belly photo for me.

Week 28: Overdue Musings and Art Update

Things have been busy, so I wasn't able to get it together enough to post last week. My most recent appointment with my midwife was a week and a half ago, and everything was right on target - my rate of weight gain, the measurement of my belly, and Odin's heartbeat were all perfect. Now, at 28 weeks pregnant, the weight gain is starting to show in my face, which is a bummer, but I really should just be grateful I went this long without my face blowing up like a balloon. Usually if I gain any weight at all, the first place it is noticeable is in my face, and unfortunately there's no disguising that.

The countdown is on - 12 more weeks before baby Odin is born. 12 more weeks of carrying around extra weight and bumping into things with my belly. I have to say, there are some pregnancy-related things I am looking forward to getting rid of, like back and sciatic pain, but I have really enjoyed pregnancy up to this point. I know I haven't hit the difficult/uncomfortable part yet and that it'll get worse before I give birth, but it has been a wonderful experience to see and feel Odin moving in my belly and to know that I'm protecting and caring for him until he is born. Plus, the whole pregnancy process is still so fascinating to me; it's bizarre and amazing.

While the nursery is still in a state of disarray, here's a look at the five canvases I painted to hang in there. As I said before, I am not very artistic at all, but I thought it would be fun to make some art for the nursery, just as a personal touch. I wanted something colorful but also simple, since my art skills are so lacking. I decided to pick up some cheap 8" x 10" canvases and paint background colors on them, then trace silhouettes of animals on them and paint them in different colors. It was pretty simple, but it took a bit of time since I had to go so slowly when painting the animals.

Here are the canvases with their colorful backgrounds (and a strategic photo-bomb by Oliver):

And here they are with the animals painted on them:

Not perfect, but the best I could do. Also, if you look closely in the upper right-hand corner, you'll notice a second photo-bomb, this time by Murphy.

There is nothing detailed about these animals, they are just the silhouettes, but I thought they'd be cute and add some color to the nursery. Matt thinks that because I deliberately painted the animals colors that they're not in real life that Odin will grow up thinking that elephants are green and giraffes are purple, etc., but I have faith that Odin will be able to figure it out.

New belly photo coming soon!