My Pregnancy & Birth Story

Pregnancy

I did not enjoy pregnancy. I was ecstatic to know Joel and I were able to have a baby, but pregnancy was not fun. Almost a week after I took a pregnancy test, nausea hit hard. Nausea is my kryptonite. I can handle tendon tears and broken bones. Nausea not so much.

The last few weeks of school before Christmas break were rough. I ate half a saltine cracker between each class period and sipped on ginger ale throughout the day. I ordered Preggie Pop Drops, but they didn't help much. I went from being a totally engaged teacher who never sat down to one who sat in a chair at the front of the classroom only giving directions. I sat more in early pregnancy than I sat after either of my ankle surgeries (and I couldn't put any weight on my right foot after those surgeries). My relationships with a lot of my students dwindled in that time. Looking back, I truly hate that. But in the moment, all I could think about was not throwing up in front of them.

Over Christmas break, I cancelled almost every plan I made. I have a Christmas obsession, but I couldn't get off the couch to enjoy the lights, the concerts, the gingerbread houses, or the plays. I was too nauseous. Thankfully, at my first prenatal doctor's appointment, I was able to get a prescription for Diclegis. It was a life saver, and I was able to participate in Christmas Eve and Christmas Day festivities without horrendous nausea.

I had heard great things about the second trimester, but for me, it was filled with allergies. My nose bled every day, and I couldn't breathe out of it at all. My asthma got bad too. I used a humidifier nightly, but I kept a pretty consistent cough and sore throat in that phase of pregnancy.

I felt the best and the most like myself in the third trimester (aside from the big belly and major acid reflux). When school let out for the summer, I started exercising daily. I got up early enough to beat the heat and walked my dogs for 30-35 minutes each day. I did yoga, pregnancy ball exercises, the squat challenge (where you do 300 squats a day), and I kept up with my garden, flower beds, and house work. Each day, I drank a gallon of water, drank 3 cups of red raspberry leaf tea, and ate 6 dates. I felt great as far as pregnancy goes. I had hardly any swelling and no stretch marks. I was certain I was going to have an easy birth and be back to myself in no time. I was also certain that I was going to have Emerson early because of all the prep I had done and the fact that I had started having intense Braxton Hicks contractions every night from about 36 weeks onward. I hoped she would come before my dad had to fly out of town for business.

Emerson had other plans. She didn't want to come early. At my 39 week appointment, my doctor scheduled me for an induction. Even though my dad had already left for his trip, I was excited to finally meet my little girl. I was also more than ready to be done with pregnancy.

The Birth

The night before my induction was scheduled, I started having contractions every 10 minutes. They never got any closer than that so I ignored them as best as I could and waited for my induction. Joel and I checked into the hospital at 2:00pm on July 25. A nurse asked me questions about my medical history and hooked me up to a monitor. She gave me Cervidil to help soften my cervix. I was scheduled to get Pitocin, the actual induction drug, the following morning. Emerson was predicted to arrive sometime the following afternoon. I expected to have a boring night in the hospital, but the Cervidil made my contractions stronger and more consistent. Sometimes I barely had a minute to breathe in between them. When a nurse came in to check my cervix, she broke my water. They called my doctor and let her know, and things got crazy from there. I requested an epidural, thinking Emerson would probably make her appearance in the next couple of hours. I was afraid to miss the epidural window.

Once I got the epidural, Emerson's heart rate dropped. One minute the nurses were putting an oxygen mask on my face and helping me rotate from side to side, hoping to get her heart rate back up. The next minute I was being rushed down the hallway for an emergency c-section. A doctor I had never met before introduced herself. It all happened so fast I don't even remember her name. I was pretty overwhelmed by all the nurses in the room with us, including the NICU nurses who were ready to take Emerson if need be. The doctor cut me open and had Emerson out in no time. She was healthy and perfect. 7 pounds 2 ounces. 20 inches long.

My doctor arrived in time to sew me back up. Joel brought Emerson over to me so I could see her. My arms started twitching, and I got incredibly nauseous around that time. That's the last thing I remember before waking up in ICU. Joel told me I'd had seizures, and no one knew why. My doctor later informed me that I'd gotten anesthesia toxicity because my epidural had been placed too close to a blood vessel. I hadn't had a brain seizure. My spasms were muscle related, and the lipids they gave me made them stop.

I spent the night in ICU. At first, I was upset because my birth had turned out so totally different than I'd expected. I didn't get to have skin to skin time with Emerson. I didn't get to watch her first bath. I didn't get the window of special time just me, Joel, and Emerson. I didn't even get to be with her other than a few minutes here and there to feed her a bottle because she couldn't stay in the ICU without a nurse from the mother-baby floor.

The next morning my mom sat with me so Joel could be with Emerson. We didn't want Emerson to be in the nursery without either of us. I watched Joel change his first diaper through FaceTime, and it was actually quite hilarious. While he was wiping the meconium (the sticky newborn poop) off of her, she peed a fountain of pee. Joel said, "I thought you said girls didn't do that." I laughed so hard, even though laughing was incredibly painful after my c-section.

Around noon, I was transferred to the mother-baby floor. It was a long and exhausting experience with a much longer recovery than I'd anticipated, but in the end, all that matters is that Joel and I were blessed with a beautiful, healthy baby girl. I wouldn't trade her for the world.