We started a blog for Lucy right before I went back to work for maternity leave so it seems only fair to start one for Nora. Think of this as a digital baby book. Facebook wasn't around for Lucy so the blog was the main source for Lucy info. Now, I post a lot on FB so I'm not making promises that this blog will have the same amount of content as Lucy's but, there will be certain things that I want to archive. The first of those is the story of Nora's birth. Let me start even earlier with my pregnancy. Everyone says that every pregnancy is different and that's true, but I'm a good pregnant person. I had only two complaints with my first pregnancy - heartburn and leg cramps. This time around I was determined to stay fit through out my pregnancy (with the first I pretty much just wallowed around for 9+ months) and I theorize that the running, swimming and strength training helped me avoid the leg cramps this time around. The heartburn was exactly as I remember though.
So I was relatively comfortable during this pregnancy. It wasn't without drama though. Because of my "advanced maternal age" (so offensive) I got to be followed by a perinatologist. At my first ultrasound with the perinatologist they saw some cysts on the baby's brain that are sometimes associated with Trisomy-18. Often, these cysts go away on their own and while the perinatologist felt that this would likely happen in our case, the only way to rule Trisomy-18 out for sure is an amniocentesis. Not wanting to spend the next 8 months fretting- I opted to go ahead and have the amnio. Three tense days later we got the news that all was well and sure enough the cysts went away.
However, the perinatologist had also noted that the umbilical cord was attached to the placenta the side versus in the middle, which can result in restricted intrauterine growth so I got lots of ultrasounds through out this pregnancy. On Thursday, December 18, 2014 I had my last perinatologist appointment and they signed off citing that the baby was growing well and they did not need to see me for the last month of my pregnancy. My due date was January 19, 2015. I bee bopped home ready to ring in the holidays fully expecting this baby to be late much like Lucy was.
And then my water broke very early on Saturday, December 20, 2014. I was asleep and a gush woke me up at 12:34am. My first thought was that I had just become completely incontinent (this made more sense in my sleepy preggo brain than my water breaking). I got up, cleaned up, and went back to bed. Then there was another gush. Great. Cleaned up again - at this point it's 1am and I decide to let Wes in on the happenings. I walked downstairs and said something helpful like "don't panic, but I'm pretty sure my water broke." Wes said something equally helpful like "wait a minute, it's too soon for that. I'm not ready."
I decided to hang out and see if I started having contractions, but about 30 minutes later decided to be responsible and call my doctor. The on call doc recommended going to the hospital (SURPRISE! <---sarcasm). So we wake Lucy up and arrive at Northside, baby factory, around 2:30am. They confirm that my water has indeed broken and I start walking the halls trying to get contractions going.
Very long story short - the contractions never show up. After my water had been broken for 17hrs and I hadn't gone into labor the on call doc says it's time for a C-section. At this point everyone in the hospital takes a turn trying to start an IV on me (no kidding, getting an IV line started on me is not easy). Finally, a lady from the IV team is successful and I'm able to get my fluids and epidural.
Nora Elaine Little was born five weeks early via C-section at 5:01pm Saturday, December 20, 2014. She weighed 5 lbs 4 oz, was 18.5 inches long and immediately stopped breathing. Wes witnessed this. Luckily, I did not. She was placed in my arms for about 30 seconds then whisked off to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and intubated. It was only later, in recovery, that I was filled in on just how serious her condition was.
I know just enough about medicine to freak out when the neonatologist says "she's been intubated and given dopamine to keep her blood pressure up." I wouldn't get to see her for 12 hours after delivery. It was the longest 12 hours of my life. During that time she was given surfactant for her lungs and her IV lines were started for IV nutrition and medications. Luckily, the surfactant perked her lungs right up and she ultimately only spent 7 days in the NICU. It's funny to say "only 7 days" now. Those seven days were hell. Leaving the hospital without your baby is the most heartbreaking, horrible thing. My nurse on my last day in the hospital was so kind. She had twins born at 34 weeks who spent 11 days in the NICU and she held me while I cried and listened to me and then raided the supply closet and sent me home with diapers and supplies that I otherwise wouldn't have gotten. When your baby doesn't room-in with you they don't bring you baby supplies.
We went home without Nora on Christmas Eve. We were able to have Christmas with Lucy, which was good, but we were torn between home and the hospital. Let the challenges of having two children begin!
Nora finally came home on December 27th. I was so relieved to be home with her that I welcomed the sleepless nights.
