I'm finally getting around to writing our birth story, and I'll admit, it's a bit hard to relive what took place; however, I don't want to forget how the Lord protected me and my sweet baby during these scary moments.
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Even though Amber wasn't born until Wednesday, the chaos in our home began on Monday evening when our hot water tank broke and flooded our basement (not what you want right before bringing home a new baby!) My poor husband was up most of the night scooping water and taking some of our belongings that had been damaged out to the trash. What a great guy! He only managed to get a few hours of sleep before heading into work on Tuesday. That evening, some wonderful friends from church came over and installed our new hot water tank - hallelujah! I was so thankful, seeing that I had not showered for two days. They finished around 10:00, and that's when Chris left to go play in his hockey game.
When Chris got home around 11:30, I was still awake on the couch. Evie was asleep, so we turned on the TV to watch Jimmy Fallon. We must have both fallen asleep near the end of the show because I woke up around 1:30 in the morning and quickly realized that something was not right. I felt like I was sleeping in a pool of liquid. Thinking that my water had broken, I reached down on the couch, only to find that my hand was covered in blood. My stomach dropped. I frantically woke Chris up, showed him my hand, and ran into the bathroom. I was still bleeding heavily, so I called for Chris. He came running, and I calmly told him that he needed to call our midwives. He was in such a panic, and he didn't have their number saved in his phone, so I told him to call 911 while I dialed for their answering service. The dispatcher told Chris to have me lie on the ground in our bathroom so that he could check for a head (yikes!) or the umbilical cord - thankfully, there was neither. I called my mom and told her that she needed to come quickly to stay with Evie, but she lives about a half hour away. She said she would be there as soon as possible.
Within minutes, the ambulance and fire truck had arrived at our house. The paramedics came in and calmly checked my vitals as they asked what was going on. Chris showed them the blood on our couch and in the bathroom. They grabbed some towels and asked me to sit on a chair so they could decide on a plan. When they initially asked me which hospital we were supposed to deliver at, it sounded like they were going to transport me there; however, they quickly decided that the bleeding was too heavy and that we needed to get to the nearest hospital as quickly as possible. My mom had still not arrived, but there was no time to wait. They loaded me on to a stretcher and into the ambulance. Chris was forced to stay behind.
In the ambulance, the medics tried to keep me as calm as possible. I was hooked up to oxygen as they tested my blood sugar and monitored my vitals. They asked me about names we had chosen and told me about their own children. My adrenaline must have been pumping in high gear because my whole body was shaking terribly. I remember staring at the ceiling in an odd state of so-panicked-I-felt-calm, thinking that I might lose my precious baby - that I might come home from the hospital empty-handed. We arrived at the hospital and went straight to triage, where a nurse was waiting. I changed into a gown as I gave the details of the evening for a second time. The nurse called for the doctors and grabbed a doppler to check on the baby's heartbeat. Silence. She calmly moved the doppler around my abdomen, searching. Nothing. I started to cry. After a few more minutes of waiting, I finally heard that wonderful woosh-woosh sound. A heartbeat! Thank you Jesus!
The residents arrived and decided to do an exam to try and figure out the cause of the bleeding. By this time, I was in full labor with contractions every two minutes. Finally, finally, Chris arrived by my side. I was so glad to have him there. As the resident carefully examined me, she mentioned that she was afraid that she was feeling my placenta, which would be very dangerous. They did a quick ultrasound and determined that the placenta was indeed very low. We were soon informed that an emergency c-section was in order. With the placenta being in a compromised position and the baby's heartbeat being inconsistent, it was the safest route to go. They brought paperwork for the surgery as the anesthesiologist came to ask us some questions to prep for surgery. I was discouraged - this was a far cry from the natural homebirth suite we had intended to birth in. However, I was willing to do anything at this point to insure that my baby was safe...
**Read part 2 here**
When Chris got home around 11:30, I was still awake on the couch. Evie was asleep, so we turned on the TV to watch Jimmy Fallon. We must have both fallen asleep near the end of the show because I woke up around 1:30 in the morning and quickly realized that something was not right. I felt like I was sleeping in a pool of liquid. Thinking that my water had broken, I reached down on the couch, only to find that my hand was covered in blood. My stomach dropped. I frantically woke Chris up, showed him my hand, and ran into the bathroom. I was still bleeding heavily, so I called for Chris. He came running, and I calmly told him that he needed to call our midwives. He was in such a panic, and he didn't have their number saved in his phone, so I told him to call 911 while I dialed for their answering service. The dispatcher told Chris to have me lie on the ground in our bathroom so that he could check for a head (yikes!) or the umbilical cord - thankfully, there was neither. I called my mom and told her that she needed to come quickly to stay with Evie, but she lives about a half hour away. She said she would be there as soon as possible.
Within minutes, the ambulance and fire truck had arrived at our house. The paramedics came in and calmly checked my vitals as they asked what was going on. Chris showed them the blood on our couch and in the bathroom. They grabbed some towels and asked me to sit on a chair so they could decide on a plan. When they initially asked me which hospital we were supposed to deliver at, it sounded like they were going to transport me there; however, they quickly decided that the bleeding was too heavy and that we needed to get to the nearest hospital as quickly as possible. My mom had still not arrived, but there was no time to wait. They loaded me on to a stretcher and into the ambulance. Chris was forced to stay behind.
In the ambulance, the medics tried to keep me as calm as possible. I was hooked up to oxygen as they tested my blood sugar and monitored my vitals. They asked me about names we had chosen and told me about their own children. My adrenaline must have been pumping in high gear because my whole body was shaking terribly. I remember staring at the ceiling in an odd state of so-panicked-I-felt-calm, thinking that I might lose my precious baby - that I might come home from the hospital empty-handed. We arrived at the hospital and went straight to triage, where a nurse was waiting. I changed into a gown as I gave the details of the evening for a second time. The nurse called for the doctors and grabbed a doppler to check on the baby's heartbeat. Silence. She calmly moved the doppler around my abdomen, searching. Nothing. I started to cry. After a few more minutes of waiting, I finally heard that wonderful woosh-woosh sound. A heartbeat! Thank you Jesus!
The residents arrived and decided to do an exam to try and figure out the cause of the bleeding. By this time, I was in full labor with contractions every two minutes. Finally, finally, Chris arrived by my side. I was so glad to have him there. As the resident carefully examined me, she mentioned that she was afraid that she was feeling my placenta, which would be very dangerous. They did a quick ultrasound and determined that the placenta was indeed very low. We were soon informed that an emergency c-section was in order. With the placenta being in a compromised position and the baby's heartbeat being inconsistent, it was the safest route to go. They brought paperwork for the surgery as the anesthesiologist came to ask us some questions to prep for surgery. I was discouraged - this was a far cry from the natural homebirth suite we had intended to birth in. However, I was willing to do anything at this point to insure that my baby was safe...
**Read part 2 here**
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