Reflections of my pregnancy

In 2006 When I found out I was pregnant with Noah I was very excited but very scared at the same time. I had already had a miscarriage and I was worried that the problem that caused the miscarriage was still there. I had my miscarriage in 2003 because I had a septum in my uterus. When I had to get a D and C the doctor noticed that I had a septum in my uterus and tried to remove it. I started bleeding profusely and so he had to stop. I almost had to have a blood transfusion but thankfully my blood pressure kept going up and the bleeding stopped. I was supposed to go back and have a doctor inject dye in to my uterus for x-rays. I never got the chance to get it done.

My pregnancy with Noah was a very uncertain and scary one. I did not know if I was going to lose him too. I had my first ultrasound at 9 weeks. The septum was gone obviously but there were other problems going on. I had become very aware of my body during that time. I made many calls after hours to my doctor. During one of my visits I had to get the Quad marker test. I had a raised AFP level. It was only like half a point higher than normal but my doctor sent me to a specialist for a level 2 ultrasound at 18 weeks. I got to see every little organ and inch of my son. There was no sign of Spinal Bifida or anything wrong with him. I had always thought that Noah was a boy. I only came up with one name. So when the doctor asked me if I wanted to know the sex I wasn’t surprised when he said boy. Not only did I find out that I was having a boy but I also had Placenta Previa with the cord down there. That basically means not only was my placenta covering the cervix but the cord was under there too. That sent me in to higher risk than I was before.

No one knew if the Septum was still there or not. The specialist said that the placenta will probably move since it was still early. If it didn’t I would have to have a c-section. In order to check to see the placenta moved I had to go to the specialist every two weeks. So I got to see Noah all the time and see how he had grown. It never moved so the specialist scheduled me for an amniocentesis to check his lung development. They wanted me to have him as soon as his lungs were ready.

I had gone to the hospital a handful of times during my pregnancy and ended up being put on bed rest. I had to get shots to stop my contractions a few times. I hated those shots because they made me shake for like 30 minutes after getting them. The other two times I went was because I thought I was spotting. I lived in an apartment on the third floor so there were lots of steps and I wasn’t really allowed to leave except like once a week or to go to appointments.

One morning I woke up at 5:30 am to go to the bathroom and I had a huge blood clot so my mom and I left for the hospital. The whole way to the hospital I was freaking out because I couldn’t feel Noah moving. Finally I felt him moving and I was so relieved. The doctor on call called me was I was coming up to the hospital. She told me to go to Labor and Delivery. Any time you are pregnant and need to go to the hospital GO STRAIGHT TO LABOR AND DELIVERY. I wouldn’t mess with the ER. You get seen quicker and you just end up there any way. I get to the hospital and they start an IV and put on a fetal monitor. Everything was fine. They had no idea why I had the blood clot. They assume it was Noah kicking around too hard or something. My doctor had me stay until after Noah was born. Thank goodness for insurance because I have no idea how much a two week hospital stay plus delivery would cost!

They ended up doing the amniocentesis at the hospital instead of at the specialist’s office. I knew there was a numbing shot you could get so I thought why not. I thought it would be like a little prick and I was used to getting the shots to stop the contractions by this time. Nope it hurt and it didn’t even numb it. Don’t do it. So I felt both needles. The needle was HUGE. I was watching Noah on the monitor the whole time. He decided he didn’t like the needle and pushed it out. They checked the fluid level and they didn’t have enough. So I had to get another amniocentesis. Finally they got enough and his lungs weren’t ready yet. So we waited a week.

I spent my birthday in the hospital. I was pretty much on complete bed rest. The different doctors were telling me different things. One doctor when she was on call which seemed like every other day told me to call the nurse when I had to go to the bathroom. My doctor said I could go alone. At this point my IV was just capped and it was a safety precaution in case I had an emergency c–section. It was one less thing they had to do.

Most of the nurses were nice. I had a couple that I couldn’t stand. One of them I asked for her not to be my nurse again because she forced me to wear a huge pad when I didn’t need it. Anyone who has had a child knows what I am talking about. Let’s put it this way it was big enough to put my son on completely. So it was at least 21 inches long. I spent a lot of time watching TV and eating. They had pretty good food. It was like room service so you ordered what you wanted when you wanted. I got a lot of food brought in for me too.

Finally the big day came. I wasn’t allowed to eat after midnight the night before so I was starving before my c-section. I get in to the Operating Room and it is so white and sterile. I stop and stand in the doorway and say...I don’t wanna do this anymore. My doctor who I absolutely LOVE was like you don’t have a choice. I get prepped for my spinal block and when I get it I was in so much pain enough that I said a bad word. I apologized to my doctor. I felt like someone was stapling my spine. They laid me down and the anesthesiologist rubbed my forehead the entire time to comfort me.

My mom held my hand during the whole thing. All the sudden I felt tugging. Not painful tugging because you could cut me in half and I wouldn’t have known. I looked above the blue sheet and I saw him for the first time. It took him a moment to start crying but it was the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. They cleaned him all up and gave him to my mom to hold so I could see him. I had to wait a few hours to get to hold him which didn’t make me too happy. He was perfectly healthy and happy and he still is.