A "Parker" Story

I have never written a journal entry about my pregnancy and think I should write something down before I forgot all the of great events of my eventful pregnancy. I had every intention of blogging this on his 1st bday, but since I was 'puter-less' I was unable to. Today is Parker's due date (1 year ago, of course). So, I thought I'd blog about it today.


Before I got pg with him I was on blood pressure meds. Dxed with Mitral Valve Prolapse (my BP was about 130ish/110ish - the norm is 120/80), I was also on anti-anxiety meds b/c I was slightly depressed and began having anxiety attacks. School was only one cause. The label on the blood pressure med clearly said- Do NOT get pregnant while taking this med. Ok, so it wasn't worded exactly like that- but pretty dang close. In Jan '06 I had a weird 14 day period. Feb was the same. So here comes March and I spotted for like a day. I thought- "thank you Jesus for such a short period!!!" I had mono in March 06- was on antibio's for almost the entire month b/c I wasn't getting better- turns out they basically canceled out the birth control (go figure!) I had also started taking diet pills mid march-early April. I noticed my gut was getting big. Around that time, that drug for women- cortisol, I think- came out talking about stubborn belly fat caused by stress... yada yada. So, I thought that was what was happening to me- stubborn belly fat!


Easter weekend we went to visit my Dad's family. My big sis had just found out she was pregnant with her first. I remember sitting in her vehicle at Sonic after church that Sunday and she was talking about the grease making her ill. I was thinking, ya- I totally agree! So, on our drive home I told Adam I thought I *might* be pregnant. All b/c of greasy food! I told him I'd test Monday morning.


I dropped Logen off at therapy that Monday (4/17/06) and went to Wal-Mart for a HPT. I took it in the bathroom- within seconds, + showed up! I started bawling. I was super scared, mainly b/c of all the meds I was on (BP meds, anti-anxiety, ambien CR, & the diet pills) . I called Adam- he was also freaking out- b/c of the meds. I called my OB and they got me in on Wed to make sure everything was ok, check my BP, etc etc. Amazingly- my BP was normal. I stopped all of my meds Sunday b/c I was just about sure I was pg.


Around 9ish weeks, I started bleeding. I was cooking dinner (it was pasta with red sauce- it's amazing I remember that) and looked down b/c something started dripping. It was bright red blood. My first thought was I'm loosing the baby. I called my OB and he said to take it easy and come in in the morning (the ER was not necessary b/c if it were a m/c they couldn't stop it). The nurse called me at 8am to make sure I was coming in. I went in a few hours later to do an u/s- there was a HB. Baby was still alive. I bled on and off. Around 12 weeks, I started cramping and the bleeding worsened. I went in to the Dr, we did another u/s and baby was still fine. That night I remember sitting at Logen's PT's house visiting and I started bleeding very heavy. Soaking through more than 1 pad an hour. I called Adam and we decided to meet at the ER. We sat there for 6 hours- no joke. I remember around the 2nd time I asked for another pad, the nurse was horribly mean and said- honey if you are having a m/c there is nothing we can do. You just have to let it pass. Obviously, she didn't have children. I sat there thinking- God, please send me a sign! Shortly afterwards, a lady walked in with her baby- who needed to be seen b/c he was sick. I thought, what the heck? Is the sick baby a sign that my baby won't make it or my that my baby is ok?! When we finally got back, we did another u/s- baby was fine. They kept me overnight for observation. At 16 weeks, I was still bleeding. We had switched OB's (same clinic, but my OB's nurse had been a butt to me! Actually, we switched by accident. My OB was out and Dr H had an opening and agreed to see me. Adam & I feel in love with him!) He decided to do another u/s to see if he could find a cause for the bleeding. He did- a subchorionic clot. He scheduled me to see a perinatologist 2 days later. At that point, I was very worried! When we were in clinic, he said in the next few weeks we need to get you in to see a specialist. Imagine the fear when the nurse called me that afternoon and said we scheduled you an appt for Thursday.


The peri did an u/s (6/29/06) and found the same thing. He said to take it easy. And he wanted to see us back in 4 weeks. We asked if he could see any 'parts' on the baby. I was just barely 16 weeks. He said, "It looks like your baby has a third leg". I am not kidding, he really said that! This dude was a quack, but a very intelligent one. LOL I was still convinced he was not a he, but a she- we told everybody (but my mom) we did not know the gender.

I continued to bleed for the next 4 weeks. At 21 weeks, we went back to the peri. Everything looked normal with the baby. My cervix, however- was not so normal looking. They like it to be more than 4 cm long. Mine, was about 2.5- it had started thinning out. At 22 weeks, we started seeing the OB weekly and he checked me at each visit.

I had a Dr's appt Sept 15 (I was 27 weeks exactly). Dr H did the normal "checking me" routine. This time he looked up at me with this worried look. He said, you need to get to the hospital. You are dialated to 1cm. I was freaking out! He did allow us to go home and pack a bag, but I needed to be back in an hour or less. When I arrived, I got all checked in and was shortly wisked away to have an u/s. I was also given my first dose of steriods for lung/brain development. I think I asked every possible question I could to the nurse about "what if he comes now". The next evening- I had my second dose. And, was discharged on 'strict bedrest'. Each week, I dialated a little more. Around 31ish weeks, I had progressed even quicker, so we did another round of steriods. I remember thinking I was going to deliver on halloween. I'd be 33wks and 5 days. I thought, if not then- Nov 2nd would be it. My 8 weeks on bedrest sucked, to say the least. I did get frequent u/s's though. Kinda interesting to watch Parker grow that way. I did enjoy just laying on the couch watching my belly wiggle. Logen never wiggled like that.

On Halloween I had a Dr's appt. My bags were in the car, b/c I just knew Parker would be here that night. I knew we wasted $ on Logen's Halloween costume (he was the cutest little lion ever!) I went in and was dialated to 3cm.The next day, was the same as any other. Except Logen got sent home from school sick. We had to keep him home Thursday, no matter what. My mom had a meeting that she couldn't miss. I didn't want Adam to have to take off work again- he'd taken off on Halloween b/c I swore I was going to have a baby and wanted him close, just in case. So, me on bedrest said- I'll keep Logen at home. It shouldn't be to bad. I can just keep putting in movies for him and we can lay on the couch all day. Hahaha

I got up November 2nd, went to the bathroom and a lovely clump of red came out. I called Adam and my mom and told them. I told Adam we have to get to the hosp. He left work immediately. I called my nurse and she said to come to the clinic for Dr H to check Then, if needed we would go next door to the hospital. Being a clean freak- I jumped in the shower to make sure I smelled good. I had my makeup on and hair done by the time Adam got home.

My mom met us at Dr H's b/c I told her we were probably having the baby. We sat in the room waiting for Dr H to come in. I sat there, thinking "It's like a zoo in here". It was me, Adam, my mom, & Logen. I was dialated to 6cm by then. He told us he'd call to L & D and tell them to get ready for delivery. He'd also call the other hosp and have the NICU get ready. Adam asked if I needed to be pushed over in a wheel chair. Dr H said it didn't matter at this point b/c Parker would be here in the next few hours. So, I needed to do what was more comfortable for me. I opted to walk b/c I'd been in the bed for so long. I was in tears walking over. I cried when they got me situated and all checked in. I pretty much cried most of my labor. I was paniced!

The delivery room was a zoo. My mom & Adam were letting me squeeze there hands. I refused pain meds b/c I knew that I couldn't leave to see my baby if I had any. My hubby admitted I am pretty dang strong when need be! One of my dearest friends, Paige, took pics. She came to the hospital, but not expecting to stay in the room. My mom was going to do it, but her hand was being squeezed a nice purple color. Dr H (OB), 2 Ob nurses, the Neonatologist, 2 nursery nurses, & a neonate nurse. At the wide open doors to my room were 2 male EMT's ready to transfer if something went wrong and the baby needed to go then. The NICU was about a 30 minute drive from where I delivered, depending on traffic.

I remember my mom saying Parker will be here before 7pm. Around 6:30, I was telling the nurses it burned and I was pushing. I couldn't help it at that point. The blonde OB nurse said, have you ever heard the 'ring of fire' phrase for labor? Heck no... apparently right before you deliver you feel like theres a ring of fire going to come out. I can vouch for that!!! I swear Parker's head was going to flop out before Dr H got over there. He was carefully putting on his booties, gown, gloves, etc. I was yelling 'come on!'.

My mom was right, at 6:58pm Parker was born! He weighed 4 lbs and 6 oz. He was 17 inches long. Since Parker was going to the NICU, I told my OB I had to be discharged. He said if I insisted, he'd consent. Only b/c my mom is an RN and would be staying at the house, so that if something were to happen- she'd know what to do. I had to stay until 11pm. At 11, we were walking out of the hosp so we could go see our new baby. When we got to the NICU, we were only allowed to look. It really bites when you can't touch or hold the baby you've been carrying for so long.

The next 10 days were pretty rough. You mommies that have to leave your babies in the NICU for months are STRONG and TOUGH. The NICU journey is another post. This one has really become a novel :)