During a routine ultrasound at 36 weeks, the ultrasound tech spent a lot of time looking at the baby's bladder and kidneys. She commented that the bladder was full and wondered why it wasn't draining. During the visit with my doctor after that, she told me that the baby is probably just about to pee, but very rarely there could be some sort of blockage that would be treated after birth. She said we would check it in a week. The baby was also measuring small, about 2 weeks behind. So at 37 weeks they checked the bladder again, and said it was still somewhat full, but smaller than before. The kidneys looked fine, but she thought the ureters might be a little dilated so they wanted me to get checked by a high-risk OB just to be sure. A few days later I went downtown to have another ultrasound. This doctor thought the bladder, ureters, and kidney looked fine. She thought the ultrasound tech may have been seeing shadows or the bowels when she thought the ureters looked dilated. But she was concerned about her size. She said the fluid level looked fine, but that the blood flow from the placenta was a bit low. She thought the baby might not be getting proper nourishment and told me the baby should probably come out soon. Not the news I wanted or was expecting, but I tried to prepare myself as I drove to my doctor to discuss induction. My OB also thought it would be best for the baby to come out now, and said I should go to labor and delivery that night at 10pm. She explained that they would give me a cervix ripening drug overnight and start pitocin in the morning. I was disappointed to be facing another induction as I really wanted to make it closer to 40 weeks this time and go into labor naturally. I was also sad my doctor wasn't on call the next day when I would deliver. She is my favorite OB out of the three that I had had. She is Catholic, supportive of NFP, and is super sweet and caring. But as the reality sunk in, I started to get really excited to meet our new little one. When I got home, I put the kiddos down for their nap, cleaned house, cleared my calendar for the following week, and went grocery shopping. My mom came over that evening to spend the night with the kids, and Alex and I headed to the hospital. We got checked in right away and prepared for a long night. After a few hours, they gave me Cytotec to help ripen my cervix in preparation for the induction. They gave me Ambien to help me sleep, but I still only got a few hours. The Cytotec caused some cramping, and the nurse kept having me switch the side I was laying on because the baby would have periods of sleepiness, and they wanted to perk her up.
The hospital room
The last picture of me pregnant
At 6:00am they started the pitocin. The contractions came hard and fast; they don't really build in intensity the way they do in natural labor. I remember them checking me at one point and I was at 6. I must have dilated quickly after that, because at one point I got really hot and felt like I was going to pass out. I told the nurse I may want an epidural, but during the next contraction I felt like I needed to push. One of the nurses rushed out to find the doctor, and the others kept telling me to breath and not push, and I kept telling them I couldn't. I think they are used to people with epidurals not feeling the sensation to push. It was an overwhelming urge though, like it was with little Alex, and if the doctor hadn't been in the next room attending another delivery, I think the nurse would have had to deliver her! She was born at 8:38 am, just 2.5 hours after I started the pitocin.
The beautiful moment when we met :)
She looks big in this picture, but she was teeny tiny at 5.4 lbs.
Kisses from daddy
It was so fun to introduce her to the kids. Alex was a little unsure and didn't get near her for awhile, but Mary was intrigued and started giving her hugs and kisses right away :)
The hospital stay was ok. The hospital is pretty new, and the rooms are nice. The nurses in general weren't of stellar quality like they were in Houston, but there were a few good ones that took excellent care of us.
We are so excited to have this new bundle of joy as part of our family!
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