As the saying goes history repeats itself. I was still in for the shock of my lifetime last Wednesday afternoon while enjoying dinner at the Egg and I restaurant. An hour prior to our dinner I had been to see my OB/GYN for our regular prenatal appointment. All went well and she asked me to make an appointment in three weeks at that time she'd check my cervix to see if anything had started to happen yet. Little did I know what was coming up. Wednesday is, of course, gymnastics day and afterwards as usual we headed out for dinner. Just to be a little different Mike's Mom wanted to go to Emma's. Neither Mike or I are really big fans of Emma's so Mike suggested the Egg and I instead. Abby does love pancakes for dinner. I had actually felt bad about denying Sandi her trip to Emma's. I mean it's not the worst place in the world to eat, but Mike had already made the decision and I was about to be very happy that he had.
You see Emma's is a popular place. Just about half of Ancaster hangs out there and Mike knows, well, just about half of Ancaster. I would have been mortified had I been sitting there instead of the Egg and I when my water decided to break. We were just finishing up dinner and I shifted in my seat to get more comfortable. I felt a tiny little gush, not wanting to believe it was my water breaking ( I mean it was only January 18th I wasn't due until February 14th) I stayed quiet for a moment. I was just telling Mike I thought it had broken when a tidal wave of water, that had no where else to go, shot up the back of my pants. My back end was now soaking wet. And my pregnancy book had sworn that it would only come out as a trickle. Liars! Lucky for us we were dining near the seldom used side entrance so we were able to make a discreet exit. Mike was ready to drive staright down to emergency, but I convinced him we could head home, call the hospital, gather some things and more importantly I could change my clothes.
When we arrived home we called the hospital and told them we'd be heading down to see them shortly. Next I gave Mike a very short list of things to collect while I stood in the bath tub making phone calls to various people. I had a couple of contractions, but nothing major. At the hospital I was placed in an assessment room and hooked up to some monitors. A nurse checked me out and then a resident came in to make sure that my water had in fact broken. I felt like telling him, buddy if it hasn't we have a serious plumbing problem to take care of. The resident doctor was very nice, but I had a hard time taking him seriously. He looked very much like a guy my brother would be hanging out with. Not that Dave's friends aren't smart enough to be doctor's, but you know what I mean. More importantly every time I answered a question he responded with "awesome". For example.
Doc: So what time did your water break?
Me: About an hour ago.
Doc: Awesome.
Doesn't exactly imspire confidence does it? The good news was he wouldn't be delivering my baby. Actually a doctor wouldn't be delivering my baby at all, but we'll get to that. So after we had dispensed with all the awesome's they sent me over to a labour and delivery room. We met our delivery room nurse and she was fabulous. We bonded immediatley over the fact that we were both missing American Idol and Skating With Celebrities that night. She was kind enough to arrange it so I could move around for half an hour at a time. Which let us sneak out to the TV room and catch bits of the show before having to check back in for monitoring.
Labour was moving pretty slow it seemed. I was having contractions, but nothing regular. They'd be 5 minutes apart and then 7, then jump to 10 then back down to 4. So they decided to give me a bit of a chemical push. I was able to manage the pain of contractions quite nicely. The stronger ones Mike was nice enough to come and rub my back since I had a fair amout of back labour as I had with Abby. Not long after they started the drip things were getting a bit uncomfortable. My nurse, April, suggested I try changing positions. Then everything got beyond painful and I decided to ask for an epidural.
I had been putting it off for as long as I could because who really wants to have large needles inserted in their backs? The anesthesiologist and the nurse were ready to start the procedure very quickly. They explained to me how I'd have to sit and stay very still, to tell them if I was having a contraction so they could stop their work until it passed. The epidural wasn't nearly as bad as I had been expecting. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was bearable. I had three contractions while they worked at putting it in. They were just finishing it up when I felt the urge to push. They quickly taped up the epidural line and had me lie down.
Three very quick pushes later and Miss Maya had joined us in the room. There was no time for the doctor or any of the delivery team to get to our room. Maya was delivered by the nurse and anesthesiologist. As seemingly endless parade of medical personnel rushed into the room all shocked to see Maya lying there. So in the end I went through the experience of having an epidural with none of the benefits. Despite the line being in my back I didn't get a single drop of medication. Another unplanned med-free delivery for me.
Since I wasn't quite 36 weeks they took Maya off to Neonatal right after her birth. Mike and I didn't even get the chance to hold her. Even checking her out from across the room we could tell she looked just like Abby did when she was born. Mike got to go over with her and take some pictures and get all the details. She weighed 5 pounds 8.5 ounces and was in good health. The only slight concern was her low blood sugar. A day and a half later and she had been released from Neonatal and was on the ward with me.
The next three days we bunked in together. I had hoped to be able to go home Saturday morning, but they wanted me to stay until Maya had started to gain some weight back. By Saturday night I was coming apart at the seams. Abby had called from Grandma and Papa's to ask why I wasn't at home. That combined with the hormones just about did me in. I laid on my bed all night crying and seriously freaking Mike out.
I have a good man in Michael though and after a while he made an excuse to leave the room. He had decided to approach my nurse with his concerns and she, the wonderful warm lady she was, sent Mike on a little walk so her and I could talk. She completely understood what I was going through and ordered me to leave Maya in her care, leave the ward with Mike and have a break from my room. Lastly she kept Maya for me that night so I could get a full night of sleep. She truly was an angel. Mike also rounded up my Mom and Robin to keep me company. Which was a huge help. The lovely Melody chatted on the phone with me for 2 hours. Which was a great distraction, I hope she doesn't regret it when she gets her phone bill.
The next couple of days were a bit rough. They would tell me daily I could go home the next day only to change their minds the following morning. I was approaching the end of my rope. Poor Abby was definitely at the end of hers and Mike was just trying to keep everyone a little bit happy. Only Maya slept on blissfully unaware of the emotional chaos going on around her.
We finally get to Monday morning and it's official, Maya and I are going home. The paper work has been completed and Mike was enroute with the car seat. Little did I know that Mike had decided to stay a little later at work and finish up a couple of things before he left. Thank God he did. As the nurse and I discussed my going home Maya decided to stop breathing and turn blue. If Mike hadn't been late she couldn't have been doing that in the car and the outcome could have been very different. Before you know it she was back in Neonatal and I was going home without her.
The next 24 hours were probably the scariest of our lives. Maya continued to have regular spells of not breathing for 20 seconds or more. Sometimes she'd restart herself and sometimes she wouldn't. The doctor's couldn't figure out what the problem was. They called me at home to get permission to do a lumbar puncture to check for meningitis. They started antibiotics in case it was an infection. They thought it might possibily be seizures. They ordered and ECG and an EKG. We gave our permission for them to insert a breathing tube if necessary.Things Monday night were looking very scary. Mike called in to check on her at 11 pm and she had already started to improve.
A lot can change in 12 hours and my Tuesday morning she had been breathing on her own with no problem since 9 pm the night before. The doctors still have no idea what caused this little spell of hers and they say we may never know. Mike and I were startled at the difference in her when we were with her this morning. She was awake and alert. She spent half an hour awake checking me and her Dad out. That's the longest she's been awake since she was born. It was amazing to see such a difference in her. Mike called again tonight to check on her and she is down to 1 IV line from 4 earlier today. She continues to bottle feed and has been a perfect peach all night.
Mike and I, as always, have been blessed with such an amazing support system. My Mom was here with Abby today. They baked cupcakes and watched movies. They also vacuumed my house. My brother drove all the way down her from the Pete just to be here for us. We took him in to see Maya today and he felt better seeing how well she's looking now. He also cooked us dinner, not letting me lift a finger. He even heated up a bowl of Scooby Doo's for Abby when she didn't care for the amazing meal he had made for us. Tomorrow he'll head home only to come back with Mel on Friday. Have I mentioned before how much I love him and Mel?
The phone has been ringing non-stop with grandparents, family and friends checking in, offering help. Just wanting to be there for us and that's a great feeling. We've appreciated everyone's thoughts and prayers. More than we could say. We just ask that you all keep praying that Maya continues to get well quickly and comes home with us soon.
Click on that lovely picture of yours truly to see some pictures of Baby Maya.
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