BIRTH STORY FEATURE: Shauna {C Section & NICU}

Shauna Henderson

Preston’s Birth Story

Due Date:  10/07/10... 

c-section on 09/28/10...

http://bodaciousbabble.blogspot.com/

Just a little history…before getting pregnant I was on blood pressure medication (have been since 18) My dad has high blood pressure & so on.. so of course my blood pressure was watched a little closer than most.

We were SO excited to be having a little baby, I KNEW from the day I was pregnant it was going to be a little boy & after the first trimester I even had his name picked out. We went in to find out the sex of the baby and that was when the bad news all started June 1^st…the ultrasound technician tells us it’s a BOY! Little did I know while I was waiting to speak with the doctor afterwards was she going to reveal to me that something was actually WRONG with my baby..it hit me like a train. Enlarged Ventricles..? fluid on the brain..? blood on the brain? What were these things the doctor was telling me?? after a few UAB visits we were cleared and just kept and eye on things with frequent ultrasounds. 

At 30 weeks I was admitted into the hospital for the first time and kept for a few hours to monitor my blood pressure & then sent home. 32 weeks I was admitted and kept overnight to monitor blood pressure 24 hrs & 24 hr urinalysis. I was sent home and put on bed rest until he was born & had to keep a notebook of 6-8 blood pressure checks daily. Then at 37 weeks my blood pressure was still high SO doctor ordered C-section next morning. We had one last ultrasound to measure how big he was & was sent over to be admitted. (3^rd times the charm right?)

Sept 28, 2010        

7:30am we were walking down the dreaded hallways of the hospital heading into the double doors for the C-section.

7:55am Preston is born. 6lbs 3oz. I had no idea he was even born because I never heard crying..I just thought we were still in the process..the next 12 hours are a blur…I remember the nurse bringing Preston to me and saying “hes a little purple & not breathing well so, I am taking him and dad to the NICU…” and they were all gone. There I am..cut open & my husband and brand new baby are gone & I am surrounded by all these strangers. I started bawling hysterically, I remember the anesthesiologist telling me everything was going to be fine. I wanted to hit him but my entire body was numb.

HOURS pass…literally hours. No Jon (husband). No Preston. No word from anybody. FINALLY… Jon comes in the room & I can see he’s been crying and I ask what’s going on. I am not kidding you when this is the reply I get “UMMM I DON’T KNOW” apparently he was in shock but he had been with my baby all this time and I hadn’t even seen what he looked like or touched him and he tells me I don’t know? I flipped..I had an absolute breakdown. As a matter of fact my blood pressure got SO high the nurses kept me on a morphine drip for 24 hours along with Percocet. I wasn’t allowed to get up for 12 hours so I laid there and laid there until we finally hit that 12 hour mark. Now…anyone that’s had a C-section knows that the very first time you get up is the most awful, painful & disgusting thing you will EVER go through. AND my particular doctor in Birmingham doesn’t use stitches so I had 23 staples going across my pelvic area..But I knew when I got out of that bed it meant I could go see my baby for the FIRST TIME…12 hours after he was born. 

We get into the NICU and there he is. my sweet handsome tiny baby boy, with IV’s (in his head), oxygen tubes in his nose and so many other things on him. I was TERRIFIED to hold him bc I wasn’t sure what all was going on. I calm down and talk with his nurse & find out he was born with fluid on his lungs so he was needing a little extra help breathing. We had a lot of challenges to face- his breathing wasn’t great, he wasn’t keeping his body temperature up and he wasn’t eating…he also was born with a little cyst on his brain. 

We end up staying in the hospital for 6 days. The last night in the hospital we got to sleep with Preston in a room in the NICU & he had a heart monitor that went off ALL NIGHT LONG. we were so nervous. It was our first time changing his diaper & having him to ourselves and he was already 5 days old. It was the longest week of my life! But after MANY tests we could FINALLY come home!! 

Yayy we made it!! Over the next few day I healed pretty quickly. When I went to have my staples taken out the nurses were so impressed with how quickly I healed they asked to take pictures for their files..sure why not I’m only laying here naked.. I think me being SO determined to get out of that bed and go see Preston really helped kicked my body into healing mode. I was so super sore but when you’re baby needs you, you will turn into super mom in seconds!

I know my labor story isn’t like very many but I had SUCH a different plan- I wanted a natural birth. My mom did it with me and I had really hoped of doing the same. My nurses were GREAT and so were Preston’s they knew in order for MY health I needed the medication..maybe morphine was pushing it a little but I did get some good sleep..  I just felt like I was so out of the loop. It was like the NICU was in a totally different world and no one could tell me anything until I finally got over there. I had no control over anything going on. It was a horrible horrible feeling.  

We have had SO many obstacles to overcome and we’re still leaping over them daily. Preston has several health problems but its nothing we cant handle. I know God has a plan for us and a very special plan for Preston. Going through what we have been through over the past 2 years has really helped me to see the bigger picture. Its helped me to learn not to take such simple things for granted. I am thankful for every little thing. I have learned not worry about what ISNT happening and to be thankful for what IS.

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The Mrs here... And I'd like to add a little blurb to the end of this post. I know Shauna personally. We were great friends when we were younger. She is a true testament of a mother's unfailing love. Being pregnant I constantly worry about my baby, and I beg for more ultrasounds constantly. Shauna's quote "{don't} worry about what isn't happening, and be thankful for what is," rings so true to me. I'm so grateful for my healthy pregnancy. Shauna's little boy Preston is strong & sweet. I encourage you to continue to pray for him. 

Stay tuned to hear Christine's C-Section birth story next week!