Zak's Birth Story
Posted by Kelsea , Friday, April 12, 2013 11:32 PM
On to Zakky boy's birth story.
Summer 2010 was a busy one! My sister Kylee lived with us and worked with me at the golf course in Quincy. It was a great summer. Out of the blue on August 20th while Brandon was at work and 2 year old Ty was in his high chair, I took a pregnancy test. To my shock it came back positive!! Literal shock. We weren't trying for a baby or planning on having a second one until Ty had turned 3. Big surprise! I found out I was due on May 5, 2011.
The pregnancy went pretty smoothly. No morning sickness again but I started showing a lot sooner. On Dec 10, we found out we were having another boy! I never doubted it. I guess I always knew. We had a hard time deciding on a name. It wasn't until I was 8 months along that we decided on Zakary Drew.
I had been cast as Maria in the Sound of Music and I hummed right along playing my part, on my feet a lot with minimal swelling. Once the play closed, my swelling and contractions went into overdrive. At my next OB appt they did a non stress test and found I was having contractions every 5 minutes and I was admitted to the hospital. My doctor who I absolutely love (Dr. Verhage) wanted to make sure my cervix wasn't dilating and to try and stop the contractions. He suggested my mom fly up and help so she came the next day. They put me on a magnesium drip and tried a couple other methods. I had several ultrasounds and my monitors (baby heartbeat and contractions) were on my tummy the whole time. I got used to hearing Zak's cute little heartbeat 24 hours a day. I remember it lulling me to sleep. My mom arrived the next day and the magnesium drip was making me very sick. It also wasn't doing anything to stop the contractions. I remember having to get two heparin shots in my leg to prevent blood clots and it was the worst pain I had ever felt. One night they gave me Demerol so I could get a decent night's sleep and it was so nice. They had to check my temperature and blood pressure every 2 hours. After 4 days in the hospital my cervix wasn't progressing so Dr. Verhage decided to send me home on strict bed rest. I was 32 weeks along.
My mom stayed for a couple weeks to help me while I was flat on my back. I wasn't allowed to get up except to go to the bathroom or shower. I gained several more pounds. As a side note we also had a puppy at the time (Penny) who was causing too much stress. She ended up flying back home with my mom and saving my sanity completely. A few more weeks of bed rest and I felt like a ticking time bomb. I definitely knew I wasn't going to be carrying Zak until May 5. My mom booked her flight back to come back for April 19. On April 17, I lost my mucous plug and of course was still contracting but they weren't painful, just tight. My parents in law Lori and Ron were in town to visit her parents and it was nice having them around.
On April 19th in the morning Brandon decided to take Ty to see his grandparents before he went to work. I said bye to them and fell back asleep on the guest room bed. At about 8:30am I woke up and while rolling onto my side I heard and felt a POP! I froze for a second then got out out bed and stood up. Niagra falls; my water broke and I was home alone and my mom was on an airplane. I went into the bathroom to calm down, called Brandon, changed my clothes, Brandon picked me up and we were on our way to the hospital. I was still gushing amniotic fluid in the suburban. It was comical until my contractions started hurting really badly. When I got to the ER I couldn't stand so I was put in a wheelchair then they admitted me to a room in labor and delivery. They checked my cervix and I was at a 6. My contractions were so painful. The nurse that came in said she wanted to make sure my water had broken? Like I didn't know?? That was a little weird to me. They decided to move me into the delivery room but they made me walk?? I could hardly walk and was in so much pain. I asked for an epidural and they told me the anesthesiologist was in surgery. I became concerned about that but was trying to focus on calming down. I got onto the bed and upon checking me again they told me that in 20 minutes I had gone from a 6 to a 10. I asked for the epidural again and they must have been trying to be nice by not telling me I wouldn't be able to get one. Dr. Verhage came in and started suiting up and I was crying because he said I was ready to push and wouldn't have time or benefit from an epidural. I was going to deliver Zak naturally. The pain was all I could focus on at first. Lori and Brandon were in the room with me and I knew I just had to buckle down and be strong. I started pushing and pushing and I was able to time my own pushing with my contractions. I was determined to get Zak out. I was yelling loudly like you see in delivery rooms in the movies. I concentrated hard and pushed. Dr. Verhage was calming and helpful. I had a small episiotomy when Zak's shoulders got stuck on the way out. One last push and he finally came out at 10:15AM. I felt instant relief. He cried as they whisked him away to his receiving table. I saw Brandon cut the umbilical cord. They handed me my purple/pink baby and he was so darn cute with chubby cheeks but his head was bruised a little bit from getting stuck. The big news was that he was 20.5" and 10 lbs 9 oz! With no meds! I apologized to everyone in the delivery room for yelling. Lol!
Zak was technically only 37 weeks along. He was making little whining sounds like his lungs were having a hard time getting air. They also found out his blood sugar was low. He had to eat so they fed him formula right away. As with Ty my milk didn't come in. We tried to get him to latch but he wasn't interested and his whining was non stop. They checked his oxygen and blood levels almost constantly. It broke my heart they kept drawing blood from his little feet. Dr. Verhage had determined I had gestational diabetes in my last couple weeks which had made Zak so big with blood sugar issues. They were able to normalize his little condition and we would be released the next day. My mom arrived a couple hours after he was born. When Ty met Zak it was amazing to me. Like I had brought a little more love into the world. We got Zak home and after his first check up we had to put him on the bili-lights for slight jaundice. He was a nice little addition to our family. My mom stayed for about three weeks and taking care of him seemed easier. He was fairly easy at night but would really scream when he cried.
Next week my little Zakky will be two. It was such a completely different birthing experience from Ty. Having done natural and epidural I don't know what route I would suggest. Some days I say epidural so I could actually relax somewhat and be more "present" for the delivery but no meds and quick progression from water breaking to birth was also good. I don't remember the degree of pain but I remember saying I would not wish it on anyone!
Now Reese's story has yet to be written. I'm about 31 weeks along so we are in the home stretch.
Until next time....
