It all started on Tuesday, April 30. It started out as a normal day. Gabe spent some time at Mama and Papa's while I worked on catching up on laundry, cleaning, and finishing our hospital bags. My goal was to have all of the laundry and cleaning done before Baby. I hadn't been feeling Lincoln move quite as much the day before that and on this day he wasn't moving much at all. I decided to wait the rest of the day to see if he would start moving more at night. Nighttime seemed to be his most active part of the day. When it hit around 7:00 p.m. and I still hadn't felt him move as much- I decided it might be time to give the doctor a call. I called my mom and Jesse to get their opinions on what I should do. At my doctor visit the past Thursday and the one before that they told me that my fluid level was low. If it got any lower by the coming Thursday the doctor said he would more than likely induce me. He also told me to call if I did not feel Baby move more than 10 times in 2 hours. On this day, I maybe felt him move about 6 times total. So, given all this information that we were told, I decided to call the hospital. I spoke to the doctor on call and she advised me to come in and get checked out. I called Jesse at work and he immediately left to come home. I called my Mom to come get Gabe. I took one last bath at home, got our stuff together, got some last minute things for Gabe together, and painted my nails (You know, it's important to feel good about yourself while in the hospital. haha)
Jesse got home, changed clothes, and packed our stuff into the car. We were off to the hospital! I was almost positive that they would send me home. I was having contractions but they weren't consistent at all. In fact, they were few and far between. We got to the hospital, got registered in the ER, and then headed up to the Baby floor. The nurse hooked me up to the monitor and got some info. We told her about the amniotic fluid and my past experience with Gabe. She informed the doctor on call and they sent me down to ultrasound to have a Biophysical Profile done on Baby. We were used to these actually... if you remember, we had these done at least once a day with Gabe- sometimes twice. Anyway, Lincoln scored a 4 out of 8 on the BPP. The ultrasound tech used stimulation to try to get him to move and he just wasn't having it. SO, the doctor decided to keep us overnight and repeat the BPP the following morning. My nurse moved us into a private room with an extra bed for Jesse. We got settled in, Jesse went home to grab our laptops so we'd have something to do and to feed Rylee. He then came back to the hospital with Steak-N-Shake in hand (I knew I married that man for a reason!) I was hooked up to the monitor all night- I could hear Lincoln's heartbeat so I knew everything was fine for the time being. The next morning they sent us down for the BPP again bright and early. Lincoln passed with flying colors this time. I was positive they would send me home this time... secretly hoping that maybe he'd decide to make his appearance anyway that day!
We got back up to our room and my nurse informed us that our doctor, Dr. Bishop, was taking over and that he'd be in shortly to talk to us! We were relieved! We love Dr. Bishop and were so glad to hear that he was coming in to talk to us. In fact, we probably would have requested for them to call him if he hadn't already been there! :) When Dr. B came in he said that he was not comfortable sending us home. My Blood pressure had been borderline and the fact that Lincoln failed the BPP the night before gave him reason to be concerned. Also, given my history with Gabe and the fact that fetal movement had decreased gave him reason to be concerned. He said that in some cases this could cause still birth and of course, we all wanted to avoid this. Very scary to think about!! He then said that medically he could not induce before 39 weeks without a medical reason. And at this time, there was no "medical" reason but we would wait until later in the day and assess from there.
The day went on as normal. They had been in bed the whole time. My mom brought Gabe down to see us. My poor little boy was so confused as to what was going on. Anyway, when Dr. B came back in he said that since my BP was borderline he wanted to try to get it up a little- that way there was a medical reason to induce. The Solution? Walking! He said there was no reason for me to have to stay in bed the whole time... he said we needed to go on some walks for 15 minutes and come back and check my BP. The goal was to get it up to 140/90. Well Guess WHAT!? Jesse took me on walks... made me walk up and down 3 flights of stairs and everytime my BP was right below the goal. Once it was 139/89. Of course that would happen. We gave up and waited for Dr. B to come back and talk to us that night.
When Dr. B came back in that night he said that he was going to induce me the following morning. He did not want to take any chances. Neither did we. So he said that we'd start at 7:00 a.m. and that we'd have a baby Boy by that evening. We were excited and ready to get started. Jesse went out and got us Little Caesar's pizza. The last meal before delivery. I got up and took a shower and got our things organized. Earlier that day, Dr. B sent us down for another ultrasound to get an estimated weight of Lincoln. You know what the lady got? 7 pounds 13 ounces. Now, imagine my fear when I hear this. Gabe was 2 pounds 3.6 ounces when he was born. One push and he was out. I was scared when she told me how big Lincoln was... scared because I knew this delivery would more than likely be significant longer. And BOY, was I right!
Jesse and I both got about 6 hours of sleep that night so we'd be refreshed and ready to go in the morning. My nurse came in at 6:30 to have us move to a Labor and Delivery room. She got my IV's going and we got situated in our new room. Dr. B came in shortly to and broke my water. I was dilated to a 4- positive that this baby was going to come soon. The day seemed long! Mom and Dad brought Gabriel down to the hospital and we all waited and waited and waited. Around 11 I was dilated to a 6... it wasn't until about 3:00 that I finally dilated to a 9 1/2. My contractions were 2 minutes apart... though I didn't feel them at all. Let me just say, once again- that epidural was amazing. FINALLY around 5:00 p.m. we started pushing. It was just Me, Jesse, and our nurse in the room. We pushed. And pushed. And pushed. Yes, I pushed for over 2 hours. And with each push Lincoln would crown a little and then head straight back in. I was SO tired. Dr. B came in around 7:00 to check on us. He could clearly tell that I was exhausted and ready to be done. He watched as we pushed a few times and then decided that it was time for him to help. I was so tired by this time that I was crying and positive that I couldn't push anymore. Dr. B said one more- so that's exactly what I did. And with his help, Lincoln FINALLY made his debut at 7:13 p.m. He came out kicking and crying. They immediately handed him to me to hold. He was 6 pounds 13.6 ounces and perfect. Jesse got to cut the cord and we both just stared at our new little baby boy.
Of course, you know us... we like to have complicated pregnancies. Turns out, my uterus inverted when Dr. B was delivering the placenta. My uterus was actually around the placenta when he delivered it. Luckily, both he and Jesse immediately saw this and Dr. B began putting the uterus back in. Let me just say- that epidural was AMAZING at this time! What were the chances for this happening... like really? It affects 1 out of 3,000 births and it just so happens that I was that lucky 1. However, since Dr. B immediately caught it we don't have to worry about any further complications. Thank God!
We spent another 2 nights in the hospital after Lincoln was born. He stayed in the room with us the whole time except for a few hours when they took him to the nursery for the normal tests and a bath. We were ready to get home by Saturday. Ready to see our big boy who was waiting for us at home!
Anyway, this post is long overdue- but things have been quite hectic in the Schiff household. My baby boy is growing so fast and my big boy is turning 2 in 6 days! Can you believe it? Lincoln is 6 weeks old and he weighs 9 pounds. He's 21 1/4 inches long already! Life is crazy these days. Lincoln had his days and nights mixed up for the longest time- which means this Momma didn't get much sleep at all. We camped out on the couch for several weeks. Thank God he is finally sleeping most of the night in his rock n play sleeper! He's the sweetest baby boy- just like his brother. And Gabe? Well Gabe loves his baby brother. He gives him kisses and hugs alllll of the time. Such a good big brother! He wasn't quite sure what to think of him when we first brought Lincoln home- but now, he loves him!
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