Danicka's Birth Story

I know this is more than 3 weeks late, but as all of you parents know - those first few weeks can be pretty chaotic, so I'm just now getting around to writing out her birth story! :)

I was due Saturday, July 17, but at my appointment on Monday, July 12, I was still not dilated at all and barely effaced.  Also, Danicka's head had not dropped at all or 'engaged' in my pelvis.  All of that, along with the fact that I was randomly measuring almost 3 weeks big made my doctor believe that her head may be too large to fit through my pelvis.  So, he suggested we have an ultrasound that week to see what we're dealing with and make a game plan after that.  We booked the ultrasound for 3:30 Thursday, July 15.

Thursday, Daniel, my mom, and I showed up for the ultrasound fully expecting for everything to look great, but for Danicka to be measuring large...We were all assuming she was huge (because my stomach was huge!) so we figured we would be inducing the next Thursday or Friday.  Well, everything looked great on the ultrasound...except for my amniotic fluid.  Apparently, they don't like it to be below 5 and mine was only 3.5  We were shocked because when you felt my belly, it felt like there was tons of fluid in there.  My doctor has Thursdays off so we visited with another doctor in the group who is a family friend.  He explained the situation and suggested we induce that day because the chances for a still-born are drastically higher with amniotic fluid only being 3.5.  Plus, I only had 2 days until my due date so there was no point in keeping her in there any longer with her health at risk.

The doctor tried to insert an EZ Catheter (spelling?) in the office, and he planned to send me straight to L&D for the night.  Well, my cervix was still so high, hard, and closed that he couldn't even get the catheter inserted.  P.S. His attempts were quite painful!  So, he said we would have to go straight to L&D to get Cervadil started.  We checked in and got set up around 5:30 Thursday, July 15.  I think we were all in shock.  We didn't even take my hospital bag that I had packed months prior so we would "be prepared" because we did not at all expect to be having a baby that day.  The Cervadil got inserted and is supposed to stay in place 12 hours.  I had contractions all night, but nothing too regular and nothing too painful.

My doctor came in the next morning to remove the Cervadil.  I had made hardly any progress - I was still not dilated at all, and I was only about 75-80% effaced.  So, he started me on Pitocin as a last-ditch effort.  We did the Pitocin for 2 hours we stronger contractions.  Then, the doc checked me, and I had made zero progress.  He said that he sees this happen once or twice a year (someone who is term making zero progress in 14 hours of attempts to induce).  He said we could do Pitocin during the day and Cervadil at night for up to 3 days if I wanted to, but that he had a feeling it was going to go to C Section anyways, and he would rather get Danicka out earlier than later with my low amniotic fluid levels.

So, we ended up doing what I least wanted and had planned little for - a C Section.  The bottom line, though, is that we had to do what was best for Danicka and what was best for me.  We trust our doctor absolutely, so we knew he wouldn't have suggested it unless he thought that was the best thing.

Danicka was born at 9:45 a.m. Friday, July 16!  She weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.  She ended up having her cord around her neck when she came out so it was probably best we opted for a C Section.  I think the best way to describe the whole situation is - surreal.  Everything happened so fast, I think Daniel and I were even more in shock than most first-time parents are when their baby arrives.  We were absolutely elated, though!  Danicka looks nothing like what I expected, but I'm not quite sure what I expected either.  She's gorgeous!

I have had a few procedures done on my cervix in the past, so while the doc was doing my C Section, he went ahead and checked out what was going on with my cervix.  He said there was a lot of scar tissue on it from my procedures so he assumes that is why it was not cooperating.  He stripped the scar tissue off of it with the hopes that I will be able to have a VBAC in the future, but he didn't seem too optimistic about it.

As far as Danicka goes, she did lose quite a bit of weight in the hospital, which is very normal especially for breast-fed babies.  She also had a slight case of jaundice, but we took care of it, and she has passed her birth weight now and is gaining steadily!  We also got a case of Baby Acne last week, but that is clearing up nicely.  Overall, she is a perfectly healthy baby!

Recovering from a C Section is NOT fun!  I understand recovering from childbirth is not fun, period.  But, I guess since I wasn't planning for a C Section and therefore had not researched it very much, I wasn't planning for the recovery that came along with it.  I relied very heavily on family and friends - especially Daniel and my mom - the first week or two.  But, now, I'm more mobile so things are going pretty smoothly.  Danicka is a very good baby!  She rarely cries and sleeps very well, so we have been blessed!

We even got out and got our newborn pictures done by the WONDERFUL Amanda with Gingersnap Photographs.  Here is a link to them:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/punkfiction/sets/72157624640967638/

I am sure I will post many more pics of her throughout the coming days, months, and years! :)