Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

This is going to be a long story. To tell it in it’s entirety I need to start from the beginning, how we conceived Emily. Because that’s an important part of the story but also because I don’t want to rewrite it for the 7000th time, you can read about our infertility IVF journey here.
Once I was “safely” pregnant, it felt like a dream. I didn’t have any morning sickness although I had major fatigue and food aversions through the first tri. The second tri was the dream that everyone says it is. The third tri arrived and I was feeling bigger and tired, but I never in a million years thought my birth story would go like this.

I went to the doctor for my 32w appointment. All of my other appointments were normal with the exception of failing my 1hr glucose, but I passed the 3hr so I just blamed it on the caramel frappucino (decaf of course) that I had the day before and the jellybeans that I ate the night before. At my 32w appointment I got on the scale. I knew I felt a little bigger and my feet were swollen, but I just figured that was pregnancy. The nurse noted that I had a significant gain since my last appointment a few weeks earlier. When the nurse tested my urine she noted it came back high for proteins but my blood pressure was fine. She said it was likely that the doctor would want me to do the 24-hour urine collection. I told her I worked in the city and it was the week of Mother’s Day (I work for a flower company) so I convinced them to let me wait until the weekend when I’d be home to do the collection and hand it in the following week. The doctor agreed. I hoped that I just had a UTI. At that appointment I had my first growth sono because I was on lovenox blood thinners for a clotting disorder that was discovered when I was TTC and was a possible cause of miscarriage. I was told that later in pregnancy this can cause growth issues so I would have growth sonos and be watched a bit more closely towards the end. The doctor did the sono, told me it looked good and the baby was about 3lbs 9oz and left it at that. I never thought to find out if that was within the normal range because the doctor said it was fine.

That weekend I did the urine collection (fun times). I also had bad heartburn that weekend but I attributed it to my not-so-great California Pizza Kitchen dinner. I handed the urine in on Monday. The next morning I was on the train into Penn Station and my phone rings. I look and see its my doctor. I knew an 8:30am call couldn’t be a good thing. I answer and he says the 24-hour came back high and to go to LIJ for testing. I said I’m on the train and the next stop is Penn Station. He replies “well you don’t have to pull the emergency brake, but you should get off and turn around and come back. You need to go there within the next couple of hours.” He also said I might be kept overnight for observation. The levels I had were consistent with pre-eclampsia/toxemia. I still wasn’t worried and I assumed I had a UTI or something. The day before I went to the hospital was like any other day, I walked the 12 blocks and 2 avenues from Penn Station to my office, and other than swollen feet, I felt pretty normal.

I go to the hospital where they put me on the monitors. I wasn’t really too scared, I sort of felt like I would be in and out. DH and I were making lunch plans, and I was hoping I would just get an extra day off from work after a very stressful previous week. So my blood pressure is fine but they monitor it for a while. Then the nurse comes in and does a sono. She says everything looks good but my amniotic fluid looks low. They call the resident ob/gyn who comes in and repeats the sono with the same results. He also notes that the baby measures about 3lbs 6oz which is small for my gestational age of 32w4d. The measurement was more consistent with a 30-31 weeker. They then called in the on-call maternal fetal medicine doctor who confirmed the low-ish fluid and the small-ish size. I later found out that at this size the baby was considered to be growth restricted and all of my paperwork lists her as IUGR. While this is all going on they continually throw around words like “placental disease” and all sorts of scary sounding things. DH and I were nervous but I still didn’t think I’d be staying overnight. After about 2 hours of monitoring they put me in an l&d room which scared me a lot. Eventually the doctor came in and said that they were keeping me overnight for monitoring and that I could be there indefinitely. They ordered the steroid shots for me to mature the baby’s lungs in case they had to deliver me early. The shots are a series of 2 shots that are done 24 hours apart and take 48 hours to take full effect.

So the next morning I finally get to see my doctor. My blood pressure at the time was fine and I was hoping he would tell me I could go home and be on bedrest or something. I knew I was at the early stages of pre-eclampsia but I was hoping it was manageable. Instead he comes and tells me that they are keeping me in the hospital until delivery. They also said I couldn't attend my baby shower which was scheduled for that Sunday. He said they were hoping to get me to 36 weeks, but in his estimate, he thought I had 10-14 days. This kind of shocked me because I felt absolutely fine! He said they would monitor my blood pressure, and if I had any change whatsoever – specifically headache, stomachache, blurry vision or basically any other changes then they would probably deliver me. That’s when I started to be freaked out, although since I felt pretty good I was optimistic I would make it to full term.

So everything is stable for a few days. Fast forward 5 days and I’m 33w1d. The night before I went to bed with bad heartburn. I told the nurses and they gave me pepcid. I thought it was just from all the food people had brought me in the hospital that day. I woke up at 2am when they came in to do vitals and the "burn" had just become really bad pain under my ribcage and around my back. It was so bad that I couldn’t get comfy and couldn’t sleep. I knew if I told the nurses they would deliver my baby that day and all I could think of was that I soooo wasn’t ready. I waited til 6am to make sure the pain was real and then I called my DH and told him what was happening and to come to the hospital. I then told the doctors and nurses and they ran bloodwork. It came back that my platelets had gotten very low (normal was around 140 and mine were in the 80’s) and my liver enzymes went from the normal 20 range into the 150s. I had developed HELLP syndrome. They told me I would be induced that day. I couldn’t stop crying, I was so afraid that my baby would suffer. I felt so guilty that I couldn’t stay pregnant longer.

Within an hour or two I was sent downstairs to L&D and I was prepped for an induction. They had to give me magnesium for the pre-eclampsia to prevent high blood pressure and seizures, and it felt like my face was on fire. I got my first and last internal of the pregnancy and my body must’ve known it was time because at 33w I was 2cm dialated and having contractions on the monitors. Since the baby was in position as of my last sono a few days earlier, the doctor was ready to induce. But at the persistence of the nurse they decided to do a last sono and sure enough, there she was lying transverse breech right across my abdomen. So the induction was quickly scratched for a c-section.

Unfortunately my platelet levels continued to deteriorate and my liver enzymes were now in the 300's and it was determined that I had to go under general anesthesia and would not be awake for the section. DH and I were team green so I tried to get them to tell us the sex before the cs, but there was no time to do a sono for that at this point. From the time they decided c-section, it was maybe an hour to an hour and half before I was wheeled into the OR. I have never been so afraid of anything in my life. Prior to being hospitalized for the pre-e, I had never been in a hospital for myself in my life, let alone about to go under for surgery. Throughout my pregnancy it never ever crossed my mind that I would deliver my baby the day before my baby shower!!

Anyway the next few things were a blur but thanks to retrieving my medical records from LIJ, I was able to piece together what happened. The section started at 3:35pm and by 3:42 my baby girl Emily Hannah was out. Although she was tiny and had the cord wrapped around her neck, my baby girl was crying when they pulled her out . At 3lbs 8oz ad 17.5” long she was breathing well and her apgars were 8 and 9, which I think is pretty awesome considering the circumstances. She was sent to the NICU in pretty good condition.

That’s pretty much where the good part of the c-section ends. My DH was told that the section would take a half hour.. two hours later the doctor emerged telling him it was a complicated surgery. According to my medical records when they went in, two things occurred. First was a fascial hematoma. I’m not entirely sure what fascial is, but I know hematoma means blood clot. I have a clotting issue that was a possible cause of my earlier miscarriages, and was on lovenox shots and baby aspirin for the entire pregnancy, so I wasn’t entirely surprised to hear this.
The larger issue that occurred during the section was the discovery of placenta accreta. This is when the placenta grows into the lining of the uterus, making it extremely hard to detach. From what I’ve read placenta accreta has a 7% mortality rate (due to blood loss) and the most common cure is a hysterectomy. In my case there was significant blood loss in trying to detach the placenta, however the doctor was able to spare my uterus – although I am told there was talk of a hysterectomy during the procedure, but due to my age and since it was my first baby, they worked hard so that I could keep my uterus.

I almost see this as a sign that Emily wants a sibling. The first few days in the hospital she was perfectly in position. The night before I ultimately delivered, I was on the monitor and I felt a ton of movement; it must’ve been when she was changing position. Had she stayed head down, they would’ve induced me and I may have been able to deliver vaginally. If that happened they would have only discovered the placenta accreta after delivery when they were trying to detach it. If it had gone that way chances are good that I would have had to have emergency surgery to remove the placenta, and under those conditions the chances that I would’ve ended up with a hysterectomy are more likely. So the way I see it, Emily saved my uterus!

On another note, I did say we were team green and that we did not know what we were having when I went in for the c-section. The nurses decided that they would keep our wish to find out the gender together, and when the doctor came out to tell DH about the surgery, he didn’t tell him the gender. Instead they waited until I was awake and told us together. I have absolutely no memory of this. However my first conversation with DH that I do remember, he said “Do you know what we had?” and I did say “Yeah we had a girl.” I must’ve subconsciously heard the conversation when they told us the sex, since I woke up pretty sure about it!!!

Back to the story which unfortunately isn’t over yet. After the c-section I was in recovery. But I was there a lot longer than most people. While I was there they determined that I had substantial blood loss from the section and my platelets were down in the 20s, so I ended up needing blood transfusions. Throughout the night they transfused 4 bags of blood and a bag of platelets. I was on the morphine pump for pain which definitely helped but also made most of my memories very fuzzy. I remember waking up and falling back to sleep every 5 minutes for about 5 hours in the middle of the night. Bless the nurse that was there – I must’ve asked for ice like 400 times since my throat was so sore from the tubes that were down it while I was under for surgery. I was still at risk for blood pressure issues and seizures so they put me back on magnesium the next morning. I still hadn’t seen my baby yet although DH had shown me pictures.

The next 24 hours were very crazy. I was all doped up from the morphine and the magnesium. They moved me from recovery to a room in L&D to a private room in antepartum. People came and went and I have foggy memories of it. Sometime around the middle of the day my oxygen levels were deteriorating. They should have been over 92% and mine were in the 80’s with a low of 84%. DH was half-joking to me that Emily was doing better than I was. During the night doctors kept coming into my room and asking me to breathe and cough for them. I was hooked up to a nasal cannula for extra oxygen. They even had a big portable x-ray machine brought to my room where they did a chest x-ray. I never heard the results while I was there, but I later read in my records that I had a partially collapsed lung and fluid in my lungs, which apparently are common issues when you have abdominal surgery and general anesthesia. Oddly enough I didn’t really feel the effects of this cause I was so heavily medicated.

The next morning my blood pressure was regulated enough to come off the magnesium and the morphine pump. It was now almost 48 hours since my baby was born and I still hadn’t seen her. They cleared me to get out of bed and DH wheeled me to the NICU. It was pretty surreal. I never imagined delivering her so early. She was so tiny in the isolette, but so perfect in every way. DH was amazing. He did not take her out of the isolette or hold her until I got there. He insisted to all of the nurses that I be the first one to hold her. Although in retrospect this makes me feel guilty that she didn’t get to feel our love until almost 48 hours later, I like to believe that she knew we were there for her since our entire families came in and out surrounding the isolette until I was able to go visit. By the time I saw her she was off of the vent and C-Pap. She was breathing fine on her own. They fed her with a tube just for one more day. By 3 days old we were able to give her a bottle. She didn’t look like a preemie, just like a tiny little baby. For 33w, she did absolutely amazing and better than anyone expected.

When I left the NICU I was sent back to the regular post-partum section of LIJ. This is the only part of the experience that I felt was terrible decision making. I was just off magnesium and morphine and I hadn’t even walked around at all, and I was put into a room with three other people – all of which had vaginal deliveries and had their babies there with them. I honestly felt like they just threw me in the jungle, it was really a horrible few hours. I was so sick I was throwing up (which I hadn’t done previously since 2003!!), and I was stuck in a room with all of these happy mothers with their babies while mine was in the NICU. After a few hours of pleading and being sick, they finally moved me into another room that was a double, where the other mom was also recovering from a c-section (although she too had her baby with her).
Following all of this I became insanely bloated. Now when I say insanely, I mean it was painful how bloated I was. After going through IVF and having OHSS I thought that was as bloated as I could get, but I was wrong. Even the doctor agreed that my belly was more distended from being bloated than it was when I was 33w pregnant!! Apparently my bowels were looped and my intestines hadn’t started working again yet which caused a TON of trapped gas. I couldn’t eat anything because there was nowhere for it to go. I was put back on IV fluids and was told to walk as much as possible to get everything moving. You actually have to pass gas in order to get everything moving again down there!! At this point I had also developed a nasty cough as a result of the collapsed lung and it was difficult to cough due to the incision and the staples and the bloating. It did take a good 24 hours before I really started to feel better.

Four days after my c-section I was released from the hospital. Emily spent 3.5 weeks in the NICU, mostly to grow and maintain her body temperature. She didn’t have any of the classic preemie issues. The day I was released from the hospital Emily was moved from the intensive NICU to a step-down room where babies go before they go home. I feel so blessed that she is here and that we both are healthy. At this point she has shown no ill effects of her early arrival. Today is her due date and she weighs exactly 6lbs and eats like a champ!! About a week after her birth the lactation consultants and the NICU nurses helped me nurse her. Emily was amazing – she knew what to do on instinct even though I had no idea where to start! She latches like a champ and although I have had a lot of milk supply issues due to the magnesium, the blood loss, the delay in nursing and PCOS, I still nurse her almost every feeding and I pump enough for several bottles. We do give her formula bottles too, but I have come to terms with the fact that I won’t ever get to a point where she is exclusively getting breastmilk. I know she is getting everything I can give her – either by nursing or pumping, and it allows DH to be able to bond and feed her at times too.

I have to say other than when I was put in the 4-person room, my experience at LIJ from start to finish was pretty great. I really felt cared for by most of the staff. The NICU and the lactation specialists were also great. They really heavily encouraged breastmilk and breastfeeding, especially for preemies. I had almost no issues with the staff. Since I used the on-call doctors a lot more than my regular ob/gyn, I do wish I had the same staff for more of the time I was there, but I guess that’s just protocol in a large hospital.
Anyway I think I’ve gone over all of the finer details. It was a crazy experience, not one minute of it was like anything I expected it to be. After an uneventful pregnancy I never would’ve guessed that pre-eclampsia and HELLP would cause me to deliver at 33w. But it is what it is. I was sad about it for a while but I am slowly healing and getting over it. And now I look at my amazing little girl and I know it was all worth it and I would do it over in a second – complications and all!!

So without further adieu, here is my Emily Hannah!

Two Days Old in the NICU:


About a Week Old:


On My 30th Birthday at Two Weeks Old:


Coming Home from the NICU:


One Month Old:


Some “Newborn” (5weeks Old) Shoot Teasers from the Amazingly Talented Leslie Simmons:



If you read this far I hope you were entertained or at least found what you were looking for!!
Til next time !!

Message edited 7/1/2011 4:55:12 PM.

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

Congratulations!!!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

Wow....talk about a story!!!!

Sooo glad that you and your baby girl are doing well!!
She is beautiful!!!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

what a birth story - what a beautiful baby! Congrats

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

Oh my gosh! What a story. I'm so happy you both are ok and healthy. Congrats again!! She's absolutely beautiful!!!!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

Congratulations. What a journey you have had. I am glad you and your little girl are doing well!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

You have an amazing story!!! Thanks for
sharing. Emily is beautiful

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

Wow --what a story! Congrats on your beautiful little girl!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

Congrats! She's beautiful!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

She is unbelievably gorgeous and you are such a strong person and a wonderful mommy. G-d bless you both!

I think your husband is also an amazing, strong person, and I love that he wanted you both to be together to hold Emily for the first time. He is so thoughtful and has an unbelievable amount of love for both of you.

May all the strength you've shown from her birth follow you both throughout the rest of your lives!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

What a doll!! Glad everything turned out well for you both.

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

She is gorgeous!
What a story! Congrats!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

what a story! Your little angel is just beautiful---congrats!!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

What a beautiful story! I was crying by the end. She is getting so big!!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

What an absolutely beautiful and amazing story. Your little one is just precious.

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

wow..You had some experience! Congrats again on the baby!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

wow that is some story! So sorry to hear of all of the complications that you ended up going through! Thank God that everything ended up working out in the end! That's messed up that they put you in the room with all those women with the way you were feeling AND that your baby was in NICU! Congrats on your baby girl and God bless!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

you have an amazing story! Glad you got your happy ending! congrats shes a beauty

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

I am crying reading this. May god bless your family - you deserve it after all this! She is an absolutely beautiful miracle! Congratulations! You are one strong mommy!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

Wow. What a story.

Your daughter looks like a little doll!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

Unbelievable story start to finish. Im happy you are both doing well!! Emily is beautiful!!

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

Wow! What a story... the best part of that story is the birth of such a beautiful little girl. Congratulations...

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

Oh my goodness what a story!!! I am soo happy that everything with you and Emily turned out ok. I can not believe that you went through so much during and after labor. How are you feeling now? It's great to see that Emily was a champ and fed like a pro

Re: Welcome Emily Hannah - 7 Weeks Early! 5/14/11

that is quite a story!!!!!!!!
But I'm so glad to hear that you are doing well and that Hannah is doing just as great!