I love my little boy!!!
Daddy cuddling with baby Zach
Zachary's birth story:
On New year's eve I started getting really bad contractions in the afternoon. We had just returned home from vacation and both weren't feeling to well so we decided to just stay home that night. We thought we would play some board games and go to be early!! We told our families that we would be asleep way before midnight. Around 6:00 p.m. we noticed that my contractions were getting more frequent so we decided that we better start timing them. We timed them for about 2 hours and they were about ten minute apart. I had just barely had false labor so we were trying to be really cautious and just wait them out.
Around 10:00 p.m. I was still having major contractions so we called the hospital. They told me to chug a liter of water and take some medicine to see if the contractions would go away. Well I drank the water and took some medicine and they were not getting any slower. But I still wanted to wait them out because I did not want to go into false labor again! We went to bed around midnight after hearing fireworks outside. I couldn't sleep and around 2:00 A.M. I woke Tyler up and we decided we better go to the hospital.
When we got to the hospital they hooked me up to an IV to get fluids in me to see if dehydration was causing the contractoins. I was so dehydrated that they had to poke me 4 times!! They finally got the IV in and then took some blood and a urine sample. They were a little worried because my blood pressure was pretty high.
After they put the fluids in me, my contractions had not gone away. The nurse then came back and told me that they had found a bunch of protein in my urine and that I had preeclampsia. They thenb admitted me to the hospital until I had the baby. We were so excited and nervous because we knew our baby was going to come soon!! We were also relieved and grateful that I was not in false labor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The nurses were nervous because preeclampsia can cause seizures and other serious medical problems. They started pumping magnesium sulfate into me to prevent any seizures from happening. The nurse then told us that the doctor would be in at 9:00 a.m. to talk to us.
When the doctor came in he told us that the only way to cure preeclampsia is to deliever the baby. He then checked to see if I was dilated and to everyones surprised I had dilated to a 3!! The nurses and doctor were shocked!! So the doctor broke my water and gave me some potossium and morphine for my contractions.
At around 11:00 the nurse checked me again and I was dilated to a 5. We were so excited! They then gave me my epidural - which was amazing!!!! We were well on our way to give birth.
Around 2:00 p.m. I was dilated to a 8. The nurse thought I would have the baby before 3:30. However, it took me until 3:30 to be dilated to a 10. At 3:30 the nurse called the doctor and told him that we were ready to start pushing!!!
This is the doctor about to start labor! I pushed for about 1 1/2 hours and our baby boy was born at 5:09 p.m. I was so grateful for all the help in delievering Zach. A special thanks to my husband Tyler for holding my hand and getting me ice chips all day!! His support, love and kindness was amazing! I am SO very grateful for him and his help and support.
He weighed 6.09 ounces and was beautiful!!!
My mom flew in that morning to help us out and boy was she a life savor! It was good to have her with us.
I was so hungry that I was so glad just to have some cereal for a snack!
Below is my hilarious nurse Julie!! She helped us get through the second day in the hospital!! I had to have my blood pressure checked once an hour to see if it was going down at all. She made us laugh just about every time she came into the room! Right before 7:00 p.m. that night, I was suppose to be moved to postpardum but had another huge blood clot. Luckily the doctor said everything looked okay and I was able to be transferred to another room and get off bed rest!!
On our third day of our hospital stay we were planning on leaving at about 11:00 a.m. Well the doctors came in to take my blood and check some of my levels. My blood pressure had gone down a little but they wanted to make sure everything was okay. The nurse came into my room at about 8:00 a.m. and told me that I was really low on blood and recommended that I get a blood transfusion. They got the blood ready and we were ready stay in the hospital another day!! After about 4 hours of recieving blood I was finally feeling a little bit better. The nurses helped me get up and walk around a little bit. They had me walk to the end of the hall with the baby to see if I could do it okay.
By this time it was about 5:00 p.m. and I was really wanting to go home. They came and took my blood again and it had improved dramatically. They then told me that I could go home!! We were so excited to go home!
We have loved having baby Zach in our lives. Every day with him seems like a miracle!! His sweet little spirit has been such a blessing to us. There is nothing like holding a new child in your arms. It is the sweetest experience. Thanks to everyone for all of your support and love through this crazy last week!! We are grateful for your prayers and all the help you have given us!!!