Turner's Arrival

Well now that we've made it a month into Turner's existence and I'm feeling more myself I thought I'd share Turner's arrival story. If you don't want to hear some minor details related to childbirth, stop reading now and skip to the link with pictures. Otherwise, enjoy the ride.

On September 5 Andy and I went to our second doctor's appointment of the week for a blood pressure check. Weeks prior I had started going twice a week because I managed to develop gestational hypertension. We had already decided with the doctor that I would be induced on September 10 but as we drove to the hospital that afternoon Andy and I had a feeling we wouldn't make it past the weekend.

My BP was the highest it had been during my pregnancy and my doctor said "to be honest, I'm over your blood pressure and think we should be done." We then spent time talking about the pros and cons of inducing even earlier than planned and by the end of the appointment I was headed across the street to the hospital and Andy was headed home to grab our bags.

I spent Thursday night in the hospital because I needed medication to prep me for the induction Friday morning. Friday morning the doctor arrived, broke my water, and the waiting began. I spent the morning visiting with family, dealing with minor contractions, and waiting. By early afternoon the contractions were getting more intense and after snapping at my Dad and he reporting to the waiting room that I had "gone to the dark side" I decided to get an epidural.

My doctor and I had discussed extensively my desire to avoid a c-section at all costs and luckily, because I was progressing (although VERY slowly) she wasn't in a rush. So, Friday morning turned to afternoon turned to evening, turned to Saturday. Within that time I stalled out at 4 cm but after many hours there and lots of Pitocin help, I started progressing again.

Though my doctor wasn't on call that weekend she graciously came in on Saturday and managed my care for as long as she could - a nurse later told us that our doctor had said she really wanted to be with us with Turner came because she had been with us through so much. She really is an amazing doctor! Around noon on Saturday I had progressed to 8 cm and things were starting to move more quickly! A nurse came in and set up the delivery table and we were all preparing for Turner's birth.

By about 1:30 p.m. I was at 9 c.m. and was starting to get a little excited. Then, I stalled out again. Our doctor had to pass us onto the on-call doctor and by 4:30 p.m. we were having the unfortunate discussion about a c-section. Though I was progressing with Pitocin (lots of Pitocin...they turned it up as high as it could go a couple of times) as the contractions got more intense Turner's heart rate increased. With the Pitocin was backed off to help Turner calm down, my contractions would immediately stop. After some time playing the game of more Pitocin, Turner in distress, less Pitocin, no contractions, it was clear that my body was having a difficult time progressing and that, if the intense contractions were stressing Turner out, pushing would make the situation worse.  Though the on-call doctor walked me through what would happen with the c-section and I asked the nurses prepping me to reassure me that everything was going to be just fine, as soon as my family started coming back to see me I lost it. I was so scared and so defeated and so exhausted that the idea of a c-section was too overwhelming. By 5 p.m. they were wheeling me to surgery.

Turner was born at 5:45 p.m. Saturday evening, September 7. That happens to be my grandmother's birthday, so it's very special to have our son share a birthday with such a special woman.  It was the most surreal sound to hear him cry for the first time. They cleaned him up and Andy was able to bring him over to me for a few minutes and then he was taken up to the nursery. I wouldn't hold him myself until after 10 p.m. that evening. I had to hang out in recovery for over an hour and then when I got to the mother/baby unit Turner's temperature wasn't high enough to come out of the nursery for a couple of hours.

Though the plan was to leave the hospital in the normal 48 hours after having Turner (I could have opted to stay for a third day but didn't have to) I ended up staying until Tuesday afternoon because Monday morning I developed an infection. After five days in the hospital (remember, we had started this journey Thursday evening the week before) I was so ready to go home that I was trying to convince the nurses that I could will my fever to go away on its own. Unfortunately for me, they didn't find that an acceptable treatment method. Instead, they started my third IV of the hospital stay, only a couple of hours after I had convinced the nurse to remove my IV since I had every intention of going home the next day, and started antibiotics.

Tuesday afternoon was finally escaped the hospital and brought Turner home.

As for a c-section, there's no way to anticipate what the experience or recovery will be like. Within a few hours after the procedure I told Andy we were only having one biological child. It would take three weeks before I told him I'd consider another pregnancy. I guess we'll just have to see what God has in store for us. We certainly aren't in any rush :-) Instead, we're relishing in every moment we have with Turner and thanking God continuously for the amazing gift He has given us.

If you're interested in checking out Turner's newborn photos, follow the link below. The photos have been added to our maternity pictures, so Turner's beautiful face begins on page 8 of the album. Once you follow the link below you'll click on the large photo of the girl in the pool and then you'll type in "crowefamily" (without the quotation marks) and "turner" when prompted. Enjoy!

http://www.guerrillashots.com/access-codes.html