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Ozzieshunni
Guest
Finally have a quiet moment to get this all down!
A bit of background: At 25 weeks, our LO was diagnosed with a condition called fetal heart block. This is where the top half of the heart beats faster than the bottom half. In some cases, this is caused by unknown reasons, but in my case, it was caused because I carry lupus antibodies. I did not know about this and according to my consultant, I probably would have never known had LO not been diagnosed. We were scheduled for an ultrasound a week until he was born to monitor his heart rate as a doppler would be not as effective for this condition. They were looking for his heart rate to drop below 50bpm or for him to develop fluid around his organs. Initially, they thought I would be delivering at 28 weeks in Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow, but held off on steriod injections just to see what would develop the following week. Alex blew them all away. His heart rate stayed between 63 and 69bpm throughout the rest of my pregnancy. I was scheduled for an elective c-section at 39 weeks because labor could potentially place too much stress on his wee heart.
Fast forward to 17th of June 2011, the day of the c-section! I was very nervous and scared. There were a lot of tears and worry the night before. I had basically prepared myself for the worst: that Alex's heart rate would drop and he would need to be rushed to Glasgow. We arrived at Ninewells Hospital at 8am, planning to be in theatre for 9am and for Alex to be here before 10am. Surprise surprise, nothing goes as planned. There wasn't a bed avaliable in the NICU, where Alex would be going for monitoring after his birth.
So, we had to wait. And wait. AND WAIT! I had been fasting since midnight the prior night and was getting very cranky and hungry. FINALLY, we got into theatre at about 3:35pm!
This part gets a bit detailed about the c-section procedure so skip if you want, lol. I was put on the bed and made to hunch over so they could do the spinal. First, they inject you with a local anesthetic where they are going to insert the spinal. It does nip a bit. They want you to remain very still when they do the spinal, kind of a duh! I would be still with a needle going into my spine anyways! They ask you about any type of twinges you get in your legs when the spinal is going in so they can adjust it properly. Basically, they feel like little jolts. I had some in my left leg and told her and she adjusted it right away and the jolts went away. Then, they want you to lay down as quickly as possible. The spinal begins to take effect almost immediately and your legs go tingly, like pins and needles. It's a very strange sensation. You know your legs are there, but you cannot feel them. Next, they shave you, if you need it and wait for the spinal to take full effect. The anesthetist will then spray this cold spray along your side. She said cold=pain so if you don't feel the cold, you won't feel the pain! Very reassuring for me.
Once you can't feel the cold, they begin. The most important thing I found is to be as communicative as possible. If you feel sick, say something and you'll get something for the sickness.
During the c-section, I could feel people touching me, but no pain. It took both my consultant and her assistant pressing on my stomach to get Alex out! The consultant said trying to get his head was like trying to grab a greased up rugby ball, lol! Little man did not want to come out! Finally, out he came, wailing his head off at 4:01pm. He was held up for me to see and then whisked into the next room. They began stitching me up. During this whole time, I was looking over at the room waiting. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the pediatrician poked his head out and said, "He's absolutely fine." I broke down crying. DH went to see him and they brought him out for me to have a quick cuddle. Then, he had to go to the NICU. They finished stitching me up and brought me into recovery. I had to wait until the spinal wore off so I could go see him. It did about four hours later and I was able to shift myself into a wheelchair.
There were three nurseries in the NICU. The first has all the incubators in it (Alex was in an open crib though cause he didn't need extra warmth). The second room is more of a nursery setting and parents are encouraged to do as much as possible with their little ones. The last is a transistional care unit for mothers and babies to get used to having a baby (like if the LO has been in for a long time after the mother has gone home, etc). In the span of four days, I was moved from the ward to transitional care. Alex went from the first room to transistional care. He was born on Friday and we were home by Monday night. His heart was monitored and the heart rate actually went up! They did a scan of his heart as well as an ECG (echocardiagram). His resting heart rate was between 60-70bpm going up to 80-90bpm when he cried. Still, not ideal for a newborn, but good enough that the doctors were not concerned.
After 14 weeks of scans and worry, Alex was fine. He won't need a pacemaker until he starts complaining about not being able to keep up with other children. Granted, I'm terrified of that day coming and I'm always keeping in the back of my mind the fear that something will change and he will need one sooner, but for now, I'm just going to enjoy being a mommy!
A bit of background: At 25 weeks, our LO was diagnosed with a condition called fetal heart block. This is where the top half of the heart beats faster than the bottom half. In some cases, this is caused by unknown reasons, but in my case, it was caused because I carry lupus antibodies. I did not know about this and according to my consultant, I probably would have never known had LO not been diagnosed. We were scheduled for an ultrasound a week until he was born to monitor his heart rate as a doppler would be not as effective for this condition. They were looking for his heart rate to drop below 50bpm or for him to develop fluid around his organs. Initially, they thought I would be delivering at 28 weeks in Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow, but held off on steriod injections just to see what would develop the following week. Alex blew them all away. His heart rate stayed between 63 and 69bpm throughout the rest of my pregnancy. I was scheduled for an elective c-section at 39 weeks because labor could potentially place too much stress on his wee heart.
Fast forward to 17th of June 2011, the day of the c-section! I was very nervous and scared. There were a lot of tears and worry the night before. I had basically prepared myself for the worst: that Alex's heart rate would drop and he would need to be rushed to Glasgow. We arrived at Ninewells Hospital at 8am, planning to be in theatre for 9am and for Alex to be here before 10am. Surprise surprise, nothing goes as planned. There wasn't a bed avaliable in the NICU, where Alex would be going for monitoring after his birth.
So, we had to wait. And wait. AND WAIT! I had been fasting since midnight the prior night and was getting very cranky and hungry. FINALLY, we got into theatre at about 3:35pm! This part gets a bit detailed about the c-section procedure so skip if you want, lol. I was put on the bed and made to hunch over so they could do the spinal. First, they inject you with a local anesthetic where they are going to insert the spinal. It does nip a bit. They want you to remain very still when they do the spinal, kind of a duh! I would be still with a needle going into my spine anyways! They ask you about any type of twinges you get in your legs when the spinal is going in so they can adjust it properly. Basically, they feel like little jolts. I had some in my left leg and told her and she adjusted it right away and the jolts went away. Then, they want you to lay down as quickly as possible. The spinal begins to take effect almost immediately and your legs go tingly, like pins and needles. It's a very strange sensation. You know your legs are there, but you cannot feel them. Next, they shave you, if you need it and wait for the spinal to take full effect. The anesthetist will then spray this cold spray along your side. She said cold=pain so if you don't feel the cold, you won't feel the pain! Very reassuring for me.
Once you can't feel the cold, they begin. The most important thing I found is to be as communicative as possible. If you feel sick, say something and you'll get something for the sickness.During the c-section, I could feel people touching me, but no pain. It took both my consultant and her assistant pressing on my stomach to get Alex out! The consultant said trying to get his head was like trying to grab a greased up rugby ball, lol! Little man did not want to come out! Finally, out he came, wailing his head off at 4:01pm. He was held up for me to see and then whisked into the next room. They began stitching me up. During this whole time, I was looking over at the room waiting. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the pediatrician poked his head out and said, "He's absolutely fine." I broke down crying. DH went to see him and they brought him out for me to have a quick cuddle. Then, he had to go to the NICU. They finished stitching me up and brought me into recovery. I had to wait until the spinal wore off so I could go see him. It did about four hours later and I was able to shift myself into a wheelchair.
There were three nurseries in the NICU. The first has all the incubators in it (Alex was in an open crib though cause he didn't need extra warmth). The second room is more of a nursery setting and parents are encouraged to do as much as possible with their little ones. The last is a transistional care unit for mothers and babies to get used to having a baby (like if the LO has been in for a long time after the mother has gone home, etc). In the span of four days, I was moved from the ward to transitional care. Alex went from the first room to transistional care. He was born on Friday and we were home by Monday night. His heart was monitored and the heart rate actually went up! They did a scan of his heart as well as an ECG (echocardiagram). His resting heart rate was between 60-70bpm going up to 80-90bpm when he cried. Still, not ideal for a newborn, but good enough that the doctors were not concerned.
After 14 weeks of scans and worry, Alex was fine. He won't need a pacemaker until he starts complaining about not being able to keep up with other children. Granted, I'm terrified of that day coming and I'm always keeping in the back of my mind the fear that something will change and he will need one sooner, but for now, I'm just going to enjoy being a mommy!
! Congratulations x
