Let me start out by saying I LOVE being pregnant. The fact that I happened to get pregnant on my own without intervention of fertility medication is a miracle in itself. God definitely had his had in this one from the beginning (I didn't doubt this one bit anyway). My pregnancy with Harper was smooth sailing compared to this one. I threw up with Harper....a lot, but no gestational diabetes, no high blood pressure, nothing!
So onto this story....(you can read about the beginning of our TTC journey with Sutton here and here)
Like I wrote in my last post, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes in January. This would explain why I felt so horrible all of the time. Once I changed my diet and started taking glyburide, I felt SO much better. I was seeing my OB Dr. Lampkin every Monday and the maternal-fetal medicine doctor Dr. Atkinson every Thursday. Sutton was doing well during every ultrasound, but she didn't behave during the non-stress tests. With fetal movement, her heart rate is supposed to increase. Instead, her heart beat was staying the same. At every appointment I was reassured by ultrasound that she was okay. She was measuring big, but she was healthy and active. I was having contractions but nothing consistent.
During my non stress test on February 5th, Dr. Lampkin and Dr. Atkinson both agreed I needed to have another non stress test at the hospital that coming Saturday. What should have been 20 minutes of monitoring turned into 3 hours. Sutton wasn't moving like she should and I was having contractions 3-6 minutes apart. After another ultrasound, Sutton looked healthy and active so I went home. Now I was scheduled to have non stress tests twice a week with Dr. Atkinson instead of once a week.
On February 13th. I had been in severe pain the couple of weeks prior in my hip and leg, and it was only getting worse. My mom flew in on the 11th to help out since I was in such bad shape. I could barely get out of bed, and walking was almost out of the question. I was hurting so bad I was unable to eat or drink much. I called Dr. Lampkin's office, and they had me go to labor and delivery at the hospital to be monitored and received IV fluids. The nurse I had said several times "You're only 33 weeks. It's not like they will deliver your baby just because you're in pain." If I was able to move I may have high fived her in the face...with a chair. I was scheduled to go back on the 14th to the hospital for another non stress test and receive steroid shots for Sutton's lungs, but since I had just been there the day before, I stayed home since I had an appointment scheduled with Dr. Atkinson on Monday.
Fast forward to Monday, February 16th. My appointment with Dr. Atkinson started out with a non stress test like normal. Of course, Sutton's heart rate wasn't accelerating like it was supposed to. I had another ultrasound which showed she was healthy and active. Dr. Atkinson decided just to play it safe, I needed to go to antepartum at the hospital for 24 hours monitoring. Mom and I headed over there, and I called Michael to let him know what was going on so he could bring me my hospital bag after school since I was staying over night. I was just being monitored. No big deal. Dr. Lampkin came by not too long after the non stress test started and said he wasn't pleased with the results. Now he was sending me to labor and delivery to have a contraction test done. During this test, they would give me pitocin to induce labor and see how Sutton's heart rate responded to them. Again, I was just having a test. No big deal. I told Michael to go ahead and get Harper out of school early and head to Lubbock.
I got up to L&D to start the test. She had a couple of minor decels with her heart rate but nothing major. Before the test was even close to being over, the nurse came in and said "you're having a baby today!" Dr. Lampkin called me about a minute later to let me know his decision. He said he just had a gut feeling she needed to be delivered today. He didn't want her dying before delivery in antepartum while I was being monitored. This was around 4pm, and he said we would deliver around 7 or 8 because the ORs were booked. Not a minute later, the nurse comes back in and says we are having a baby in 15 minutes. Okay. At this point I started to freak out. She started prepping me for surgery, the anesthesiologist came in, and Dr. Lampkin rushed over from his office. My hip and leg were killing me, and I was starting to freak out about the spinal. I was wheeled off to the OR, got my spinal, and the NICU staff came in to prep for delivery. Dr. Lampkin started cutting before Michael even got into the room.
Sutton Paige McKee was born at 4:48pm. The first thing I remember is her being completely purple. She let out a teeny cry before she was bagged. They wiped her off, wrapped her up, let me kiss her tiny face, and they were off to the NICU with my baby. The rest of the day was such a blur. I just had a baby. I wasn't pregnant anymore. I just kept thinking "is this real?" Dr. Lampkin said the cord was wrapped around her neck, and the placenta had a marginal cord insertion. Thank God he was proactive about his gut feeling. I can't thank him enough. After hanging out in recovery for a while, they took me into the NICU to see her. She had so many wires and tubes, but I was reassured she was doing well. They took me back to my room, and I wasn't able to see her again until 8 hours later. She was the most precious thing I had ever seen. I kept saying "I can't believe she's here" over and over again.
Now she is a week old, and I can't get enough of her sweet face. She continues to do well despite her gestational age. Hopefully we will get to go home later this week.
I am still struggling with my emotions about this whole experience. The fact that she could have died in utero is a little too much for me to handle. I can't get the image of her little purple body out of my mind. She is and will always be our miracle baby.
