Birth Story

Life with Paige has been super busy, but completely amazing. I wanted to right down a quick birth story.

It all started on Monday, December 1st. I went in for my regular NST and some bloodwork (since at the last appt b/p was elevated more than usual and we were going to schedule induction for that Thursday). My bloodpressure on Monday was 170/100 and was not going down. So the doctor sent us right over to the hospital for induction. We were not prepared at all, since we figured things would just wait til later in the week. I called my mom and she met us at the hospital and Patrick went to get tour bags.

It took forever for things to get started since they had to do more bloodwork and wait on the results. Finally, at 2pm we started the gel to ripen my cervix, since I was only 1 cm dilated. This would take 12 hrs and they we would start the pitocin at 2am in the morning. We started the gel, but also had to start an IV of potassium (which burns like wouldn't believe...I had to have it diluted and slower, so it took double the time, but was worth it so I wasn't in agony) and an IV of magnesium, since my levels were really low. The next 12 hrs went by really slowly and with all the monitoring and things going on, it was hard to get any rest. At 2am, they checked me and I was only 2cm dilated. They were about to start the pitocin when the doctor changed his mind and decided to start another med to ripen my cervix more. This was only supposed to take 2 hrs this time. So by around 5am, they checked me again and I was still only 3-4cm, but they started the pitocin. At some point later in the morning, contractions were getting stronger and I was in pretty much pain, so I asked for the epidural. Within the hour they had my epidural started and within an hour, it stopped working. They came and checked it and couldn't find a problem at first except for some drainage. Every time they readjusted it, it would work for a 1/2 hr and then stop working. This continued for awhile until hey decided to try to take it out and put it back in. Again this worked for a 1/2 hour and then stopped. By this time, it was like 4-5pm. The resident checked me and I was only 6 cm dilated. I had no progress over several hours. At this point, the resident and the nurse decided it was time for a c-section and I completely agreed. We just need to wait for my doctor to arrive.

Once the doctor got to the hospital, the anesthesiologists had to decide what to do for pain. They had to decide between the epidural (which still wasn't working), a spinal and putting me under. They decided they couldn't do a spinal because of the drainage from the epidural and some other reasons I don't remember. They decided to try the epidural with a stronger med. Luckily, it worked for the most part. Because it was stronger, I was able to lay on the side where the epidural wasn't working at all, so the meds could get there. This worked, so we were good to go. My mom got dressed to go into the OR with me (Patrick didn't think he could deal with the blood and such) and he was able to go to the nursery and wait for Paige. Things went great from there on. I don't remember much except seeing Paige and kissing her. Then they took her away and Patrick was able to be with her and let all the grandparents see her. Once I was stitched up, I went back to our room and they eventually brought Paige in for me to feed her. She was so perfect. After 31 hours of labor, I had our miracle baby. She was born at 6lb. 5 ounces. and 20 inches. She was so tiny, but she has the longest toes ever. It was hard not being able to get up and get her, but Patrick was amazing with her. He changed all the diapers and walked and rocked her when she needed to be comforted. It killed me to hear her cry, but he got her to calm down like he'd been a father forever. It was so natural for him and he looks so cute with her. Paige also did great with breastfeeding right away. When we left the hospital on Friday (yes we were there for over 90 hours), she was down to 6lbs - but by Monday (6 days), she was back up to 6lb. 6 ounces already.

Paige is absolutely amazing and we are so in love! Thanks for all the support through this journey. We'll continue to update with more stories about Paige Eireland.

37w1d - Preeclampsia

So I went for my weekly appointment on Monday and things got a little hectic. My fluid check was good and baby was moving perfectly for the NST. But my bloodpressure was really high, protein in my urine and my relfexs were hyperactive. This means that I have preeclampsia. Doctor immediately put me on bedrest and assured me that since I am full term now, everything will be fine. But yesterday I started getting the headaches that come with the high b/p and my b/p was even higher than it was on Monday. So I went in for a check and they sent me to L&D to get bloodwork done, since the tests they ran on Monday wouldn't be back until the end of the week and they wanted to get the results back stat to see what was going on. Luckily, the b/w came back pretty good and my b/p started coming down a little. I'm still having a constant headache that doesn't go away and my b/p is borderline high. But for now I'm sitting tight until my appointment tomorrow - my regular NST and now b/p check. I'm hoping if its still high, we'll get some answers about the next steps and that I won't have to wait to meet with a doctor on Monday. I'd hate to go all weekend feeling like this and being worried. Just when I thought we were in the clear...oh well. As long as Paige is doing great, which she is - constantly moving, kicking, and whatever else she does. I guess thats the good thing about her being smaller, I still feel her moving around so much. Usually around this time, it starts to slow down and not feel like this. I'll try and keep you updated after tomorrow's appt.

34w2d

Ok, I know I have pretty much dropped off the face of the earth, but things got busy with working and the baby. Last time, I posted we had just moved into our new apartment and Pat was looking for a new job, and we were scheduled for our big u/s.

So where are we now? I'll start with a life update and then get into baby news. I'm still working at the same place and we are still living in the same apt (although we have thought several times about moving because of some issues, but they're getting better now). Patrick found a new job in NJ, about 30 mins away and is much happier...regular hours, regular people and good pay and benefits. He works Tues-Sat 9-6pm, which will be great when the baby comes - he'll be able to stay with her on Mondays. I'll be going to a schedule of working from home 3 days a week, so we'll only have 1 day a week that we will need childcare - whether its family or daycare, we havent decided yet. Patrick is also getting ready to apply to grad schools again, so we'll be busy doing applications before the baby comes. Work has been busy for me and its been hard to balance work and trying to relax, but its getting a little better now. Otherwise, things are as calm as can be expected.

Now for baby news. We're having a girl, which I think most of you know by now. Her name will be Paige Eireland and we're so excited. She has been doing great. She's in the small percentile when we go monthly for growth scans, but she is perfectly healthy and very active. She does not sit still much. At 32w, I started going for NSTs to monitor her heart rate and any contractions I might be having, as a precaution to the low hormone level they found in my blood around 19w. I also go for weekly fluid checks because of this. Around this time, I started having some mild contractions and the doctor sent us to labor and delivery for some extra monitoring, but there was no activity thankfully, just a possible infection that could have triggered the contractions. I finally was feeling better and things seemed quiet, but when I went in for my usual NST the last two times, I've had contractions that showed up on the monitor. The first time, the doctor was fine with it, but this second time, they seemed concerned and sent us for our third trip to L&D. Again, no activity and no signs of labor except for the contractions. I seem to be having contractions on a daily basis from about 12-bedtime. They're really not painful and are most likely Braxton Hicks, but the doctor still seemed worried. I go back on Monday for more monitoring. Today's appt showed no contractions, but it was first thing in the morning so its to be expected. Everyone keeps saying she'll be here by Thanksgiving and now my dad has went so far as to say 11/6 - 4w before my due date! I want her to stay in there and grow a little more. I'd be happy going to my due date and maybe even a little longer. As uncomfortable as I may get, it is for the best.

But if she does come early, I think we're ready.


My shower was now about 4w ago - I can't believe it. With everything thats been going on, I just now got my thank you notes out. I can't believe it. I had them written right away, but no addresses. Here are a few pics - it was hard to get good pictures since so many people were there, but it was so beautiful and we got so many amazing gifts for Paige. We're doing a turtle theme in the nursery so that is why there are turtles on the cake!














And we finally have the nursery done. I dont have any pictures yet, but will try to take some this weekend. The room is tiny and lighting is difficult. But we used the CoCoLa Turtle Bay bedding and it looks so amazing in the room. I got a recliner that rocks for a great price, and we used my dresser/changing table from when I was a baby. Everything came together so great.

Finally, some maternity pictures. I really wanted pictures, but didn't want to pay alot. So my dad and my aunt took us to the park this past weekend when the leaves were changing and got some amazing pics. These are just a few of my faves.













So thats it for now. Sorry again about not updating - I'll try to be better now that things are moving along!

19w2d - Lots Going On

Ok, let's start with the easier stuff and work down. We're officially moved into our new place. Pat and my dad basically moved everything in with some help from my cousins. We have all our necessities in and of course I've got the place decorated since I can't stand not living in a place that looks like our home. We're definitely short on closet space and have too much furniture since we downgraded from a 3br to a 2br. Its coming together, but I wish it was done. We still need to bring a few more things here to get settled. Otherwise, the place is nice. We had to deal with carpets that Pat says smell and way too many spiders on the ceiling in the bathroom. But it all seems to have resolved itself.

Our new car is great, but hard on gas - to be expected with a jeep though. Otherwise its great. However, my car, the Mazda, got broken into on Saturday. They broke the drivers window and stole our stereo. It happened while Pat is at work, so luckily his boss is paying the deductible for us, which is nice. But Pat is more dedicated to finding a new job now, since the place really isn't safe.

Now onto the baby side of things. Our appt last week went great. No issues, just heard the heartbeat, did some bloodwork, and scheduled our big u/s for the end of the month. This Tuesday though I had some pain in my left side and was feeling really anxious. So I went to the docs again. All was well. The pain was unrelated to the anxiousness - it was round ligament pain. And the anxiousness was probably a combination of stress, heat, and some other stuff. So that was fine. But then yesterday I got a call about my bloodwork results. The genetic aspect of the testing was fine, baby is healthy and great. But one of the hormone levels, estriol, was low and could mean the placenta is not getting enough nutrients to the baby. So they want me to start taking baby aspirin and doing monthly growth scans (u/s). I decided because of this to move my u/s up - so its scheduled for this coming Tuesday. I'm happy that they caught this and are going to be monitoring me (and of course that I get to see my baby monthly), however its so scary. I just want this little one to keep growing strong.

17w4d

I know I'm bad at blogging anymore. But it my defense, things have been busy. We were in serious apartment search mode and Pat's job has crazy hours. We just got back from a week long vacation with my parents at VA Beach. It was very necessary and I'm feeling much more relaxed. However, this week is going to be very busy and I'm already getting anxious. Not only do I have another OB appt on Tuesday. I'm so nervous. I'm not sure if I'm feeling the baby yet - I might be. I hope I am. I'm getting bigger, so thats a good sign. I will try and post a pic after Tuesday. Aside from the appt, we're also planning on moving on Tuesday since we found a place. We bought a new car today also, and this weekend is the 4th of July. Pat has a half day on Friday, but a full 12 hrs on Saturday. I know things will settle down once we're moved in. And hopefully on Tuesday we'll schedule our BIG u/s.

14w2d

Wow, I can't believe I'm 14w. It seems like things are going so slow but then it just hits you. We had our first OB appt yesterday. Lots of info and bloodwork...no u/s though. We did get to hear the heartbeat though - 161. Not as squirmy as last time but still moving around a bunch. I haven't put any weight on, so we're going food shopping with my parents this weekend to make sure there's enough here for me to eat. Otherwise all is well.

We're still with my parents right now. We've seen so many places, but I can't find one that is nice. It has never been this hard for us to find something. I'm trying to be patient, but its so hard living like this with our stuff all over the place. Other than that, things are quiet.

12w2d - Update

We're officially moved back to PA. Half of our stuff is with us at my parents and the rest is in the basement of my wonderful aunt. I've had to go into the office more for work and the baby is not liking the early mornings. I'm still getting some mild nausea and throw up once in awhile, especially early mornings when the baby wants to keep sleeping. Other than that, we have our first OB appt June 4th - its late, but I had to wait for my new insurance to kick in. Everything seems to be going well besides still being sick. My baby bump is starting to get bigger - that or its all the ice cream I'm eating (its all i've been wanting to eat). I seriously need to find some new work clothes since nothing really fits and even my shirts are getting small. They're not long enough to cover my bella band when I wear it. Shopping trip I guess!

Pat found a job already that is great, and still is waiting to hear about a teaching job in the area. We've started looking for apartments, but I'd like to hold off til July 1st if we can to see what our new paychecks look like and get a budget together. Nothing else going on - its cold and rainy here, but warm weather is expected this weekend. Let's hope so. I'll try to update more now that I'm feeling better and not sleeping as much.