The Birth Story

What a long strange trip it's been! Zoe was born on July 11, 2006 at 4:05 PM PDT at Alta Bates Hospital by emergency c-section. She weighed 2 pounds 8 ounces. It was 2 weeks ago today. I'll do my best to fill in events of the day that led to her birth 7 weeks early...

Tuesday, July 11 Vera went back to work. She had been staying at the hospital with me every night since I was admitted. We thought that I was going to be there for another few weeks, so it seemed appropriate for her to return to work. My folks had decided to stay in town for the duration and were staying at our place and drove to hospital each day, so I would have someone there who could get in touch with Vera if things escalated. I can't remember if she stayed with me or at home Monday night or at some friends' house.

That morning, July 11, Allen the sonographer, didn't see any practice breathing. So it was the first time the baby got less than a score of 8, the score that day was 6. I was under the impression that was still a healthy score. That day on Tuesday, the baby's heart rate began dipping and my blood pressure began to rise. The Perinatoligist came it and said that they wanted to do an amnio to see how developed the baby's lungs were (this doctor reminded me of VP Chaney, which made it very hard to like him). I called Vera to tell her about the amnio. I also spoke to a colleague on the phone about some work related stuff and was still thinking that it was going to be several days before anything happened... Later I learned from my mom that she over heard Cheney's look alike yelling at the nurses at the nurses station something to the effect of: "This is ridiculous, you've got a 40 year old woman with gestational diabetes, her blood pressure is rising, the baby's heart rate is dropping, call her OB and get this moving already!" It sounds like he thought things were escalating and that no one was responding fast enough so his yelling kicked things into gear...

It happened very fast. The nurse came in and said we're seeing more dips in the baby's heart rate, we're calling the doctor. One of the Dr Du Jours had warned me over the weekend that I was most likely going to need a c-section and so I had already filled out the paper work for both a natural deliver and a c-section delivery.

They called the doctor on call and told her that the baby's heart rate was dropping. I called Vera and told her about the baby's heart rate, that they were going to induce labor and that she should come right away. My folks were already there.

As they wheeled me on my bed to a delivery room, the doctor arrived (the one that chuckled on 4th of July) She put her had on my shoulder and looked down at me and said, "You are going to have a baby". I'll never forget that moment. I looked up and behind me from the gurney to my mom and simply said "Mom?" and she replied, "They're going to take it", so she knew.

They wheeled me into a delivery room. Dr took my hand and said some comforting words. I asked it it was going to be an emergency c-section, she said "no, we're going to tap you". "Tap me, what does that mean?" "A spinal tap, you'll be awake." I asked her to wait for Vera. Dad was on the cell phone with Vera who was racing through the Cauldicott Tunnel.

I then met the Neonatalogist, a guy in a turban. I also met the anesthesiologist. A nurse, named Catherine came in shaved me to prep for the incision. I remember the OB pacing and hoping Vera would arrive soon.
By that time I was really scared. I kept crying on and off. There was so much activity. No one was talking to me. Vera arrived, got into scrubs. When Vera got there she gave me a big hug and told me everything would be OK. Vera arrived, got into scrubs. I remember she had a camera over her shoulder, in all that rush, she remember the camera. From the commotion, she made it there in record time. I told her if anything should happen she should go with the baby.

At one point I started crying. I think they were getting ready to move me to the operating room. I said "I'm scared." I closed my eyes. I felt my hand start to shake. I heard someone day, "Her hand is shaking!" That's the last thing I remember...

[These events are pieced together after the fact from others that were there to fill in my memory gap:
So my hand shaking was the start of a seizure. Both my mom and Vera saw me seize. It sounds like a very horrible thing to watch. They announced a code blue over the hospital PA and wheeled me to a surgery room. The first room they tried to use was dirty so I was quickly moved to the next surgery room. Vera was not allowed in the surgery room (just hospital staff only). I supposedly woke up on my own in the surgery room and had a conversation with the anesthesiologist before he knocked me out, cut me open and took the baby out. The baby was not breathing. The neonatalogist took the baby from there, wheeled her out on a bag breathing thingy. Vera wanted to see me, but the doctors would not let her. The OB kind of took her by the shoulders and said, "Look at me, you've got a baby now, she needs you, go with the baby. Lori will be OK, we have to get a chest x-ray to make sure she does not have fluid in her lungs. So while I was getting a chest x-ray, Vera, my folks and other family who had arrived went to the NICU.

The baby was on a respirator for the first 12 hours. Fortunately her lungs were fully developed and she was able to breath on her own after it was removed. ]

The next thing I remember is my mom and our doula standing over me, the doula saying "Hi Lori, it's Beth". I asked if it was an emergency c-section. The I passed out. Then the next thing I remember is Vera standing over me and she showed me a picture of the baby. I thought I was in a surgery recovery room but in reality I was in ICU and was on some heave anti-seizure medication, magnesium sulfate, unaware of this fact. I passed out again.

I woke up the next day to a strange man looking down at me. He said "Hi" and asked if I remembered him. "No."
"I didn't think so, do you remember talking to me last night?"
"No."
He told me that he was ICU Director. My jaw hurt and my tongue was swollen. It seems that I had bit my tongue during the seizure and they had to pry my jaw open to intubate me to help me breath. The next few day's are blurry. I remember a nice male nurse giving me Popsicle.

I had horrible dreams from the magnesium sulfate. I spent Wednesday in ICU. And was transferred to Post partum in late afternoon. On Thursday my blood pressure did not go down, I began getting she shakes and I was extremely irritable. Vera insisted I be transferred back to ICU, the doctor agreed. I was transferred back to ICU and was there 2 more nights. Then back to post partum on Saturday.

It was Sunday before I had the strength to sit up in a wheel chair to finally meet the baby.

The baby was under constant care in the NICU. For a few days she was on a nasal cannula then a breathing tube. She had a feeding tube either in her mouth or her nose. By the time I met her she was off the nasal cannula and breathing tube, breathing on her own completely. The nurses called her "Feisty, Love Chops, and other endearing terms".