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THIS IS GIANNA'S BIRTH STORY AS I POSTED IT ON MY MYSPACE PAGE- IT'S VERY LONG, HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY.
Here goes, my origional due date was October 8, 2008. Wow, was all Louie & I could think at the time- that's just amazing! We did not do any type of conception planning or anything of that sort to try to have a baby on that date- it just so happened that way. Recap again, for those of you who don't know all the details- October 8th is a very special day to Louie- it's his father's birthday. He passed away in 2006, so for Louie to have his baby & his father's 1st grand baby born that day would be so meaningful to him.
So, we got the 1st size & dates ultra sound done & the Drs. decided to bump my due date back exactly a week to October 15th- ugh! BUT, after reviewing the records from my pregnancy & delivery of Teddy, they decided they would not let me go the full 40 weeks. I had to be induced early w/ this pregnancy due to the size of Teddy's head when he was born. For those of you who don't know- Teddy's head was (& still is, lol) very large & the Dr. had to use forceps on him. When they didn't work, my Dr. did what she had to do & literally (this is gonna sound horrible- & that's exactly how it felt!) stuck her hands in my va jay jay & yanked him out. Needless to say, it was very tramatic & he had major bruising to his noggin. So, even though my babies have different fathers, they still wanted to be cautious & deliver our baby girl early.
After being told that I would be induced early, I asked right away what the possibilities of that happening on the 8th, at 39 weeks, would be. The Dr. could tell something was up by the excitement in my voice & asked what the reason was for me wanting that date. I explained it to her & she said she would see what she could do & we would have to wait til later in the pregnancy to see how things panned out. I didn't get the usual throwing up morning sickness with this pregnancy- it was worse, I would feel nauseated all day long from the time I got done work at 1:30 p.m. I would go home & literally could not get out of bed until the next day for the 1st three months- oh, what a joy this is turning out to be already, lol.
Fast forward- it's October 7th & I laid down to go to sleep, only problem was I couldn't fall asleep! We had to be at the hospital at 6:00 a.m. on October 8th, yes the day that we had asked for, for my induction! So, needless to say I was up all night anxiously watching the clock- are you kidding me, there was no way I could fall asleep!
Louie & I went to the hospital & my Mom stayed at our house w/ Teddy- no sense in them going that early before things actually get moving. They put me in a room right away & started my i.v. & strapped me to all the fetal monitors. I was having some slight contractions at the time, but nothing major. Here's the part that aggravated me- we had to be there at 6 a.m. & they decided they were gonna wait for the day shift Dr. to come in at 9 a.m. to start anything! That made no sense to me, but whatever!
The Dr. finally came in at about 10:30 a.m. & checked me- I was only at 1 cm & my cervix was still long & thick. She decided to give me cervadil to soften & thin it out. That was put in at 11:15 a.m. & stays in for 12hrs.!!!! My idea of an induction was totally off- I thought everything was supposed to move along fairly quickly, boy was I in for a rude awakening! They took it out at 11:15 p.m. & checked me- still at 1 cm, cervix was softened a little, but still long- ugh no real progress!!! I had only 45 mins. left to have this baby on the 8th. That obviously was not gonna happen. We were a little disappointed, but at the same time still happy because our baby girl could be born any time now- or so we thought!
They decided to wait til the morning to start me on the pitocin- gosh, was I getting ticked off- all these delays made no sense to me! October 9th- 8:30 a.m. they started the pitocin & checked again- 1 1/2 cm., yay- finally some type of progress! I know, it's not much, but it was something to me & I got excited. At around 2 p.m. contractions started getting stronger & coming closer together, so it was time for another check. The Dr. said I was at 1 cm. WHAT?!?! I couldn't believe it the nurse that did my last check said I was at 1 1/2 cm, I thought I was finally making some progress, talk about being frusterated!!! Around 4:30 p.m. my contractions were coming back to back- up until that point I was able to breathe through them, because I knew I had a little time to relax between them. I tried so hard to be strong & do it all naturally again, but the contractions just took over & the pain was unbearable. I started crying uncontrollably- I tried to be as quiet as possible & turned my head, because I didn't want everyone to see how much pain I was in & ask me if I wanted pain meds or push me to get them, I was determined to do it my way. Then, I caved in....... I did something I thought I'd never do, I asked for the epidural.
As soon as that thing was in, it was instant relief- I felt great on the outside, but inside I felt like a failure for getting it. Some time goes by & at 8 p.m. it was time for another check....... yup, you guessed it still at 1 cm. At this point in time I feel like a complete failure- not only did I not give birth on the 8th like we had wanted, I got the epidural, & I'm not even progressing during an induction. All I kept thinking to myself was what's wrong with me? Now it's time to discuss my options- they could try the cervadil again & check me the next day, which would be the 10th, or do a c-section in a few hours. I told the Dr. I was completely drained & just wanted it to be over, I thought up until then nothing during my labor was done naturally, so why not just cut her out? The Dr. said she would be back in a few hours for the c-section.
I was not nervous at all up until this point..... the double doors swung open, I heard someone say: time in 10:02 p.m., the lights were so bright that they were almost blinding, the sterile type of smell was lingering in the air, the stainless steel operating table. Yup, I thought, this is just as you see it in the movies- right before something really bad happens. For the first time in my life I was absolutely petrified, scared to death, and I was all alone with all those people I didn't know. They moved me onto the table & swung out these arm rests- pulled my left arm over & strapped it down, next they did my right arm, then my legs. I felt as if I was being crucified, then the blue curtain went up. At this point in time I felt sick to my stomach & was- that's one of the worst feelings ever: to have to vomit while laying flat on your back & strapped down. Then finally I saw two familiar faces- they let my love in & Dr. Pet_t was with him, all scrubbed & ready to go.
I heard all kinds of voices, I don't know what they were saying, I was so scared that I couldn't understand them- they sounded like the teacher on Charlie Brown. The only thing I understood was Louie every minute asking me if I was ok & telling me he loves me. I told him I was fine, even though I was the furthest thing from it, but I did not want to worry him at all. The anesthesiologist, Robert was awesome. He stayed right by my head with us the whole time & explained every little detail as to what was going on & what I would be feeling. He said it was almost time, our baby would be out soon & I was going to feel alot of pressure on my chest. I felt the pressure then I was getting shooting pains through the right side of my chest, then had to vomit again. After that I heard them say here she is, but that was it..... no cry. Gianna Bella DiGuglielmo was born October 9, 2008 at 10:36 p.m. 7lbs. 4.8oz. 20 1/2in. I looked to my right & saw the neonatal team working on her & was scared to death & asked Louie why she wasn't crying yet. That was the longest probably minute or less of my entire life, they had the oxygen bag on her, shaking her, turning her about, then I heard a little whimper come from her- that was such a relief to hear something. They brought her to me for a split second then wisked her away.
Louie was torn, he didn't know if he should stay with me or go with the baby. I told him I'd be fine, to go with her because she needs one of us with a familiar voice there with her, so he went with her to the NICU. After being st_tched up, I was brought to the recovery room. While in there I felt this huge gush of blood come out & told the nurse. She checked & then changed all the padding & stuff that was under me. I thought nothing else of it at the time. Louie came back in & it was a little after 1 a.m. & time for me to be brought to my room, so they wheeled my bed into the NICU, so I could really see & hold my baby girl for the first time. She was perfect & so beautiful!
I didn't get much sleep that night. The nurse came in in the morning & asked how I felt. I told her I was fine, & that I just wanted to see my baby. She told me I could see her later in the afternoon, that I had to stay in my bed for 12 hours after being out of the recovery room & that I had a scare & had them all worried with how much blood I lost in the recovery room. So, finally at about 1:30 p.m. I was allowed to be wheeled down to the NICU to see my baby girl. Her nurse told me she needed oxygen just for the 1st half hour after delivery because she had a slow transition period. She was not tolerating the formula they gave her, so they started her on i.v. fluids. I then nursed her for a little bit.
She still was not holding much down, including the br___tmilk, so they kept her i.v. in. Starting on Saturday night, the 11th she did not bring up any of the br___tmilk- yay! They gradually lowered the i.v. fluids to see how she did & by Sunday night she was completely off them. We were both discharged the next day- Columbus Day, Monday, October 13, 2008. Gianna was 6lbs. 15.6oz. when we were discharged from the hospital. Two days later she was 7lbs. 8oz. at the Drs. office. A week after that she was 9lbs. at the Drs. office. She will be 3 weeks old tomorrow & is doing great.
Gianna is such a blessing to us & so is her awesome big brother Teddy. I love my children with all my heart & I'd be lost without them. Even though Gianna's birth experience was frusterating & scary at times, I will cherish every second of it & I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat if I had to. Thank- you to all of you who have been there for us through out my pregnancy & still are here for us today- no need to mention names, you all know who you are & you all are loved dearly.
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