Dr. Morales with Baby Wolter #2
Baby Wolter #2's first few moments
I am writing these a week later so I am going to try my hardest to remember everything that happened. So, Sunday night at around 7:30 pm, I started to have slight contractions that were 10 minutes apart. They continued to get stronger and closer together until they were about 2 minutes apart at around 10:00 pm. I was trying to convince myself that they were Braxton-Hicks contractions even though I was pretty sure they were not...especially according to everything I had read. So, finally at around 1 am on Monday, we decided to head to the hospital. We went to CRMC because I was exactly 35 weeks. Dr. Morales was not on call but he said he would come in to do the delivery. I was 4 cm when I arrived at CRMC and was contracting very regularly. My water was still intact though. I was put in the most amazing delivery room and I was able to be up and walking and even be off of the monitors for awhile. I also got to take a shower and a bath which was awesome! I was a lot more calm during labor this time, especially since I wasn't constrained to the bed. The last hour before pushing was rough because I kept telling the nurse that I had to push but she wouldn't let me and she was saying that since my contractions were right on top of each other, I needed to get narcotics or an epidural or I was going to have a c-section. I knew that wasn't true so I just kept saying no and asking her to check my dilation. She finally called Dr. Morales and he said to give me terbutaline because the nurse told him I was only 6 cm...which I was an hour ago. Finally, she listened to me and checked me and I was 100% effaced and 10 cm dilated. So, Dr. Morales came in and broke my water and I pushed for less than 10 minutes and Baby Wolter #2 was here! My water broke all over Dr. Morales so he was probably wishing he didn't come in for my birth. ;) They laid the baby on my belly right away and I got to hold him but then the nurses weren't stimulating him and I wasn't thinking straight so he stopped crying and they had to take him to the warmer. That was the beginning of the end....from there, he went to the nursery and within 2 hours he was intubated. His sats were fine, they just said he was breathing fast. So, he got one dose of survanta and then they extabated him and just put him on high flow. There was some serious drama during this time though because CRMC called TMH to get a NICU bed and TMH told them they didn't have any. I later talked to my nurse and she said that they always say they don't have any beds for CRMC patients but that they usually do, they are just in some sort of political battle. So, I called an OB at TMH to see if he could call the NICU and get me a bed and the NICU said they actually were just now discharging someone so they could take the baby. In the meantime, the CRMC doc had called Shands to come pick him up in the helicopter so they arrived at CRMC. They were extremely supportive though and wanted me and the baby to stay in town for our sake and they were fine with not taking him. TMH then denied having a bed though since Shands was already there and they said it was inappropriate to not go through with the transfer. Being the consumer...the one paying the bill and the one having to be separated from my family...I chose to continue asking TMH. They eventually unhappily agreed to take the baby. So, he got transfered to TMH. When I got to the NICU to see him, the first thing that happened was I walked in on two nurse practitioners talking negatively about me, very loudly. I walked in and told them I could hear them and they were very embarrassed and it was really awkward. From then on, I felt like they were all treating me differently. The doctor barely spoke to me, the nurse was somewhat cold. Most of the nurse practitioners were awesome though but I still felt weird because I knew they all thought of me as a monster. I also asked a lot of questions since I have done a rotation in the NICU and knew some things. I know they know a lot more than me but I still wanted to be told about everything they were doing to the baby. So, I am sure I am not their favorite parent to say the least. ;) But, we are very grateful that we are here and not in Gainesville. For the little bit that I thought I was going to Shands, I asked to be discharged from CRMC. My doctor allowed me to do that so from about 2 hours after delivery, I was no longer a patient. It was kind of nice to sleep in my own bed but it was hard to not have food brought to me and Tylenol and such. But, Dr. Morales did not let me tear so I didn't have any stitches. So, I really wasn't in too much pain. I was just having a lot of uterine contractions that were actually really painful. I didn't have really bad ones like that with Jude.
When the baby got here, he was put on high flow nasal cannula, antibiotics, IV fluids, and put under the bili lights because he was Coombs positive (I had transferred antigens against his blood type) so his red blood cells were breaking down. It was absolutely heart breaking to see him with all of the tubes and wires and tape stuck all over him. It doesn't matter how many times you go through this, it is still horrible. I watched the nurse at CRMC accidentally extubate him and I seriously wanted to freak out. They then had to put the tube back down which is not pleasant. I really can't explain how it feels to have your baby and then have him taken away from you. It is so unnatural and you can tell that he is unhappy. I just wanted to be able to hold him and comfort him but they wouldn't let me. It has been a tough first day that I thought I would not have to go through again. But, I know that it could be much worse so I just thank God for how long I did carry him and that he is healthy for the most part. I can't help but wonder whether what they did was neccessary. It is really frustrating to be at their mercy. Jeremy is extremely distrusting of the NICU now and I can't blame him. The whole reason CRMC delivers 35 weekers is because they are usually healthy. Why both of our sons have had to go to the NICU is beyond me. The neonatologists basically stereotype them and say, all 35 weekers have these problems but that is not true if you read the literature. So, we are very confused and frustrated. But, we are excited to have our little man here with us and we can't wait to take him home and do what most parents get to do at birth.
When the baby got here, he was put on high flow nasal cannula, antibiotics, IV fluids, and put under the bili lights because he was Coombs positive (I had transferred antigens against his blood type) so his red blood cells were breaking down. It was absolutely heart breaking to see him with all of the tubes and wires and tape stuck all over him. It doesn't matter how many times you go through this, it is still horrible. I watched the nurse at CRMC accidentally extubate him and I seriously wanted to freak out. They then had to put the tube back down which is not pleasant. I really can't explain how it feels to have your baby and then have him taken away from you. It is so unnatural and you can tell that he is unhappy. I just wanted to be able to hold him and comfort him but they wouldn't let me. It has been a tough first day that I thought I would not have to go through again. But, I know that it could be much worse so I just thank God for how long I did carry him and that he is healthy for the most part. I can't help but wonder whether what they did was neccessary. It is really frustrating to be at their mercy. Jeremy is extremely distrusting of the NICU now and I can't blame him. The whole reason CRMC delivers 35 weekers is because they are usually healthy. Why both of our sons have had to go to the NICU is beyond me. The neonatologists basically stereotype them and say, all 35 weekers have these problems but that is not true if you read the literature. So, we are very confused and frustrated. But, we are excited to have our little man here with us and we can't wait to take him home and do what most parents get to do at birth.
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