Overcooked and Underweight

It's amazing how time ticks away when a Newborn dictates your life. All he does is eat, sleep, and mess his diaper. All I do is feed, rock, and change him. And time just slips away. I've been meaning to write about his birth.. well... since he was born. For you to read and for me to remember.

My last doctor appointment was on May 12/08. Dr Hellawa had some concerns about the Baby's weight and growth. In addition, there was only minimal amniotic fluid around him. The decision was made to get the baby out. I was scheduled for induction the following day.

The next morning we went to the hospital. The syntocinon IV was started and increased in dose every half hour. From 1130 AM till about 300 PM I felt tightenings with no pain. I was on constant monitoring - routine for an induction. At 315 PM Baby's heart rate dropped and took what felt like forever to return to baseline. A resident was called and she ruptured my membranes and attached a scalp clip to my baby's head to make sure we were getting an accurate reading. Labor increased in intensity after that and about an hour later I got an epidural. It decreased the intensity of the pain to a tolerable level, but I could still move easily and feel each and every contraction. I was glad for this as I wanted to be an active participant.

Some time later (I couldn't see a clock and lost track of time) the Baby's heart rate dipped again. A resident was called. I turned from side to side to try and ease the burden on the Baby. Eventually he recovered. At this point dilation was 6 cm. We began to talk about a c-section. The decision was made that if the heart rate were to do this again, we would head to the OR. Consent was signed and I was prepped. The syntocinon was turned completely off.

Dr Hellawa was called in to assess the situation. He arrive about a half hour later, checked and found that I was 9 cm. I continued to labor and was shortly fully dilated. Dr Hellawa stated that Baby was low down. He wanted me to push at his command, with or without a contraction. He warned me that the Baby's heart rate might drop and that if it did, he would be ready to pull the Baby out. Sure enough, Baby's heart rate dropped into the 60's. A quick cut and forceps pulled out my baby boy into the safety of the delivery room. He let out a lusty cry before being whisked away for assessment.

Shortly after he was placed on my chest, squirming and red. And we named him Isaiah Jack.

Active labor only took 7.5 hrs. I was surprised that I didn't feel an instant bond with my baby. I knew he was mine, but I didn't know him. In fact, it took a few days until I really felt "bonded" with him.

Isaiah was a bit overcooked and underweight. He struggled the first few days with keeping his blood sugars up. He would put out more energy trying to eat than he got from the feeding itself. He spent a couple of days in ICU being force fed along with breastfeeding until he got a bit stronger. They called him the "sugar Baby" and asked him to give breastfeeding lessons to the others in the NICU.

We went home after 4 days in the hospital. Our family more complete and our lives forever changed.