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A scary tale with a happy ending!

Kristi • Mon, Aug 07

Meet Kaiden! Due September 14th but born July 28th at 33 wks 1 day.

My story:

I was in and out of the hospital with extremely bad pain for 2 weeks and kept getting told it was normal pregnancy pain and getting sent home without so little as "bed rest." Went to L&D on the 24th after it felt like my water broke while I was shopping. But it was bloody so they told me it was just blood from an exam earlier that day and sent me home, again. Woke up the next morning in a pool of blood and fluid and It kept gushing out. Went back to L&D for the 4th time in 2 days. They finally determined that I had a placental abruption and premature rupture of membranes. I was told they would have to do a c-section and baby was going to have to come out. 😢

Throughout the day the bleeding started to slow down and I was told the next day that we could try and wait 10 days so baby could reach 34 wks gestation. They said the induction date would be August 3rd unless baby needed out before then. The doctor explained that we could try a vaginal delivery if all went well. They said they would keep me on hospital bed rest until then.

Woke up on the 28th with cramping and told the nurse. They couldn't find contractions on the monitor and told me they were ordering a probiotic because I was just constipated (I had already pooped twice that day). I was so uncomfortable and the pain kept getting worse and worse, 3-4 minutes apart (sounds like labor, right!?) nurse still kept saying I had to poop. 5:00pm dr came in and checked my cervix "just in case." It was 3cm dialated and he said there was still a chance it was false contractions or poop cramps. At 6:00 I was in so much pain I was screaming. I kept telling the nurse I was going to have a baby and told her I needed the gas for pain relief. She brought it in and it did NOTHING for me. At 6:20 I screamed for an epidural and she left the room to see if the dr was available. A NICU nurse heard me screaming and ran in... ran right back out to tell the midwife I was about to have a baby then ran to get a warmer from the NICU (at least someone was paying attention). Midwife came in at 6:24 and said I was 8cm and could start to push if I felt I needed to. So I did and out comes a big old poop...JK, out came my baby at 6:29pm!!!!

His cord was too short to do skin to skin :( but I was able to see his beautiful face and make eye contact with him just as he let out the most beautiful cry I've ever heard. They cut the corn a whisked him off to the NICU. I was so sad they took him away, but so happy he was breathing.

The midwife had a worried look on her face and I asked her "did I tear!?" She said no and told me she was having trouble with the placenta. After a long while she was able to work it off my uterus and I pushed it out. She showed me all the dead tissue on it. It was black and lumpy in places so they sent it out for testing (still awaiting results). Turns out that "normal pregnancy pain" they kept telling me I was having was actually a chronic abruption that was bleeding into my amniotic fluid the whole time I was pregnant. Baby swallowed and "breathed" in so much blood in utero that his tummy was upset for a while after he was born. 😢 We have different blood types so he had to spend a few days under the UV lights.

He is doing great now. He's 10 days old and already breastfeeding! His IV is out and his feeding tube is coming out today! The only thing we are working on now is temperature regulation.

Kaiden is the most beautiful baby I could have ever imagined and I love him so deeply!! I am fortunate to be at the only hospital in the US that lets us stay with our preemie in a private room. I'm so in love with this baby boy!!!! 💙