Just want to start by saying I read hundreds of your ladies stories.... each one so different! And most going not by plan... totally helped me prepare for mine! I want to share for those other future mommies out there! Your story will be unique, most likely not what you expected... but so worth it!

I had been having higher then normal (but not extreme) blood pressure readings since 36 weeks. They had sent me to L&D twice for monitoring... both times my BP came down and I was sent home.

My doctor who had not taken one vacation or missed one appointment was scheduled to be out of office at my 38 week check-up so I saw one of her partners. So I went in on 6/21/2019 at 11:15am at 38+2. Took my BP, it was high. Checked my cervix, it was completely closed and high. And the doctor (who was not familiar with my pregnancy) took almost 5 minutes trying to find the heartbeat. Of course at this point I’m freaking out (I could feel him moving... but still was worried)... the doctor finally found it and said he was really high up in my belly for 38+2 and asked if he was breach. Well now if my BP wasn’t high before... it was definitely high now! She did an ultrasound in office and of course... he was not breach. Then she retook my BP.... which was (not surprisingly) higher then it was at the beginning of the appointment.

This doctor didn’t want to take any chances so back to L&D to be monitored. I joked with my husband that it was just going to be another long afternoon at L&D only to be sent home again (which was totally fine... we wanted our little guy to bake as long as possible!).

We stopped for a quick bite (per instruction of the doctor... just in case we were admitted). Grabbed some stuff from home to keep us comfortable while we were there, and to the hospital we went.

Got checked in at 1:00pm. They hooked me up to the monitors (BP was still remaining high), drew labs and ran a urine sample. BP was bouncing around between normal and mid/high. We really thought at this point we were going to go home.

In comes my nurse at 4:00pm and immediately has a very serious face. My protein levels had shot up to over 435, we would not be leaving the hospital still pregnant! Holy cow! What!! Freaking out. I was told to start mentally preparing for a long induction. Because I wasn’t dilated at all, they thought maybe baby would be here Saturday night or potentially even on Sunday. Phew... okay. It was happening, but at a slow pace. I could handle this.

They were going to induce me, starting with cervadil. But the on call doctor wanted to monitor me for a bit longer and was also watching the baby to see how he was doing (didn’t realize at this point there was anything wrong with him).

In comes the doctor at 6:00pm. Baby had been have heart decelerations. This was worrisome because of the amount (over 17 times since I had been checked in) and because I wasn’t contracting, so they didn’t know how he’d handle it if I was induced. Waiting some more. But now on high alert.

Maybe a 1/2 later, doctor comes back in... they aren’t waiting. With being officially preeclamptic and baby no longer tolerating being on the inside... he was coming out. And he was coming out now! Excuse my language.... but holy shit. We were going to be meeting our little guy that night!!!

I’ll be honest. I was 100% okay with getting a c-section (baby’s health was more important than anything else).... but also started panicking. Were we “ready” to have a baby? I thought we still had 2 more weeks... lol. Too late now

They wheeled me back at around 7pm. The surgical team, the doctors and the anestisologist were absolutely phenomenal. My husband came back right away with me. Held my hand while I got my spinal block.

The doctors were joking around, keeping me so calm and comfortable.... honestly the most calm, easiest, most relaxed experience I could have ever hoped for (considering I was having major surgery).

Baby was born at 8:16pm on Friday, 6/21. He immediately started screaming, they did delayed cord clamping, I got to see him over the curtain 2 times. Then he was taken over to a NP for a quick look over and then brought back to me for skin to skin while they finished my surgery. (Amazing amazing amazing experience).

All was said and done and I was back in my room with my little guy by 9pm! It was a whirlwind.

I will tell you, post c-section healing has been *not fun*. (To be expected... but wow). I’m very sore, moving like I’m 90, swollen legs/hands, had some slight oozing from the incision site, and so exceptionally tired.... though that has more to do with breastfeeding (which baby is a champ at!).

He is tiny!! For 38+2... he came out weighing 5lbs 15 Oz (I think I mentioned my astonishment at his size no less then 10 times in the OR). Pathology came back on my placenta and it was smaller then normal, but otherwise not heavily diseased by the pre-eclampsia.

We are all doing well, super tired, boobies are engorged, but over the moon with our little guy!

Let me introduce to you....

Enzo Nikolaus

Born 6/21 8:16pm at 38+2

5lbs 15oz

19 inches long