Today at church, we were asked to spread some thankfulness in the midst of all of the negativity we see/hear/read today. Although I hadn’t planned on sharing this, I think now is a good time to.

The birth and days leading to the birth of Leila are ones I will never forget. I had been battling swelling and pain in my back, legs, and feet for weeks. My doctor had prescribed and order a back brace and leg pumps for me, but they were not helpful. I received a heavy duty support brace the morning of Thursday, March 12th. With my new brace, I decided to try to go to work and a least help my team finish up lesson plans for the month. (We ended up not needing those, obviously. 😂) By the time I got to Circleville, I knew something was wrong. Leading up to Thursday, I had already been seen at labor and delivery twice that week and talked on the phone with my doctor every day. Thursday was different though. Thursday scared me. Leila was no longer moving around like she had been. I went to work for 20 minutes to give my Co teacher some papers that needed to be signed by parents and decided to go to OSU. On the way there I started having contractions. I knew I couldn’t make it all the way to Columbus, so I turned around and went to Berger. When I arrived there they ran my labs and found proteins in my urine, which led to being diagnosed with preeclampsia. Berger stayed that because I was not full term, they could not deliver Leila, but they needed to start giving me magnesium immediately via IV to lower my blood pressure. I was taken back to Adena in Chillicothe via ambulance where I labored until Friday, March 13th. I originally hadn’t wanted an epidural, but after 3 attempts to get a foley in to help me dilate failed, I asked to get the epidural before they tried to place it again. My epidural had an occlusion that they couldn’t find, so from about 8 cm until the end I felt everything and oh boy was it not fun. 🙃

I finally reached the point on pushing when things got much scarier. I pushed once and the doctor said it looked good and Leila was moving. I pushed a second time, still good. On my third push, Leila heart rate plummeted. I heard the monitors change their beeping and the atmosphere of the room shift. The nurses and doctor told me to stop pushing and that we needed to get Leila out NOW. Five nurses came rushing into the room, one with the vacuum apparatus. They told me I had to push as hard a I possibly could. I was freaking out 100%. I kept asking what was happening and was praying that my baby would be okay. The next thing I knew, I felt Leila on my chest. They let me hold her briefly and then took her to the warming table to check her out. She was great! Her APGAR was an 8-9 and I got her back in my arms quickly.

Any number of things could’ve gone wrong. We don’t truly know how long I was suffering from preeclampsia because my labs hadn’t been fully run for 3 weeks before delivery. God kept me and my baby safe throughout that time and through the delivery. I’m thankful for my job and coworkers that made me slow down and pay attention to my body. I’m thankful for my friends and family that supported me and made me go to the hospital. I’m thankful for the nurses and doctors that took care of us and got me crushed ice 36272626 times. I couldn’t be more thankful for my girl who was born 3 weeks early and still weighed 7 lbs 9 oz. One month later, she now weighs 10 lbs 5 oz and she’s growing and learning more every day. I love you, Leila Jade my rainbow baby. 💕