The Birth of Trey

This next birth story comes from my amazing student and client Alicia. She so wonderfully jumped at the chance when I asked if she would be willing to share! Her bright personality shines through her writing and will make you smile. You can read more about her adorable family on her blog.
I wan honored to be present at her birth and I loved getting to know Alicia and Allen in Hypnobabies class.

BIRTH STORY of Micahel Allan Ambrose III aka Trey:

Part one:

In order to tell you my birth story we have to go back a few weeks to March 14, 2016. I was 34 weeks and 4 days. The past several days I had been EXTREMELY itchy. I had had this itch in February, but it only last a couple of days and I attributed it to being too hot at times. (My office was SO hot while I was pregnant. I had to get a little desk fan!) In February I mentioned the itchiness to my midwife and she said, "and you probably read about ICP on the internet" I affirmed that I had and she asked if the itchiness was on my hands and feet and I said no. She said to watch it, and if it came back to come in immediately....don't wait!

So, back to March 14th. I had been itchy all weekend. The night before I could barely sleep I was so itchy. My soles of my hands and feet itched, a classic sign of ICP. I decided to go in that very day to see my midwife even though I had my 36 week appointment the next week. I went in and told Stacie (my midwife) what I was feeling. She put me on the monitor to check on baby (he was doing GREAT!) and then ordered a full blood work panel to check for ICP. There are two parts to this test, one would have results (that would either show, you might have ICP or you don't have ICP) the next day and the other would take several days depending on the lab. 

The next day Stacie called me to tell me that the first test showed I could have ICP and that we'd have to wait for the second test to come back. So I sat and waited. That Friday, the 18th my dear friend Becky came into town so we could play and she could throw a baby shower with my sister BreeAnn. Shortly after I got home, just as I was saying hi to her Stacie called me. My levels of bile were very high and she confirmed that I had ICP. She wanted me to go to a specialist ASAP so that he could give permission for an induction. See, with ICP there isn't really any danger to mom (except for the insane itchiness) but it causes several risks for the baby. They always recommend an induction by 37 weeks. We had to move quickly. I was SO GLAD Becky was around. We went out and got a mani/pedi which turned into my pre-baby mani/pedi and we went shopping and ate yummy food. We had a grand time and it was nice to have the distraction.

I met with the specialist on Monday and he confirmed the ICP diagnosis, they did an ultrasound of baby and he looked fantastic! I had an appointment later that day with Stacie and we talked induction. We set the date to start induction on the evening of Tuesday the 29th. The day after our 3-year anniversary. I would come in later that week for monitoring and then again the day before my induction. I was starting to come to terms with everything, but basically had a week to get my life in order before my sweet baby made his appearance. 


Part Two:

So. March 28, 2016. I decided to start my maternity leave this day so that I could have a couple of days to pull myself together and be ready to have a baby. Part of me was really glad to know the exact date this little guy was going to make his appearance, but I had really wanted to go into labor on my own. 

I was in charge of planning our anniversary celebrations (we switch off each year) and had decided to schedule a couple's massage. This turned out to be a GREAT thing seeing as how it was the day before I had a baby. It was wonderful. I also saw my midwife one last time this day for monitoring, the next time I saw her I would be having a baby!!

March 29, 2016 was a beautiful day. After Allan got off work I decided I really didn't want to cook dinner. I also REALLY wanted chips and salsa from Chile's. So we drove down to the Chile's by the hospital where I would be delivering. I think I mostly ate chips and salsa, and they were divine. We then drove over to the hospital to get all checked in and our amazing doula, Bonnie, met us there. 

Bonnie was amazing. I loved having her as my doula. We met her through our hypnobabies course that we took to prepare for the birth of our little man and I knew shortly after we started that class that I wanted Bonnie as my doula. She visited with us for a little bit as I got prepped and then they inserted a drug called Cervidil inserted up by my cervix. This drug was to start softening my cervix and (fingers crossed!) get labor going. Stacie said I was a "soft one" when she inserted the Cervidil which was better than the week before when I was barely a one. Bonnie warned that we could be in for a long night and that we should just go to bed and reminded us to call her when we were ready for her to come back. We didn't listen and instead played a few card games and watched Jimmy Fallon and tried to go to bed around 11 pm.

I say tried because about 11 pm the contractions started. These contractions weren't that hard, they were just very uncomfortable. The nurse brought me a ball after I requested it. Allan kept trying to catch some sleep and every hour or two I would wake him up for some support. These contractions were coming every 3-5 minutes and were so uncomfortable it was hard to sleep. At 2 am I called my nurse and asked her to check me. I had put into my birth plan that I wanted to be left alone and I'd ask for checks - but I wanted them to be limited. I was declared to be a "two." I continued to labor through the night, tried to find a good birthing position but nothing was jiving. I am not sure when Allan called Bonnie, but he called her and she came. At this time it was shift change for the nurses and I was told the Cervidil would be removed soon. 

Bonnie arrived and they took out the Cervidil. I was still a "two" which kind of deflated me. Bonnie was an angel. She helped talk me through some options and it was decided I would have a short break before they put me on Pitocin (which was part of the induction plan from the beginning). I was able to take a bath and sitting in that deep tub was the best part of my labor. Allan went to get breakfast and Bonnie stayed with me and helped provide counter pressure and read some of the Hypnobabies scripts. 

Allan returned and the Pitocin drip started. I was on a VERY small dose and the contractions started to get harder. Bonnie was applying counter pressure on my hips during a contraction at one point and she and I both felt and heard a "pop." I then though I had to pee...come to find out my water had broken as it kept trickling out. I got up on the bed and found my side to be the most comfortable but I was SO tired. I hurt all over and was thinking I couldn't do this anymore. It was about 9:45 or so at this point (I think, times are all a blur to me) and Bonnie and I started talking pain management. I knew I didn't want an epidural, but I needed something because I thought I had many, many more hours of laboring. I believe we settled on a dose of something (Demerol maybe?) but in order to get it I had to be checked first. My laboring noises had changed (I guess) and Bonnie thought that I might be starting to push. So the nurse checked me and said something along the lines of "oh! Your baby is right there you can do this!" So no pain management for me, baby was on his way! This was about 10 am I believe. 

I followed my body and pushed when it told me. I don't remember everything Bonnie said, but I remember Allan repeating what she said and that bringing me a lot of comfort. There started to be a lot of action in the room with other nurses coming in and such and then Stacie arrived. At one point the nurse was worried that Stacie wouldn't make it! Stacie let me do my thing and said reassuring things. At one point she told me to reach down and I'd feel baby's head and that was a crazy experience! Moments later my sweet little boy was out and on my chest. He had SO MUCH HAIR!!! 

Michael Allan Ambrose III was here and our little Trey (his new nickname based off being the "third") had made it safely in just 2.5 hours from the time I started to progress. He was a speed demon!  7lbs 10 oz and 21 inches long. We did it!!
Soon after he was born though it became apparent that Trey was having a hard time breathing so he was whisked off to the NICU. I wasn't allowed to go anywhere as I had some significant tearing and was losing a lot of blood. Things get really hazy here, but I remember Allan going off with Trey and Bonnie staying with me.  They put me under because the pain was getting to be unbearable. Come to find out I lost one liter of blood.


Part Three:

After I was finished being stitched up I remember Allan coming in and showing me pictures of our cute boy and I was able to order some lunch. That was the best lunch ever.  I hung out in my delivery room for a little bit longer (they were keeping a very close eye on me with all the blood I lost) and soon they took me to my recovery room.

We were able to stop by the NICU so I could see my sweet baby, but I couldn’t hold him as he had just had a shot of Surfactin to help his lungs out and had to stay laying down. I napped a lot that day. The hospital lactation consultant stopped by and brought an electric pump so that I could start pumping.
Allan stayed the night with me and the next day my midwife stopped by to see how I was doing. I was still very pale from the loss of blood and so she ordered two units for me. I got one unit that morning and then was able to go see my baby. This was the first time I was able to hold him since he was born. I couldn’t believe how much hair he had!!

I was wheeled back to my room for round two of blood and Allan went to go see Lindy. She wanted to come see Trey SO BAD, but with traffic there just wasn’t time. I started pumping frequently and am proud to say that other than one (or maybe two?) feedings ALL of Trey’s feedings at the NICU came from me. Proud mommy moment right there.

Lindy did get to come to the hospital that weekend as she was with us for the weekend. She loved getting to see him. ( the NICU nurses were so great to let us take him to the window for her to see him!) And luckily she had another fun thing planned: her birthday present from us of getting to see Beauty and the Beast by Ballet West II. Her and daddy got all dressed up and had a lovely time. BreeAnn came to see me with Café Rio and Cheesecake Factory cheesecake. Best girls' night ever!

Days in the hospital were pretty boring, I pumped, visited Trey every few hours, held him and slept. I was released Saturday and was able to stay two more days at the hospital with the hope Trey would be able to come home Monday. Unfortunately, Trey wasn’t ready to be released and I had to leave him there while I went home. That was SO HARD. I’m tearing up now typing this.

The next six days were hard. I would pump for Trey through the night and call the NICU when I woke up in the morning to see when he had last eaten. I would then go to the hospital for his next feeding (by this time he was breastfeeding like a champ!) and hang out most of the day. A couple of days I went home and ate dinner with Allan and we’d go back for one last feeding before going home and sleeping.
A LOT happened in my family this week medical wise, Daelynn had some epilepsy-related issues, I was dealing with a NICU situation and my brother-in-law Tyler had his appendix removed. My mom felt like she needed to come out (originally she wasn’t going to come until May) and we found an AMAZING last minute flight deal and out came my mom. This was the best. She came up and saw me and Trey at the NICU one day and we went to lunch. She then came up that weekend when Allan and I roomed in and came home with Trey! It was so nice to have her around when we came home with Trey.

We did have to come home with oxygen, but that as okay. I was just glad to be HOME. Trey was on the oxygen 24/7 for about 2.5 weeks and then we started weaning him off. Two weeks later he was officially off the oxygen. I was a VERY happy camper that day. :D

So there you go, the wonderful story of how Trey joined our family.