She's here!

Miranda Rose has arrived with a very grand entrance into this world!

Monday morning arrived with the most intense itching I had during the pregnancy. I itched myself raw in the night and went to see my doc that afternoon. No, it was not PUPPS, but a more rare pregnancy condition called ICP, Intrahep-something Cholestasis of Pregnancy, which means that I have a bile acid backup condition from a malfunction in my liver. The effect on the baby is not well documented and basically after a lot of research-stillbirths are an effect of the pregnancy. My doc took bloods, sent out the lab and stated that she might have to induce me early if the results come back positive. The downside? Only 2 labs in the US do this test and it takes a WEEK for the results to come back. So, I was sent home hoping things were ok.

Well, after trying to keep calm and working a dinner meeting on Tuesday, I had excruciating pain in my back and couldn't sleep. I went into the bathroom, nearly passed out, then proceeded to yack my guts up in the sink. The pain was horrible. We called the OB who took too long getting back to us, and made the journey into Manhattan at 2am, Wednesday, August 16.

The OB thought I was having back labor, but the pain was too intense and I was screaming bloody murder. I kept thinking, "If this is labor, we are NEVER having kids again". The pain intensified over the course of an hour and I was allowed to get morphine. It was then determined that I was about to give birth.

To a kidney stone.

Oh, the pain. Oh, the joys of morphine. I knew it would make the baby drowsy, but I would be no good to her in the state I was. So, after a night in the hospital and great pain meds, I thought things would be great and I would be able to resume a normal pregnancy.

But, no.

After a quickie ultrasound it was determined that I had 1. kidney stones, one in each kidney 2. gall stones, and lots of little ones, and 3. low amniotic fluid. The doc determined that the low fluid was enough to keep me in the hosp until she was born. I was sent for an amnio immediately to check to see how developed the baby's lungs were. Now mind you, if my bloods came back from California that I definitely have ICP, I would have to be induced anyway. I was 36 weeks.

Oh, amniocentesis, how I loathe you. I participated in the FASTER trial early in pregnancy (as I was determined to be high risk as I am over 35) and all of my screens came back negative. They told me I had the option for an amnio. I refused. No way was I getting that huge needle in my gut. No way. Now, being 9 months along (aka, pretty big belly), with low fluid, just where were they going to draw the fluid from? Oh, no. Not the side. My fluid was so low that they had only 1 spot to draw from, right under my ribs. Yes, the doc put the huge-ass, mutherfuckin amnio needle thru my rib muscle and didn't even get to the uterus when she decided to put her foot there, stopping mommy's excruciating pain, number 2. How does it compare to a kidney stone? Well, the stone is a 10 on the pain scale. A definite 10. The needle through my ribs? 9.5 from the East German judge. Horrible. I don't recommend it. And the worst part? The fluid had already dropped from the previous day. Oh, pitocin, here I come.

I was offically induced at 4pm on Thursday with the cervical gel. It didn't work. I asked for the epidural catheter asap while I was no longer in pain and could sit still. I was offically given pitocin at 3am Friday. Nothing. Barely any contractions. At 3pm Friday, nothing. Frustration was settling in. Finally some movement, but nothing significant. So, they broke my water. THEN things started moving. Now, with low fluid already, we were watching her heartbeat like crazy. It dipped. Now that I really had no fluid, she had to have a bath. Yes, I had saline swooshed around my uterus to make sure that she could slide out. Oh joys of motherhood.

An epidural catheter in my back. IV line with fluid and pitocin my my left arm, and constant blood draws for my liver function levels in my right arm. A foley catheter in my bladder. An intra-uterine contraction monitor that doubled as a crazy straw for the saline bath. I felt like Frankenstein. And STILL my cervix wouldnt open. Stubborn bitch.

They kicked up the pitocin at 9pm on Friday. THANK GOD FOR EPIDURALS. Things started moving then. They hoped for 1cm per hour so I could progress from 4cm to 10 in 6 hours. HA! I went from 4cm to 10cm in 3 hours. After 50 minutes of pushing, Miranda Rose FINALLY emerged into this world, along with a not-so-great placenta and short umbilical cord. At 12:01am on Saturday, August 20. I kept the kid, the rest went to pathology. The bad placenta is a side effect of ICP.

She had some gook in her lungs and was suctioned a lot, but thankfully was fine. With a lot of hair. I passed out immediately after birth and was finally in the post partum unit at 3:30am.

So, welcome into the world Miranda Rose, 12:01am, Saturday, August 20, 6lbs 10.8oz, 19in and 4 weeks early.

I will post a pic asap. Oh, but stay tuned. Did you forget about the gall stones? Part 2 to come...