Baby Liam

William Alvin (Liam)
May 18th at 9:38pm
6lbs. 8oz, 19 inches

It was a beautiful day and I had just finished the baby room a few days prior. I felt relaxed and was ready for our little one to come, but I never expected him to come 10 days early! It was my 32nd birthday and I was planning to enjoy the day with a long workout, some cake and going to the Nick Vujick event downtown.

In the morning, I was feeling energetic and went about my normal routine. I did a long workout at the gym and saw a friend who said you can get free breakfast at the Summer Shack and a free carwash up in Goleta on your birthday. So, I called my husband and asked if he wanted to meet me for brunch. He said sure! and off I went. (I had been having Braxton Hicks for probably about two weeks at this point, but being my first baby I didn't really know what those tightening moments were and didn't think anything of it).

While we were eating a delicious brunch of eggs and pancakes, I jokingly asked my husband if he thought Bean (our baby bump nickname) looked different (little did we know the bump had shifted). When we finished, I told my husband I wanted to take his car to get the free carwash. He agreed and we switched cars. As I was walking to his car and sucking on tootsie pop, one of my crowns came off an aggravating tooth. I texted a friend for a dentist recommendation (since we were new to town) and headed home (with my husband's phone charger in the car). I called the dentist's office and they said they could see me in 20 minutes or later that afternoon, so I said, "I'll be right over!" My new dentist was wonderful and permanently re-cement the crown, which was slightly uncomfortable, but I was happy to have it fixed. As he worked, the dentist told me his mother had a theory that how a baby comes out correlates to their countenance--quick labor means quick temperament, slow maybe shy, etc. Interesting thought!

When I left the dentist, I headed to Goleta for the free carwash. It was about 3:30/4pm. When I got out to hand the keys over, I immediately felt a little dampness in my underwear, which at this point wasn't unusual - I'm very active and I had a huge weight on my bladder. I walked toward the pay office and again felt a bit of "slippage"; I looked down and noticed red in the crotch of my shorts. 'That's odd' I thought, 'maybe this is my water breaking?' I asked the girl at the register where the bathroom was because I thought my water broke. She was a little concerned and asked if I wanted to take my car and leave. I replied with a chuckle and said, "No, that's okay. I'll just go see what's going on and get myself together by that time the car will be clean, so keep on washing it." I wasn't about to give up a free car wash!! (and as Tracy said go about your regular routine, I figured this was only the beginning of labor possibly, so no need to rush home).

When I got to the bathroom, I discovered there was a lot more blood than I thought and it was kind of oozing out of me like a heavy period in "waves" (this was due to contractions I didn't feel). I didn't panic because I thought this was normal - people had told me about losing your mucus plug and I figured this was it. I tried to call my husband, but his phone had died; so I called the pastor and then his wife and two other friends until my husband finally called me and I explained what was happening. I told him to go home and call the Doula. I let him know our friend was coming to help me and I would meet him at home. It was taking my friend awhile and I had been on the phone talking to the Pastor's wife, who was trying to discreetly ask me questions to discern what was going on (she was concerned with the amount of blood). About 30 minutes (maybe more) had passed since I first went in the bathroom and I decided it was time to get home. I tossed the underwear and cleaned myself up enough to get to the car - the shorts weren't too noticeably dirty if I kept my thighs together. I got in the car and thankfully had a towel to put on the seat. Just then my friend showed up, but I told her I was fine and on my way home to meet my husband.

At 4:30pm, I arrived home and was still bleeding, but no contractions that I could feel, just a small amount of tightening around my belly. I talked to our Doula and she asked a lot of questions. Once I shared that I was standing at the kitchen table and had a small trail of blood trickling down my leg, she suggested calling my doctor's office and going to the hospital to get checked. She was enroute to SB from LAX and said to call her once the hospital checked me. I calmly explained the situation to my Dr's office and they said to go to L&D as well. During these conversations, I sent my husband upstairs to finish packing the hospital bags. As he was getting the last minute things together, he kept asking "Do you think he's coming?" At this point, I knew we weren't going to come back home that night. My husband was a bit in shock, but got all the stuff in the car while I got myself cleaned up with a fresh pair clothes and a huge maxi pad. We headed to the hospital and I had to keep telling my husband to slow down, we weren't in any rush (I was assuming this was the beginning of a long night).

When we arrived at the hospital about 5:30/6pm, we parked in the garage and walked in. When I got out of the car, I could definitely feel a little more intensity and knew contractions had started! We checked in and walked up to labor and delivery. At the desk, I explained the situation and asked to be checked. The nurses were very welcoming and took us to a delivery room immediately. The nurse on duty (I don't remember her name sadly) had me change into a gown and hospital underwear and a huge new pad and then checked the baby's heart beat and hooked us up to monitoring. Everything sounded good and baby was doing well! The nurse asked me all the admittance questions and then about the bleeding. When I told her that I had filled my maxi pad pretty much by the time we had arrived, which was 15-20ish minutes (we lived 10mins away), she asked for our birth wishes document. We gave them to her and she read over them (Everyone followed our wishes as best they could in the situation. I really appreciated that things were explained to me in detail before they happened. This helped me to feel informed and in control and prepared). The nurse told us she was a bit concerned with the amount of blood and that it wasn't normal; she was going to have the doctor come take a look. They brought in an ultrasound machine and Dr. Echt, who was on call at that time, took a look and asked me about my placenta. I told her it is on the front. She asked me if I was ever diagnosed with a placenta previa and I said "No, my doctor in Denver told me it was on the front, but wasn't concerned about it because it had begun to move up as my belly grew." We moved right at the time she probably would have begun checking it again for delivery issues, so it went undetected. Dr. Echt told us that the placenta was in the way and showed us that it fully covered my cervix and our little man's head was encased and trapped. (By this point, I was having regular contractions and the intensity kept increasing as these conversations were happening).

Then, everything changed. "You have to have a C-Section" she stated.

What?! The one thing I had prayed would not happen and had not planned for became our only option. She explained what was happening and why I was bleeding and that a C-section was the only way both of us would survive the birth without one I could die from blood loss and our baby could die due to detaching the placenta on his way out and thus cutting off his source of life and oxygen before getting out of the birth canal. Wow! We asked for a moment and they said yes, but we didn't have a lot of time. They gave us 10-15mins to process the news. My husband and I were astounded and cried together. We called our Doula, Ronda, stunned and deeply worried. Ronda assured us there was no other way to have this baby. She reminded us that these were the types of situations in which to just praise God for the gifts and talents of the medical community (and boy were we thankful for the impeccable care SB offered in this arena). We asked Ronda to come down and be with us during this process and she arrived 10 minutes later.

In the meantime, we began readying for surgery. It was a little after 7pm. My contractions kept increasing in intensity and I was beginning to "blow breathe" and not able to completely concentrate when people were talking to me. We signed consent and waiver forms; they gave me two IV's - one in each arm in case they needed to give me a blood transfusion; the anesthesiologist came in and explained everything, which was very reassuring; my doctor - Dr. Quijano - talked to me before heading across the hall to scrub up. Ronda just kept us calm and reassured. My husband put on his scrubs. A little before 9pm, it was time for me to go to the OR. My husband asked to pray over me first and the nurse said of course and left us for a few minutes. Ronda and he prayed over the delivery and surgery.

I began to shake and shiver uncontrollably once I got up to walk to the OR. Ronda and the nurses walked with me and said she was so touched by my husband's prayer. I knew she was a believer and that the Lord was with me. Ronda and the nurses kept telling me the shaking was normal and it was likely from adrenaline. I took deep breathes to try and calm myself and stop it, but it was no use - it was a 100 times worse than my worst race nerves from my college collegiate days. I was very nervous about the spinal tap, but, it wasn't as bad as I thought and didn't hurt nearly as much as I expected. Very quickly, my legs became numb and the nurses helped me lie back on the operating table. I could feel pressure and movement on the lower half of my body, but no pain. When they put the catheter in it was very odd; it felt uncomfortable like when you get water up your nose. There was a sheet between me and all this, so I couldn't see anything, but the anesthesiologist kept reassuring me and talking with me. I was just praying and praying and breathing. The anesthesiologist was concerned about my breathing and asked if I could still feel the contractions. I told her no I was just trying to stay calm and stop shaking. Dr. Quijano came in and his happy coutenance was wonderful. "Guess we are having a baby today!" He cheerfully chatted with the staff while we waited for the clock to ensure the spinal tap was completely effective. Then, came the "pain test" - what the heck was that I didn't know, but apparently I passed with flying colors. I finally stopped shaking probably 2 minutes after the spinal tap was in full effect.

My husband came in at this point and Dr. Echt assisted Dr. Quijano with the surgery. It was go time. We listened to the Drs chat and it was light-hearted and comforting. My husband and I waited. He watched me and listened intently to what was happening. In maybe 5 or 10 minutes (not really sure, but it wasn't very long), I felt a heavy push on my stomach and then a gurgling, horse yell (not at all what I expected). "Well, he's fiesty, yelling before he's even all the way out," the doctor said. It was seconds after I heard that cry that I knew it was my little boy. Tears welled in my eyes and I said, "That's him! That's our little boy!" My husband was just shocked - an indescribable and unforgettable moment for him. Another heavy pressure push and then a few seconds later around the curtain, Dr. Quijano held up a messy, furiously yelling, beautiful bundle of baby. He cut the cord and handed him to the nurse to take him to the table to clean him up and check him. They called my husband over to watch. Our little man was yelling like crazy. The doctors began to clean and stitch me up. Within 5 mins the nurse brought over our baby. They put him on my chest skin to skin - what a blessing that was! I was so thankful because they weren't sure with the short staff if this would be possible, but he got to be there with me for about 10mins. My baby immediately calmed down and stopped crying. I just soothed and talked to him and he scooted down to eat - he was hungry! I asked if I could feed him, but they said I would have to wait because the doctors were done and I was ready to go to the recovery room. Our son yelled with anger when they took him from me, he was hangry (and still gets really upset when he is hungry)! My husband went to the nursery with him and Dr. Echt came around the curtain, crouched down at my head and said, "You are one blessed woman. You had a giant clot and the cord was wrapped twice around his neck. Someone is watching out for you. It went as well as possible and he and you are strong and healthy. Congratulations!" Wow, the Lord floored me with that one. Without the care we received, there were a lot of things that could have gone wrong and multiple ways this could have ended tragically, but everything went very perfectly. Without the surgeons neither my son nor I would have survived and on top of that I had the two best sewers in the area! (I had numerous nurses comment on the beautiful job Dr. Quijano did - I must agree now, the scar really is beautiful). In the recovery room, Ronda came and spent time with me and then helped me breastfeed our boy once they brought him back. He nursed right away and then fell asleep content and gorgeous and perfect.

Our four days in the hospital were such a blessing. Our nurses were amazing and the lactation specialists were so helpful. We learned a ton and I felt much more prepared when it was time to go home. I praise the Lord everyday for his grace and provision and going before me. Even though a C-section and recovery has been a huge challenge, I am grateful! I am so thankful to Tracy for her wisdom and classes, as well as Ronda for her support, help and assurance. Only God knew I was going to have a birthday buddy and that he would come into the world determined and fast and early (seems to be part of his countenance!)

The O'Briens