Katie's Birth Story

I have decided that I really need to write down Katie's birth story. I wasn't going to, but changed my mind.

January 9, 2008

On my lunch break, I decided to go to Wal-Mart to pick up a few supplies to complete Katie's medicine cabinet at home. While in the pharmacy area, I saw the blood pressure machine and decided to stick my arm into it. My blood pressure has always been okay, but was rising slightly towards the end of my pregnancy. Well, the machine registered 152/99 which was really high. I get back to the office and call the doctor to give them the report. I got their voicemail and left a message. I attend my scheduled meeting at work, but kept my cell phone with my on vibrate. Of course, the doctor calls me back during my meeting. I step out of the conference room and they tell me to come in because those machines aren't always calibrated correctly and they just want to make sure. I walk back into my meeting thinking it's about to end soon. Wrong! I finally leave the office at 4:30pm and get to the doctor's office right at 5. Of course, they are leaving for the day as well. They check my blood pressure and it was 160/99. I give them a urine sample and it was measuring +2 on their scale. I was diagnosed with preeclampsia. Dr. Kanter comes in and tells me that I need to head over to St. Elizabeth's (my hospital) and that most likely I will be admitted for observation.

So of course, I am freaking out right now. I have never been admitted to the hospital before. I was by myself and Joe was still at work. I frantically call him and he meets me at the hospital. I am taken in to the labor & delivery triage area where they are monitoring the baby, my blood pressure, and also my urine output. I have to do a 24 urine collection which totally sucks. So, by the time they put me into a room, it's 9pm and I haven't eaten anything. I am starving. They find me some food. Joe stayed the night with me and we finally get to bed.

January 10, 2007

Nothing really happened this day. I was constantly being monitored every 4 hours for my blood pressure, still collecting my urine, and giving them blood samples. I also had a growth ultrasound and it was showing the baby to weight 3lbs. 2 0z. Now, these growth ultrasounds can be off by a pound or two every way. Joe again stayed the night with me, but decided to go to work on Friday.

January 11, 2007

Today started out like a normal day, well, as normal as you can be for being in the hospital. I was hoping to be released today and be able to monitor my preeclampsia from home. We were basically waiting for the results of the urine collection. So, Dr. Woeste comes in and sits down. She said that she had the results of my urine and that she begins to get concerned when the levels reach 5,000. My levels were at 14,000!!! Almost 3x the dangerous level. Again, I start to panic. Dr. Woeste said that she wanted to deliver the baby by c-section either tonight or tomorrow morning. Ahhh!!! She wanted to run all my lab work by a perintologist from Good Sam that was making rounds at the hospital that day. So, the peri comes in and basically tells me that he wants to transfer me up to Good Sam since they have a level 3 NICU. St. E's was able to take a baby at 32 weeks, but since Katie was measuring small they felt better equipped at Good Sam. At this point, Joe finally comes to the hospital from work. We pack up the room and the EMT's come to take me by ambulance to Good Sam.

Side story: The EMT's were really upset that a nurse from St. E's had to travel along with them. They kept asking her why she was there. Then as we were already in the ambulance, she says, "This patient is high risk and could go into a seizure at any moment." She said this in front of me!! So, again I start to panic.

The ambulance ride was bumpy and Joe was driving right behind us. We arrive at Good Sam and they put me in a shared room! I asked for a private room and they have none available and it also costs $40 extra per day that our insurance won't cover. I tell the nurse to put me on the waiting list and that I wanted a private room!

Since I am in a shared room, Joe can't spend the night. I am so upset and basically cry myself to sleep that night.

January 12, 2008

I met my new doctor, Dr. Voss. I really liked him. He basically tells me that I am severe preeclampic. All patients that are in my same situation give him a honeymoon period. My labs will be stable and then either myself or the baby will fail which would cause us to go into an emergency c-section. He says that they will control my blood pressure with medicine and hope to get me to 35 weeks. After 35 weeks, they will deliver me no matter what. I will have another growth ultrasound scheduled for when I am 35 weeks and based on that it will determine whether I can have a vaginal birth or a c-section.

So, I am not being monitored every 4 hours for blood pressure, still collection my urine for 24 hours, being placed on fetal monitors twice a day. This routine goes on all weekend.

January 14, 2008

Still being monitored like before. However, today I get the private room! Wahoo! So, they strap me to the fetal monitors and Katie isn't responding. Her heart beat looks great, but when I say she isn't responding it means that her heart rate hasn't increased or shown any movement. Kind of think about when we are moving around and exercising our heart rate goes up. When Katie was moving around her heart rate stays the same. I am sent for a BPP (biophysical profile ultrasound). This is where they measure for 4 things- tone, movement, amniotic fluid, and breathing. This ultrasound is combined with the fetal monitoring on a point system. Each thing they measure for is 2 points. Since she failed the fetal monitors, she was going into the BPP at an 8/10. Well, during the BPP the tech was able to find everything so she scored an 8/10 and everything was okay.

January 15, 2008

This day was really boring. Nothing really happened. UK played tonight so Joe decided to watch the game and also to stay overnight with me. It would be the first time he has spent the night since I was transferred to Good Sam. I was really excited about that. The agreement was that since he spent the night, he was going to make tomorrow's visit really short since most likely he would be tired. I agreed.

January 16, 2008- Katie's Birthday!

Today started out like any other day. My blood pressure was checked at 6am. I was still peeing in a cup for my 24 urine collection. I also had blood drawn too. Around 8am I was strapped in for fetal monitoring. Again, Katie failed the fetal monitors, so we were sent down for another BPP. Katie was going in at an 8/10. During this BPP ultrasound, the tech was only able to detect tone and my amniotic fluid levels were okay. She was unable to find movement or breathing. Because of this, Katie failed the BPP. I asked the tech what would happen. She said that most likely, the doctors will just repeat the BPP tomorrow. Okay, that wasn't bad. By the time I got back up into my room, it was already the afternoon. I watched some TV and then Joe came after work. Also, my in-laws decided to visit. Around 5pm, the nurse came into my room and said the doctor wanted to monitor Katie again. So, I was strapped back into the fetal monitors. After about 30 minutes, Katie failed the fetal monitors AGAIN! The nurse came back in and said that the doctor wanted to do a BPP again. So, they brought the machine up to my room again. For the second time today Katie only got a 4/10 on the BPP ultrasound.

The walks in my perintologist, Dr. Voss. He said, "Honeymoons Over- since Katie has failed two BPP ultrasounds, I want to deliver you by emergency c-section tonight. Don't eat a thing." I replied, "I just had dinner at 5pm." He said, "Don't eat anything else."

So, my in-laws and Joe start running around the room packing everything up. I get prepped for surgery. The in-laws leave to go to the waiting room while Joe and I sit in my room waiting for the nurses to take me. I am shaking and scared to death. I could really feel my blood pressure rise at this point. My head felt like it was going to explode.

The nurse came into the room and I was wheeled back to the operating room. I went into the operating room by myself while Joe had to wait outside. He was putting on his scrubs and turning into my McDreamy.

The nurse was really nice. I was terrified of the epidural. I never got to watch the video that showed what happens. I sat on the edge of the table and hunched over. I made sure to keep my shoulders low according to the nurses. They walked me through everything. It really just felt like a bee sting. All of a sudden my leg twinged and then my toes started to feel warm all the way up my legs. I was now laying on the operating table. The nurse had asked me to move my hips to the left. I told her it wasn't possible due to the medication.

By this time, they had everything set and Joe finally came into the room. The doctor was checking to make sure that I wasn't in pain. He made Joe stand up and asked if I felt anything. I said no. Joe later told me that he took a dull tweezers where they were going to cut and pulled it up and twisted it. Ouch!

So, the procedure began. It was the weirdest feeling. I could feel pressure and touch, but no pain. Oh, you know how they asked me not to eat? Well, when they were moving my stomach, I could feel all the contents inside of it. It was very weird. The doctor's were very rough. They were tugging and pulling and I was basically shaking all over the table. It was rough- but again- no pain.

Then at 8:24 PM- Katherine Marie was born! I never really got to see her. The NICU nurses pulled her away and began working on her immediately. She was only 2lbs. 15 oz. and 15.5 inches long. Very tiny.

I remember Joe asking me and looking very concerned- Do I stay with my wife or leave with my daughter. I told Joe to go with Katie. She needs her dad by her side. Joe left with Katie to the NICU and I was left on the operating table with the doctors.

They stitched me up and were going to move me into recovery. Oh-when they were moving me to my bed they said it was going to feel like I am falling and it did! I literally thought I was going to fall off of the table when they were taking me off of the table.

In the recovery room, I was put on magnesium sulfate to counteract my preeclampsia. It was to ward of seizures. I started to get the shakes really bad once the drugs were wearing off. After about 2 hours, they wheeled me into the NICU and I saw Katie for the first time. Our stay was short as I wasn't able to hold her. I was then taken to my room to begin my recovery.

Here are entries from my pregnancy jounral that I had on another site as well:


January 15, 2007
Some excitement!!
We were moved into a private room last night. It's amazing! We are at Good Sam room 998. I can finally have visitors since we have the room now. If you are planning on coming, please give Joe a call at 859-992-4548. Too many people can cause my BP to rise so we are just trying to monitor that. It's not that I don't want to see you, I am just trying to be cautious. I hope everyone understands. They didn't draw my blood today! Wahoo! My arm is so bruised from how many times they poked me over the past 5 days.It's still a waiting game. No news to really report.
January 13, 2007
Transferred hospitals....
It has been a whirlwind past two days. At St. Elizabeth after my 24 urine collection came back 3 times over the dangerous limit, they decided to transfer me to Good Sam. This hospital has the best peri's and NICU in the area so Joe and I felt this was a good move.Once we got to Good Sam, we spoke with our new doctor. They are going to try and keep me stable so Katie can stay in longer and grow. The doctor won't let me go past 34 weeks so, we have about 10 days left. I will try and write more later on.
January 11, 2008
In the hospital...
So, on Wednesday, I was at Wal-mart picking up items for the baby's medicine cabinet. I decided to check my blood pressure and it was 152/99. I called the doc since I know those machines aren't always accurate. They had me come in to check. While, there they found protein in my urine and my BP was still high. I was sent directly to labor & delivery.
I was diagonsed with preeclampsia. If my BP spiked 160/110 I would have gone into an emergancy c-section. It got up to 174/100 so I was close. Dr. Kanter was thinking I would be having Katie this morning, but my BP went down. We are waiting on the results of the 24 urine collection to see what it's doing to my kidneys. I got the steriod shots to develop Katie's lung just in case. If things look good, I may be able to go home. If not, I am at the hospital until I deliver. I had a growth u/s yesterday and Katie is in the 17% percentile and weighs 3.2 lbs.
My first goal is to reach 34 weeks. If I am still stable, they will wait until 37 weeks and then I will be induced no matter what.
I will keep everyone posted. Just wanted to let you know!
December 12, 2007
Can't feel a thing....
So, as I type this, I can't feel a thing in either of my hands. They are completely numb and I have a constant pins and needles feeling throughout the entire day and night. I see a hand specialist on Dec 27th so it will be interesting to hear what he says. The feeling is so weird and I would like just one day without pain. I don't think I will get that until the baby is here. I have braces to wear at night and throughout the day on both hands, but it doesn't seem to be working. I am still numb. I guess I just have to suck it up for now and work through the pain.
December 9, 2007
Crib is ordered!
We finally ordered the crib tonight! Joe got his bonus at work and I spent it already. Ha! Now, I just can't wait to get it in so I can finish the nursery. It's coming along nicely.
December 6, 2007
The glucose test....
So, I was really nervous about the glucose test for gestational diabetes. I have heard horror stories about the drink you have to drink one hour before they draw your blood. So, at my last appt, the doc never mentioned anything to me about fasting before the test. A couple of my other friends doctors told them to fast for at least 4 hours before. I didn't listen. I had a Frisch's cheeseburger and a bowl of vegetable soup about an hour before the test. Luckily, Joe was able to leave work to meet me at the hospital to get the test. I am deathly afriad of needles and needed his support. So, I arrive at the hospital. The nurse gives me the drink. It was so yummy, I wanted another glass. Ha! Joe and I then had to wait an hour. We roamed the hospital and checked out labor & delivery. While we were there we heard the music being played over the loudspeaker- a new baby was just born. I start to tear up and think, "That's going to be us pretty soon." Joe calls me a dork.So, the hour is up and we go back down to get my blood drawn. The nurse was a vampire- she was in and out of my veins in no time. I really heart her and what her to draw my blood each time. Right after she drew my blood, she asked me if I fasted. I said, "No."So, Joe and I leave. I then call my doc about two days later and ask if she has the results. I PASSED! Anything below 131 is good and I scored a 127 even with eating an hour before. Wahoo! I am just glad that this test is over with and I didn't fail.
December 4, 2007
I am so exhausted today. I can hardly keep my eyes open at work. My carpel tunnel syndrome seems to be getting worse everyday. Argh! This is a quick entry. I am just trying to pass some time and to keep my eyes opened.
November 26, 2007
Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas is right around the corner. With less than 100 days to go, I am starting to freak out. I feel like I have a million tasks to accomplish and very little time to complete them in. I had a doctor's appt yesterday and it went great. I only gained 5lbs since my last appt so that is about 1.25lbs a week...right on track for a healthy weight gain. Wahoo! Hoping to only gain 35lbs for the entire pregnancy. I do have a mild case of carpel tunnel syndrome. The doc said that it's pregnancy induced and will most likely go away once the baby is here. He gave me suggestions to wear splints at night to help with the pain. We completed the forms to donate our cord blood. I had about a 15 page packet to complete. If the donation center approves my packet, they will send me a kit for the doctor to collect it with when I deliver. Hopefully, with our donation, it will help create a cure for one of the many deadly diseases that affect our children.I have the one hour glucose test on December 6th. I have to drink something that tastes like flat orange pop and then they check my sugar level. If I fail the test, I have to go in for a 3 hour test. If I fail that, I will have gestational diabetes. Boo! I am hoping I will pass with flying colors. I can't really think of anything else that is going on. Til next time.-Becky
November 12, 2007
Happy Birthday Katie's Dad!
So, today is Joe's birthday. We had a whirlwind weekend with lots of celebrations. Katie was kicking Joe a ton last night. I think it was her way of saying Happy Birthday to her dad. I purcased his a UK stroller and a camcorder so he will have plenty of opportunities to use it over the years. Happy Birthday Joe!
November 9, 2007
Slight Scare...
So, I got a flu shot today at 4pm. It was the first time I have ever gotten a flu shot. Never again! All was well until about 9 at night. I started having trouble breathing and every time I took a deep breathe my lungs would hurt and my back would start to spasm. So, of course, pregnant hormones and all, I convince myself that the flu shot was hurting the baby. I start crying hysterically. Then I did something stupid. I turned to the internet. I freaked myself out even more thinking I am allergic to the flu shot or I have a pulmonary embolism. I was self-diagnosing myself. We then call the on-call doctor to see if it's something that warrants a trip to the ER. He proceeded to tell me that everything is fine and to not worry about it. So I take a Tylenol and go to bed. The pain went away, but it was very scary to say the least. Lesson Learned: Don't self-diagnose yourself by using the internet.
October 29, 2007
Diapering Repeat....
So, Joe and I were pretty bored tonight so we decided to have some fun. I put Joe to the test on some basic childcare. I first set out an unassembled bottle. I made him put all the pieces together and then pre-tend to feed his childhood bear, Repeat. Joe scored an A+ on this task. No issues. He then asked how he was supposed to know if the bottle was too hot, so I explained how he was to pour a drop or two on his wrists to determine the temperature. Joe's next task was to change Repeat's diaper. This proved to be a challenge for Joe. On his first attempt, he got really frustrated and basically throwing Repeat all over the place. I explained that you won't be able to place our baby on its head and just pull the diaper down. It was so funny. He then said, "I don't get it, I guess you will be on diaper duty." My response, "Oh no, you will get this and change many diapers. "So, I show him the proper way to diaper and how to hold the baby's legs, etc. He attempts the process again. He did better this time around, but still struggled with putting the diaper on properly. He was learning though, so that was good. I showed his again for a second time and made sure he understood how to first place the diaper down before he even put it on the baby. After about 5 more attempts, he finally got it down pretty good without even lifting Repeat off of the table. I was so proud. I then went over the proper way to wipe a baby girl and how Repeat just lays still and when we have our baby, she will be squiggly all over. Anyway, it was a fun night showing Joe just some of the basics. Maybe next time I will teach him how to give Repeat a bath and to swaddle Repeat in a blanket. :)
October 28, 2007
Restless nights...
For the past few days, I have been getting leg cramps at night. They are AWFUL! The pain wakes me up and also Joe. I feel really bad. All I can do it just breathe through the pain until it goes away. Then my calves hurt for the next few days. I will be asking my doctor about these on Tuesday. I have tried some home remedies, but nothing seems to be working. I just chuck it up to another joy of pregnancy.
October 21, 2007
So, knowing me, you know that I can’t wait to begin to decorate the nursery. We decided to paint the walls yellow and go with accents of pink and green. We found a bedding set that we absolutely love at Pottery Barn Kids. We started to paint on Sunday. I am going to knock off a Pottery Barn Kids nursery look, but for a fraction of the cost. :)

There are some funny pics of Joe painting since the nursery has vaulted ceilings. Make sure to check out the nursery page for pictures detailing the process as we go.
October 20, 2007
Joe felt the baby...
So, every night before bed, Joe always places his hands on my stomach in an attempt to feel the baby move. He has been out of luck for the past few weeks. Well, this weekend it all changed.

I was feeling Katie move around so I told Joe to place his hands on my stomach. Sure enough, Katie gave one swift kick and Joe felt it. His eyes lit up so huge and he got all excited. It was so cute to watch him.

Katie didn’t move the rest of the night, but now Joe is thinking soccer player :)
October 19, 2007
The big ultrasound!
Our appt was at 3pm at the hospital for our big ultrasound. Joe and I were just going to meet up there since we were leaving from work. Well, I got there before Joe and they called me back into the room before he was even there.

Joe was calling me on my cell saying, “I’m on the floor, what room is it again?” I was on the table talking to him giving him directions. Luckily he made it before anything big happen.

So, the ultrasound tech starts to scan me. All I can say is WOW! It was such a cool experience. They measured all kinds of parts to make sure that the baby was developing right on track. My favorite was the heart. It was so cool to be able to view all four chambers of the heart.

The funniest part was when she did a front facial view and the baby literally looks like an alien.

At the end she asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. We both said yes! Well, after 15 minutes she said it was a girl! She also mentioned I hope that later in life your baby hides her parts as well as she was doing now. Ha!

After the ultrasound was over, Joe and I went out to dinner to celebrate. What a great ending to a perfect day.
October 4, 2007
Doctor's Visit
So, for the past couple of days, I have started to feel the baby move. Well, at least I think I am. It feels like little gas bubbles. I'm pretty sure it's the baby moving or kicking because they have been pretty consistent. The doctor's appt went well. Blood pressure is okay, my stomach is measuring on track, gained exactly a pound a week from the last visit (which is healthy), and the baby's heartbeat was nice and strong. No compliants. I go back in another 4 weeks for my next visit.
September 30, 2007
Spread your legs baby!
So, my brother's girlfriend snuck us into the hospital where she works to give us an early scan. We were so lucky to have this done. The entire day leading up to it, I kept telling the baby to spread it's legs so we could see the gender. We get to the hospital and WOW has the baby grown since the last time we saw it on the utlrasound screen. We were able to make out everything- EXCEPT the GENDER! The baby had its legs crossed the entire time. We even got to see the baby strecth them out and then bring them right back in. Everything looked great! Amanda (brother's girlfriend) even videotaped the ultrasound experience for us. I am trying to figure if I can post it on this site. At least we have another one sceduled for the 19th so determine the gender.
September 24, 2007
Sleepless Nights....
Well, the sleepless night have begun. It's hard for me to get comfortable when sleeping. The doctor told me that I need to stop sleeping on my back and either sleep on my right or left side. This just isn't comfortable for me. I literally use about 6 pillows at night to try and get comfortable. Once I am in position, of course, I have to get up and go to the bathroom. Ha! At least I will be prepared for when the baby comes. :)
September 19, 2007
Holy Nosebleeds!!
I have been getting constant nosebleeds almost every morning. The doctor said it's completely normal. I was even sitting at work typing up an e-mail and BAM! one hit me. I have never heard of nosebleeds as a pregnancy symptom, but they say that they can get worse as it gets colder outside. If that's the case, I am in for a long winter. So, we may be able to determine the gender of the baby a little earlier. Lee's girlfriend is an ultrasound tech and is going to scan us on October 4th. It's all I can think about right now. I am so ready to shop and decorate the nursery. :)Other than that, things have been going pretty well.
September 8, 2007
Second Trimester
Well, I am about a week into my second trimester. I have been one of the lucky ones. During the first trimester, I never really got morning sickness. I had some major food aversions, but other than that I felt great! I did throw up once, but that was in the morning, when I was brushing my teeth. No biggee!! Most of the time, I don't even feel pregnant. I did have a doctor's appt this week and the baby's heartbeat was 144 bpm. The doc said it was healthy and strong. She also made a prediction that it will be a boy. We shall see! I also started my registry. I did a lot of research on the products that are listed on the Babies R Us Registry. I used Baby Bargains, the Nest Baby, and Consumer Reports when selecting all the important gear that our little one will use. It was very overwhleming on everything that we need to look for and watch out for. Hopefully, we made good decisions on high quality products that will last us through many more kids. :)We also made a decision on what type of nursery furniture we are going to purchase. We will probably make this purchase after the big ultrasound on October 19, 2007! Okay, signing off on my first entry. More to come!