Reagan's Birth Story

Reagan is finally here!  We are so lucky to have such a beautiful and healthy baby!  So here is how it happened:

On Saturday, May 4 I was determined to induce labor.  I put clothes pins on my baby toes, ate jalapeno poppers, and had Jerry press pressure points on my legs.

 At 10:00 pm, Jerry and I decided it was time for bed.  I pouted and pouted because my strategies did not work.  Then at 10:30, I had a weird feeling.  I sat up and realized my water broke.  I told Jerry and he jumped out of bed.  He had the dogs put up and was ready within minutes. 

We were checked into the hospital around11:30 and were good to go.  I even had my epidural around 1.  Then the drama began.  At 36 weeks, I was tested positive for Group B Strep.  This usually is not big deal, you just get put on antibiotics whenever you go into labor.  Well, it turns out I already had an infection brewing and it was causing stress on Reagan.  I had a fever and Reagan's heart was racing.  I also had the shakes and was throwing up, which I dismissed as adrenaline. 

Dr. Glenn came in and said we were going to watch Reagan for 15 more minutes and the decide what to do from there.  5 minutes later she came into the room and said we needed to do a c-section.  My insides were really hot and we needed to get Reagan out.  From that point everything went super fast.  Before I knew it, I was in the operating room and Jerry was suited up in his scrubs. 

Next thing I know they are telling Jerry to get the camera ready.  They pulled Reagan out and he snapped this picture.  There she was!  Born at 4:28 AM weighing 6 pounds 13 oz and 20 inches long. 

I was so happy and waited to hear her cry.... But there wasn't a cry and then I noticed several people running into the operating room.  This is when I started to panic.  I knew something was wrong.  Poor little Reagan was not breathing and they had to give her several compressions ( I did not know this until later-which is a good thing.)  Finally after what seemed like forever, I heard the sweetest little sound!  Reagan was crying!  This was the most intense moment of my life-  I have never been so scared.  They cleaned her up and the nurse brought her to me.  I got to say hi and give her a kiss.  Then they took her straight up to NICU.  Here is first time I saw her:

 

They took her to NICU and begin assessing her.  Her blood sugar was very low (it was 20 and they wanted it above 50) and she needed to get antibiotics.  Jerry, my mom, his mom, and sister got to go up and see her.  I had to stay in labor in delivery and recover from the c-section for 2 hours.  This was the longest 2 hours of my life.  All I wanted was to see her and make sure she was okay.  Finally, around 7 I got to go up to NICU and see her.  I was still in the hospital bed and because of her condition we couldn't hold her yet.  This made me really sad, but I knew it was the best thing. 

 

 

 

Finally, around 1ish I was able to get into a wheel chair and see my girl!  I even got to hold her.  It was a pretty emotional moment.  Just looking at this picture and gets me choked up.  I was just so grateful that she was okay. 

 

The next couple days went by so fast, but so slow at the same time.  Our days pretty much followed this schedule:

 

 5:30 am- go to NICU and hang out with Reagan

6:00- feed Reagan

7:00- hang out with Reagan

7:30- go back to the room/ eat/ pump

repeat

Reagan was on a 3 hour feeding schedule.  So she ate 12, 3, 6, 9.  Here are some pictures:

 Jerry is so good with Reagan.  I love watching him interact and hold her.  He's already an amazing Daddy. 

 

 GiGi (Jerry's mom)

 Nonnie (my mom)

 Aunt Lauren

 On Tuesday we got the news we had been waiting for-  She would still be considered an NICU patient, but she got to stay with us.  We were soooooooo happy!  The NICU nurses still came by every 3-6 hours to check her blood sugar, but it didn't matter.  She was with us and we felt complete. 

 What a cutie!

On Wednesday, we were officially discharged by my doctor and Reagan's doctor.  Hallelujah!  It was time to go home!!!

Because Lauren is a Baylor employee she got to take me out!  This was very special!

 This is me trying to hold it together.  I was beyond happy and thankful Reagan was okay and healthy! 

 

So I have to brag on the nurses and my doctors.  Every single nurse I had was AMAZING!  From labor/ delivery, to antepartum (I got to stay in antepartum instead of postpartum because it was closer to NICU), to NICU the nurses were great.  The labor and delivery nurses were so sweet and caring.  The antepartum nurses were so patient with me as I was recovering from my c-section.  All of the NICU nurses, especially a nurse named Cheryl, were fabulous.  They were so supportive and kind to us in NICU.  They taught us so much and treated Reagan like gold.  Lastly, I owe everything to Dr. Glenn.  Things could have gotten really bad for both me and Reagan.  Thanks to Dr. Glenn and her expertise we are both healthy. 

 

Now we are home and enjoying being a family.  Reagan is perfect.  I love her so much and I love being her mom.  My heart is full.