Emma Jewel Newsletter Vol. 16 (4/24/2004)

She's here!  We are so very happy..and exhausted.  :)  Perfectly normal for new parents, I hear. 

Statistics:

Emma Jewel Dixon born to two jubilant parents on Monday, 
April 19th at 3:23 PM, weighing 
5 pounds 8.4 ounces and 19 1/4 inches long.

We just cannot tell you how much we love Miss Emma.  She is just perfect to us.  Even the full body cries make us want to just 
snuggle her up.  Poopy diapers and slow moving mommas are 
currently the main causes of full body cries.

Want to know the story of her arrival?  Well, here it goes.

We went in Thursday (April 15th) for my regular check-up.  
My blood pressure was up.  I knew I had been swelling 
alot more, but I justified it as normal last few weeks of pregnancy 
type swelling.  I had also been very tired and easily worn out, but again I had expected such feelings as I got closer to the due 
date.  I was carrying around alot more.  I hadn't
had any headaches, which usually accompany a high blood pressure, 
so I hadn't even expected that my pressure was a problem.  After the doc gave us a look over, he decided to go ahead and admit me to the hospital.  Of course, this set the stage for me going into worry mode.  It doesn't take much, and a hospital stay is plenty to get a good episode going.

After some tests, the doctor, from the beginning, wasn't very 
positive about us being able to carry Emma full term.  Even though the due date was 4 weeks away, there is actually a two week window around the due date where babies are considered term.  At this point, she was about two weeks early. I was diagnosed as mildly toxemic and having preeclampsia.  My understanding of toxemia is that it is just a general term for the conditions inside the mother's body becoming unfavorable for the baby.  A sign of this is preeclampsia...which is high blood pressure in pregnant woman.

The doc decides to watch me for the next few days to see how the condition progresses.  The only cure for this condition is birthing the baby.  No one know what causes it or can predict who is going to develop it and when.  Also, woman from the US South East...TN, MS, LA, AL, have a 1 in 4 chance of developing it.  This is the highest 
percentage in the world.  No one knows if it is because of environment or heredity or a combo.  Being a first time mother also increases your chances of developing toxemia.

Also, toxemia isn't a very nice disease in that you do not know how 
and when the condition will change from mild to severe.  It can happen very quickly.  So, the doc wanted me close by to monitor any changes.

Numerous blood pressure checks (every 15 minutes) and multiple needle sticks later, the doctor feels it is best that we don't wait any longer. He had really hoped that with my bed rest we could postpone the birth until 37 weeks, but his concerns had grown since my lab work was returning progressively worse, although the condition was progressing slowly.  

Well, this news was quite crushing to me.  I had committed myself to 
stay in the bed, hang from my toes, or dance naked in the parking lot. Anything they thought might help me keep Emma a little longer I was 
willing to do.  The doc had told us at this stage of her development 
her lungs were the last to form.  She may need some help breathing once she arrived.  I was about to ask about the use of steroids, because I 
had heard that giving them to other pre-term baby mother's helped the child's lungs develop earlier.  Before I could ask, he addressed the 
use of steroids.  That treatment is only effective up to 26 or 28 weeks. I cannot remember now which week exactly.  But, giving me steroids at this point would have been totally ineffective for Emma.

Also, another note of bad news from my standpoint, was that
he would have to induce me.  My body had shown no signs of even wanting to get ready for labor at this point.  I hadn't even had my first 
Braxton Hick's contraction.  Plus, mentally, Joseph and I were expecting Miss Emma to arrive past the due date.  The doctor told me since I wasn't dilated that I had only a 50/50 chance of being able to deliver her myself after being induced.  A C-Section was another major thing I wanted to avoid.  I was feeling quite overwhelmed at this point.

My main priority was to get Miss Emma here safely.  I wanted to do that as close to my due date as possible and give her the most natural delivery possible as well.  Nothing seemed to be working in that direction.  

But, knowing how I felt, seeing my swelling, and being very appreciative that the doc too was trying to put off delivery as long as possible, I 
had confidence that he was doing what was best for everyone...baby and 
momma.  The doc told me to do whatever I wanted between now (around 10:00 AM) and 4:00 PM.  He 
let Joseph load me up in a wheelchair and run me around the walking trails 
on-site.  Being outside helped my spirits so much.  When 4:00 PM Sunday night came, they started the process to get me ready for delivery.  Sometimes, that initial step throws ladies into 
active labor.  By 4:00 the next morning...contractions, but no active 
labor...further adding to my worries...they started giving me pitocin to induce labor.

In addition, they started giving me magnesium sulfate to treat my 
blood pressure.  Up until this point, I had received no treatment for my pressure except bed rest.  I had took this as an encouraging sign that it just wasn't that bad.  But, after later feeling the side effects of the magnesium sulfate, I now know why the doctor put off giving me that 
voodoo juice to the last possible moment, as well.

By 9:00 that morning, they decide to break my bag of water.  For ladies in slow labor or that are being induced, this sometimes kicks labor up a

notch.  It sure did.  I had been managing the contraction pain pretty well until after that step.  Then the contractions started coming so 
fast I couldn't ever relax.  It seemed everything was just going wrong to me, and I couldn't focus.  Plus, I had started trembling.  At first, I thought it was due to the pain and me being tense.  But, later I realized it was that magnesium sulfate.  It not only makes you trembly, but it effects your mind as well.  I could never concentrate on one thing. Later, after all was said and done and I was still receiving the magnesium, even my dreams were just like a random flood of thoughts.  The trembling only got worse and I generally felt like poo-poo.

So, I talked to Joseph about an epidural.  This was something we wanted to 
avoid due to possible complications that stem just from that procedure.

Plus, we felt that labor pain was natural and a tolerable process.  But, I was so worried that I was going to labor on and on because I was being induced, 
that I thought dealing with the pain was just going to make me weaker and 
less likely to avoid a c-section in the end.  He left it totally up to me.

I talked to my nurse about it.  I told her we had wanted to avoid an epidural, but I was having second thoughts.  She was very encouraging to help me avoid one.  She also suggested they could give me staidol in my IV to "take the edge off."  I told her definitely I wasn't going to take that.  I knew it would pass on to baby and could depress her breathing.  We were already 
worried how prepared for the world her lungs were going to be.  We didn't want to contribute to any of the problems there.  The nurse agreed that avoiding the staidol was best for baby.  She said none of the medications in the epidural would pass to the baby.  Plus, if I had to go for a c-section, that would be one less step that would have to be taken to get the baby 
out quickly if need be.  I really wanted to avoid a general anesthetic in case 
of an emergency c-section.  I didn't know how long it would take me to come 
back to a conscious state after receiving it.  I had seen Joseph loose two 
days of his life after being put to sleep for his wisdom teeth.  Since all 
the risks from the epidural were mine only, I told her to go ahead and do it.

So, sometime after 11:00 AM, I got my epidural.  I think it really worked out well for us.  I never lost feelings in my legs and I felt every contraction, 
just without the pain.  I was able to move my legs about and do everything they needed me to do.  The entire atmosphere in the room changed.  I relaxed 
which made Joseph relax.  He hadn't been enjoying watching me labor. Although, he was doing everything he could to make it easier on me.  I think he was feeling quite helpless in this respect. 

Immediately after the epidural, labor started progressing fast.  I had been hovering at 1 cm dilation all morning.  Now, I was at 4 cm...then 
8 cm.  My nurse said we would have the baby out by 3:00.  So, soon I was

pushing with the contractions helping Miss Emma travel into the world.  
Joseph was right there helping me.  And, I must say I think I had the most awesome delivery nurse...Mrs. Mary Pat.  She coached both Joseph and I through a very successful birth.  Dr. Washburne didn't get called until the last minute.  Since the doc has been working hard to keep everyone healthy through the pregnancy, he only has to catch the baby when delivery comes.  :)  
Well, I made sure he earned his pay that day.  

We were really close to getting baby out. With the next contraction 
I pushed and heard Dr. Washburne yelling to stop pushing.  Too late!  
Joseph said the doc literally had to catch her.  The usual procedure is that once the head is out, they suction the baby then allow the mom to push the rest of the baby out.  Once I got her head out I just kept going.  Not that I was trying to avoid his instructions, but it was just too late to be saying anything at that point.  :)

Then, there was a flurry of activity.  Baby was getting lots of attention.  
Joseph got to cut the cord.  They had previously called Dr. Brinsen, 
the neonatologist, to attend the delivery in case Miss Emma needed some 
assistance.  Baby got checked out and cleaned up.  This is when she had a 
couple of spells of "holding her breath" as the nurses called it.  She was fussing alot and would tense up and turn red all over like a tantrum. Dr. Brinsen saw it differently, though.  He said she wasn't holding her breath but was having an episode of apnea...not breathing.  She was also pretty

floppy upon arrival.  He did have the nurse wrap her up and let me hold her while the angry mob outside the door (pronounced "anxious family and
friends") 
was filed single file by momma and baby.  Since she was a preemie, we kept contact to folks to a minimum.  She didn't need any extra germ-induced 
problems, especially at this point.  

Dr. Brinsen said he would like her to stay in the nursery where the nurses could monitor her throughout the night, just as a precaution.  She ended up having another couple of episodes that night, but never needed 
resuscitation or oxygen.  The next morning, he said he wasn't sure yet 
whether she was having the apnea due to her prematurity or due to the magnesium sulfate I was on or both.  The magnesium makes your muscles very weak 
(remember my trembling?) and could be depressing her breathing. So, my new joy, was replaced by new apprehension.  He recommended that she be admitted to the NICU for monitoring.  We had hoped she would be back in the room with us that day.  But, we wanted everything to be ok with Miss Emma.  Joseph was going to see his new little girl just about every hour at this point. He hadn't 
slept but was floating about on cloud 9.  

Thankfully, some good news came that morning.  They took me off the magnesium. That stuff is a prime example of the cure being worse than the disease. I was 
still confined to the bed for another 4 hours so the magnesium would have time to wear off.  You aren't aware of how much it affects your muscles when on the stuff.  Your legs won't hold you up when you try to walk.

There was also talk of me being discharged the next day after more observation. No new episodes with Miss Emma, but the doctor still wanted to watch her longer to make sure she was getting better.

When I was well enough to walk, I started getting to visit with Miss Emma.  
It seemed like forever since I had seen her.  Thankfully, she is a very 
forgiving soul and hadn't held my absence against me.  We hit it off right away.  

I did end up being discharged the next day.  Even though my blood pressure was still fluctuating, my doc felt confident enough that I would be able to 
recoup without the aid of medication.  Yippeee!  

The hospital provided us another
hospital room to stay near Emma while she was being monitored.  The next day, more good news.  Miss Emma could spend the night in the room with us. She would be hooked up to a monitor, but she would be with us.  That monitor

turned into Joseph's worst nightmare.  Every time she moved, the sensors would loose her signal and start going off.  We were pressing the reset button throughout the night.  Plus, we are always having to reattach the sensors to her.  They were always coming unstuck from her.  

The next news we heard was that if her lab work looked ok, we would get to 
have her the next night with no monitor.  The doctor was becoming more and more convinced that her apnea was related to the magnesium that I was given. I had gotten rid of it in my system by this time.  But, Miss Emma would take a bit longer because she is just baby and her system works slower than my own.

The next night, we all stayed together with no monitor.  Sadly, Joseph was 
out when the doctor came in and unplugged the monitor that morning. Joseph 
wanted to be present at its death.  

All went well, and we all got the ok to go home!  Happy day!!!  We came home 
Friday morning.  Even though we were all exhausted, being home seemed to rejuvenate us.  We could start to relax and await the adjustment and routine to come.  We've been home ever since.  Miss Emma is getting stronger and

fussier every day.  We have our first doctor's appointment this coming 
Friday.  We are expecting a good report.

Of course, I have always known that Joseph is awesome, and I have been very 
much blessed.  But, during our time
in the hospital and having Miss Emma, he has reached a whole new level. He took excellent care of me when I was sick and is taking care of Miss Emma like a professional daddy.  There isn't anything he won't do for our little lady.  I cannot imagine having had to deliver Emma without him right there. He's made everything that could have been a very tough job, very easy for me. We are working very hard together to make Miss Emma's life a healthy, happy one.  :)

Momma Kay