Growing & birthing Jersey #2 was my absolute easiest pregnancy & delivery! Dr. S jokes that it was because she was "brewing something BIG!"
When hoping for a pregnancy, I am so impatient during that "2-week wait" between the window of opportunity for conception, and the time when a home pregnancy test will register. I did not have to do any hoping and waiting with Jersey #2, because she was a surprise! When Jersey #1 was just over 6 months old, I started having the desire to plan another baby. My husband thought I was crazy! It is quite common for bereaved parents to have only 1 living child after a loss, deciding to not take anymore chances after that. My husband was of that mindset. I wanted more. I was called to motherhood, and I loved it! We discussed the topic off and on, until he realized I was quite serious about wanting another child. So, when Jersey #1 was about 10 months old, we sat down and had an "intellectual" discussion about the "best" spacing of siblings. (I've posted about that topic earlier). We decided 2.5 years was our ideal, so that was the timing we were waiting for. So, when my cycle was much later than usual, we quickly learned that all of our intellect and reasoning was futile, because I was already pregnant!
I had quite a bit of morning sickness in the first trimester (which I've learned is typical of my pregnancies with my daughters). I also liked to sleep a lot. Thankfully, my husband was a pro at taking care of Jersey #1, so they gave me lots of opportunity to sleep.
I had an early "dating" ultrasound with Jersey #2 around 12 weeks, and an anatomical ultrasound at 21 weeks. The ultrasounds showed a healthy baby each time, and at 21 weeks we learned that she was a GIRL! Considering my husband is the oldest of 3 boys, and his father is the oldest of 6 boys, I was highly amused that we were growing our 3rd daughter! We joked that we were balancing out the generations.
I continued to work full time, even after having Jersey #1. I took 3 months leave when she was born, and then we enrolled her in a daycare center near my work 4 days a week. My husband worked from home on Fridays and cared for her while she was young (and slept a lot). When she became more mobile, we both switch to the 9-80 work schedule that gave us every other Friday off, and we took turns being home with her on Fridays. This was the schedule we were working while I was pregnant. I loved my Fridays home with Jersey #1. I also found myself more comfortable at work on the Fridays my husband was at home with her, versus the work days she was in daycare. I started to doubt that arrangement. As we talked about my desires, and about the family budget, we came to the conclusion that it would be better if I cut down to a part-time work schedule. My boss gave her approval. I began my new schedule of working only 2 days per week, at the start of the month Jersey #2 was due.
When was she due? A window of opportunity opened up when the "dating" ultrasound gave a due date for Jersey #2 that was 1 week earlier than my cycles predicted. The ultrasound also gave a margin of error of + or - 1 week! Normally, we would just go with the date from my cycles, since I am usually so accurate with my record keeping! But, this time around, Dr. S repeatedly mismatched the dates across all my prenatal paperwork. This gave him a nice justification to provide another "mercy induction" if I started to fall apart at the end. He could schedule an induction any time that week I was due (and still follow hospital policy of not inducing before 40 weeks), since the ultrasound paperwork would have shown me to be 40 weeks and overdue already. He left the option open. I was certain I felt strong enough to make it to the end.
Sure enough, I started to freak out as that last week approached. Mackenzie died in the womb 3 days before her due date. I was induced and delivered Jersey #1, 3 days before her due date. I was scared I was not going to be able to function when I reached 3 days before Jersey #2's due date, as I was starting to immensely fear losing her. So, we opted for another "mercy induction." Dr. S. scheduled the induction date, and told me to eat a good lunch and report to Labor & Delivery at noon. His resident would get things started, and he would join us after his clinic was closed that evening. My sister took a day off college and drove up to stay with Jersey#1.
This time around, I was actually 80% effaced at the start of induction! Wahoo! My body was actually doing something to prepare for childbirth (for a change). I was not dilated at all. The first dose of Mesoprostol was inserted, and contractions began about 30 minutes later. My husband & I sat and played Scattegories and waited for some action. The nurses would join in and help us brainstorm words when they came into my room to assess me.
The 2nd dose of Mesoprostol is usually given 4 hours after the first dose. Dr. S. had arrived by then. I was starting to feel the contractions, and I was not real thrilled about enduring another labor. I decided I would prefer an epidural this time around. I was already 4cm dilated, so an epidural was ordered, and I was switched to Pitocin instead of a 2nd dose of Meso. The epidural went in smoothly. I was told the epidural would not take away the pressure, just the pain. I was also told I might have some uneven numbness. I don't know what that anesthesiologist was talking about, because that was the best epidural I have ever had! I was perfectly numb in all my childbirth areas, but I could still move my legs. I had no pain, no pressure, no problem! I knew that it would be better if I was in a position to let gravity help the baby descend, so I asked the nurse to help me prop up one end of the bed so I could rest comfortably in a nearly upright sitting position. Dr. S. was going to remain at the hospital that night. My husband had a pull-out chair in the room with me. The plan was to sleep through labor, due to the awesome power of the epidural! My husband and I slept peacefully, listening to the sounds of Jersey #2's heartbeat on the monitor.
When we woke up 8 hours later, I was starting to feel some pressure and contractions. Dr. S arrived at the point I was starting to have to breathe through the contractions. I couldn't remember if I was suppose to breathe fast or slow. (That's what I get for claiming that childbirth prep classes were "useless" because of my "abnormal" experiences.) Sometimes I was just holding my breath, because I couldn't decide. Dr. S. casually reminded me to breathe slow....and that worked great! He checked me and I was 10cm dilated, but a piece of my cervix was still forming a ledge. No worries, I could push through that. But, Dr. S. was concerned that the baby's head was still so high. Once again, the amniotic sac had not broken on its own. He did not want to break it, like he had done for Jersey #1, because he feared if the baby's head was not right there, then the umbilical cord could swoosh on out with the gush of fluid, which would ultimately result in an emergency c-section. Dr. S. contemplated his options and asked our opinion. We assured him that we would deal with whatever came our way, and we trusted his judgment. He suggested he could use a needle to poke a tiny hole in the sac, to let the fluid come out slowly, and maybe that would help the head lower before the cord. It worked! The amniotic fluid leaked slowly, and Dr. S guided her head with his hand, and made sure the cord was not there.
Jersey #2 must have been up in my ribs, because I had to push and push to get that girl out. My husband, Dr. S. and the nurses were cheering me and encouraging me greatly. At one point they cheered so much I asked if she was crowning? No. They told me that I had pushed her down from the North Pole, and now she was finally at the Equator. Ugh. I still had to push her across half the globe! I was determined. I pushed and pushed some more. The nurse exclaimed, "Look at all that hair!" when she was finally crowning. I was excited to see it too, so I pushed her right out. Jersey #2 was born with a full head of black hair. She was beautiful.
When things go well, the husband is offered the opportunity to cut the umbilical cord. My husband was not interested in that tradition. He does not have the stomach for biological stuff. Dr. S. knew this, which is why he gives The Referee the "job" of watching the contraction monitor. This time, when Jersey #2 was placed on my abdomen, Dr. S held up the umbilical cord and a pair of scissors and asked my husband if he wanted to cut the cord. Do you remember those cartoons where the character ran through a wall and left a cut-out of their shape in the wall? My husband nearly left his shape in the wall. He saw the cord, the scissors, and the smile on the doctor's face, and he jumped back so fast, and so far, exclaiming "Dr S NO!" that he nearly crashed through the wall. That was funny!
Upon examination, Dr. S discovered that Jersey #2 had a very loud heart murmur. She was breastfeeding well, sleeping well, and crying without turning blue, so the pediatric cardiologist refused to examine her in the newborn nursery. He suggested that most murmurs that are detected at birth resolve on their own by 5 days old. He suggested that Dr. S listen to it again in 5 days and refer us for a cardiology evaluation if it was still there. Dr. S knew that murmur did not sound normal. He was correct. It was still there at 5 days old. At 2 months old, the cardiology evaluation revealed that Jersey #2 had the congenic heart defect Tetralogy of Fallot, which could only be treated by open-heart surgery!
