Life Doesn't Always Go as Planned

We all want what things to go our way and it is no different with childbirth. Childbirth can be a miraculous, beautiful thing but there are times when it doesn't quite go that way. All babies are miracles and bringing a miracle into this world is hard work. It is hard work that is totally worth it though.

I have had four pregnancies, four beautiful, perfect children. All four of my pregnancies have ended in a vaginal birth. My first pregnancy and delivery were textbook. I had a normal, uneventful pregnancy. I went into labor on my due date. I labored for about 16 hours and then pushed for an additional hour and a half. I had a normal size baby, seven pounds, two ounces. I developed a fever during labor so I was treated with antibiotics. Once the baby was born, they also treated her just in case I had developed an infection. About a year or so after having my first child, a medical report came out that said that it is normal to develop a low grade fever when using an epidural for pain relief. After a week of antibiotics, the baby was ready to come home. All was finally well.

My second pregnancy was a bit different. I had trouble conceiving. It took me about a year of trying and many interventions to get me pregnant. I had to go through all kinds of tests and even different medications. I had a hysterosalpingogram done as well as a post coital test, multiple sonograms and blood work also. I finally got pregnant after two consecutive intrauterine inseminations. My pregnancy was anything but normal. I ended up having gestational diabetes, placenta previa, many urinary tract infections, walking pneumonia, a stomach virus (which I think was food poisoning), and vaginal infections. I also went into preterm labor at 33 weeks gestation and was put on bed rest from 33 weeks to 37 weeks. It was the longest month of my entire pregnancy. I was induced and that didn't go well either. After many hours of no labor progression, my doctor finally decided it was time to break my water. After my water broke, I went into active labor, finally. After about seven hours of active labor, it was time to push. I once again pushed for about an hour and a half. The baby was seven pounds, 10 ounces and healthy. He even had such a cute little personality already. I tried so hard to breastfeed for almost a month but my milk never came in.

I was told that I probably won't be able to get pregnant on my own so if I wanted a third child, I should just schedule another insemination. I decided to wait until my second child was close to two to attempt another insemination. Well those doctors didn't know too much because when my second child was eleven months old, I found out that I was expecting again, without even trying. This pregnancy went well, although my insulin never seemed balanced. I didn't technically have gestation diabetes but my level was only one number below the high mark. I had placenta previa again with this one. With my last pregnancy and this one, the placenta moved just in time to be able to have a vaginal birth. This baby was big early on so I had to have sonograms every week toward the end of the pregnancy to watch the baby's weight. The perinatologist said that if I was to go full term, that I would have an ten to eleven pound baby. I told him there was no way I would go to full term. My obstetrician's thought otherwise though. They refused to induce and told me they wouldn't until I was about 42 weeks pregnant. That would mean that I would have a twelve pound baby. Are these doctors nuts? I thought so but that didn't matter. Well luck was on my side. My water broke around midnight, when I was 38 weeks pregnant. I went to the hospital around four in the morning and had him after only a few pushes before seven in the morning. He was a big guy, at eight pounds seven ounces. Another healthy baby. I was able to breastfeed this child and I did for a full three months. I had to stop for personal reasons but at least I lasted for three months.

This baby also gave me a new challenge. At about three weeks old, he started projectile vomiting. I took him to the doctor and he said that he thought it might be acid reflux. He prescribed medication and said that if by tomorrow he is still throwing up, he needs to be evaluated in the emergency room. That night, he threw up three times so in the morning, it was time to get a diagnosis. We went to the hospital and within minutes of signing in, we were brought to an exam room. A team of doctors and nurses did some tests and then sent him for a sonogram. We went down the hall for the sonogram and was told by the tech that it might be a long one to find out what is going on. Within a few minutes, the tech said that she sees the problem already and ran out of the room to get the doctor. The doctor came in and told me that he had something called pyloric stenosis and he needed emergency surgery. The bottom of the stomach where the foods goes to get to the intestines had thickened to the point of closing. It needed to be opened. I was told that it was a routine surgery and the surgeon performing the surgery had done it a million times. The outlook was excellent. I broke down from the fear and the stress. My nineteen month old was with us and my older child was in school an hour away from the hospital. I had many phone calls to make to get things organized. His surgery went well and he was in recovery in about an hour. What a relief. He has had no problems from it since and is a happy, thriving almost three year old right now.

When my third child was six months old, I found out that I was once again expecting. I wanted to call the doctor that told me I wouldn't be able to get pregnant on my own and tell her...HA!! I didn't though. This pregnancy went smoothly other than my mood swings. They were out of control at times. My blood sugar was lower most of the time too, instead of high like in previous pregnancies. I went into preterm labor at 31 weeks. I was not put on bed rest this time though. I was told that my cervix wasn't changing so I just needed to keep watch. At 38 weeks gestation, I was so uncomfortable and was four centimeters dilated for over a week by now so my midwife decided to induce. She also told me that my bag of water was bulging so if it broke on its own now, I could be faced with an emergency delivery because the cord could prolapse. Once again, my induction didn't go as fast as one would like. I finally had convinced a doctor to break my water. After that, we were moving along great. Within an hour or two, I was ready to push. I pushed for a half an hour and out came my eight pound, two ounce baby boy. All was well..or so we though.

He didn't want to cry right away and that was making everyone in the room nervous. Finally, after a long few minutes, he started to cry. What a sound to hear!! Right after that, I started to eat since I was starving. After taking a few bites, I put the food down. My husband and the nurse asked me if I was OK. I told them nothing. I couldn't speak. I turned completely white. The nurse came rushing over and pushed on my stomach. Out shot huge clots of blood. It actually shot across the room and hit the wall. She continued this, which by the way hurt really bad, for at least another five minutes or so. Apparently, I was in the process of hemorrhaging huge blood clots. Once she was done with all the pushing on my belly, my blood pressure monitor started screaming out a loud, obnoxious beep. My blood pressure had dipped to 40 over 30. Not good. It took three nurses and twelve sticks to get an IV into my arm. Since my blood pressure was so low, all my veins had collapsed. They needed to get medicine in me as soon as possible to make sure that my blood pressure didn't dip anymore. That could have ended things for me. Once she got the IV in and the medicine started flowing, I started to feel better, was able to speak again and started to get my color back. My husband, who had been through this whole delivery thing a few times before and never gets nervous, looked terrified. That made it harder for me because I knew something was terribly wrong.

The day after my delivery and near death experience, I had my tubes tied. I knew that four children was enough for me but after all of that, I took that as a sign from God as well. I need to be healthy for my children. They need me. I went home the day after and things were getting back to normal. Now it was time to adjust to having four children. At the time, my oldest was nine years old, my second child was two and my third child was 15 months old. The hard part really started when I got home from the hospital.

I didn't plan on having a difficult delivery. After having three normal ones, who would've thought otherwise. Be prepared for unexpected things to happen when you go into labor. Just because one delivery went well and normal and progressed quickly, doesn't mean that the next one will. Thankfully, I made it through thanks to the wonderful and knowledgeable nurses. Life can be tricky at times and finding the strength to get you through is the real task.

Delivery is a beautiful thing. The end result is the best thing in the world. If I knew that I would nearly die after giving birth the fourth time before I got pregnant, I would still do it all over again. My wonderful children are a constant reminder of just how beautiful life can be. I take each life challenge as a learning experience. After going through many of the things in my life that I have been challenged with, there is no other way to look at things. The alternative to life is not an option for me so I will keep on taking these challenges and turning them into something worthwhile.