...this day, a year ago today, very well. Actually, the whole experience. Today, my little, sweet, tiny baby boy is one. It has been the best year ever. I can't even begin to put to words how much my son means to me. He officially made me a mommy. Every second has been filled with joy. Even ALL of the nights that he doesn't sleep, I'm thankful I have someone to keep me up. Let's take a look back...
I won't go into the whole story, we'd be here forever. Forgive the length, but I've always wanted to write this down so I don't forget! Anyways, let's just say, after what felt like forever, we were pregnant with Grayson. Things were rocky at first, but the middle of my pregnancy was textbook. Then, 32 weeks hit. My Dr. thought little boy was breech and wanted to just take a peek and check. The ultrasound showed that G was measuring two weeks behind. He said that could be off and had me come in for a ultrasound with the tech. It was all right before Thanksgiving, so I had to wait until after Thanksgiving to get the real results from the Dr. The tech confirmed that he was measuring two weeks behind in his belly, but I wasn't positive what that meant. I had a feeling though. Strangely enough, a couple weeks before in my What to Expect book, the had gone over Intrauterine Growth Restriction, or IUGR. It sounded like what Grayson had.
Monday after Thanksgiving, I went to the Women's Clinic for a non-stress test. Grayson wasn't having it. Although he was moving, it was "nonreactive". Dr. told me to go home, eat dinner and head over to the hospital at around 6:30. So, Andy and I camped out at St. Mary's for a few hours hooked up to monitors. We were so pleased because we saw his heartrate going up and then coming back down, just like we were told it needed to do. It was "reacting". We were wrong. It was going up, but not staying up like it needed to. Dr. met up with us about 9:30 that night and said, "Baby's fine for now, but you're not going to 40 weeks." He was IUGR which meant he wasn't growing like he should. He wouldn't grow around the middle in an attempt to protect his vital organs. I was instructed to come back in the morning and have a Biophysical Profile (aka an ultrasound "test"). G had 30 minutes to do a checklist of things that would show whether or not he was still doing well. He always waited to the last minute to do everything! Such a stinker. Dr. met me back in the morning and said he'd rather be safe than sorry and sent me to a Maternal/Fetal specialist in Tri-Cities two days later. My mom drove me over where a really cranky guy did a major ultrasound to check G's brain and every other inch of him. The specialist said he was doing well enough and to start chugging a gallon of water a day. I saw my Dr. again that week and I started going in to the office every 3 to 4 days. I saw the Dr. and had a weekly biophysical profile that G barely squeaked by every time. I went in on Monday, the 15th of December for an ultrasound at 35 weeks. When the tech went to get the Dr. I knew things had taken a turn. G's fluid was low (even with my water contributions :)). This was the first sign of distress. My Dr. had reassured me that at the very first sign we would deliver. He also wasn't going to allow me to go past 37 weeks. Too risky. So, when he patted my hand, I knew this baby was coming.
He sent me straight to the hospital to spend the night and be induced in the morning. Did I mention that the weather was horrible and I couldn't find my husband because he had gone to shovel our neighbors walks after work?!?! My friend Heather went and tracked him down and delivered him to the hospital for me.
So, the next morning at 6, I was induced. I was told G was coming that day, whether it was by me pushing him out or by C-section. IUGR babies don't always tolerate labor very well and no chances were to be taken. The bands were all done before he was born and said 12-16-08 on them. Well, G always has his own plan :) All day, not much progress was made, except for the snow outside. My Dr. didn't want me going into the night and needing an emergency C-section with not having a full staff ready to go and the roads being so bad. So, my Pitocin was turned off and I got to rest that night. The next morning, back on the drugs and the water was broke. Needless to say, I was requesting an epidural by around 1:30. I still had only made it to 3 cm by almost dinner time. Suprisingly, within an hour or so, I had dialated 7 cm and was ready to push at 7 pm. My Dr. was called and he drove through the nasty roads and at 7:20 on 12 -17-08 Grayson was born. (My bands from the hospital have the 6 in 16 scratched out and turned into a 7!) He weighed 4 lbs 13.7 oz and was 18.5 inches long. Grayson entered the world with the cord wrapped once but breathing and wailing all on his own. He had a little oxygen, but it was only a precaution. I was allowed to hold him for about a minute after they had assessed him and then he was taken to the nursery for the night. He did so well and was able to room in starting the next morning.
We spent the next 10 days dealing with O2 monitors, IVs, jaundice, billy beds, non-nursing, finger feeding, threats of feeding tubes, bottles, incubators and constant temperature checks. None of these things were abnormal for a 5 week early baby. He never had a breathing problem, which is such an amazing blessing. He did prefer to be held which he proved :) His O2 sat would be at 98% when he was in his bassinet (not bad at all though) and it would rist to 100% when he was held. Pretty sweet little baby. He had to get over that though when he lived in the billy bed and incubator for days. All in all, he did so well. The rest of the story picks up at the first post of my blog, which I started to update every one when we were in the hospital. It was an experience I don't anticipate forgetting, nor do I want to. It wasn't ideal, but it is Grayson's story and we're proud of what a little trooper he was and still is today!
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