Has anyone had a crazy birth story?

Rika - posted on 04/26/2009

I was trying to get pregnant for 2 years. i got pg easily but kept miscarrying, i lost 4 pregnancies. i got pg with my daughter and was scared to death. oddly i had a very uneventful pregnancy. no bleeding or cramping or really issues at all. so about a week before i gave birth i thought my water was leaking. but i have no experience with this so wasnt too sure. i thought i was just being paranoid. i finally hit 24wks and thought awesome if our baby came right now shed have a 50/50 chance at survival. that sounded awesome to me at the time. 4 days later i was napping and thought i had urinated on myself in my sleep. i woke up and thought oh man tell me this isnt a lovely pg thing that happens at this stage lol. so i got up to go in an shower and more liquid came out so i yelled for my fiancee and he walked in and sure enough it did it again! he said omg whats that and i said i think my water broke. so we call our dr and asked if we should come to his hospital or the nearest one, my dr was from a womens hospital, he said i should come in immediately. so i go in and they hook me up to those belts and because i was so early, only 24wks 4 days, they were having a big issue finding her hb with the belts. i wasnt contracting so that was a relief! they tested me and said nope your water didnt break and was going to send me home. i live an hr away and was insistant that my water did in fact break. so they tested again still no but i kept insisting and so they tested again. told me nope its neg your water didnt break. my dr finally comes in and i try to explain that im not crazy it did in fact break and i think it had been leaking for a week so i think just to shut me up he said ok we will keep you and check in the am to see. we will give you steriods and antibiotics just in case.

so next am comes and they do an u/s and sure enough no water! but im not in labor so i settle in for a long wait while my baby "bakes". i decide to nap and a timer goes off on my phone. it wakes me up and i feel something weird. so i call the nurse, knowing they arent going to want to check me really cuz of the risk of infection. i tell her i feel something weird down there lol didnt know how to explain it really. so she checks me says hmm ill brb. my dr just so happened to be rounding at that time so he comes in and so does she with a speculum she checks me and i kid you not the woman jumps on top of me on the bed. she shoves her hand inside of me and they start wheeling me out of the room with the dr screaming orders to people. it was like an episode of ER. he then looks at me and says the cord has fallen thorough your cervix and your baby is dying she needs to come out right away. so now im hysterical. they didnt even tell my fiancee who was standing there so he was no where around. the dr was patting me telling me it would be ok. but i thought omg she probably has died already and i thought i lost another one. so in the or we go they switch people and thankfully this guy does a hr check and tells us her hb is 130 but dropping she needed to come out now. the guy is holding the cord up through my cervix while another one is cathing me while they are putting in an iv and another one is putting that stuff on my belly and the dr was yelling knock her out right now! well now i knew my baby was alive i looked at him crying and said omg yes please knock me out. so they did and they had her out in 2 mins! she even cried. she weighed 1lb 10oz and was 12" long. she was in the nicu for 73 days and never had an issue. we always say she didnt know she was a preemie lol. everytime i think of how many things could have gone wrong and i wouldnt have her with me i am speechless she is a gift in my life and i couldnt imagine it without her.

Noel - posted on 04/15/2009

I wasn't supose to beable to get pregnant.. isn't that how alot of people storys start? but really, I just got off the depo lupron (puts you into menopaus) and was getting ready to have a hysterectomy because of the severe endometriosis adn cysts I had. Went in for regular tests and my test came up positive. I was SHOCKED of course.

At 10 weeks pregnant I ended up in teh Hospital with a Severe DVT from my ankle to my hip 100% blocked... doctors told me if I had waited any longer I would have died. they did a ultra sound to check "the baby" and what appears... a second baby. From that point on I was not only considered a High Risk Pregnancy but a Deadly Pregnancy. I was on blood thinners twice a day 4 shots in my tummy of blood thinners. in and out of the hospitals heart unit. went for a ultra sound because one of the babies stopped moving and found out she was extreamly low on fluid and measuring about two weeks behind the other baby. So of course they rushed me to the hosp were gonna deliever but decided to wait and monitor the girls over night because if they did an emergency C-Section they could risk me bleeding to death cuz the blood thinners. They gave me the steroid shot that night, the next day baby A seemed to be doing good, Sunday came around she was doing so so until Sunday night when she started to crash but came up and leveled out, they didnt give me my blood thinners and were gonna do the C-section at 9 am, but of course the blood thinners were a road block, so they said 12 pm then they decided since baby A was doing ok they would wait the full 12 hours to allow the blood thinners to clear my body and at 10:00 pm my beautful 2lb baby girl A Morghan was born and then when they went to get Baby B my uterus contracted down on her and sucked her back in, they had to jump on my stomach and push her out because my sac was broke and she was almost out when she got sucked back in but at 10:02 my other beautiful 2lb 7 oz baby girl B MaKenna was born (black and blue). Three months in the NICU and now 8 months old you would never know they were preemie (maybe Morghan). MaKenna is now weighting in at a little over 16lbs and little Morghan finally hit 13 lbs. They are both rolling over and trying so hard to crawl. They are such hams and laugh at everything and make me and their brother and sister laugh.



They are truley gifts from God... my little miracles.

Ann - posted on 04/15/2009

With my first son he was born at 37 weeks my water broke on a Wednesday morning, I went to my local hospital where they monitored me by late evening (midnight) they decided I needed to go to the other bigger hospital as there may be complications. So my husband drove me there and they kept me in keeping and eye on me. On the Thursday evening they decided to induce me, in my local hospital they took a sample which was given to the doctors on arrival and the larger hospital. Jack was born at 2.12am on the Friday morning. My husband went home at about 5am to get some sleep and was then coming back with my parents at about 10am. In the meantime I a new mum not knowing anything someone from the nnu came and said we have to take your son and give him so Anti-biotics without it he could die, she gave me a leaflet and was told to read it. It was all about Group B strep, I was on my own breaking my heart that my baby could die from this I had previously lost two babies through miscarriage, so I thought this cannot be happening to me again. When my husband and Parents arrived I was in a right state. My in laws work for my GP so they phoned him and a complaint was made because i was on my own and left in a state. I didn't really care about this I just wanted to know that my baby was gonna be ok, and thankfully he was. I went on to miscarry twin girls in early 2005 and Group B strep was found again. This year was such bad year as my father in law passed away suddenly we lost my cousins who was 24 years old. So when we found out i was pregnant again it sort of lifted the mood of everyone something to look forward to. I had regulary scans to see what was happening at my local hospital and then at 20 weeks I had to go to the larger hospital to have my 20 week scan, was told there was nothing to worry about and that they would see me in about 6 weeks. great I thought. Only we were over at my mother in laws farm sorting things out for a weekend and on the Sunday I started to bleed so was rushed to the hospital they kept me in overnight and put a machine on me to monitor the baby i was 22 weeks into my pregnancy. They sent me home the next day. told me to rest which I did, only to find that the bleeding was getting worse so i went back in again, they couldn't understand what was wrong so they kept me in this was the 16th October 2005. On the Thursday morning they decided it might be an idea to scan me, they saw straight away that the baby was being held in by .5mill so they decided i need to have a stitch put in to keep him in. they did this on the Saturday my waters broke was told needed to have stitch removed they did this was told that in no uncertain terms that my baby would die because he would be to early to save and that he would be delivered within two hours. I knew i was carrying a boy but my husband didn't so I told him why we waited for the worse to happen that we were going to have a boy and that I had chosen his name Jon. We waited the midwife came in to comfort us and said that she was so sorry. only Jon decided that he wasn't going to come out, in fact I managed to keep him cooking for a few weeks longer. The consultant couldn't make it out. He came and saw me everyday I was on complete bed rest was not allowed off the bloody bed which drove me mad. But it was all for the good of my child. He tried coming again at 28 weeks, everyother day I had a scan to check that my waters were regaining as there wasn't much water in the sack I was worried about infection but they told me there wasn't a problem. I had the steriod injections at 23 weeks to help his lungs. He actually was born at 31 weeks 3lb 13oz, by emergency c section he had no breathing problems but was taken to the high dependency unit and stayed there for 5 days and was then moved onto the low dependency unit. 3 weeks into his life he stopped breathing. He was ok as they caugh NEC early so were able to treat him by starving him or 12 days. He had a line put in and given TPN. He came home 1 week before he was due, this was the first time his brother saw him and the rest of the family. His brother who was two at the time was a absolute angel he never once asked for his mummy he stayed with is nanny and grandma all the time i was in hospital, it broke my heart when he came in to see me and i wasnt allowed home with him. He took it all in his stride he is 5 know and his younger brother 3. I am so glad that I have my two boys I love them to bits. The consultants have told me not to have anymore as there will be major complications for me and the child. So I am greatful for the two that I have.

Zante - posted on 04/15/2009

my daughter was born at 22weeks due to an incompetant cirvix although we think that she just wanted to see me!!!



i went into labor on 1/15/08 and had to stay on bedrest in the hospital. they tried anti dilation meds they did the opposite, and the same with the cintraction meds. when i held out to 22 weeks and 2 days they were surprised, i had dilated down to 10cm and was in absolutely no pain, apparently when they looked at the u/s my lil girl was in the birth canal kicking at the amniotic sac like it was a soccerball or somthing! they gave me an epidural, told me to push 15min later and out she came on 1/22/08 weighing 1lb 6oz and 12in long, the original date was 5/18/08 mind u.



i never cried so much as when i saw her attached to all those machines, she was on a respirator for 1 1/2 months than bubble c-pap for 2 weeks it was mid march at this point. a month later she had to have laser surgery on her eyes due to a case of retina opathy of prematurity and then had to go back on the resperator for 2days. at this point it was april 14th and we were just scared that she would never come home. on may 2nd they called me to tell me that she was transferred to BBCH (barbara bush) on the 6th floor which meant she wud come home soon. she came home 5/22/08 weighing 5lbs 4oz



my daughter is now 15months old, weighs 16.5lbs and is 28in tall. Her adjusted age is 10 months but i dont think she realizes that. She is talking, crawling, standing, eating finger foods, has 2 teeth, in a toddler bed because she is so tall she can crawl outta her crib at the lowest mattress height! her name apparently being Rogue was a good choice, gotta push those limits!!!



i thank god everyday that shes home and i hated the 4 months (EXACTLY TOO) that she wasnt here, i couldnt step foot into my nursery even.

she was tiny but shes got sooo much fire in her

Angela - posted on 04/15/2009

Hi! Just thought I would share my story. It all started on my birthday in November. I wasnt feeling well that day and as the day wore on the pain got worse. It got to the point where I couldnt sit, walk or lay down. around 8 that night I had to have someone take me to the hospital, when I got there they had me lay on a bed while a nurse felt my stomach for contractions. She said they were there but they were random and the doctor recommended that i have someone take me to the hospital in london because they had all night ultrasounds there. I knew there was no way I was going to get there that night because the weather was horrible and the roads were being closed and it was a two hour drive. So the doctor sent me home and asked that I come back in the morning for a ultrasound.

  The next morning the pain had stopped but i was still feeling a bit sore. I went to have the ultrasound done and immediatley after it i was taken to a room and told that they were transferring me to london and that my placenta had abrupted. They put an iv in each hand, gave me a steroid shot and prepared blood for the trip in case i would need it.

Two and a half hours later I was at the london hospital after a uneventful ambulance ride. Once there i was admitted to the antenatal unit. I was on the unit for 21 days.

On December 9th i woke up not feeling so well but the doctor said that that happens when you are pregnant!  I was scheduled for an ultrasound that day and the baby appeared fine scoring an eight out of eight. I returned to my room where i was then told that i was supposed to have a non stress test. after i was hooked up for awhile the nurse said that the babies heart rate kept dropping and she called the doctor. Once the doctor arrived i found out that i wasnt actually supposed to be having that test done it was a screw up but it was a good thing that i did. I was moved to labour and delivery where i wa shooked up to the monitors to be watched. By this time i had starting having contractions again and the babies heart rate was still dipping. They started preparing a room for an emergency section but it never happened because the heart rate had stabalized and everthing appeared fine although I was still in pain. The doctor told me that I had just had another abruption and the monitor wasnt picking up any contractions, was given a morphine shot and sent back to my room.

I never slept that night and they kept giving me pain medication at 5 20 that morning when i tried to get out of bed to walk around and ease the pain, i couldnt get up!! I pulled the cord for the nurse. I screamed at her the babies coming and she didnt believe me. I told her he was and sure enough before we could get the pants all the way off he was there! he cried for less than minute and was rushed to the nicu that was down the hall.

My son was born at 27 weeks and weighed 1 lb, 9 oz. He has had some setbacks and will have some long term problems. He spent three months in the NICU. He is now home with me. He is now four months old and weighs 7 lbs, 12 oz. He is my little miracle baby.

Amy - posted on 03/20/2009

My pregnancy with my son was very ruff i vomited 24/7 from about the moment i concieved all the way up to week 20, so i was in and out of hospital every couple of days to be hooked up to IV fluids. I also had heavy bleeding on and off up to around week 12 which was really scary going in every couple of weeks to have internal scans to make sure he was still there. I then started having problems with being able to feel him so was having to be hooked up every couple of days cos i wasnt getting 10 kicks a day, i developed gestational diabetes at around 24 weeks and was about to be put on insulin, to add to the fun time my next door  fneighbours daughter  i baby sat got chickenpox which i havent had so had to have blood tests to make sure i couldnt pass it on to other mums-to-be and the final part to the very short pregancy was server heartburn for the last 8 weeks. The real fun started when i went into labour, i started to get contractions on the Monday night i thought it was my crohns disease which cause stomach pains pretty much like contractions ( in the begining), i had a scan the next morning at the hospital and took around an hour and half to do because the ycontractions where strong ( i didnt realise that they were contractions) the radiographer sent me down to the birthing suite i got hooked up to the machines and they showed baby was fine and i wasnt having contractions, the problem with this is that the belt was at the top of the belly and the contractions across the pelvis, so i was sent home given a couple of panadol and told to ring if it didnt get any better, the pain got worse and i kept having to go to the toliet to push what i thought was bowel motion, by late afternoon it was worse and strong which is the nature of contractions so i went back into hospital they where so busy that i was left in a room for 3 hrs hooked up to the machines before a doctor came and did a internal exam to find i was dilated, so then given all the drugs to try stop it the steroid injections for the babys lungs. My wee man decided that he was still going to come the next day on the Wednesday in the afternoon he was born naturally, cried when he came out and went about peeing on the doctors as they checked himout. Then as every one knows comes the fun of being in the neo natal the ups the downs and finally getting him home after 62 days, which was really quick now when i think about it,  due to the fact we had to spend a lot of the first year in and out of hospital with problems that had not been picked up in the NICU due to him being taken off some medications really late so maybe a bit longer would of helped, but that is the wonderful thing about hindsite.  He was by the way 3pound and 4oz which yes is big for a 28weeker.

My daughter also decided to come early at 34 weeks, just like my son it was a really bad pregnancy i vomited 24/7 since the moment i concieved this time it was much harder because i had my son and i had to spend so much time in and out of hospital it really unsettled him and his progress at his early intervention programme. With my daughter the diabetes was out of control and i ended up on huge doses of insulin from the start of the pregnancy, with her i started to get preclamsia early on and my crohns disease played up really badly to the point  that i got to be the first pregnant women at the hospital to swallow a camera and be hooked up to monitors to relay the photos the camera was taking of my stomach, intestines etc.. Because of my son coming at 28 weeks for no reason, i had 6 internal scans to make sure that my cervix wasnt opening, i was being scanned every week because my daughter was very large and there was a lot of fluid around her when they decided that at 34 weeks she was too big and was going to be taken out in two weeks and i was going to have to stay in hospital for those two weeks to get all the injections etc.. My daughter on the other hand had other ideas my waters broke the next morning at 10 to 6 and had to be born by emergency section cos she was breech. She was born in the afternoon but decided she would be breathing properly and took a while to get going but she got there and we where only in the neo natal for just under two weeks. Yeah and she came out at 34 weeks at 7 pound!!

I have been told and was offered a tubal ligation within a couple of months of giving birth to my daughter because my pregnancys are so bad and i go into labour for no reason. I have no plans for anymore, but since i have had my two darlings on my own i might one day meet a keeper who does.

Tina - posted on 03/19/2009

Quoting Liz:

Wow, crazy! I had terrible all day sickness for like 4 months. I finally started feeling better and was able to actually eat and keep food down when my water broke at 25wks. No warning, I thought I wet my pants laughing and then I wouldn't stop leaking! I didn't know at the time that the back pain I had been having was contractions! Went to the hospital it was like 11pm. The next morning I was referred to the perinatologist, and after an ultrasound found out I had a bi-cornate(heart shaped) uterus and the baby was in a transverse position( head on my left side, butt/feet kickin me in my right hip). My sister has a septum(normal shaped uterus with a divider in it) in her uterus and the peri told me that it is common for those things to run in families. My sis has had two boys, breech, but full term. I also found out that I have an incompetent cervix as well, probably due to previous surgery to treat abnormal paps. I thought the drs could have warned me about this one when I told them about my history and I don't know how they couldn't tell that my uterus was shaped different during my 18 wk ultrasound? I was able to stay on bedrest in the hospital for 8 wks, until my son had a mature lung profile. By that time he had turned into a breech position on the left side of my uterus, his head bumping me in the ribs. So he was born at 33wks weighing 5 lbs 7oz, and stayed in the nicu for 25 days. the nurse that took care of me the night I was admitted said later that she didn't think that I was going to be pregnant the next day because of the contractions I was having, so I feel so very lucky that I was able to keep him in that long and now I have a wonderful 2 1/2 yr old. We are trying for another one and my peri tells me that now that we know what the problems is we can prevent those problems from happening again(by doing a cerclage and takin it easy), but I am still nervous about it. I love hearing stories about a second pregnancy going better after having such a rough first one. It gives me hope that I can do it again and everything will be ok!

I started having contractions at 24.5wks. When I went to the hospital the dr. told me the water bag was like a bubble blocking my cervix and they didn't know how far I was diulated. They put me in an ambulance and sent me to another hospital that was equipped to handle preemies. I was in the hospital for 4 days lying in the trindelenberg (feet higher than head) position. My husband , who was my boyfriend at the time, stayed by my side the whole time. I had so many family members visit me the nurses said we had to cut back on visitors. I remember waking up one time to find my hubby, my brother and a couple of cousins watching a Cheech and Chong movie in my room and laughing up a storm! ....The dr told me I had an incompetent cervix. I guess my daughter couldn't wait to see the world. I went into full on labor on April 14,1995 and they rushed me to the delivery room. My water bag was still intact so when I pushed, it burst. It sounded like a big balloon popped and the dr got all wet! My hubby almost passed out. I heard a nurse say "get dad a chair!" ...we were sooo young. I was 18. He was 19. I remember every moment. The joy of a new life and the fear because she was so tiny. She only weighed 1lb 9oz.  She spent 3months in the nicu. There were lots of ups and downs but she did surprisingly well. The day we were supposed to take her home she got a cold and had to stay a week longer....She weighed 4lb 2oz  when we got to bring her home. She was healthy but we had to take her temperture all the time.... Today she is a healthy almost 14 yr old. She loves music and is a great wrestler....I got pregnant 3 yrs later, had a cerclage and was put on bed rest. My 2nd daughter was born April 16, 1998 at 34wks. She was healthy at 7lbs 11oz She is my girly-girl but she also loves to wrestle....I have had a total of 5 cerclages. I did lose one baby at 13wks after having the cerclage. My three boys were all born around their due dates. My oldest boy likes skateboarding and yes wrestling (my hubby is a coach). My youngest two are quite a handful and into everthing....My husband and I thank God everyday for all our little blessings.

Lisa - posted on 03/19/2009

With my first child, a son, my pregnancy went fine.  I was induced two weeks early due to his size, my husband and I are both tall people.  Then, when I got pregnant with my second child, our daughter, everything seemed to be going fine.

At 20 weeks we went in for the normal 5 month ultrasound.  Everything was fine, but since she wouldn't turn over my mid wife wanted another ultrasound done at my next visit at 24 weeks to get a better picture of the heart.  No worries, just so she could be sure everything was okay.  At 23 weeks, I went in because I thought I was having pre-eclampsia, I had gained almost 20 lbs in less than 2 weeks.  My legs, face, hands, and feet were so swollen!  They ran tests and found nothing, so they told me to watch my sodium intake. 

Before I left that day, I asked my Dr. if she still wanted me to come in the next week for my monthly checkup and for the ultrasound.  She said if I wanted to, but I could always wait for my next one at 28 weeks.  So we pushed the ultrasound back to 28 weeks. 

When I went in at 28 weeks with my husband and 2 year old son, the ultrasound tech asked me how far along I was.  I told him and he said, hmmm.  Never a good sign.  We asked why and he said that the baby was only measuring around 24 weeks in size.  Not only that, but the amniotic fluid was minimal at best.  Needless to say, my midwife sent us on to Emanuel Hospital in Portland, OR since they had the best NICU around.  The next day we went in for our appointment and ultrasound.  The ultrasound tech told us she thought we were having a girl, but it was hard to tell because there wasn't much fluid around her and she couldn't get a good picture of the baby.  Then the Dr. came in to talk to my husband and I, told us that the baby was shunting all the good blood to the brain, and was basically shutting down the organs.  He said that we would probably be having a baby sooner rather than later.  We asked how soon and he said, an hour or two. 

My husband lost it at that point, which was good because I lost it the day before and he was strong for me.  So now I had to be strong.  They wheeled me over to labor and delivery and prepped me for an emergency c-section.  Our daughter was born weighing 1 lb 9 oz, and just over 12 inches long.  Her survival rate was 70% before birth, but she was doing better than they thought afterwards.  She still stayed for 3 months in the NICU, so I had to spend my days driving 1 hour one way just to see her and take her breast milk.  It was the hardest thing I have ever been through, and even now, almost 1 year later, I still get flooded with emotion at the thought of her birth. 

Later, when I went back to see my midwife, she told me she had talked to the doctor I had gone and seen at Emanuel.  She said that the difference in the ultrasound between the two days was so great that our daughter probably wouldn't have made it had everything not occured as it did and so quickly.  We are blessed by our little miracle baby, she is a wonder!

Jennifer - posted on 03/19/2009

Wow that is a story....I had everything but a normal pregnancy...It all started Oct 07 I started getting sick all of the time so I went to the hospital they said because I had just had my period so I wasn't pregnant...So I cycled in Oct 07 and Nov 07 found out Dec 26th 07 that I was in fact pregnant and had two cycles. So they gave me an ultrasound 01.05.08 and I found out I was pregnant with twins and was 2 months along..Then on 02.15.08 I started bleeding again and found I had miscarried the twins 2 days after the first ultrasound so they sent me home to have a miscarriage...One week later I decided I needed to have an d & c for my emotional well being I went in on 02.22.08 for a consult and they said they needed to preform an emergency D & C because I was fully dialated and nothing was happening so I had the D & C and had some major hemmoraging they told me I shouldn't be high risk it was just a fluke.....

One month to the day of the d & c I got pregnant again...I was happy scared and excited....I was sick all of the time the whole pregnancy I was 156lbs when I got pregnant and 168lbs by the end so I didn't gain alot of weight to begin with...then on Oct 18 2008 I started having pains it was a weekend so I called my clinic and my ob was the oncall doctor that weekend so we talked about my symptoms and she believed I had a major infection in my girly area so she put me on an antibiotic and said if the pain doesn't go away in 24 hrs to come in.....By 1:30a on Oct 19 2008 I was in so much pain I had to go in....When I got there they hooked me up to a machine that said I was in hard labor so they gave me a couple of shots to stop the labor then checked my cervix I was fully dialated I was going to give birth that morning everyone was in complete shock they had to call the minneapolis Childrens hospital and have a NICU team chopper down so they could Fly my daughter 50 miles to the NICU I couldn't hold her they let my hold her hand for a couple of seconds then took her away and I had to stay in the hospital where I had her 50 miles away from my daughter thankfully they released me at 12:30pm on 10.19.08 so I had a less than 12 hour stay after I had my daughter....My daughter was born 10.19.08 at 4:27am when she was 30 weeks she was born at 2lbs 14oz spent a month and a half in the NICU and another month and a half in the ICC.....I am now high risk for any future pregnancy and have to see a specialist before I get pregnant again to determine weather or not I can carry full term or to see if I have and Incompitant cervix...To be honest I am so scared I will not carry full term or will have another miscarriage that I dont think I can go through another pregnancy.....

Sara - posted on 03/19/2009

WOW!! Everyone's stories are so amazing!!
Here is the Readers Digest version of mine...

I was 33 weeks pregnant and we went out to dinner with both sets of our parents. I was not feeling well when we got home. Took my swollen feet to bed early. Woke up in the middle of the night with horrible stomach pains. I did not think it was labor but was unsure so off we went. They told me it was a stomach bug and sent me home. Still felt crappy on Sunday and went back. This time they gave me some pain meds and then sent me home again. I stayed home from work on Monday because I was just getting worse. I woke up from a nap in horrible pain and went back to L&D. This time they admitted me. I was not having contractions but something was wrong. They ran all sorts of tests and could find NOTHING. They thought maybe kidney stones and they sent me for an ultrasound the next (Tuesday) morning. That also turned up nothing. They turned me over to surgery. The surgeon said they had no real idea what was wrong with me but he was fairly certain it was my appendix. He went in laporscopicly (SP) and that is when he found that my appendix had as he put "exploded" and he had to open me up and clean up a giant mess. What was supposed to be a one hour surgery turned into 3 1/2. They woke me up from surgery and told me that everything was fine and that I was going to recovery and could see my husband in a few hours. As they were moving me from the surgery table to the gurney a nurse in the corner of the room screamed "we are losing the baby". They put me back on the surgery table and every one started running around in a panic. The chief of surgery came into the room (I had met her earlier) and yelled "everyone SHUT UP" and everyone did. She barked out a few more orders and everyone fell in line like good little soldiers. Then some kind soul jammed a tube up my nose and down my throat (yes, I was awake for all of this). I saw the NICU team come running in with a warmer and a bunch of nurses and then they put me back under. I woke up later with no baby in my belly knowing something had gone very very very wrong. Sam was born with no heart beat or breath sounds. He was essentially dead, they called him a "blue baby". They had to shock him and give him all kinds of drugs to reverse the meds that put me to sleep.

Sam was born at 33 weeks and spent 26 days in the NICU. He just turned 2 and the kid is freaking AWESOME!!

Jessica - posted on 03/19/2009

well it wasnt really a crazy labor, ok yea it was but we knew it was going to be when i was 4 months i went for an ultrasound to check how far along i was they though she might be alittle small, so the tech says everythings fine but the head of radiology was new so she wasnt sure if he would want more pictures, which was weird but we just though ok, so she makes us wait a half hour finally the other doctor comes in and she shows him the screen and she says " you see it right there"? my boyfreind says what? nothing we get no response so we say is something wrong with our baby? they say yes but nothing just call in another doctor so basically were crying for 30 min. while they tell us nothing finally they tell us our daughter has gastroschisis ( it is where the intestines push thru a hole in the stomach wall. so then im high risk and we know she will be here early need surgery and be diffucult but were prepared.



No we were not prepared for it, i went for my 35 wk check up intestines are swollen so they say come back next week, ok. come back the next week and my dr actually got a picture of it but my daguthers stomach was actually coming out of the hole which is huge! he calls in like 5 doctors but by that time its back in but he says its time now, so they induce me and my little miracle was born 8 hours later in the OR with like 20 people in there, lots of doctors, but she was 4lb 5 oz and had her surgery 5 days after she was born and now she is 17 months and just perfect except for a little scar where her belly button should be.

Amber - posted on 03/18/2009

On Saturday January 24th DH and I attended our Infant Safety and CPR course at the hospital from 8:30a-12:30p and I did feel a bit off during the class but attributed it to the stupid chairs we were sitting in (they weren't very comfortable). We left the hospital drove down the street and stopped at Chick Fil A for lunch as our next stop was BRU to buy some stuff for her nursery since the furniture was delivered and put together the night before. I got out of the car at the restuarant at 12:45p and I felt a gush of what I thought was pee...I went in to the restaurant DH ordered lunch while I went to the bathroom..I couldn't tell whether I peed on myself or whether my water broke..so I go out eat lunch get up to leave and felt another gush..went back to the bathroom this time it appeared that there was merconium so I go out and tell DH we need to back to the hospital we arrived at the hospital at 1:15 p they get me admitted and all that good stuff check me at 1:45 p.m. my water did indeed break, there was merconium inside of me and I was dialated to a 2. They call the Dr...he must have thought he had time to get there..he arrived around 3:15-3:30p and since Madilyn was only 33.2 weeks gestation they began the process to transport me to another hospital as this one was not equipped to handle preemies that age they told me that she wouldn't be able to breathe on her own and she was going to be about 4.5 lbs and that she would have to have all kinds of assistance especially since they expected her to be sick from the merconium. He checks me at 3:45 p I'm dialated to a 5..I cannot safely be transported to another hospital or else I would have delivered in the ambulance..so it was decided I would deliver at that hospital and Madilyn would have to be transported to another hospital and I wouldn't be able to see her until I was released from this hospital. I was obviously devastated..I didn't even know I was having contractions nor did I care..my heart breaking was more pain than any contraction at that point. She was breech so I did have to have a c-section..and by the time they delivered her at 4:27 p I was fully dialated to a 10 and she was butt first out the other end..so they had to do some work to bring her out of my belly and in the process my uterus was torn so I can never safely deliver vaginally...she was born at 4:27 pm and the transport team had arrived and was ready to take her away EXCEPT...she was breathing on her own!! Her APGARS were 8 & 9 and they classified her heart/lungs at 35 weeks and since she did not need respitory assistance she did not have to be transported...I cried when I heard those words and I felt so much relief knowing she would be at the same hospital as me. However..her eating/sucking habits were classified as a 33-34 weeker (they just start practicing this at that age so she didn't quite get enough practice before she decided to enter the world) and she was having to work on that currently before she could come home-her NICU stay was 2 weeks 1 day.

Ami - posted on 03/18/2009

I have always had problems so when i found out i was pregnant i reminded the midwife that a suture was suggested by my gynae,she ignored me telling me it was my 3rd baby and all would be fine.

At 21 weeks i had a discharge went to the emergency doctors who told me to self swab was just a infection,he refused to examine me or the baby.So went to A+E.

I was then informed i was 4cm dialated and had a emergency suture put in.They told me they thought she would get to at least 32 weeks.

We were due to go on holiday and my waters went.Went back to the hospital,labour pains were really bad as the suture was in,they left me 4 days claiming there was nothing happening they even asked my partner if i had a mental past as they decided that the waters had gone but there was no labour.

2 hours later i was taken to the labour ward because they found actually i was septic and they told my partner both me and the baby could die,they refused a c-section because of risk of infection.

The doctor that was removing the suture kept shouting at me because i was in pain and she decided i was whinging abot nothing,Its only a suture coming out was her words.

I got taken to theatre because the suture was stuck and had several spinals.

At 2.45am Ellie was born she was breathing and breech,she was so small i didnt even feel her.All the equipment was off because they had decided she had no chance.

The midwife was excellent she pulled the emergency bell and informed them there was nothing wrong with the baby and she deserved a chance,then they started working on her.

She was only ventilated 12 hours then moved to CPAP.She had a few ups and downs.

Strep B,NEC,MRSA,Cmv,but came hospital at term date on 0.1 L of Oxygen.

She has been off oxygen 6 weeks now,Walking etc,Just waiting for her to start talking,

She is my little miracle so she will do it in her own time.

Robyn - posted on 03/12/2009

I had placenta previa but the doctors said it was actually common and 9 out of 10 times it moves out of the way at 28 weeks. well the technician that took my ultrasound at 28 weeks said it moved out of the way. so for the most party my entire pregnancy was going just fine absotulely nothing wrong and a very lively baby inside me. i knew my little one was strong as she could really kick. i carried her really low and 3am one night i woke up to a lot of blood and she wasn't moving. I thought i lost her. I didn't get my doctor as i had to head to the nearest hospital instead of the one we planned to give birth at. they found her heartbeat at the hospital and she didn't seem fased one bit by whatever was going on. they took an ultrasound and found out i did still have the placenta previa but not only that it was a rare one. if you don't know normally the placenta is at the top and to the back. well mine was forward and at the bottom. the bleeding started the contractions so they gave me a shot to mature the lungs and put me on magnesium to try to stop labor. 3rd day we were told i could probably go home in 2 days on bed rest as the bleeding had stopped and the contractions were only braxton hicks but i would need to do 24 hrs at the hospital as i would home to be sure we were safe going home. the next morning (4th day) i was doing fine then suddenly around lunch more blood. so now we didn't know if i would ever make it home before giving birth. 11pm that night the contractions were no longer braxton hicks and they were getting strong! they gave me oral medication and it didn't do anything. suddenly things really started moving i was 2cm dilated and so they gave me an epideral incase they needed to rush me in for a c section and as soon as they were done the amniotic sack started leaking. they were not sure if was leaking or something else but decided to do the C section. In the middle of the Csection i started bleeding a ton so they did the C section just in time. My daughter came out and took a hold of my husbands finger and wouldn't let go...she had a very strong grip at only 3lbs 6oz. We still dont know to this day what caused the bleeding but we suspect my daughter had kicked the placenta and made it tear a little. My daughter is now a healthy and strong little girl at 15 months weighs 19lbs

Brittany - posted on 03/12/2009

my son was born at 29 wks. i started feeling weird friday night and sat i asked my mom if it was normal for braxton hicks to be happening and she told me yes but i better not be going into labor. so we painted my son's dresser and i went out swimming with my inlaws. but i didn't feel right so i didn't go swimming. sat me and my mom actually ordered labor books. then my husband left at 4 to go on a family fishing day on sunday morning. i woke up in major pain, i remember opening my eyes at i was biting a blanket. so i called my mom and she drove me to the hospital. they told me that it was probably a bladder infection and told me to pee in a cup ( I was not happy with them). after i went and struggled to pee in a cup because at this time my contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes they hooked me up to a monitor. then i had a contraction and the nurse looked at my mom and said wow she is having a cantraction....well yeah look at the amount of pain i am in. so she checked my cervix and i was at 5 cm. then i remember the nurse looking at my mom and saying "she can't have the baby here, we don't have a NICU." i was freaking out. the nurse looked at me and told me they were going to start me on an IV of magnisium to slow down labor and give me shots to help his lungs. the magnisium didn't work.... at all. they checked me in an hour and i was at 6. at this rate i wouldn't make it to the other hospital to deliver to they were going to come to pick up my son. they checked me in and i got my epidural...i wasn't going to but i'm so thankful that i did. that was the only thing that slowed me down. i didn't have a contraction for 30 minutes so they air lifted me to another hospital that was close to childrens that ty needed to be at. i had him not long after i got there and he was in the NICU for 3 1/2 weeks and in a level 2 for 3 1/2 weeks. he was born 3lbs 6 oz 15 inches. he is not 7 months old and weighs 13 pounds. little but strong!!!!!!!!!

Lizzie - posted on 03/04/2009

My little girl decided to make an ealy apperance.  We had been to a friends wedding but left early as I just didnt feel well.  I went to the hospital a I was hving contractions and was bleeding.  The hospital put me on a monitor as I was due a planned c-section (Ive had 2 previous c-sections, one with a ruptured scar).  When the machine didnt pick up the contractions they decided they were braxton hicks, and gave me a sleeping tablet to give me some rest.  After a night of no sleep and still in pain the midwife told the consultant I was having practice contractions and was being silly!!! I have had 2 previous labours and know what a contraction felt like lol.  They were due to send me home when I started bleeding heavily again and they decided something was wrong.  I was 10cm dilated and they decided to try and deliver by forceps. Luckly the consultant said no to that and my little girl was born by c-section at 35 weeks.

It really annoyed me as they knew I was planned for a csection as my middle son was born at 38 weeks.  I cant believe how useless some hopitals are.  Luckily my little girl weighed a healthy 5lb 9oz and needed so special care.

Brooke - posted on 02/28/2009

 thanksgiving  day i was  just shy  of  28 weeks  pregant.... i started  geting these tight feelings in my lowwer body .. so i went to the hospital.. i went  3 times they kept  sending me home  and finally  i asked them  to at least check my cervix( i knew somthing was going on)  it  turns out i was  3 cm dialated i was rushed to london ont. i live about  45 mins away for there.  the next 2 days i started bleeding..    one of my membrains  on my cervix broke  which is harmless..  finally the contractions stoped and i was going home... till the checked me  as precaution.. iwas  8 cm dialated....  a couple of hours later i gave birth to a amazing little girl  weighing 2Lbs 10oz  and now shes  4months and 2 weeks old( corrected 1month and 2weeks  old)  and shes amazing  besides the reflux :)

Liz - posted on 02/28/2009

nope no one ever told us why they were early. We joke it was because our daughter wanted to be at the baby shower.

Amanda Lily Rose - posted on 02/28/2009

Jen, thanks I am happy they were fine also. It took them a little longer to do things but for their corrected age it was on time, early even! My newest wee man seems to be doing things a lot quicker, for his corrected age advanced even. Every child surprises you! My children now, you couldn't even tell they were premies! Their pediatricin told us at the age of 4 they are usually caught up with other children their age. My oldest has a little speech trouble and with reading but with the help now there will be no problems later! He also had surgery at a year and a half because a tube in his scrotum wasn't finished developing in utero,. Everything is fine though, bumps here and there..he is healthy and that is all I can ask for! My other two boys have no problems. I guess there earlier the children are born the more risks there are. 

Amanda Lily Rose - posted on 02/28/2009

Hey Liz Yeager, Yeseveryone here has crazy stories. With the "bicornate" uterus my high risk doctor told me that each pregnancy would get longer. The uterus is used to being stretched with the previous pregnancy so it should go longer. He told he wouldn't count it it going to term though. BUT the further it goes the happier I am! Yes it's nuts why they couldn't detect the problem early on. I don't even know why they couldn't see that with mine in the first pregnancy. I got enough ultrasounds with all of them lol. I think each pregnancy does get easier, well my third for me. TO have everything go smoothly (the birth) is great!

Amanda Lily Rose - posted on 02/28/2009

Wow, Liz you could never tell from the picture they were premies! They certainly have caught up in weight! I guess they don't know why your water broke?

Jen - posted on 02/28/2009

Wow, and I thought my delivery was rough. I'm glad your boys are fine. Have you noticed that all the "problem" babies shared here so far are boys? I always said boys were trouble and my son was no exception.

I also had a completely normal pregnancy up until 29 weeks. I had a few Braxton Hicks that week, but then during my prenatal class they started coming every 8-15 minutes for 3 straight hours. After class, my husband talked to the nurse who told us we should get checked out (our classes were at BC Children's Hospital where I was registered to deliver). I went to get assessed and they discovered that my son's head was very far down, but I didn't seem to be in immediate danger of delivering. They sent me home on orders of strict bedrest (up to go to the bathroom only).

After 5 weeks of straight contractions, they finally went to under 5 minutes. I called my doctor, but because there was no pain she said to stay home and be comfortable. After an hour, they went back to 7-10 minutes, so I stayed home. 2 days later (on Thursday and at 34 weeks and 4 days) she called me in to check up on me. My blood pressure was through the roof, so she sent me to the hospital. When I got checked out, my blood pressure was 180 over 115 so they decided to admit me for the remainder of my pregnancy. They monitored me all day and decided to do an ultrasound to see how the baby was doing. He was fine, so when my blood pressure went over 200 they decided to induce. They put in the Cervidil overnight since I was only at 1cm and gave me something to help me sleep.

Friday morning I had made no progress, so they moved me down to the high risk delivery room and inserted a foley catheter. Most painful experience of my life! I had been super sensitive the entire pregnancy and it felt like someone was shoving sand paper up my hoo-ha. 6 hours later the foley got me to 3cm, but no more progress. They started the Oxitocin Friday night and gave me morphine so I could sleep (didn't work). Saturday morning came with no more progress. They broke my water to speed things along but it only seemed to slow it down. By Saturday afternoon I was so exhausted I was hallucinating (I only remember my husband was James Bond and had a psychic friend). They gave me an epidural to help me get some rest even though they knew it might slow things down more. Unfortunately I seem to be in the 1% of people for whom an epidural doesn't work - they tried four times. At 5am Satuday morning (35 weeks on the nose), I was still at 3cm and my blood pressure was still rising, so they prepped me for a c-section.

At 6:14 am he was finally born weighin 5lbs, 2oz. He stayed in the NICU for 12 days. I went back into the hospital 9 days later with big time bleeding - they missed some of the placenta. Dylan is now 6 and a half months and is on par with full term babies his age. No one believes he was a premie. Here's hoping #2 goes smoother. :)

Liz - posted on 02/27/2009

Wow, crazy! I had terrible all day sickness for like 4 months. I finally started feeling better and was able to actually eat and keep food down when my water broke at 25wks. No warning, I thought I wet my pants laughing and then I wouldn't stop leaking! I didn't know at the time that the back pain I had been having was contractions! Went to the hospital it was like 11pm. The next morning I was referred to the perinatologist, and after an ultrasound found out I had a bi-cornate(heart shaped) uterus and the baby was in a transverse position( head on my left side, butt/feet kickin me in my right hip). My sister has a septum(normal shaped uterus with a divider in it) in her uterus and the peri told me that it is common for those things to run in families. My sis has had two boys, breech, but full term. I also found out that I have an incompetent cervix as well, probably due to previous surgery to treat abnormal paps. I thought the drs could have warned me about this one when I told them about my history and I don't know how they couldn't tell that my uterus was shaped different during my 18 wk ultrasound? I was able to stay on bedrest in the hospital for 8 wks, until my son had a mature lung profile. By that time he had turned into a breech position on the left side of my uterus, his head bumping me in the ribs. So he was born at 33wks weighing 5 lbs 7oz, and stayed in the nicu for 25 days. the nurse that took care of me the night I was admitted said later that she didn't think that I was going to be pregnant the next day because of the contractions I was having, so I feel so very lucky that I was able to keep him in that long and now I have a wonderful 2 1/2 yr old. We are trying for another one and my peri tells me that now that we know what the problems is we can prevent those problems from happening again(by doing a cerclage and takin it easy), but I am still nervous about it. I love hearing stories about a second pregnancy going better after having such a rough first one. It gives me hope that I can do it again and everything will be ok!

Liz - posted on 02/27/2009

wow!  that's quite a story.    I had a normal pregnancy up until the last week of May.  I started having what I thought were contractions ( it was my first pregnancy)  but it turned out to be pulled ligiments.  The next week I was back at the hospital and they gave me pills to stop the contractions.  The week after, just one day shy of thirty four weeks we were back in the hospital. Only this time it was because my water broke on the day of my baby shower. At 5:45 in the morning we headed to the hospital ( which was only five minutes away) my contractions started as soon as I sat in the wheel chair.  By the time I got  checked in and they checked me out to confirm my water did break they found out I was already 100% effaced and was five centimeters dialated.  My daughter was ready to come out. 

However, with the ultrasound they did they discovered that my son was breeched side ways. So it was either let my daughter be born vaginally, and hope my son's water broke, and he turned on his own, or do a c-section.  They opted for the c-section since it was safer for my son and I.  By 7:53 in the morning both of my children were born.  My son at 4 pounds 10 ounces and 18 inches long.  My daughter at 3 pounds 12 ounces and 17 inches long.

I was able to see my daughter when they were born, able to even kiss her before they brought her away.  I wasn't able to see my son until two days later.  He had to be rushed to the NICU because his lungs were under developed.  When I did finally get to see my children it was the scariest thing ever seeing my son hooked up to the resperator. Luckily he was only hooked up to it for four hours though. 

Eight days later my son was finally able to come home at a discharge weight of 4 pounds 8 ounces.  My daughter had to remain in the hospital.  That was the longest four days going back and forth between there and unable to bring her home.  She was finally able to come home four days after her brother at 12 days old. Her discharge weight was 4 pounds 1 ounce.

Now at nearly nine months old ( 7 and a half months adjusted age)  My son is nearly 29 inches long and 17 pounds 8 ounces.  My daughter is a little over 28 inches long and is at 17 pounds 6 ounces.