On Tuesday, June 16th, I was super busy. We were doing lots of running around and by the time I was putting the littles to bed I realized that I hadn't really felt the baby move the whole day. I was not a very patient mama as I finished getting the kids into bed. I was very anxious to get to my room so I could eat some chocolate & concentrate on getting the baby to move. By the time Jeremy got home from work at 1015pm, I was a mess. You see, I haven't really enjoyed this pregnancy like I did with my others. Last spring my friend lost her baby a couple weeks before she was due. And I was exposed to Fifths Disease by 5 of my kids in the beginning of my pregnancy. And then in May, my friends' baby died at 7wks from SIDS. To add to this, the baby hardly moved at all compared to my others. Much of the time I was consumed with fear for this baby.
Well, we headed to the ER. Of course, as soon as they hooked her up on the monitors, the baby was more wiggly than she'd ever been the entire pregnancy. The wanted to keep me overnight & do blood work & an ultrasound in the morning. As Dr Swanson said, "Everything happens for a reason." The ultrasound was just great & she looked good-I found out the baby is a girl! The blood work came back not so great. It's a little confusing to explain. Both Jeremy & I are A+ blood types but under that Rh positive there are some antigens that I don't have & Jeremy does. Because my blood doesn't have these antigens, my blood creates antibodies to fight & destroy them if they are present in my body. The blood work found that Jeremy had passed these antigens on to our baby & my body was readying for attack. So, my body was about to kill all the red blood cells in the baby's body. That's really bad!
SO...we needed to be induced! I headed home Wed to prepare to for an induction on Friday. Sage's birthday is also on that day & he was super excited to share his birthday with his new sibling. We went back to the hospital after getting ready, making arrangements for our other kids, & packing a hospital bag. The nurses & doctor were very kind. I was a little nervous but they all thought I'd deliver quickly because this would be my 8th delivery. APPARENTLY NOT! She wasn't born until SATURDAY! And let me tell you, being induced is AWFUL! Super painful. I'm normally a kinda quiet laborer. I might groan or grunt a little but I was yell praying very loudly. I've delivered naturally-no meds but I was tempted to get an epidural but I didn't want the baby to be groggy from meds if they had to give her a transfusion as soon as she was born. I already had an IV because I was also GBS positive. Not a fan of inductions! Usually after I deliver I get this 24hr burst of energy & this time I was falling asleep sitting up after only 30min after delivering. I've never felt so exhausted. My body was NOT ready to have a baby yet. Plus, I'm getting older apparently. :)
I finally delivered a beautiful little girl at 214am. We still hadn't come up with a name because she was 3wks early. After having multiple blood tests, bilirubin tests, & checks by pediatricians & NICU nurses, we finally got to go home. I am breathing easier but still not able to take a deep breathe until we get the all clear. Hopefully we get that at her 2wk appt.
Oh, about a month ago, Jeremy was talking to me as he put his shoes on to go out & do chores or go to work. He said, "Maybe we should name the baby Serenity." I asked him why? He said, "I think you need a little Serenity in your life!" She is definitely the littlest of my babies BY 3#! We left the hospital with her weighing 5#12oz. So, she is my little Serenity! I hope she lives up to her name.
So, now I have 8 kids just like my grandparents & that excites me! Plus, 8 is my favorite number!
