I might have got a few bits muddled or wrong. I'm very tired and emotional!
Hey all!!!! Well, what a time I've had the last 12/13 days! Here's the story as I remember it. I've not got the best memory in the world so if I missed bits or got any wrong, I'll ask Matt 😛
It all started at 9am on Thursday 31st March. I was due to go for routine CTG monitoring as arranged by my consultant for the end of my pregnancy. Anyway, I'd had a high blood sugar level (Just over 17mmol for the diabetics!) which I thought was very strange as I'd not had anything I shouldn't and done all my jabs. I didn't think too much of it. I was on the monitor for around an hour and the senior midwife came to check on progress. I'd only felt Imogen move twice in that entire morning and her heartrate was pretty flat at 140-142bpm when normally it would show different measurements depending on how much baby is moving. Anyway, the midwife was very concerned and started bleeping all the doctors she could think of aswell as saying to me "There's a chance you could be having a caesarian... today".
Anyway, a doctor came to see me (Matt had just turned up at this point) and within maybe 2 minutes I was in a wheelchair being charged down to the delivery suite. I was put in my own little (huge) room and they told me to strip and put on a hospital gown. I was so so so scared by this time, crying, shaking and getting myself into a panic. Matt calmed me down as I signed a consent form and was rushed off to theatre. Matt had to go and scrub up and when he came back in, they did a spinal in my back and my bottom half went TOTALLY numb. They kept talking to me as the operation was going on and at 10:52am that day, my gorgeous baby girl was born. But there were issues.
She was distressed in the womb and was having troubles breathing for herself. Her blood sugar levels were also flactuating between high and low so they whisked her off the the NICU unit
. Matt went with her but I only got to see her for about 5 seconds. She had all different proceadures done and I think one invovled a camera being insterted into her throat and her being temp paralysed so they could do what needed doing. She ended up with having the umbilical cord removed and a drip of dextrose going in directly to her stomach, a ventilator and antibiotics for an infection that she probably picked up from me. Meanwhile I was being sewn up and taken back to my room to recover when I saw my parents sitting there. I was so so upset that I just burst into tears. I totally blamed myself for Imogen becoming so ill. It wasn't until nearly 5:30 that afternoon that I was wheeled in bed to the NICU unit to finally meet my daughter. I hadn't regained all feeling in my legs and toes by that point and when I saw her, I started crying again. Seeing her little body covered in tubes, wires and surrounded by machines just set me off.
She was on the ventilator until I *think* 3rd April which was Mother's Day. Matt took me to see her in a wheelchair (I couldn't walk far at that point) when I noticed a pink thing on top of her incubator and it turned out it was a Mother's Day present which I loved. Matt didn't mention to me there was a card so when I opened it and saw two photos of her and a lovely card, the waterworks started again. I also have my first ever cuddle with her that day.
Anyway, over the next few days she continued to make excellent progress and was eventually moved to the Special Care Baby Unit where she came off the antiboitics and dextrose. She was being fed through a tube in her nose and I was expressing my breastmilk and taking to down to her 2/3 times a day. We were told we could try breastfeeding her which is something I was really keen to do. It didn't work sadly, she happily latched on... but wouldn't suckle. Nothing we tried got her to drink so we tried feeding her via cup a few times but she didn't take to that either so on Monday, we started her on bottles and she's already a pro!
On Sunday, when everything medicine related stopped, she was allowed up to the ward with me. I was so happy to finally have her with me after 11 days and I finally felt I could start being a PROPER Mummy to her. And today, she came home
I might have missed a few things out but to be fair, it is late and she had me up most of the night last night so I am a bit wary lol.
There you have it though in a nutshell. Imogen arrived on 31st March 2011 at 10:52am weighing in at 7lbs 10 1/2oz (her 0-3 month clothes drown her lol!)
Oh, and I thought I might add a photo of myself and her taken on Sunday this week
I'll add more tomorrow
Hey all!!!! Well, what a time I've had the last 12/13 days! Here's the story as I remember it. I've not got the best memory in the world so if I missed bits or got any wrong, I'll ask Matt 😛
It all started at 9am on Thursday 31st March. I was due to go for routine CTG monitoring as arranged by my consultant for the end of my pregnancy. Anyway, I'd had a high blood sugar level (Just over 17mmol for the diabetics!) which I thought was very strange as I'd not had anything I shouldn't and done all my jabs. I didn't think too much of it. I was on the monitor for around an hour and the senior midwife came to check on progress. I'd only felt Imogen move twice in that entire morning and her heartrate was pretty flat at 140-142bpm when normally it would show different measurements depending on how much baby is moving. Anyway, the midwife was very concerned and started bleeping all the doctors she could think of aswell as saying to me "There's a chance you could be having a caesarian... today".
Anyway, a doctor came to see me (Matt had just turned up at this point) and within maybe 2 minutes I was in a wheelchair being charged down to the delivery suite. I was put in my own little (huge) room and they told me to strip and put on a hospital gown. I was so so so scared by this time, crying, shaking and getting myself into a panic. Matt calmed me down as I signed a consent form and was rushed off to theatre. Matt had to go and scrub up and when he came back in, they did a spinal in my back and my bottom half went TOTALLY numb. They kept talking to me as the operation was going on and at 10:52am that day, my gorgeous baby girl was born. But there were issues.
She was distressed in the womb and was having troubles breathing for herself. Her blood sugar levels were also flactuating between high and low so they whisked her off the the NICU unit
. Matt went with her but I only got to see her for about 5 seconds. She had all different proceadures done and I think one invovled a camera being insterted into her throat and her being temp paralysed so they could do what needed doing. She ended up with having the umbilical cord removed and a drip of dextrose going in directly to her stomach, a ventilator and antibiotics for an infection that she probably picked up from me. Meanwhile I was being sewn up and taken back to my room to recover when I saw my parents sitting there. I was so so upset that I just burst into tears. I totally blamed myself for Imogen becoming so ill. It wasn't until nearly 5:30 that afternoon that I was wheeled in bed to the NICU unit to finally meet my daughter. I hadn't regained all feeling in my legs and toes by that point and when I saw her, I started crying again. Seeing her little body covered in tubes, wires and surrounded by machines just set me off. She was on the ventilator until I *think* 3rd April which was Mother's Day. Matt took me to see her in a wheelchair (I couldn't walk far at that point) when I noticed a pink thing on top of her incubator and it turned out it was a Mother's Day present which I loved. Matt didn't mention to me there was a card so when I opened it and saw two photos of her and a lovely card, the waterworks started again. I also have my first ever cuddle with her that day.
Anyway, over the next few days she continued to make excellent progress and was eventually moved to the Special Care Baby Unit where she came off the antiboitics and dextrose. She was being fed through a tube in her nose and I was expressing my breastmilk and taking to down to her 2/3 times a day. We were told we could try breastfeeding her which is something I was really keen to do. It didn't work sadly, she happily latched on... but wouldn't suckle. Nothing we tried got her to drink so we tried feeding her via cup a few times but she didn't take to that either so on Monday, we started her on bottles and she's already a pro!
On Sunday, when everything medicine related stopped, she was allowed up to the ward with me. I was so happy to finally have her with me after 11 days and I finally felt I could start being a PROPER Mummy to her. And today, she came home
I might have missed a few things out but to be fair, it is late and she had me up most of the night last night so I am a bit wary lol.
There you have it though in a nutshell. Imogen arrived on 31st March 2011 at 10:52am weighing in at 7lbs 10 1/2oz (her 0-3 month clothes drown her lol!)
Oh, and I thought I might add a photo of myself and her taken on Sunday this week
I'll add more tomorrow
