The Best Worst Day of My Life Part I

My pregnancy was perfect. It was.
It all started to change... still I never stopped believing. I knew this baby had a purpose. I knew she wanted to be here. He light was so strong.

I made a paper chain countdown for each week. We would tear one off and write in her journal. Just like Christmas!

It had started that day in early January. Our midwife had noticed that I was itching in our appointment and asked me about it. I had just begun feeling slightly itchy but I was pregnant, my skin was stretching. My mother itched during her pregnancies. It seemed minor. She suggested the LFT (liver function test) test. She said that I could have something called cholestasis of pregnancy. According to The Mayo Clinic: The term "cholestasis" refers to any condition in which the flow of bile, a digestive fluid from the liver, slows or stops. Pregnancy is one of many possible causes of cholestasis. Other names for cholestasis of pregnancy include obstetric cholestasis and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.Cholestasis of pregnancy occurs in late pregnancy and triggers intense itching, usually on the hands and feet but sometimes on other parts of the body. Cholestasis of pregnancy can be intensely uncomfortable but poses no long-term risk to the mother. Cholestasis of pregnancy can be dangerous for a developing baby, however. Early delivery is usually recommended. This condition occurs in 1% of pregnant women, usually women of Chilean descent. Many women have full term healthy pregnancies. The worst case scenario death. It truly never occurred to me that it was a possibility. I knew she was going to stay. We had a purpose.

We all thought nothing of it. A little itching? There was no way that we weren't having a healthy pink baby. We immediately declined the test. We, including the midwife, thought was probably nothing considering all the other factors of how healthy I was. I had no other side affects, simply a couple of itches. We had no doubts we felt calm and assured. After a few days had passed I decided that it wouldn't hurt to eliminate the possibility. I went in to get tested on Jan 9th. It took 5 days to get one of the tests back. We found out on January 14th that I indeed had Cholestasis of pregnancy. Weird. I felt so healthy. I knew I was so healthy. I had always felt her so strong, I knew she was just fine.

This diagnosis didn't make sense and I never felt worried that anything would happen. I continued to feel great. I never felt sick. I barely itched. I was never uncomfortable. We were going to do this and do it well.

I called the specialist on the 14th and made an appointment. They didn't seem worried, they made the appt. for a couple days out with no real concern at the mention of Cholestasis. No one felt rushed. I went in two days later to see Dr. Coleman. We did a non stress test to see how she was doing. She was strong and healthy and passed with flying colors. No one felt worried. They do like to deliver early with this condition and she wasn't due until February 14th! Dr. Coleman wanted to induce you and he agreed we could do it via acupuncture. He said to go ahead a try it and call the office the next day cautioning that it doesn't always work. We went to my acupuncturist that I saw regularly to initiate the labor. The acupuncture worked! The next morning we had started labor. I called the office to update them and the nurse suggested to come in to see how far I had dilated. She suggested to pack a bag in case they wanted to admit us for delivery. Good idea! We packed the bag. All I wanted to do was take a bath or sit on the toilet. Labor was a trip! It was weird. I could feel her moving and kicking. She felt well. We never feared or worried, we were excited! She was coming, our little ball of light and love was coming!

We went into the Doctors office and they hooked us up to the monitor to check and see how we were doing. I was dilated to a 1, progress!. Her heart rate was strong but it wasn't fluctuating. It stayed the same and they said it should vary a little. It was around 150 and holding. Without too much concern, we grabbed some oxygen and moved out of the office over to triage to decide on the next course of action. We were in the labor and delivery center and I was asking for a water birth. They said we would have to wait and see. As soon as we entered Triage her heart rate dropped from 150 to 60. We all watched the monitor, nothing changed. I kept talking to her, "come on baby girl come on. You can do it. Get your heart rate up" They had me get on all fours, move around, maybe it was just her position. After just a few moments, we was suddenly surrounded by about 5 nurses. One wheeling the bed, 1 or 2 peeling my clothes off, another was holding the fetal monitor. They were wheeling us into surgery. Within a minute I had a surgeon looking down at me explaining that I was about to have an emergency C-section. At first I said no, we are not. I didn't want this to be my story. I realized this was what was happening and told him to save her, just save my baby. I could feel them prepping my tummy. It was time for her to come. They put the mask over my nose and mouth and told me to breathe. The clouds came in and I was out. The anesthesia worked it's magic fast. To give you a reference point, I was sent to triage and put under within 3 or 4 minutes. An emergency C- section was happening.

Vince was still in triage changing into scrubs, telling whoever would listen to save my placenta and delay the cord clamping. What a love. He watched from the next room with the hospital Chaplin.