Aydin's Mom: Aydin's Birth Story

I loved being pregnant. I felt great majority of the time. I never had morning sickness and I was the healthiest I've ever been in my life. I became a lot more close with my family during that time as well since I was always too tired to go and hang out with friends. You don't really appreciate your family and everything they do for you until you have your own!

Towards the end of my pregnancy I started having some complications. I went to the doctor for a regular checkup and he notified me that I had a condition called "pre-eclampsia." It is where your blood pressure is way to high and can be very dangerous for not only the baby but also the mother. Many mothers have lost their lives due to this condition. My doctor put me on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy, which was about a month and a half. It consisted of a lot of Netflix movies and boredom. It definitely was not easy being on bed rest. I felt like I was missing out on a lot of things and I felt very needy since I couldn't do much for myself. Looking back now I wish I could have bottled up all of that resting and sleep to put to good use now haha!

One day, October 22nd 2013, Mitch and I went to a regular pregnancy check up. They checked my blood pressure and other tests and realized that it was too dangerous to keep the pregnancy going any longer. The doctor told us that we were going to be induced that night! Our jaws dropped. We rushed home to pack our hospital bags and to get everything situated at home for the baby. We are such procrastinators! I wasn't due for another 3 weeks on November 12, 2012.

We called our families to let them know that today was the day! They were all shocked and wasn't expecting it. My family said they would meet me at LDS Hospital where I was going to be delivering. We got there and my parents had presents in their arms for new baby Aydin. We got booked in and put in a room. They gave me a pill to put under my tongue that dissolves. Apparently it helps with softening and dilating the cervix. My family left and Mitch and I tried to go to sleep. In the morning they were going to start me on pitocin to get things going. I woke up in the middle of the night in so much pain. I was having contractions already! They gave me some very strong pain medicine and I went back to sleep.

In the morning my family came back and the nurse started me on pitocin and not long after I elected to get the epidural. Not because I was in much pain but more so because I was just nervous for the pain that was surely to come. The epidural was so nerve racking that I was shaking like a leaf. It was no big deal and was over before I knew it!

As the day progressed things started getting more serious. The nurse notified me that my contractions were too strong so they took me off pitocin and my body took over on its own. The nurse came back in and said that she was very worried for the baby. Every time my body would have a contraction the baby's heart rate and oxygen levels would drop dramatically. At this point I was only dilated to a 4. My contractions were still to strong even though I was off the pitocin. I was very happy I got that epidural because I didn't feel a thing and I slept most of the day.

Finally the nurse was in panic-mode. She started prepping me for surgery and told me that the doctor was on his way to do an emergency C-Section. She said if we didn't that we would probably lose the baby. I started bawling. Everything seemed to be going fine but in an instant things went downhill. When the doctor showed up they had all of our family leave the room except Mitch and I. My doctor had a team of about 7 staff members with him prepping for the worst outcome. He checked my cervix and I was dilated to a 10! It was a miracle because not long ago I was only at a 4. He said that doing a C-Section would take too long and that we needed to get the baby out now. He had me start pushing. It was the scariest time of my life but I knew I had to be successful or else things could get a lot worse. After about 5 pushes the doctor pulled the baby out with forceps. They are like tongs that grab onto the babies head to pull the baby out faster. Finally, she was born!! She weighed 5 lbs and 14 oz and was 19 inches long! Tiny little thing.

She had the cord wrapped around her neck and that is why she wasn't getting any oxygen. They rushed her away to the NICU team. She wasn't doing well. Her lungs were undeveloped since she was born so early. I didn't even get to see my precious baby. They wheeled her out of the room before I even got to take a look at her. I was a mess...I felt like I was empty. I didn't know how my baby was doing and I was so worried. Mitch went with Aydin to the NICU and I was all alone with the nurses getting finished up. An hour went by, the longest hour of my entire life, and I was finally able to get wheel chaired to the NICU to see my beautiful baby for the first time. She was barely breathing. I sobbed for hours. She had cords attached to her and she was just laying there looking so helpless. I was heart-broken. I wasn't even able to hold my own child at the time since she was in such bad condition.

After a while the nurse wheeled me to my post birth room. I crawled into bed and cried myself to sleep.

The next day Mitch and I woke up and he wheeled me to the NICU. Aydin was moved into a new room and she looked cozy all snuggled up in blankets and a nice big hat. Her temperature kept dropping so they had to keep her nice and warm. She was so beautiful I couldnt believe my eyes. I finally got to hold her and tried to breast feed her. She was born so early that she didn't know how to suck quite yet so instead of being able to breast feed her she had to have a tube down her nose and throat so they could feed her that way. She also had to have an IV put into her head. It was the strangest thing ever. She also had a cord that monitored her breathing and heart rate. When ever her oxygen levels or heart rate would drop the computer would beep like crazy. That beep was the worst sound I've ever heard in my life. When ever it happened my heart sunk.

Aydin was in the NICU for a full week. It doesn't seem very long but it was the longest time of my life. Mitch and I stayed in the post birth room for the full week. Bad food, trips to the NICU every hour, horrible sleep, etc. If Aydin wasn't leaving then neither were we! Finally they told us that Aydin was good enough to go home! That was the best day of my life when we packed her little body into her car seat and went out into the world for the first time. The first night home Mitch and I didn't sleep because we were afraid that she would stop breathing. We didn't have a monitor to tell us if her oxygen levels were dropping...but she did just fine and now we have a one year old with the best personality. I will never forget this time in our lives. The hardest times seem to be the most rewarding. I've loved every second.