We were scheduled for a c-section on February 8th to begin with. Then with the last post I shared that they wanted to deliver at 34 weeks (January 25th) because of her hydrocephalus being so bad. Then they decided there was no evidence that delivering earlier would make a difference so we were back to February 8th.
I went to my weekly ultrasound and during her 30 minute biophysical profile, Callie didn't move at all, she passed none of her tests, and I was scared to death. Her heart was still beating perfectly, but no movement other than one or two small jiggles that weren't big enough to count. At this point, I'm crying and on the verge of a meltdown, having a 'why me, why us?" moment. They hooked me up to a non stress test monitor and we found out quickly why she wasn't moving. Apparently I was having regular contractions and she was just chilling in there, prepping to make her grand entrance (and now I remember reading somewhere babies stop moving as women progress in labor). Because it's humorous, I'm going to share the conversation between me and the wonderful doctor (LOVE him, he's awesome!)
Doctor Matt: So, you are having a contraction every six spaces...
Me: What does that mean?
Doctor Matt: Well, I think it means we should deliver today.
Me: Today?? When??
Doctor Matt: Um.... In like, an hour. Or less.
Me: Seriously?!
Doctor Matt: Yeah. don't worry, I had a cup of coffee just now, so I'm ready. I always operate better when I've had coffee. Kinda like I always golf better with a few beers. And I rarely get the two confused.
We did in fact deliver in an hour. At 4:53pm, Callista Winter Lynch arrived via c-section. Her little cry was the best sound I've ever heard in my life. Even at 34 weeks, she was breathing room air and needed no assistance. Casey said the first thing he saw was her legs and arms flailing. After they looked her over, her very proud daddy got to hold her. She scored an 8 and a 9 on her apgars which were awesome scores! They finally brought her over close to my face and of course, I cried and laughed at the same time.
We were so lucky that the hospital broke some rules for us so our family members could meet her. Now that she's in the NICU, only parents and grandparents can visit due to flu season restrictions. She's been in the NICU since last Thursday.
Because of her hydrocephalus, she had a shunt placed Friday evening to help drain the fluid. Her VCUG, which looks at her bladder and kidneys showed no reflux, although it did show her bladder has some residual urine. That just means we'll have to cath her, although they've lessened it to every eight hours and it may be moved to every 12 hours if we continue to get such small amounts. They looked at her movement and say she's got good muscle tone in her hamstrings, her toes all flex although they sit higher, and her left foot has a slight club to it (not enough to even notice unless you're looking directly at the bottom of it. Overall, she's so awesome :) And every single SB mommy who told me that pregnancy was the worst part of being diagnosed with SB... YOU WERE SO RIGHT! Now that she is here, my entire pregnancy is behind me and I'm so glad to see it go. She's my everything and SB is the very last thing on my mind when I look into her sweet little face every day!
We may be going through a shunt revision soon as the neuro is watching her shunt placement closely. He didn't like the way it was starting to look after her head shrank, so he's keeping an eye on it for now.
For those of you that have left me messages, sent texts, called, etc. I am definitely not ignoring you, we're just in the NICU all day and we have no cell service until we leave the hospital completely.
Congrats!! She is absolutely perfect and beautiful in every way.
ReplyDeleteLove this post. I'm expecting my SB baby in 25 days. I know you from baby center and you've written on a few of my posts. Your baby girl is beautiful. I remember you mentioning her last normal spot is t-12 and that's where my son's Spina bifida starts. We didn't have to fetal surgery.. I didn't qualify, but I was just wondering if she still has movement in her legs? Now that she is older?
ReplyDeleteGenevieve: yes she does have movement in her legs, although it is obviously decreased from a normal baby's. Congratulations on your upcoming due date!! Once you meet your new little love, spina bifida is meaningless. It's only a tiny part of your son andover definitely not the biggest part.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome to hear. I hope my little guy is as lucky as your little girl is and has some movement too :) I noticed your post about her vesictomy (not sure if that's how it's spelled..) and little Callie is in my prayers as well as everyone in your family. :) And thank you! I'm sure you are right. I can't wait to meet the little guy. :)
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