Monday, June 04, 2007

Surprise!

It looks like my last post here was on May 30th. That's ironic, given how much has happened since then....

I have had blood pressure issues during the pregnancy, so my doctors monitored me closely to make sure it didn't progress to pre-eclampisa. At my 5/25 visit, my blood pressure was quite high initially, so I had to do a 24-hour urine collection over the weekend. I dropped the sample off on Tuesday the 29th, had some bloodwork done, and scheduled a C-section for 6/11 due to Alex being breech. The next day, I visited the perinatologist for the ultrasound of the week. Everything looked good during the ultrasound itself. However, when the doctor walked in, he said, "You timed it just right." It turned out that my liver enzymes were too high and that I had finally developed a mild case of pre-eclampisa. Since I was at 37 weeks, he wanted the baby to come out within the next 24 hours. So instead of using the rest of the day to take care of a few things, I wound up in Labor and Delivery. (The doctor's office was in another wing of the hospitial, so we walked over to the main entrance and then Eugene took me in a wheelchair the rest of the way.) They checked me in, had me change, and put me on an IV. Meanwhile, Eugene had to go home to fetch some things (good thing we had the essentials already packed). Since I had had lunch, we had to wait until the evening for the operation. We made some phone calls, and I watched TV and read a little, but waiting was very difficult, to say the least. Finally, they prepped me and brought me into the OR. It was so cold in there I started shivering. That made me worry a little about the spinal (in case it didn't go in the right spot), but it wasn't an issue. I have to admit I did feel a bit depersonalized as they positioned me and drew the sterile curtain over my body. Good thing Eugene was there to hold my hand and stroke my hair. After the spinal set in, I could still feel my feet. I mentioned to the doctor, who then asked if I could feel her pinching me. I couldn't. They proceeded. I didn't feel anything except some pressure as they drew out son out. He came out at 8:35 p.m., screaming, which was a good sign--and very amazing to hear. His Apgar scores were 8 and 9. (These are scores used to determine how well a baby is doing.) Weight was 5 pounds 2 ounces; length was 18.5 inches.

As the doctor was sewing me up, she showed Eugene my uterus. Apparently mine is heart-shaped, which explains why our son never turned head down. Any more children we have will also have to be born by c-section. Eugene got to go with our son to the special care nursery (all babies born by C-section go there automatically) while I recovered. I attempted to nurse as soon as they brought our son to me. However, I couldn't keep anything down, even liquids, until the next day, when they finally stopped my IV. I stayed in the hospital until Sunday, June 3rd. During this time, we got to know our son a little better and decided to name him Alexander Aurelio, after his grandfathers. Of course the grandparents visited, and so did a couple of our friends. By Friday, I was already feeling much better, but it was (and still is) painful to get into and out of bed, sit down, or do other things. But it's worth it to have our son.

Here are some pictures Eugene took while we were in the hospital:

http://s142.photobucket.com/albums/r89/Photovet1997/Alexander%20Aurelio%20Almazan/

There are a couple on his blog as well.

5 comments:

Russ said...

Sandra, I'm sure you saw the good wishes and congratulations on Eugene's blog, but it can't be said enough - I'm so happy for you and Eugene, and so relieved to hear you and baby Alex are doing well!

I was also entertained to see that you answered the questions I couldn't answer when I told people here my college friends had had a baby - how much did he weigh, how tall. I explained that I'd only heard from the father, and they universally said, "oh, that explains it." ;)

(That being said, I've heard a few comment on how well Eugene seems to be taking care of you, so he deserves all proper respect.)

And, finally...you have to admit it. When you heard you were having the baby a couple weeks early, you had to think, "oh, thank GOD. Get it OUT." Right? Admit it, right?

Sheila said...

Congratulations on the birth of your son! I'm so happy for you, and I enjoyed the pictures so much. He's a beautiful baby!

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Eugene is doing a fantastic job of taking care of both of us. There's a reason I waited fifteen years for him. ;)

And yes, I was glad to have the baby early, though I had expected to have another week or two to get ready for him.

Anonymous said...

What great news, and what a GORGEOUS little boy. I am so happy for the two of you. Children are the best. Rest up Sandra, you and Eugene are going to be fantastic parents. So happy for you guys. Thanks for the pics, keep-em coming.

Anonymous said...

Sandra,

Congratulations! I'm so glad to hear you're doing well, and that the baby is healthy. He is also adorable, and what a great name!

I'm glad Eugene is taking such good care of you. Take care of yourself, too - remember, happy mama = happy baby!

-E.

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