Welcome Lizzie Dawn!

So, just forget that I have months of other things to report on the blog. We are just going to skip to the most noteworthy event of the summer-- the arrival of our sweet Lizzie Dawn.

Lizze Dawn Perry
7/18/2016
1:13 PM
6 lbs 5 ounces, 19 inches

Here is her birth story...read at your own risk! It will get long and it will have a lot of details. You know me...

Everything had gone really well with Lizzie's pregnancy. Of course I had the normal complaints-- the heart burn, the weight gain, the lack of being able to breathe well, and going to the bathroom 100 times per day. But really, after the nausea quit (around 20 weeks- ugh), things were pretty easy.

I was to the point of going to the doctor weekly and that was getting exciting because it meant her arrival was near! I had already had a conversation with the doctor about inducing me at 39 weeks and he was game as long as my body was ready. So, I had in my mind that Lizzie's birthday would be August 4.

 About a week and a half before Lizzie was born, I started having the craziest itching problem. It was all the time, but horrible at night in particular. My whole body itched and I could not get relief. I took Benadryl, Claritin, tried lotion...you name it, nothing worked. I was not sleeping hardly at all because it was so horrible at night. I want to crawl out of my skin right now just thinking about it! Anyway, two Sundays before she was born, I was at work at the hospital. I was working with my friend Kim, one of the case managers in the office. She knew I had been itching and that day it was just really bad. She and some of the nurses on the floor encouraged me to call the on call doctor that day to just see what they could do for me. I finally gave in and called, hoping that the on call doc could prescribe me something to help. I felt bad bugging someone on a Sunday afternoon, but the doctor who answered was very friendly. He told me that I needed to get labs drawn stat, because I was showing symptoms of a weird pregnancy related disease called Cholestasis. He asked me when I had a follow up with my regular doctor and I told him that I had an appointment the next day. He was satisfied with that and told me just to follow up then.

The next day at my appointment, my doctor had received the memo from his partner about my call. He reviewed the symptoms of Cholestasis with me and I really only had one-- the major itching. He was pretty convinced that I did not have it because I had never had it before in pregnancy, there was no family history of it, and I had no other symptoms. But, he said he would call me the next day and let me know the results of the regular lab draws. If my liver enzymes were elevated, there was a higher chance that I had it. The labs that showed my bile levels would take 3-4 more days after that, and that was the result that told if I for sure had it or not. He did tell me that the major issue with Cholestasis is that it can lead to fetal demise, and this most commonly occurs after 36 weeks in pregnancy. No big deal, right? I was 35 weeks and 4 days at that point. So, he said if I did in fact have it, I would likely be induced ASAP. He was pretty calm about the whole thing, though, so I followed suit and thought that I likely didn't have it. This was also the first visit where he checked my cervix. I was dilated 3 cm and 70% effaced. I was excited about this, but not overly so, because that's how I was with Hallie and Jace too for weeks and I never went into labor on my own.

On Tuesday, I waited all day for my doctor to call. I was nervous about the lab results and it was all I could think about. We were supposed to be leaving the next day for a girl's trip to St. George and I was wondering if I was going to be going or not. He finally called me at 9:30 pm on Tuesday night, after his clinic hours ended (he stays late on Tuesdays). He let me know that the regular labs did show that my liver enzymes were elevated. Thus, a stronger indication that I had Cholestasis. He prescribed me some medication to help reduce the bile levels in case I did have it as well as some prescription meds to help with the itching. I told him that I was supposed to be leaving to go to St. George the next day and asked him if I should stay home. He told me to go ahead and go. He still did not sound too worried about anything. Plus, he said that the definitive labs would not be back for a few more days, so I might as well go and enjoy. Side note: Isn't it odd that this crazy disease that can be life threatening to my child takes DAYS for the lab results to come back?? Yes, I think so too.

Anyway, I went to St. George and enjoyed myself immensely, other than the continued crazy sleep deprivation. Honestly, it was so bad. I wish this horrible disease on no one. I expected a call from my doctor by the latest Thursday. When I hadn't heard from him by the afternoon, I called and left a message with his nurse. When I didn't hear back, I finally called the on call doctor again, because I was going crazy wondering what was happening. I knew that if I was going to have the baby soon, I needed to make plans for childcare, get the last minute baby items purchased, etc. The on call doctor that night was again very friendly and she looked in the system to see if the results had come back yet and they had not. So, that's why my doctor didn't call. However, I totally still would have appreciated him at least calling and saying that he didn't have the results yet, since he said he would call by Thursday. Anyway, that's beside the point. (I am making it sound like I did not like my doctor at all, when really quite the opposite is true. I really, really liked him and would recommend him to anyone. He is super friendly and always takes his time with you. I asked the nurses on the labor and delivery floor at the hospital where I work who they enjoy working with, because it's important to me that the doctor is nice to everyone in general, not just to his patients because he has to be, and they all told me that he is one of their favorites. So anyway, if you need a good OBGYN in Ogden area, here is his info)

So back to the saga. The doctor called me Friday around noon while we were out having a blast at the Sand Hollow Lake. He let me know that the bile results finally came back. Normal levels are 10 and below and mine was 47. He said that from there, he needed to consult with a perinatologist because I was pre-term. Once he had the go ahead from him, he wanted me to come in for an induction, he said likely Monday. I asked him if he was sure I didn't need to come back ASAP. I was quite worried at this point for the life of my baby, you know. I know the risk was probably pretty remote, but hey, why take the risk if there is a risk? I would much rather have a baby in the NICU for a little while than a baby that doesn't make it. Anyway, he just told me to go in for a non-stress test on Saturday as soon as I returned to town and monitor baby's movements in between. As long as those things were fine, we could wait until Monday. Shortly after I talked to him, the hospital called and told me I was scheduled for Monday morning at 6:30 AM. I called Devin to let him know and he started making plans for the kids as well as running around like a crazy person gathering the rest of the items we needed. I called my boss and told her and she immediately went to work to get my shifts covered for the next 3 weeks that I was still on the schedule.

I did the non-stress test on Saturday as soon as we got back and Lizzie passed with flying colors, so my panic level reduced quite a bit after that. Saturday and Sunday, we got the nursery ready, I went and did a home study that needed to get done before hand, and we prepared the kids for what was going to happen. Devin's sister Shawna came Sunday night so she could be with the kids all day Monday while we were at the hospital. She's a saint.

Monday morning came too soon as I again did not sleep much. I rolled into the hospital looking quite the sight. I am telling you. Ugh. Anyway, who cares at that point, right? I am not really sure why they had us come in at 6;30 because I basically hung around in my awesome hospital gown until 8:45 when my doctor came in to break my water. They did not want to start pitocin until he arrived. They checked me before he broke my water and I was 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced, so the doctor decided to see what would happen without pitocin first. He went to work upstairs and Devin and I hung out. I was pretty sure the non-pit thing wasn't going to go well as I had needed pitocin with both of my other deliveries. Both Hallie and Jace were delivered 4 hours or so after I started pit, so I was thinking that if I was going without, we were going to be at this all day.

Anyway, the nurse checked me again at around 10 and I was 6 cm dilated. I had enjoyed getting up and going to the bathroom and being able to wander around the room, so I hadn't asked for an epidural yet. The contractions were not painful to that point. Then all the sudden, they were on top of each other and just horrific. I felt them mostly in my back and I am pretty sure that's what death feels like. :) I know many of you love the natural birth and it makes you feel amazing and womanly and all that, but I have never had any desire for that. I believe in epidurals. I paged my nurse at around 12 to get me the epidural. She called the anesthesiologist and he said he would be right up. Well, right up turned into a half hour or more, meanwhile, I am dying, remember? The nurse and Devin were doing all sorts of weird contortions on me and doing counter pressure and all that good stuff, but it just wasn't good enough. The nurse checked me and I was 8 cm. Many of you may say at this point, well why didn't you just go for it and do it natural? Again, I say--- no desire.

Finally, the anesthesiologist waltzes on in in the middle of a contraction and tells me that he is very sorry for being tardy, but it's Tomato Basil day at the hospital and he just had to stop in and have some. I KNOW it's Tomato Basil day at the hospital because I work there, but I also know that Tomato Basil is NOT worth all the pain he just put me through! Plus, he smelled like it and went on to describe just how tasty it is all the while shoving a huge needle in my back. So friendly since I was you know, eating ice chips. Ugh, that man.

Finally with the blessed epidural in place, I relaxed a little. I could still feel the pressure of the contractions but thankfully the pain was greatly reduced. The doctor came in around 12:30 and said he was on his way to the other hospital in town to start another patient. I was alarmed because I know that I go quickly once I am ready to push and I was sure I was going to be pushing soon. He told me he would hurry his fastest and be right back. Sure enough, right around 1, the nurse came in and checked me and she and Devin could see Lizzie's head. She called the doctor and he was pulling into a parking spot. He ran in, gowned up, and they lifted my dead legs into the awesome stirrups. No pride at this point, you know? He told me that if I would listen to him, he'd tell me when and how to push and I would not tear. I pushed through two contractions and she was out and yay, I did not tear. She was born at 1:13 pm. I was kind of shocked that we kept to the four hour ish labor, even without the pitocin.

After she was born, they laid Lizzie on me and immediately the doctor and a nurse in the room said, "She looks just like you Kim!" This is an alarming thing to hear when your child first appears, especially when you are looking and feeling like death. However, I looked at her and thought she was beautiful, so it was okay. The tears of course started flowing. It's such an intense and immediate love when these little people come into the world. They took Lizzie quickly from me because they needed to evaluate her and make sure she did not need any interventions. She was screaming at the top of her lungs and spent about her first half hour doing that, so I was pretty sure she was fine. She did end up being fine and not needing any additional help or NICU time, for which we were extremely grateful. She was born at 36.4 weeks gestation, so pretty close to "full-term" but not quite.

We spent the rest of the day at the hospital bonding with our sweet girl and introducing her to her siblings. They were all thrilled to meet her, except Flor, but that's a story for another day. Mishell was dead on with her guesses for how big Lizzie would be-- 6 pounds 5 ounces and 19 inches. She was also closest in her guess as to what time she would be born. Jace, luckily was the furthest away on all counts. He guessed she would be 10 lbs, 9 ounces (HAHAHA) and would be born at 6 something PM. No thanks, buddy.

Tuesday we had a lot of visitors. It was so fun to see a lot of people, especially because I work at the hospital where I delivered, so we got a lot of visits from my co-workers. Lizzie continued to do well, so the pediatrician on call and my doctor cleared us to go home that afternoon. My recovery with Lizzie has been by far my best yet. I am sure it is due to her being much smaller than my other babies and my not tearing in the birth process. I have felt really great. It also helped that the itching went away within a day or so. WAHOO. Relief!

Lizzie has been such a good baby. The first few nights were rough, but since then, she has only been waking up twice to eat, once around 1 am and the other time around 4 am, so we can't complain. I will share more pictures of her later, but as she grows, I think she looks more and more like Devin. She looks nothing like Hallie or Jace. She has dark coloring and dark eyes that I am sure will turn brown. It will be fun to see what she develops into and how she is alike and different from the other kids.

We love our Lizzie and are grateful that she arrived safe and healthy. It was nerve wracking to think of all the different possible scenarios, but we have had the best possible outcome and we are incredibly grateful.

Now for a few pictures of her birthday and hospital stay (I took a billion of course):

One of the first things we noticed when she came out is that she has major dimples on both sides. This is a Devin feature. :)

The tongue sticking out is an absolute Lizzie trait already. She always has her tongue hanging out.

So teeny tiny. We are still trying to figure out this whole tiny baby thing. We have never had one so little, or even close. When we took her to the pediatrician three days after her birth, she was down to 5 pounds 15 ounces. Totally normal, but it doesn't mean it doesn't freak me out a little!