I became pregnant in April after one month of fertility drugs to assist in getting pregnant. Our baby was due December 27. I have two blood clotting disorders that put my pregnancy at high risk and I began taking two heparin shots daily. On May 8, I began to bleed. The trip to the ER determined that it was only an implantation bleed. Everything went well until June 7 when I began bleeding again. This trip to the ER showed no known cause for the bleeding but the baby's heart rate and growth were normal. I was sent home to rest for a couple days. After the 11th, I did not experience any more bleeding.
On August 9, we found out we were expecting a girl, which is what we had wanted. Our daughter became very active the next week, increasing our expectations that the rest of my pregnancy would go smoothly. On August 19, my husband and I attended a Relay for Life Cancer Walk in memory of his son who had died earlier in the year from liver cancer. During the evening and overnight, I began experiencing mild uncomfortableness that I simply associated with being on my feet for an extended period and the lack of sleep. When we returned home in the morning, we took a nap to rest up for the day. Around 1 p.m., I woke up and thought I was wetting the bed and rushed to the bathroom. I realized that I could not stop the flow and noticed a gush of blood. I ran into the bedroom and told my husband that I thought my water broke and began to cry hysterically. I only thought, "This cannot be happening to us! We cannot lose two children in the same year!" I called the hospital as my husband drove me and explained that I was only 22 weeks 4 days pregnant and I was sure my water broke.
When we arrived at the Emergency Room, a nurse was waiting with a wheel chair and they took me to the maternity floor. On the way to the elevator, a nurse handed me a test strip to check the acidity of my discharge. Once we were in the room, nobody really said anything to us as they came into my room to hook me up to monitors and IV fluids, but I overheard a nurse talking that the PH definitely showed that I lost amniotic fluid. I was wheeled to the ultrasound room and the ultrasound showed no amniotic fluid. They estimated Sheryl weighed exactly a pound. When I returned to the maternity room, the doctor informed me that they were going to administer antibiotics, steroids, and medicine to keep me from contracting. If I did not deliver my baby that night, they were going to have me transferred to a hospital with a Level III NICU in St. Louis, almost 2 hours away.
On Sunday morning, I was transferred to St. Louis where they monitored me and performed another ultrasound. A neonatal nurse came in to talk to us and told us there was very little hope because 90% of women whose water ruptures deliver within 2 days and of the 10% left, 80% deliver within the following week. Even if I were one of the lucky ones who manages to carry my baby for more than a week, there was not guarantee for my baby's survival because the amniotic fluid is what helps mature the lungs later in a pregnancy. The doctor who saw me told me they would release me on Monday since my baby was not viable if I were to deliver her and that I should explore my options of terminating my pregnancy when I returned home.
I saw my OB the day after I returned home and he contacted a different hospital in St. Louis to provide care for the rest of my pregnancy. This maternal-fetal medicine specialist was wonderful and gave us so much more hope than anyone else. She still told us the true probabilities of having a healthy baby, but was much more hopeful since I had already made it one week since my water broke. She instructed me to return to the hospital for admission anytime after 24 weeks.
On September 16, at 25 weeks 3 days, I was admitted to St. John's in St. Louis. The time passed well, but I missed my family that could only come to see me on the weekends. I was hooked up to a fetal monitor to check for decelerations in Sheryl's heartrate, which would be the first sign of distress and could prompt an emergency C-section. The weeks were filled with blood tests for infection, my heparin shots twice a day and only getting out of bed for bathroom privileges.
At 12:30 a.m. on October 13, contractions began showing on our monitor. The nurses brought me medication to stop contractions but it did not work. At 4 a.m., I called my husband and had him time my contractions. When we realized they were lasting for a minute and a half and were a minute apart, I called the nurse and Sean left from home. Sean arrived at 6 a.m. and I began preparations for Sheryl's birth. Because I made it past 28 weeks, I had a vaginal delivery and Sean was able to cut the cord. At 12:39 p.m., I delivered our 2 pound 15 ounce, 16 ½-inch long baby girl.
The neonatoligist and nurses took Sheryl immediately and Sean and I listened intently for her first cry. I knew her cry would be a beautiful sound but under the circumstances it was heavenly and a huge relief for us. They briefly brought her to me as a nurse pumped her oxygen then they whisked her away to the NICU. Before going to my recovery room, we went to the NICU (along with my mom and sister) to see where our baby was and how she was doing. She had dozens tubes connected to her and machines beeping all around her. She was in an open warmer because it provided easy access to her tiny body.
The next couple days were a blur of oxygen tanks, nitrous oxide, blood pressure medicine, a blood transfusion, ultrasounds and x-rays. The ultrasounds and x-rays were all positive for a good recovery. Sheryl's oxygen was never set higher than 40 breaths per minute.
On Sunday, my step-son's birthday, we held our daughter for the first time. Sheryl came off her ventilator on Monday and was put on a CPAP. The CPAP was changed to a nasal canula on the fifth day. We spent the next two weeks traveling back and forth from home to the hospital as much as possible and calling every time we got a chance to check on her. She did well. At two weeks, we had her transferred to a NICU closer to home so we could see her every day.
Sheryl progressed quickly, getting off her nasal canula two weeks later. Sheryl required special boots for her feet to help correct them as her feet were turned in due to the cramped space during the end of my pregnancy. Her biggest problems were her feeding (she just didn't want to do it) and apnea and bradycardia "spells". Sheryl finally came home 7 weeks after her birth on November 31.
Since Sheryl's been home, her only problem was mild acid reflux. At her six month checkup she weighed 15 pounds and was 24 ¾ inches long. At six and half months, she learned how to roll over and at seven and half months, she scooted on her belly to get around. Her favorite thing at that time was to watch everything! Sheryl walked by herself exactly 2 weeks after her first birthday!
At 18 months old: Weight wise, she's on the very small size, just over 20 pounds. But height is soaring. She was 31 inches at 15 months. Her first word was "Bub" for her favorite person, her big brother. She says lots of words now, even trying to put together a couple of word sentences. She's a climber and she loves to give kisses. She's doing very well. We're even thinking of starting potty training early as she seems like she could catch on rather quickly.
At 30 months: She only weighs about 24 pounds but is almost 35 inches tall. She's a beauty with her blond hair and brown eyes. She surprises us every day with what she can do. She talks unbelievably well and learns things quickly. She has a great memory too. She's our little star; a performer of the great classic songs "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," "Baah, Baah Black Sheep," and "ABCs". She can count to ten, she knows a lot of colors and shapes, and she loves putting together puzzles. She's high-energy and always getting into something to explore. We've been blessed with relatively minor health issues; she has similar allergies to mine and only common colds. Just beware when you meet her: she likes to show off and is very goofy.
At 3 years: Her "Big Papa" calls her "Motormouth Dutch" which completely suits her. She talks non-stop. She's taken on some of the funny sayings that Sean, myself, and Sean Patrick say. She has a very addictive personality and she likes what she likes. She repeatedly watches the same movies over and over until she knows the words to pretty much the entire movies. I definitely can't wait until the fit throwing stops. She's super smart. She can count to 10 (and then some but gets the teens a little messed up). She knows colors and shapes. The funniest thing she can do that amazes me also is climbing onto the counters. She has such fantastic strength in her fingers and toes that she can climb the cabinets.
At 4 years: She's smart, funny, and sassy. She's beautiful. She's still tiny for her age, about 32 lbs now. She's still rather OCD with things but it suits her. She even told me she wants to be a doctor when she grows up, the ones that make little kids like her feel better. She had her tonsils and adnoids removed in July of '09. Here ENT said they were the biggest she's seen in a 3 year old. She still climbs on everything and loves Christmas lights.
This was Sheryl immediately after she was born, right after her first cry.
This is Sheryl from summer/fall 2009.
