Rewind: Part 2

"....please.... please.......please"

I couldn't see the baby very well from where I was. The doctor was stitching me up and was blocking my view(or perhaps I just didn't want to see....). I could see the team of people gathered around him and hooking him up to monitors and who knows what else. Mostly I just listened....

"Come on.... give us a cry..."

......and continued my pleading......

"...please....please...."

The nurses asked the doctor if he came out with his cord around his neck. She said no, but that the cord came out with him or by him or something. She didn't sound like that should have caused any problems.

THE APGAR SCORES

Okay, so, I think it is helpful at this point in the story to lay out some data. It helps illustrate the extent of the situation. I didn't know any of this information at the time, but knowing this stuff now gives me a better idea of what was going on while I was laying there unable to focus on much more than praying that my child was going to live.

Here is the info I got from research online:

"The APGAR scoring is a simple and repeatable method to quickly and summarily assess the health of newborn children immediately after childbirth.

The Apgar score is determined by evaluating the newborn baby on five simple criteria on a scale from zero to two, then summing up the five values thus obtained. The resulting Apgar score ranges from zero to 10. The five criteria (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration) are used as amnemonic learning aid.

The test is generally done at one and five minutes after birth, and may be repeated later if the score is and remains low.

Scores 3 and below are generally regarded as critically low,

4 to 6 fairly low,

and 7 to 10 generally normal.

If your baby scores between 4 and 6, he may need some help breathing. This could mean something as simple as suctioning his nostrils or massaging him, or it could mean giving him oxygen. If your baby scores 3 or less, he may need immediate lifesaving measures, such as resuscitation. Keep in mind, though, that a low score at one minute doesn't mean that your baby won't eventually be just fine, particularly if there is an improvement by the stage of the five-minute test."

The question on your minds I am sure......

"SO WHAT WERE ROBBY'S APGAR SCORES???"

At one minute: 3

Five minutes: 6

Ten minutes: 6

I don't know how long it had been when he finally let out a short little cry. I think a couple minutes. I felt a slight relief at that sound, but it didn't quite ease my worries. He didn't keep crying. Just made a sound and then stopped again. They continued doing... whatever it was they were doing. They needed him to cry more.

I remember at one point seeing that they were sticking tubes down his nose and sucking stuff out. Eventually he cried again. He was definitely progressing, but they still weren't satisfied.

I was relieved when Steve came back to my bed side and was actually smiling. Steve said he was fine. At least at that point I was convinced my baby was going to live.

I think the point when I felt the most relief was when this special doctor (which they had urgently called for in the beginning) finally showed up and all he did was pretty much laugh and then leave. Right before he got there Robby had improved a ton. So, by the time he arrived he was almost like "Why the heck did you guys call me here?? This kid is fine!" The nurses explained to him what the situation had been and he just told me congrats and then left.

Apparently things must be fine if this doctor didn't even feel like he needed to

be in the room for more than 30 seconds.

As my doctor finished stitching me up, she said that she thought he had just been in shock from the transition. She said that his heart rate was perfectly fine the whole time I was pushing and everything, so it's not like anything was wrong before he was out. She said he might have sucked in a bunch of fluid right at the end as well.

Who knows what caused it... the important thing was he was alive and finally breathing.

Once they had him breathing the room air on his own for a while (without helping him with that little contraption) and made sure he was stable, his APGAR was finally a 9. They measured him (8 lbs 8 1/2 ounces and 21 inches long) and then finally brought him over to me.

It was almost unreal to actually have this baby in my arms-- my baby.

After the heart ache of 3 miscarriages....

....fearing at times that I would never give birth to a child....

....and now having endured the terror that he wasn't even going to live to take his first breath....

I was finally a mother.

He didn't have to go to the NICU or anything, gratefully.

I nursed him for the first time and he latched on right away, no problems there.

I held him for a while and admired him.

ANOTHER SCARE

What a long night....

I should have been exhausted, but I think I was too happy and relieved to feel it.

The nurse brought me some food, even though I didn't really feel hungry. I gave Robby to Steve while I started eating a little bit.

It was some time before 7 a.m. and the nurse was going to be getting off her shift soon, so she decided to try to have me empty my bladder. (Come to find out later, she probably wasn't really supposed to have me get up and walk yet, but she was trying to finish things off before her shift ended). She asked if I could move my legs well enough to stand. I felt just fine. I swear I could move my legs right after giving birth. I think I had let my epidural wear off to much at the end....

So, they carefully helped me get up and walk over to the bathroom. I felt pretty stable as I slowly walked in and sat down. Steve was by my side, helping to hold me up. At the time I didn't really think I needed it. But, it was a good thing he was there..... because I did not at all expect the crazy events that followed.....

TO BE CONTINUED.....