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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Baby Vedo is here 5.5 weeks early! LONG birth story inside (but some pics too!)
Birth story time and then I'm off to the hospital to see my baby. 
Wednesday night, I worked my normal shift until midnight (it was a super stressful one being that I was the only one on my team working and all of our websites internationally went down for the duration of my shift which led to a ton of scrambling). Still, though, I got home at 12:30 feeling fine, albeit tired. I hung around on the couch for a couple hours and went to bed around 2:30 (normal for me).
At 4:30 I woke up to use the bathroom and when I got back upstairs to bed I realized I thought I was having contractions. I wasn't entirely sure because they just felt like period cramps but after timing them, we realized they were coming every 4-5 minutes right from the start and averaging 55-60 seconds in length. There was no here's a contraction and then 20 minutes later another one might pop up and then another one in a half hour, etc.
At 5:30 we called the doctor. The doctor said we could come in if we wanted but we could also wait it out at home and see if they subside. We decided to wait a bit.
At 6:30 when the contractions were still every 4-5 minutes and getting stronger in pain, we decided we'd best go in. We thought for sure we'd be sent home because it was still so early and there's no way this was real labor. So, I took a shower and DH grabbed a few things just in case (I didn't even have a hospital bag packed!).
We got to the hospital at 7:30 and got right into triage. They checked me and I was 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced. They hooked me up to an IV and gave me some calcium blockers hoping to stop the contractions. DH started calling parents letting them know we were at the hospital but there wasn't anything to tell yet, so just hang tight.
At 11, the contractions were still coming regularly and increasing in intensity, so they admitted me. The thought was that they'd bring me upstairs to L&D so that they could start stronger procedures that require more monitoring to stop the contractions and that I'd then be on bedrest in the hospital until it was time to deliver. However, they checked me again and said I was at 4 cm already and there wasn't any stopping it. It was go time.
The pain was starting to become unbearable and was all in my back (we never confirmed but I think at this point he was sunny side up). They offered me an epidural and I accepted. Adam called the parents again and let them know Thursday was going to be the day. Once the epidural was placed, I felt great. I was totally scared for the baby but knew we were in good hands being in the best L&D hospital which happens to be adjoined to the best children's hospital in the state.
Family started coming to visit around noon and were in and out throughout the day. By 6 or so, despite our best efforts to keep them from posting on FB, it became impossible to keep them off. We went ahead and posted that we were in the hospital so that at least we got to let people know instead of our families. Then we gave them free reign because we were tired of being FB police.
This stretch of time was just a lot of waiting. They didn't check me very often because they didn't want to progress labor any quicker than was necessary since it was still early. They were basically doing nothing to stop or progress things. Just letting my body do what it was going to do.
I think around 6 I was checked and they said I was at 6 with a bulging bag of waters. They checked again at 8:30 because I was curious and I was at 9 still with bulging waters. They told me to let them know immediately if my water broke or I started feeling a ton of pressure.
At 8:40 my water broke, so we kicked everyone out of the room. The neonatal staff rushed to the room and the doctor and nurses got everything out and at the ready. At 8:45 they checked me again and I was at 10 cm. 8:50 was when I started feeling the intense pressure, so they had me start pushing.
It only took 3 contractions and 7 minutes, and Rhett was born at 8:57. DH was cracking jokes/commentating the delivery the whole time because he didn't know what else to do while holding my leg. The staff in the room were laughing so hard and said they needed him to come back for all their deliveries just to commentate, haha.
When he came out, he let out a few good, healthy cries and the whole neonatal team cheered. They let us do delayed cord clamping because he seemed pretty healthy and was breathing on his own. DH cut the cord, and the neonatal team took over at that point. They weighed him in at 5 lb 9 oz and 18.5 inches long. Then they let me do a few minutes of skin to skin before whisking him off to the NICU with DH.
They made me stay in the L&D room for an hour getting stitched up (I had a 2nd degree tear) and to start pumping. All I wanted to do was get to the NICU to see him. Eventually, though, I was brought down there and we were able to hold him right away because he was doing so well.
His sugars were a little low, so they hooked him up to an IV but that was the only type of support he needed.
Throughout the weekend, he's been getting better and better. His IV was removed Sunday morning and he's slightly jaundiced but not enough to need phototherapy. The only thing keeping him in the NICU at this point is his ability to eat. He pretty much just sleeps through everything. We're able to feed him anywhere from 10-15 mL by bottle and then he just gives up and goes back to sleep. Even throughout the part he does take, he only sucks here and there. That means they have to feed the rest through a tube. Once he can finish all of his bottles by himself for 48 hours, he'll be released.
As for DH and I, I was released from the hospital Saturday afternoon. We went to the mall to pick up a ton of clothes for him since he can wear them in the NICU. Then we went to dinner because it was also DH's birthday on Friday.
Yesterday we had my first baby shower (ha!) and then a family dinner celebrating DH's birthday.
In between everything we've been going back to the hospital to spend as much time as we can there. He eats better when we're there, so we try to be there as much as we can.
It's SO SO SO hard to leave him, and I cry every time. We keep saying, though, that it's both a blessing and a curse. It SUCKS that he has to be there and not at home, but while he's there DH and I are basically getting a hands on course on how to do everything. We also will have time to get the house ready and put together all the stuff he needs which we didn't have until literally yesterday.
Anyway, I think that about covers it for now. Here's some pictures. And now I'm off to the hospital.
Wednesday night, I worked my normal shift until midnight (it was a super stressful one being that I was the only one on my team working and all of our websites internationally went down for the duration of my shift which led to a ton of scrambling). Still, though, I got home at 12:30 feeling fine, albeit tired. I hung around on the couch for a couple hours and went to bed around 2:30 (normal for me).
At 4:30 I woke up to use the bathroom and when I got back upstairs to bed I realized I thought I was having contractions. I wasn't entirely sure because they just felt like period cramps but after timing them, we realized they were coming every 4-5 minutes right from the start and averaging 55-60 seconds in length. There was no here's a contraction and then 20 minutes later another one might pop up and then another one in a half hour, etc.
At 5:30 we called the doctor. The doctor said we could come in if we wanted but we could also wait it out at home and see if they subside. We decided to wait a bit.
At 6:30 when the contractions were still every 4-5 minutes and getting stronger in pain, we decided we'd best go in. We thought for sure we'd be sent home because it was still so early and there's no way this was real labor. So, I took a shower and DH grabbed a few things just in case (I didn't even have a hospital bag packed!).
We got to the hospital at 7:30 and got right into triage. They checked me and I was 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced. They hooked me up to an IV and gave me some calcium blockers hoping to stop the contractions. DH started calling parents letting them know we were at the hospital but there wasn't anything to tell yet, so just hang tight.
At 11, the contractions were still coming regularly and increasing in intensity, so they admitted me. The thought was that they'd bring me upstairs to L&D so that they could start stronger procedures that require more monitoring to stop the contractions and that I'd then be on bedrest in the hospital until it was time to deliver. However, they checked me again and said I was at 4 cm already and there wasn't any stopping it. It was go time.
The pain was starting to become unbearable and was all in my back (we never confirmed but I think at this point he was sunny side up). They offered me an epidural and I accepted. Adam called the parents again and let them know Thursday was going to be the day. Once the epidural was placed, I felt great. I was totally scared for the baby but knew we were in good hands being in the best L&D hospital which happens to be adjoined to the best children's hospital in the state.
Family started coming to visit around noon and were in and out throughout the day. By 6 or so, despite our best efforts to keep them from posting on FB, it became impossible to keep them off. We went ahead and posted that we were in the hospital so that at least we got to let people know instead of our families. Then we gave them free reign because we were tired of being FB police.
This stretch of time was just a lot of waiting. They didn't check me very often because they didn't want to progress labor any quicker than was necessary since it was still early. They were basically doing nothing to stop or progress things. Just letting my body do what it was going to do.
I think around 6 I was checked and they said I was at 6 with a bulging bag of waters. They checked again at 8:30 because I was curious and I was at 9 still with bulging waters. They told me to let them know immediately if my water broke or I started feeling a ton of pressure.
At 8:40 my water broke, so we kicked everyone out of the room. The neonatal staff rushed to the room and the doctor and nurses got everything out and at the ready. At 8:45 they checked me again and I was at 10 cm. 8:50 was when I started feeling the intense pressure, so they had me start pushing.
It only took 3 contractions and 7 minutes, and Rhett was born at 8:57.
DH was cracking jokes/commentating the delivery the whole time because he didn't know what else to do while holding my leg. The staff in the room were laughing so hard and said they needed him to come back for all their deliveries just to commentate, haha.When he came out, he let out a few good, healthy cries and the whole neonatal team cheered. They let us do delayed cord clamping because he seemed pretty healthy and was breathing on his own. DH cut the cord, and the neonatal team took over at that point. They weighed him in at 5 lb 9 oz and 18.5 inches long. Then they let me do a few minutes of skin to skin before whisking him off to the NICU with DH.
They made me stay in the L&D room for an hour getting stitched up (I had a 2nd degree tear) and to start pumping. All I wanted to do was get to the NICU to see him. Eventually, though, I was brought down there and we were able to hold him right away because he was doing so well.
His sugars were a little low, so they hooked him up to an IV but that was the only type of support he needed.
Throughout the weekend, he's been getting better and better. His IV was removed Sunday morning and he's slightly jaundiced but not enough to need phototherapy. The only thing keeping him in the NICU at this point is his ability to eat. He pretty much just sleeps through everything. We're able to feed him anywhere from 10-15 mL by bottle and then he just gives up and goes back to sleep. Even throughout the part he does take, he only sucks here and there. That means they have to feed the rest through a tube. Once he can finish all of his bottles by himself for 48 hours, he'll be released.
As for DH and I, I was released from the hospital Saturday afternoon. We went to the mall to pick up a ton of clothes for him since he can wear them in the NICU. Then we went to dinner because it was also DH's birthday on Friday.
Yesterday we had my first baby shower (ha!) and then a family dinner celebrating DH's birthday.
In between everything we've been going back to the hospital to spend as much time as we can there. He eats better when we're there, so we try to be there as much as we can.
It's SO SO SO hard to leave him, and I cry every time. We keep saying, though, that it's both a blessing and a curse. It SUCKS that he has to be there and not at home, but while he's there DH and I are basically getting a hands on course on how to do everything. We also will have time to get the house ready and put together all the stuff he needs which we didn't have until literally yesterday.
Anyway, I think that about covers it for now. Here's some pictures. And now I'm off to the hospital.
my read shelf:
Re: Baby Vedo is here 5.5 weeks early! LONG birth story inside (but some pics too!)
B Born 6.27.13
TTC 19 months ~Started RE in March 2014~
DH was not ready for IUI so we waited
~Started acupuncture in May 2014~
~~BFP 7/6/14~~~EDD 3/14/15~~It's a girl!!~~
BFP - 10/29/2016!!!, EDD - 7/8/2017
08/13: Started TTC - 07/14: PCOS dx
BFP 09/18/15 - Baby S 05/27/16
TTC#1 July 2010 PCOS dx April 2011 DS born: February 21, 2012
TTC#2 June 2013 MMC Sept 2013 (partial molar), CP 02/2014 DS2 born: December 5, 2014
Team Green to Team Pink! Baby A born
Here comes 2u2! Team Green to Team Blue! Baby L born
The Rowdy Roberts
::dirty lurker::
Yay! Congratulations!! So happy for you and everybody is doing well. I hope he comes home soon.
Congratulations! He is beautiful! Reading your story brought a tear to my eye! How amazing!
So glad you all are all doing well!!! Hopefully he gets to come home with you soon! Congrats again!!! xoxo
dx: Unexplained IF (mild MFI)
TTC since May 2011, 1 year trying, and then 3 TI, 2 IUI = BFN
IVF #1 (May 2013): Antagonist Protocol:24R, 18M, 15F w/ICSI; 5dt of 2 early blasts, no frosties = BFN
IVF #2 (August 2013): Lupron Stop Protocol:
28R, 23M, 15F w/ICSI; 5dt of 1 partially hatched blast, 7 frosties = BFP
EDD 5/23/14, blighted ovum (6w6d), D&C (8w6d)
FET #1 (April 2014): transferred 2 5d blasts = BFP
C.J. born 01/09/15
DE IVF ER - 12/2/2016 (17R/10F = 8 frosties); FET 1.0 (1/27/2017) - BFP 6dp5dt (EDD 10/16/2017)
.