Miles' Story

To say we are surprised to be holding sweet little Miles in our arms so early is an understatement, but our surprise is nothing compared to the gratitude and relief we feel to have him here healthy and safe after several unexpected things led to him coming early. I haven't talked to very many people about the circumstances surrounding Mile's birth mostly because It was all such a whirlwind it hasn't really sunk in that it really happened until I brought my baby home today. So for anyone who cares, here is my attempt at a brief recap of Miles' birth story. It all started on Tuesday December 13 when I had a fall. Nothing more than a stupid pregnancy moment when I tripped on a crack in the sidewalk with my arms full and was unable to regain my balance or catch myself before my stomach took the entire impact of the fall. It was painful and scary, not to mention humiliating, and it earned me 6 hours of being monitored in the hospital that night. Baby looked great the entire time, an ultrasound showed no sign of rupture in the placenta, but it appeared to have put me in labor. After several hours of contractions increasing in frequency and strength they were talking about giving me medication to stop labor, but then things started to settle down on their own. So I got to go home relieved not to be having a baby at 36 weeks. The next few days consisted of me continuing to feel pretty lousy and periodically contracting, but not enough to merit any real concerns so life continued on as normal. Then Monday December 19 rolled around and I started experiencing sharp shooting pains through my abdomen. These pains were nothing like contractions I had ever had. I was a little worried, but didn't want to call and make a big deal about nothing. Later that evening I went to the bathroom and had a spurt of bright red blood. It was just a little bit, but definitely fresh bright red blood. I hesistated to call because I really didn't want to end up back at the hospital where I felt like I was wasting everyone's time, but Scott insisted that I call and go get checked out. Sure enough I was sent to the hospital where all the nurses remembered me from the week before and I felt stupid despite all the "it's better to be safe than sorry" reassurances I got from everyone. They hooked me up to the monitors and baby looked great but the doctor still wanted to do another ultrasound to check the placenta. As soon as I returned from the ultrasound several nurses came into the room and informed me the Radiologist called and said my placenta was abrupting (pulling away from the uterus) and that they needed to prep me for an emergency C-section. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and started bawling. The nurse told me the on call doctor, Dr. Haskett, was on his way and I needed to call my husband immediately. I called Scott and tried to explain the situation to him through my sobs as one nurse was starting an IV in one hand and I was signing a pile of consents with the other. Thankfully this was the one night my parents weren't at a party of some sort and were able to drop what they were doing so my dad could stay with our kids and my mom came to the hospital with Scott. Dr. Haskett arrived and said the baby was still looking great on the monitors so we could wait for Scott to arrive. I had never met Dr. Haskett before and at first I was nervous not to be with Dr. Watabe who I know and trust, but Dr. Haskett was great and quickly lightened the atmosphere and put me at ease. As soon as Scott walked in they handed him his awesome marshmallow suit to get dressed in (he somehow forgot to get a picture of himself in it) and he was able to give me a quick kiss before they took me to the OR to give me my spinal. After the fact I learned that abruptions often times result in a crash C-Section where they won't even wait to give you a spinal they just put you out under general anethesia and you miss the whole thing. I am so grateful I was at least able to be awake for my baby's birth even if I did feel robbed of the rest of the birthing experience. Before I knew it I was preped and ready and Scott was at my side. Just a few minutes later at 9:29pm Miles was born. It was the weirdest sensation I have ever had feeling them tug and pull each layer of my abdomen back. It felt like they were playing a game of tug-a-war with my stomach. They were able to pull baby Miles out without any difficulty. Hearing his cries was wonderful, but it was so hard not being able to see and hold him. I got one quick peek and a kiss before they took him to the nursery to be evaluated. I sent Scott with him while I got sewn up. After they left I lay there in tears as I felt like a part of me was missing. It was so hard to not even know if he was doing okay or not. Since I was just shy of 37 weeks, making him preterm, I knew there was a chance he'd have a hard time breathing. I soon got word that they had to put him on CPAP to help him breath a little bit and had to start an IV to give him a fluid bolus because he was volume depleted due to the abruption. The doctor kept saying how lucky I was that I had come in as soon as I did because he rarely saw babies looking as strong and good as Miles had when there was an abruption. When he removed the placenta there was about 400 ml of blood behind it. He said it would have been only a matter of time before Miles would have been in distress. He says lucky, I say blessed. I truely feel we were being watched over and that's why I got that little spurt of blood as a warning before the serious bleeding began.

When they took me back to my room my mom came to be with me. I was so grateful to have her there by my side. Scott continued to call and text us with updates. I was so worried that they would have to transfer Miles to a bigger hospital and I would be stuck at American Fork without him. I was relieved when my sister-in-law, Kacie, who is a NICU nurse arrived. She was able to see Miles and talk to the Respiratory Therapist who she knows from work to find out how he was doing. When she told me he was doing great and this was all expected with how early he was and a c-section delivery, I was able to relax a little. Finally after what felt like an eternity they took me down to Mother/Baby where I was able to peek through the nursery at Miles who was now off the CPAP (he only had to be on it for an hour) and was getting bathed. Scott gave me a reassuring smile and thumbs up to let me know he was doing okay. Finally after 4 hours of being apart I was reunited with my sweet baby boy. They brought him to me in a Christmas stocking which was very appropriate since he was the best Christmas gift I could get.

He looked pretty beat up and brusied that night thanks to the CPAP. We weren't able to hold him very much that night because his breathing was better when he was lying flat, but his breathing got stronger and stronger throughout the night and by the next day his coloring was looking much better. We had no idea what his name would be before he was born. We had come up with a list of possible names which we had taken Miles off, but then threw it back on at the last minute. Our favorites included Cooper, Connor, and Maddax so we were surprised when after one look at him we both knew Miles was the perfect fit. We tried it out for the night and the next day knew it was the right name. The next morning he finally got to meet his older brother and sister who were dying to see him. Mason is completely obsessed with him and has to be forced to put him down. Brynn thinks he's cute and is excited by the idea of him, but is too busy to actually stop and notice him. We had to bribe Brynn with a glove to get in a family picture. You'll notice I get more and more swollen as the days pass thanks to the many liters of fluid they dumped in my IV. Words can't describe how in love Mason is.And I love hearing Brynn's little voice call him Baby Miles. She is handling his arrival really well.

My three beautiful kiddos. It's crazy to think our family might be complete. It's so different this time because with my first two I had such positive birth experiences and easy recoveries that I have always looked forward to doing it again. Having an unexpected c-section has been no walk in the park and the recovery has been much harder this time. It will definitely take some time to forget before I'm ready to sign up for this again. But the end result of my perfect little Miles is well worth every ounce of pain and discomfort I am feeling now.

Miles is truely our Christmas Miracle. He pretty much sleeps all the time since he was supposed to have a couple more weeks to grow inside. Feedings have been hard for him because he is so sleepy and tires so eaily. We have had to do pumping and finger feeds to help him get what he needs without having to work so hard. Every once in a while we catch a glimpse of his eyes, but it is usually brief. Miles and I spent 3 days in the hospital but are happy to finally be home with the rest of our family. I am so grateful to my amazing husband who yet again amazes me by taking care of us all and making it seem easy. Also thanks to my parents who as always have done so much to help us. So much for keeping it brief, but there you have it.

Merry Christmas!