My due date was 10/3/12 but since Mia was born healthy at 38 weeks I figured Keira would come on the early side too. I was 3cm dilated at my 38 week check up on 9/20 which made me more anxious to get things moving. Over the next few days I went for long walks, drank raspberry leaf tea and scoured the internet for tips about how to get labor started safely. Over the next 5 days after a few false alarms, including being sent home from the hospital at 5 cm after labor stalled, I was more than ready to meet out little girl.
This was a pic taken September 24th during one of these long walks.
Tuesday, September 25th I went to my doctor's office to check amnio fluid and though all was well on that front, the midwife said she wanted me to head to the hospital because the baby's heart beat was too slow. My heart dropped. I felt so scared and so much guilt about my hurry to have the baby. I worried I'd done something to harm her by walking so much, drinking tea, etc. I was assured this was not the case but of course I still blamed myself.
I drove the few miles to the hospital in tears and called Dave to tell him to head to hospital as soon as he could get Mia to his parent's house. When I arrived at the hospital they quickly hooked me up to a monitor to check baby's heart rate and a few minutes later were undressing me getting an IV in and basically acting like we were in an emergency situation. It was absolutely terrifying. The OB came in and said the baby was having decelerations and they had me move in to different positions thinking the baby may have become tangled in the umbilical chord. Dave arrived and I was in a daze. The OB decided to break my water and soon there after the decelerations stopped. A few minutes later the nurse said the baby looked great, the heart rate was normal, there would be no need for emergency C section and then my contractions started. And then they REALLY started. I quickly begged for an epidural. With my first labor I tried to wait out the contractions in hopes of having a drug free child birth but I lasted only a few torturous hours, and this time I had no doubts I wanted/needed those drugs to get through. Once the epidural was in sweet relief came. Within an hour the nurse said I was ready to push.
On 9/25 at 5:15 PM Keira joined us. She came in to the world with a healthy cry, shaking her little fists as the doctor held her up for me to see. She was a beautiful, pink, tiny little girl. She measured 20.5 inches and weighed 6lbs 4 oz. I said "Hi baby! Hi Keira!" over and over as I gazed at her and hugged her against my chest and kissed her. Dave was smiling, crying and leaning over me to look at her and stroke her little head. I was so relieved that she had finally arrived. I was a little surprised she was so small (since I gained almost 40 lbs during pregnancy!) but Mia was only 6lbs 8 oz so I guess I just make small babies... Anyway, she had a quick exam by the nurses and doctors on the little exam table next to us. Her APGAR scores were 9 and 9. She was then placed back in my arms and all was well.
The first night in the hospital was uneventful, exhausting and happy with a blur of feedings. The next day Mia came with her grandparents to meet her sister and it was one of those moments I will cherish all of my life. Mia was so excited. I'll never forget the sweet look she had on her face as she ran over to climb up into the bed with us. She stared and smiled at her new baby sister and held Keira's little hand.
The last day in the hospital the pediatrician came in to do a physical and pronounced Keira healthy and beautiful. She was asleep in her little bassinet when the nurse came in to take her to nursery to run the hearing test. She said she'd put together my release papers and we'd be ready to go. I took a much needed shower and got ready to head home with my new bundle of joy.
While I was packing up my bag the nurse came in and told me that Keira had not passed the hearing test and would need a follow up appointment. I was scared but she said not to worry, "she did have some bars, it's probably fluid in her ears, and almost 90% of babies who don't pass hearing test in hospital go on to pass once things clear up and they have perfect hearing." I felt a chill go through me but quickly pushed that feeling aside, and picked Keira up to snuggle her and decided that there was NO WAY my baby couldn't hear. I folded up the paper that started with the words, "Congratulations on the arrival of your new baby! Unfortunately, he/she did not pass the hearing test. Keira referred in both ears. Please schedule a follow up audiology appointment for further testing."
The nurse had arranged an appointment for 11/1 which was 5 weeks away with a local audiologist.
Dave came in an hour later to get my bags and I decided not to tell him right away. I saw no reason to worry him needlessly. When I did mention it to him a couple days later I told him what the nurse told me "don't worry, it's probably fluid in her ears, odds are in our favor, she is just fine."
