Our beautiful baby girl decided Thursday night that she was ready to come into the world, ready or not!
This is how her story begins:
On Sunday March 6th at about midnight I started to get some contractions and then found that I was bleeding (gross I know but this is what happened). So Shaun and I went to the hospital to make sure everything was ok with little baby Payton. When we got there they sent us straight into the E.R. and transported us to the old hospital where they admitted us and started to watch the bleeding. The nurse who came in said that since the bleeding wasn't too bad they were just going to watch me and see how I did, unfortunately my contractions started to become regular and about 2 minutes apart lasting roughly 45 to 60 seconds. At this point my doctor told the nurses to go ahead and check to see if I was dialated. Unfortunately I was dilated to a 5, and with Payton only at 31 gestational weeks I was told it wouldn't take more than being dialated to a 7 or 8 to start to push her little body out.
My doctor came to the hospital and I was started on penicillan and steroid treatments for the baby's lungs, everyone thought I would be delivering with in the next few hours (as did I). I was given some medication to help slow down the contractions so that the steroids could get into Payton's bloodstream and help her underdeveloped lungs produce sufactant (a substance that allows lungs to expand and contract). She neeed at least 48 hours for the drugs to do their job correctly and possibly save Payton's life. A slew of doctors from the NICU came in, as well as my OBGYN, to talk to me about what complications Payton could have and what they were going to do if Payton were to be delivered. It was absolutely terrifying.
Now at this point, I was so upset and nervous. I didn't understand how my perfectly healthy pregnancy with no problems could lead to such an early labor. Furthermore, I couldn't get over the shock of the doctors telling me I was going to probably have Payton that night. It was awful knowing that I had no control over what was happening, I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and pretend it was all a bad dream. I mean we had just moved into our new house the day before and we hadn't even finished unpacking yet. How could we have her with out a place for her to sleep? I didn't even have a car seat or a crib for her yet! I was so scared for her, I didn't know how she would fair through the labor and delivery, and it hurt too much to think about the "what if something went wrong" question. All I could do was sit and pray with Shaun that everything would be ok and the lord would help Payton through this.
My contractions were not slowing down, in fact they started to get stronger so the nurse "checked" me again and I was now dialated to a 6. Dr. Chalmers told me that he was hoping we would make it to 24 hours but it wasn't real likely. He said he wouldn't break my water because Payton's heart rate looked great on the fetal monitor and breaking my water would progress the labor, so we were just told to wait and they would monitor the contractions. Miraculously, my contractions just stopped, I don't know how because the medicine they gave me hadn't quite kicked in, but the contractions stopped almost completely. The Lord had answered our prayers and Shaun and I began to hope that the baby would stay in long enough to allow the steroids to kick in. What was even more crazy, was that my contractions weren't painful. Everyone had described labor as super painful, but mine wasn't particularly painful at all (about a 4 on a scale from 1 to 10).
This is where the waiting game began. I was on bed rest and was monitored 24 hours a day. Over the next 3 days I had several bouts of contractions but nothing that rivaled the first night in the hospital. We got to a point where Shaun and I believed we might be in the hospital for several more weeks before Payton came. (those 3 days were some of the hardest because I was trying to mentally prepare to have a baby each day, but I had to have faith that it would all turn out the way it was supposed to. Once I hit 48 hrs with the steroids in me I started to feel a little relief but nothing fully relieved our fear or anxiety). Shaun and I are especially grateful for all our parents did for us during those three days. My mom and dad toiled all day trying to set up bedding put up cribs, buy groceries, and just get us settled into our new home. It was super stressful knowing that we had so much to do and no time to do it before the baby came. The doctors said there was no way I could go home even if my contractions stopped because of how small Payton was and how dialated I was. Most of the staff didn't think I would make it till the end of the week before I had her (and I didn't). Anyway, I had so much help from my parents unpacking and setting up our house, my mother and father-in laws also helped quite a bit and so did my friend Mariesa. What great people we have in our life :) thanks!!
dialated to a 6 and 90% effaced with bulging water, but then amongst all the fun my contractions and lower back pain started to get stronger and stronger. The nurses decided to give me more medicine to slow the contractions, it didn't work. The nurse called Dr. Chalmers and he told her to check to see how far dialated I was, we were all surprised to find I was an 8 and 100% effaced. It became clear real fast that that night was the night I was going to have little baby Payton. It was about 8:00pm and they moved me to a different labor and delivery room that was close to the NICU respiratory room. The doctor told me I didn't have much more time so we sent for my epidural and he did an ultra sound to make sure Payton was still head down (I was actually told that if I progressed too fast that I wouldn't be able to have an epidural and I needed to prepare for a possible natural labor, which I did thanks to my sister-in-law Heather and Shaun's cousin Kalli, thanks!) The ultra sound showed that our little Payton had decided to turn footling breech, and so Dr. Chalmers let me know that I was definitely going to have to have a c-section. It was a scary moment. I didn't know much about c-sections other than what some family members had told me about the surgery. I tried to stay really calm and Shaun was there for support. Once I got my epidural (which totally doesn't hurt at all, they are awesome!) I had to tell everyone goodbye and I loved them. It was great because Shaun's parents and little brothers were there to and so was my mom and two friends Mariesa and Mo. They all went into the waiting room while Shaun suited up for surgery. I was really surprised at how calm I was through this whole process. My pain was up to a 6 but I really didn't have any problem controlling it, I felt totally calm and I knew that the baby and I were in really good hands. I have always thought that childbirth would be this crazy stressful event that involved a lot of pain, but I can honestly say that I wasn't like that at all for me.
Once my epidural kicked in, I was wheeled into surgery. there was a whole team there from the NICU waiting for our Payton and a few more nurses and doctors waiting to start surgery. The anesthesiologist was really cool and stayed through the whole surgery. He had to give me as much epidural as he would have to give a 400 pound 6 foot woman. He told me I had a really fast metabolism. In fact during the surgery I could still wiggle my toes, but don;t worry I didn't feel a thing! :) It was the craziest sensation and although it was a little nerve wracking, I just took deep breaths and Dr. Chalmers was great talking me through every step of the way. Plus Shaun was great and held my hand, stroked my face, and told me what was going on. When Shaun told me she was out I strained to hear if she was crying. All I knew was that she was definitely a girl and Shaun said she was very small and perfect. The NICU staff took her over to her little incubator and I got a glimpse at her little face. She was so small, with her head the size of my fist and arms as skinny as my thumbs, but she was beautiful. I couldn't wait to hold her, and while the NICU doctors worked on her she started to cry and I have never heard such a beautiful sound. I knew that our little girl was alive and kicking, I knew that the Lord had blessed us with the most precious gift he can give someone, a child.
Shaun stayed with Payton while I got stitched up and soon I was back into the delivery room where Shaun came in and told me Payton was doing great and was on a little oxygen to help her breathe. I can't begin to explain the flood of emotions that came over me. I was a mommy, Payton was our little girl and our lives will never be the same. Hw grateful we truly are for this beautiful baby girl.
A special thanks to all of our family and friends who called and expressed their love and kept Payton in their prayers, it made a big difference. Also a huge thanks to all the medical staff, nurses and doctors who took care of both Payton and I, everyone did such an amazing job.
More to come soon on Payton's health, she was born March 10th 2011 at 9:03 pm. She weighed 4.2 pounds and was 17 inches long, quite a healthy size for a baby at her age. We will keep you all posted!
-McCall and Shaun
dialated to a 6 and 90% effaced with bulging water, but then amongst all the fun my contractions and lower back pain started to get stronger and stronger. The nurses decided to give me more medicine to slow the contractions, it didn't work. The nurse called Dr. Chalmers and he told her to check to see how far dialated I was, we were all surprised to find I was an 8 and 100% effaced. It became clear real fast that that night was the night I was going to have little baby Payton. It was about 8:00pm and they moved me to a different labor and delivery room that was close to the NICU respiratory room. The doctor told me I didn't have much more time so we sent for my epidural and he did an ultra sound to make sure Payton was still head down (I was actually told that if I progressed too fast that I wouldn't be able to have an epidural and I needed to prepare for a possible natural labor, which I did thanks to my sister-in-law Heather and Shaun's cousin Kalli, thanks!) The ultra sound showed that our little Payton had decided to turn footling breech, and so Dr. Chalmers let me know that I was definitely going to have to have a c-section. It was a scary moment. I didn't know much about c-sections other than what some family members had told me about the surgery. I tried to stay really calm and Shaun was there for support. Once I got my epidural (which totally doesn't hurt at all, they are awesome!) I had to tell everyone goodbye and I loved them. It was great because Shaun's parents and little brothers were there to and so was my mom and two friends Mariesa and Mo. They all went into the waiting room while Shaun suited up for surgery. I was really surprised at how calm I was through this whole process. My pain was up to a 6 but I really didn't have any problem controlling it, I felt totally calm and I knew that the baby and I were in really good hands. I have always thought that childbirth would be this crazy stressful event that involved a lot of pain, but I can honestly say that I wasn't like that at all for me.
Once my epidural kicked in, I was wheeled into surgery. there was a whole team there from the NICU waiting for our Payton and a few more nurses and doctors waiting to start surgery. The anesthesiologist was really cool and stayed through the whole surgery. He had to give me as much epidural as he would have to give a 400 pound 6 foot woman. He told me I had a really fast metabolism. In fact during the surgery I could still wiggle my toes, but don;t worry I didn't feel a thing! :) It was the craziest sensation and although it was a little nerve wracking, I just took deep breaths and Dr. Chalmers was great talking me through every step of the way. Plus Shaun was great and held my hand, stroked my face, and told me what was going on. When Shaun told me she was out I strained to hear if she was crying. All I knew was that she was definitely a girl and Shaun said she was very small and perfect. The NICU staff took her over to her little incubator and I got a glimpse at her little face. She was so small, with her head the size of my fist and arms as skinny as my thumbs, but she was beautiful. I couldn't wait to hold her, and while the NICU doctors worked on her she started to cry and I have never heard such a beautiful sound. I knew that our little girl was alive and kicking, I knew that the Lord had blessed us with the most precious gift he can give someone, a child.
Shaun stayed with Payton while I got stitched up and soon I was back into the delivery room where Shaun came in and told me Payton was doing great and was on a little oxygen to help her breathe. I can't begin to explain the flood of emotions that came over me. I was a mommy, Payton was our little girl and our lives will never be the same. Hw grateful we truly are for this beautiful baby girl.
A special thanks to all of our family and friends who called and expressed their love and kept Payton in their prayers, it made a big difference. Also a huge thanks to all the medical staff, nurses and doctors who took care of both Payton and I, everyone did such an amazing job.
More to come soon on Payton's health, she was born March 10th 2011 at 9:03 pm. She weighed 4.2 pounds and was 17 inches long, quite a healthy size for a baby at her age. We will keep you all posted!
-McCall and Shaun
Wow what a wonderful blessing McCall! I am so happy for you guys, even though it seemed a bit nerve-racking in the beginning. You are such a great example of how unwavering faith can get you through anything! Congrats <3
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome story. it made me cry. im so grateful that everything turned out ok. Congratulations and i hope all is well and baby Payton is so beautiful! good job! :)
ReplyDeletewow what a crazy experience! glad everything turned out and cant wait to see more of this cute girl
ReplyDeleteWe're so happy you and little Payton are doing well! I'm amazed at that picture! She looks so healthy and great! Way to go Momma McCall! Good job growin that beautiful little girl. We're thinking of you guys and hope things continue to go well!
ReplyDeleteSo glad I found your blog...Payton is such a precious little one. I sent you an invite to our blog to your yahoo account. I don't know if that is the email you use most?.
ReplyDelete