On Tuesday the 27th of May at 1:19am, our baby girl Lilly-anne arrived earlier than anyone expected! After three long weeks of feeling dreadful (vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, migraines and feverish chills), I made the decision to go back to the hospital. I also hadn't been feeling much movement from the baby, so I mainly wanted reassurance.
I rang my grandparents and they drove me up to the hospital. The midwives hooked me up to the tracer machine and bub was moving okay but not as much as usual. They
kept me there for a few tests and decided to test my blood and urine. I was given the choice to either hang around and wait for the results or to go home and they'd call....we decided to wait. By this stage, my sister Libby was also there waiting with us. When we went
upstairs to check on the results, they told me I had to stay overnight
for monitoring. I was booked me in for some more scans as bub wasn't
growing very well either - she had dropped down to the 12th percentile and they estimated her weight to be about 1500g. I
was a bit upset but knew they would take good care of me and I put on a brave face. My grandparents left and Libby stayed with me until Kurtis came up with some clothes.
Kurtis and Libby eventually left and I don't recall much of what happened next. I do remember them saying my blood pressure was slightly elevated and that they thought I'd probably need to be induced within the next few weeks to keep bub healthy. Around 11pm, they checked my blood pressure again and it had shot up to about 180/120. At that point, they determined I had pre-eclampsia and that I would need to have my baby in the morning. I remember bursting into tears, so they called Kurtis, who raced back to the hospital. I remember a steroid injection to help develop bub's lungs and a lot of medication that made me feel terribly sick - I couldn't stop vomiting and shaking. By the time Kurtis arrived, they had begun preparing me for an emergency cesarean because my blood pressure had reached a point where I could have gone into shock, had a stroke, or even worse...I could have lost the baby.
I don't remember anything else from that night. Kurtis tells me he called my Mum, who rushed to the hospital with James, Hannah and Libby (my siblings) so they could be there for the birth and support Kurtis, who wasn't even allowed in the operating room because I was completely knocked out (apparently due to the risk of bleeding out with an epidural because my liver and kidneys were shutting down or something like that). I faintly remember seeing my Mum and vaguely remember lying on the table while everyone made jokes to keep me calm.
Miss Lilly-anne was born at 1:19am the following morning, weighing a tiny 1590g - she was such a little fighter and came out breathing on her own - she
didn't need any oxygen despite having only 1 steroid injection just 2
hours before delivery. I still can't believe my scans from 2 weeks earlier were exactly right. It makes me sad to think that my placenta clearly hadn't been working at full capacity for quite some time, which is why I was measuring so far behind at my appointments, why Lilly wasn't growing much and why I had felt so ill for so many weeks before her birth.
I vaguely remember coming out of surgery and talking to my Mum
and Kurtis. Apparently the first thing I said was "Is Lilly okay?" and Kurtis tried to show me photos, but I was too out of it to even open my eyes. He tells me that once I knew she was okay, all I could talk about was our birth and maternity photography! They moved me to the ICU, where I stayed for the next few days so they could monitor me closely - I believe I needed oxygen for about 48 hours. I had my very own personal nurse who even managed to sneak Lilly out of the Special Care Nursery so I could see her in person, though I don't really remember it at all.
I spent the next 4 or 5 days in the ICU and Kurtis never left our sides. He was either in the ICU with me or spending time in the nursery with Lilly. On the second day, I had to go under the knife again when I developed a haematoma. This time they gave me an epidural so I was awake for the whole procedure. I remember being terrified, but apparently I ended up falling asleep on the table all by myself haha. Lilly kept kicking butt in the nursery but ended up needing to go under the lights due to some slight jaundice. A few days after her birth, I was able to get up with a lot of assistance. My lovely nurse helped me have my first shower and then wheeled me down to the special care nursery so I could touch Lilly for the first time. I remember shedding a tear or two when I saw how absolutely tiny and precious she was! It's a moment I will never forget.
It was definitely not the
perfect, natural, calm hypnobirth I had spent months preparing for,
and I think a lot of people were waiting for my baby blues to kick in, but thankfully the hormones didn't seem to get to me. In the end, I
am just so incredibly happy to have Lilly in our arms where she belongs.
The nurses reminded hubby over and over how lucky he was to have both
of us safe and well, as it could have ended with him losing one or both
of us if I hadn't been in the hospital when I was. I still can't
believe she's here!!! I am writing this post several weeks after her arrival, so keep an eye out for updates on the rest of our hospital stay...it was certainly a long one!
Common Questions About Our Birth Story
What exactly is pre-eclampsia?
Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy complication marked by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, most often the liver and kidneys. In this birth story, Casey's blood pressure climbed to about 180/120, prompting her care team to diagnose pre-eclampsia and move ahead with an emergency caesarean.
What does being in the 12th percentile mean for a baby?
Percentile describes how a baby's estimated size compares with other babies at the same gestational age. At the 12th percentile, the baby is smaller than about 88% of babies at that stage, which is why Casey's care team watched Lilly-anne's growth so closely.
Why would a baby need the Special Care Nursery?
Babies born early or at a low birth weight, like Lilly-anne at 1590g, often need extra monitoring and care in a Special Care Nursery. In this story, Lilly-anne spent time in the nursery and had phototherapy for slight jaundice.
What is a haematoma, and why did it need another procedure?
A haematoma is a pooling of blood outside the blood vessels. After her caesarean, Casey developed a haematoma and needed a second procedure under epidural to treat it.
Where can I follow the rest of Lilly-anne's preemie journey?
You can browse more posts under the preemie journey, birth story, and newborn labels, or subscribe to the blog for updates.