I can't believe it has been so long since I have written anything - there's a lot to write about: Leo's continuing development into the cutest and pushiest toddler, his speech and cognitive therapy, our living space remodel(or plan to remodel?!?), but a lot of people have been asking about how Seth came into the world 6 weeks early so let's start there.
Disclaimer: This is a super graphic and scary story with a happy ending. Maybe don't read if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or generally enjoy having your full blood volume.
I was diagnosed with placenta previa when I was 20 weeks pregnant. Placenta previa is when the placenta partially covers or completely covers your cervix. With Leo, I had a marginal previa which meant my placenta was adjacent to my cervix (like New York and Vermont). With Seth, I had a complete previa which meant my placenta entirely covered my cervix (like caramel on ice cream). This causes a problem because if you start to dilate or go into labor when your placenta is covering your cervix, it causes major hemorrhaging and can lead to a quick expiration date for the mom and/or the baby. Cue foreboding music.
My placenta moved with Leo which is why I was able to have a vaginatimes delivery. I was hopeful that it would also move with Seth, but as I continued to have more ultrasounds it became apparent that the placenta wasn't going anywhere. It was, as my friend Jennifer would say, enjoying a margarita in Mexico with no plans to return north. The good news was that there is a simple solution to this problem which is to schedule an early c-section to avoid going into labor. (Note: In olden times, like 30 years ago, the solution was to pump you so full of blood that it didn't matter if you hemorrhaged. Apparently, this has gone out of vogue.) My doctor scheduled me for a c-section on October 22nd at 10:30 am when the baby would be 37 weeks.
I was pretty bummed about the c-section for a number of reasons - the baby wouldn't have the full time to grow inside me, the recovery is tough, it can make breastfeeding more difficult, etc. The only upside about a scheduled c-section from my point of view is that you know when the baby is coming. Foreboding music gets louder.
Tuesday, September 30th, was pretty much like any other day. There was a painter in the apartment so we were out and about more than usual. Leo and I went to park, gym class with the tramp, followed by a light lunch of tomato and bagel. Leo took a nap and I unpacked all of his newborn clothes, carefully sorting them into dresser drawers in our bedroom thinking "Since this baby's already 5 lbs, he probably won't be in the newborn clothes for long!" (Note: Don't do this.) Seth (as yet unnamed) was kicking up a storm as per usual.
When we arrived home from the playground at 6:10, I really needed to go to the bathroom. Eric was out at a meeting, so it was just Leo and me. I took Leo into the bathroom with me and he began to play with some of his bath toys. I went to the bathroom and when I wiped, there was a smear of bright red blood on the toilet paper. My first thought was, "I need to call my OB." My second thought was, "I can't believe this is happening." After that, I didn't have any more individual thoughts except for one - "Holy shit, there is blood everywhere." All of a sudden, blood began pouring out of me and I couldn't stop it no matter what I did. It wasn't spotting; it was a full on, get the animals on the ark, flood. I immediately called 911, explained the situation, and lay down on my back with my hips in the air, trying desperately to stop the blood from draining out of me. I was completely convinced that I was miscarrying at this point.
I would have stayed where I was on the bathroom floor, but the dispatcher reminded me that I needed to make sure the front door was unlocked so that EMS could enter the apartment. OF COURSE, I had locked the door because Leo now can open the door when it is unlocked. So, at this point, I decided to wheelbarrow my way down the hallway, shoulders on the ground, butt in the air, pants around my ankles, with blood continuing to drain from my body. I stood up to unlock the door and then lay back down. I couldn't believe that EMS had not already arrived. (Note: Time moves really slowly when you are hemorrhaging blood.) My belly seemed impossibly small.
Then, I remembered that Leo and I were alone and that if EMS came, they would have to bring him with us since there was no one else there to watch him. I tried to call a friend on my phone to come watch Leo, but my hands were covered in blood so I couldn't dial anyone. So, I opened the front door and began to scream for help down the hallway, sticking my hand into the hallway so that the neighbors would realize that it wasn't just a movie or something happening outside. Leo had been, up to this point, pretty chill except for occasional hysterical laughter at the position I was holding my body in, but, he began to cry when I started to yell for help. Seeing him so upset served to make me more upset and I began to alternate between soothing him and screaming for help. Finally, after what felt like hours of screaming but was probably only 2 - 3 minutes, a neighbor came running down the hall. He asked if he could come in and I apologized for my half naked, bloodied state. It was all very civilized. He then asked if I wanted him to stay or if he should take Leo to his apartment, which was the option that I selected given Leo's distraught state and me not wanting to turn him into Dexter.
My timeline is a little fuzzy at this point, but somewhere around this time the police arrived as well as Cherry, a nanny from the same apartment as the neighbor who had taken Leo, and she began to mop up all of my blood in the apartment hallway. She asked, "Do you have a mop?" and I replied, "We only have a Swiffer Wet Jet." Not exactly a winning commercial for Swiffer! EMS arrived shortly after the police and proceeded to ask me a lot of questions, all of which were terrifying (When did I start bleeding? How far along was I? Could I feel the baby moving?) Hector, the police officer, was holding my hand and at some point I started to feel faint so they put an oxygen mask on me. I asked them to dry off my phone so I could call Eric and let him know what was going on - I was bleeding heavily, being taken to Brooklyn Hospital, and Leo was with 6E. Eric asked if he should meet me at the hospital or go to Leo. I was so worried about Leo that I asked him to come home first. FINALLY, EMS put me on a gurney and we left the apartment with Cherry continuing to mop. You know things aren't good when you overhear EMS workers say, "That's a lot of blood."
To be continued...
Disclaimer: This is a super graphic and scary story with a happy ending. Maybe don't read if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or generally enjoy having your full blood volume.
I was diagnosed with placenta previa when I was 20 weeks pregnant. Placenta previa is when the placenta partially covers or completely covers your cervix. With Leo, I had a marginal previa which meant my placenta was adjacent to my cervix (like New York and Vermont). With Seth, I had a complete previa which meant my placenta entirely covered my cervix (like caramel on ice cream). This causes a problem because if you start to dilate or go into labor when your placenta is covering your cervix, it causes major hemorrhaging and can lead to a quick expiration date for the mom and/or the baby. Cue foreboding music.
My placenta moved with Leo which is why I was able to have a vaginatimes delivery. I was hopeful that it would also move with Seth, but as I continued to have more ultrasounds it became apparent that the placenta wasn't going anywhere. It was, as my friend Jennifer would say, enjoying a margarita in Mexico with no plans to return north. The good news was that there is a simple solution to this problem which is to schedule an early c-section to avoid going into labor. (Note: In olden times, like 30 years ago, the solution was to pump you so full of blood that it didn't matter if you hemorrhaged. Apparently, this has gone out of vogue.) My doctor scheduled me for a c-section on October 22nd at 10:30 am when the baby would be 37 weeks.
I was pretty bummed about the c-section for a number of reasons - the baby wouldn't have the full time to grow inside me, the recovery is tough, it can make breastfeeding more difficult, etc. The only upside about a scheduled c-section from my point of view is that you know when the baby is coming. Foreboding music gets louder.
Tuesday, September 30th, was pretty much like any other day. There was a painter in the apartment so we were out and about more than usual. Leo and I went to park, gym class with the tramp, followed by a light lunch of tomato and bagel. Leo took a nap and I unpacked all of his newborn clothes, carefully sorting them into dresser drawers in our bedroom thinking "Since this baby's already 5 lbs, he probably won't be in the newborn clothes for long!" (Note: Don't do this.) Seth (as yet unnamed) was kicking up a storm as per usual.
When we arrived home from the playground at 6:10, I really needed to go to the bathroom. Eric was out at a meeting, so it was just Leo and me. I took Leo into the bathroom with me and he began to play with some of his bath toys. I went to the bathroom and when I wiped, there was a smear of bright red blood on the toilet paper. My first thought was, "I need to call my OB." My second thought was, "I can't believe this is happening." After that, I didn't have any more individual thoughts except for one - "Holy shit, there is blood everywhere." All of a sudden, blood began pouring out of me and I couldn't stop it no matter what I did. It wasn't spotting; it was a full on, get the animals on the ark, flood. I immediately called 911, explained the situation, and lay down on my back with my hips in the air, trying desperately to stop the blood from draining out of me. I was completely convinced that I was miscarrying at this point.
I would have stayed where I was on the bathroom floor, but the dispatcher reminded me that I needed to make sure the front door was unlocked so that EMS could enter the apartment. OF COURSE, I had locked the door because Leo now can open the door when it is unlocked. So, at this point, I decided to wheelbarrow my way down the hallway, shoulders on the ground, butt in the air, pants around my ankles, with blood continuing to drain from my body. I stood up to unlock the door and then lay back down. I couldn't believe that EMS had not already arrived. (Note: Time moves really slowly when you are hemorrhaging blood.) My belly seemed impossibly small.
Then, I remembered that Leo and I were alone and that if EMS came, they would have to bring him with us since there was no one else there to watch him. I tried to call a friend on my phone to come watch Leo, but my hands were covered in blood so I couldn't dial anyone. So, I opened the front door and began to scream for help down the hallway, sticking my hand into the hallway so that the neighbors would realize that it wasn't just a movie or something happening outside. Leo had been, up to this point, pretty chill except for occasional hysterical laughter at the position I was holding my body in, but, he began to cry when I started to yell for help. Seeing him so upset served to make me more upset and I began to alternate between soothing him and screaming for help. Finally, after what felt like hours of screaming but was probably only 2 - 3 minutes, a neighbor came running down the hall. He asked if he could come in and I apologized for my half naked, bloodied state. It was all very civilized. He then asked if I wanted him to stay or if he should take Leo to his apartment, which was the option that I selected given Leo's distraught state and me not wanting to turn him into Dexter.
My timeline is a little fuzzy at this point, but somewhere around this time the police arrived as well as Cherry, a nanny from the same apartment as the neighbor who had taken Leo, and she began to mop up all of my blood in the apartment hallway. She asked, "Do you have a mop?" and I replied, "We only have a Swiffer Wet Jet." Not exactly a winning commercial for Swiffer! EMS arrived shortly after the police and proceeded to ask me a lot of questions, all of which were terrifying (When did I start bleeding? How far along was I? Could I feel the baby moving?) Hector, the police officer, was holding my hand and at some point I started to feel faint so they put an oxygen mask on me. I asked them to dry off my phone so I could call Eric and let him know what was going on - I was bleeding heavily, being taken to Brooklyn Hospital, and Leo was with 6E. Eric asked if he should meet me at the hospital or go to Leo. I was so worried about Leo that I asked him to come home first. FINALLY, EMS put me on a gurney and we left the apartment with Cherry continuing to mop. You know things aren't good when you overhear EMS workers say, "That's a lot of blood."
To be continued...
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