On February 25th of 2024, I was scheduled to go to the hospital for an induction. I was 39 weeks and 6 days pregnant with our baby girl. This was our first, so we didn’t really know what to expect. We have had an uncomplicated pregnancy thus far and everything was measuring right on track. We were told that it’s common for first time moms to have to have a little help getting labor started. Also, technically, we were scheduled for our induction 5 days earlier, but my husband tested positive for influenza A and so they suggested postponing a few days.

Anyway, we arrived at the hospital and got all settled into our room. They began the process and after 12 hours they pushed pitocin to officially induce labor. Prior to this, I was already struggling with pain control so I had already asked for my epidural. At about noon on the 26th, the doctor came in and broke my water. My progress in labor was very slow. Due to this, the word C-section had been brought up, but I was trying to avoid that at all costs. I asked if we could keep laboring for a while and they agreed. My epidural was struggling to effectively control my pain at this point, and they noted that babies heart rate was starting to drop during contractions. Eventually, I asked to go forward with the C-section. The anesthesiologist was able to get my pain under control, therefore they kept me awake to begin the delivery.

Part way through the surgery, I could tell something was wrong. After a long intense surgery, my spinal was beginning to wear off and I began to feel the operation. Afterwards we were told that our babies head was stuck in my pelvis and they were unable to efficiently get her out. They eventually had to turn her breach to be able to get her out. They took her away as fast as they could as she wasn’t breathing and out of the corner of my eye I could see that she was blue. After a few minutes, my pain had spiked and I had to be put under general anesthesia. When I woke up in the operating room, my baby was gone, my husband was gone and no one would tell me how she was.

Eventually, they got me back to my room where my husband was waiting. I remember looking at him first and the only thing that would come out of my mouth was “is she okay”. She was. They were able to resuscitate her and they decided to send her to the Children’s Hospital in Omaha. She was already there by the time I woke up.

I had to spend the first night away from her. I needed to rest, I lost a lot of blood during surgery. I told my husband to go to our baby. I only spent one night in the hospital before leaving to get to her.

She was thriving. She had a nice bruise on her head but was PERFECT. I was in rough shape, and admittedly left the hospital before I should have, but I don’t think anyone could have convinced me to stay. Our baby girl had one extra night at the hospital to ensure that she was eating well. We all returned home together on February 29th.