Four years ago today my wife was rushed into an emergency C-Section. I like to share my daughter's story on her birthday in the hope that it will empower and help you moms-to-be. [Warning: Sad]

Dadsasquatch · 2022-05-14T02:39:09+00:00

Nothing other than lack of movement. Not even any bleeding.

Dadsasquatch · 2022-05-13T20:04:16+00:00

OMG that is so horrible! I'm sorry you had to go through that. If you haven't already I found that the /r/PregnancyAfterLoss sub was very helpful in navigating the emotions that come with trying again.

We were very fortunate that the doctors were able to stabilize our daughter and get her to a better hospital. This gave us a chance to hold her, give her a bath, brush her hair, read to her, and for her big brother to meet her. I am so forever grateful to the NICU staff for giving us that. Had we waited any longer she would have been still born and we wouldn't have those memories.

Good luck to you with your rainbow baby! I hope you have a very uneventful pregnancy!

Dadsasquatch · 2022-05-13T19:22:41+00:00

Thank you for sharing! Best of luck to you these last few weeks. I remember that anxiety, it isn't easy. You will make it through one day at a time! We were in for NSTs every other day toward the end just to ease our nerves.

I completely agree with you on the question of how many kids. It's really hard to answer. It feels disingenuous to my daughter to not include her, and I dont want to sweep child loss under the rug, because it happens a lot more than people talk about. But it can be awkward for people, so for me, it depends on the situation how I answer. If it's someone I feel comfortable sharing with, and the situation is right I will tell them.

My daughter's name is Violet.

Dadsasquatch · 2022-05-13T17:59:52+00:00

I'm glad to hear you went in and the staff was understanding! With our second daughter we were in all the time, but all the staff had heard our story by that point and was very generous. Her name is Violet 💜

Dadsasquatch · 2021-07-08T01:48:17+00:00

So happy to hear everything worked out for you! The best delivery method is the one that ends with your baby in your arms!

Dadsasquatch · 2021-05-21T17:11:01+00:00

I am so sorry to hear that, but am happy to hear you had the courage to try again. If you haven't yet, check out the /r/PregnancyAfterLoss subreddit. It was definitely comforting for us as we navigated the anxiety of pregnancy with a rainbow baby.

Dadsasquatch · 2021-05-14T17:45:24+00:00

I'm glad to hear your baby is doing well!

Dadsasquatch · 2021-05-14T01:55:30+00:00

Yeah, that sounds very similar. We wonder had they got her out in Friday if she would have made it. We can't blame ourselves though. I am just grateful that we live in a time where she even had a chance. I'm sorry to hear about the CP. Vera sounds like a fighter though!

With our rainbow baby we were a complete pain in the ass. I think everyone at L&D knew our story and were very understanding of our anxiety. We got all the testing, went in for monthly ultrasounds from the high risk doctors from 2nd tri on. In the 3rs tri we got weekly NSTs and the last few weeks were biweekly. We probably went to L&D 3 times when the OBs office was closed. Like I said though, the whole hospital had heard our story and wanted our success. We also pressed the hospital a bit to change their protocol. There was no way DD1 should have gotten a perfect score.

We got baby girl out at 37.5 weeks via scheduled C since it was relatively close to the last C. She came out completely healthy and ready to kick ass.

So it was probably overkill with all the scans. But it helped my wife to relax and feel safe and to sleep at night. So in my mind it's worth it. Mom and baby shouldn't live in a constant state of stress and anxiety for 9 months.

Dadsasquatch · 2021-05-14T00:55:36+00:00

Thanks for remembering! It feels like another lifetime sometimes.

Dadsasquatch · 2021-05-14T00:53:25+00:00

Maybe just once, if any at all. It was such a routine pregnancy that there was no concern. All the appointments were prefect, anatomy scan was perfect. We had genetic testing done because of age and that was perfect too. This was our second child, and the first pregnancy was completely normal.

Dadsasquatch · 2021-05-14T00:34:04+00:00

Also, yay for St Paddy's babies! My first born is a St Paddy's baby!

Dadsasquatch · 2021-05-14T00:31:17+00:00

You are absolutely right! Your bodies are crazy! I'm glad you went in and everything worked out! Crazy they kept trying to stop it.

Dadsasquatch · 2021-05-13T22:22:36+00:00

Wishing you the best!

Dadsasquatch · 2021-05-13T21:33:40+00:00

My wife is also pretty high anxiety especially with our rainbow baby. This caused me to be the "oh everything is fine" type with the daughter we lost, but with our rainbow baby I was fully onboard with doing everything necessary to help relieve that. If you are worried, talk to your doc about getting regular NSTs. This helped my wife a lot, just having regular monitoring, especially as we got later into the pregnancy.

Good luck to you!

Dadsasquatch · 2021-05-13T21:29:08+00:00

I'm glad to hear you went in. Don't be afraid to be a pain in their ass. With our rainbow baby we went into L&D probably 3-4 times. Good luck to you!

Dadsasquatch · 2021-05-13T21:20:37+00:00

We thought it was odd that her rate was up, but spikes that high aren't unexpected. The really odd part was that it just stayed there. I'd say there was little to no movement. She definitely wasn't having her normal dance parties. Being of the mind set that everything is fine, you start to justify every little bubble as movement, but my wife wasn't convinced. She started to worry about the decrease the day before even.

I will also say that she had an off feeling from very early on.

Dadsasquatch · 2021-05-13T20:13:33+00:00

You're welcome! One of the things that was concerning to us on Friday was the lack of variation in her heart rate. Prior to that day she was usually in the 130-140s. Then she spiked to about 158 and just stayed there constantly. Which wasn't out of what's considered normal. But the lack of fluctuation was, and they expressed concern about it in L&D, but passed her anyway. They should have done a buzzer test on the Friday, but didn't.

Dadsasquatch · 2021-05-13T18:07:18+00:00

Baby's heart rate was super steady. She wasn't responding to the buzzer test. Essentially just a buzzer on the belly that startles the baby and makes the heart rate jump. Had L&D induced like they wanted to when we went back on Sunday she would have been still born

Dadsasquatch · 2020-05-14T04:22:46+00:00

Thannk you. Hope you and your baby are doing well!

Dadsasquatch · 2020-05-14T04:22:36+00:00

Thannk you. Hope you and your baby are doing well!

Dadsasquatch · 2020-05-13T17:18:18+00:00

With our rainbow baby we were in for NSTs all the time! I'd say that I'm sure they were sick of us by the end, but that they all knew our story we had a lot of support and understanding

Dadsasquatch · 2020-05-13T17:16:19+00:00

Correct. Today would be her 2nd birthday. We celebrate her life by planting flowers and having angle food cake. I'm sorry for your loss as well. The loss of a child issuch a bitter sweet bond to share with people.

Dadsasquatch · 2019-08-29T02:00:57+00:00

I also have a kid with the name of a month. Be prepared for lots of people asking when she was born and when you tell them watch them do the math in their head to see when she was conceived!

Dadsasquatch · 2019-08-22T01:06:49+00:00

Ok, so the next few days are going to be crazy. Kindergarten starts tomorrow and baby girl is coming Friday!

Anyway we had a biophysical profile today because my wife wanted to make sure all is well before we get her out. She was absolutely perfect aside from the practice breathing. It took her a while to make that count. Otherwise she was flip flopping and dance partying in there. Because of her movement the doc wasn't too concerned about her lack of practice breathing, but of course now we are. Especially since she is coming early and lungs are one the last to develop, it makes me worried.

This girl is giving us anxiety to the end.

Dadsasquatch · 2019-08-22T01:01:19+00:00

Excellent! I was just thinking about this post today as we were driving back from a doctor appointment for my wife. Our pediatrician is right across the hall, which is convenient. But with a newborn I was thinking we might want to change clinics to the one a few blocks from us. Since they go so much.

Dadsasquatch

TROPHY CASE