At 8 pm I started pushing. I pushed for 2 1/2 hours. Max’s heart rate kept dropping to the 80-90 region which was bad. So we would stop for a few contractions. Max’s head got to a point where they could see it but it was just coning not the skull. So they called in dr twede who got out the vacuum to try to pull him out. Not only did it not work but after he pulled on him it popped off his head. He said we could keep trying but it would put max in distress and won’t work anyways. He said we are going to have to do a c-section.
I was very very nervous. Dr twede kept apologizing. He just kept saying I’m sorry I know this isn’t how you planned on today going but this is going to be the safest way. I trust dr twede and knew he had our best interest at heart. He had to leave to get everything set up in the OR but kept coming back to check on me.
McKay was nervous as well so he asked if we could say a prayer together because he couldn’t give me a blessing alone. It calmed my nerves and I knew everything was going to be ok.
McKay would go silent because something was happening.
It took a little extra to get Max’s head out because I had pushed him pretty far into the birth canal so he was stuck. In fact, dr twede later told me his arm hurt for a day after because it took so much effort to get him out.
22:37 pm was Max’s time of birth!!
Once they got him out dr twede told me that they rushed him away. McKay said he was moving but something was wrong. I couldn’t hear him cry. McKay sat watching him for about 30 seconds and I told him to go be with Max. He quickly obeyed. Dr Yee again was by my side explaining what was going on. He said Max was pink which is a good sign but he wasn’t breathing.
I felt at peace. He finally started crying a little bit but not a lot. At least I thought he had. McKay later told me I was hearing a baby next door and that max was only grunting, which is basically like a baby gasping for air. I fell asleep/ passed out thinking everything was going great. I was just so exhausted. I thought I was out for hours but it turned out to only be 15 minutes.
When I woke up I was in the recovery room but neither Mckay nor max was in the room with me. He was born with either bi lateral pneumothorax and pneumonia.
They had called in a special team from IMC Hospital that arrived via life flight to take Max back with them. I was still a little out of it and I was very very shaky which didn’t help with the pain in my stomach. I noticed my shaking got worse the more I thought about max.
I was told that Doug and Michelle were there. They had arrived right when he was born and they announced his birth. Immediately followed by a code blue call was made. Michelle asked if that was baby McDougal. The nurse was just annoyed with her and wouldn’t give her any answers.
McKay came in to tell me what was happening and that he’s been keeping max company while they have been working on him. They had a special team there from IMC that was helping. They used a syringe to go into his chest cavity to pull out some of the air that was in there. They wanted to make him stable for transport. He was in a hurry to get back. The pediatrician Dr Kathy little came in to go over everything with me. It didn’t sound like she knew much though. I asked about the pneumothorax. They were going to transport max. I told him he had to go with max. That I was fine but our baby boy needed him.
Before taking max to IMC they brought him in for me to meet him. He was so skinny and fragile hooked up to an incubator. I held his hand and tried to get some pictures so I could at least see his face. Neither of us could move and I could barely reach him. It broke my heart to see him like that. I was so worried for him but at the same time had a sense of peace. I knew at least his daddy would be with him.
He was at the NICU for 9 days. Then he was on oxygen for a month and a half after. Now he is doing great.
