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Chelsea was my third pregnancy, I had miscarried a little over a month before i found out i was pregnant with Chelsea. Needless to say after having so many problems with pregnancies my doctor was very vigilant while i was pregnant with chelsea. I was sent for Ultrasounds every month and had non-stop blood tests being done. I had none of the usual pregnancy symptons until my 6th month when my body blew up like a balloon. I had managed to catch a virus that wasmuch like scarlet fever but i had none of the strep bacteria in my system and was steadily getting worse. I couldn't move a muscle and if someone moved my arms or legs for me it sent searing pain through me. I developed a rash all over my body that resembled hives and itched like mad. The hospital here in town kept me in isolation until they determined I wasn't contagious. I got to return home Christmas eve and was in a wonderful mood. At noon on christmas day i was back in the hospital locked away in my isolation room once again (this time to keep me from catching anything more, since they couldn't say for sure what virus i had they couldn't put me on the maternity ward so i wound up in intensive care in a tiny room with only a window to the nurses station) Once again my limbs had stiffened to the point of no movement or control over them and my tempeture was rising (a santa did come visit me and my unborn chelsea though lol) I was reduced to a liquid diet which is pure torture to a pregnant woman so i kept begging for more of the "Ensure" drinks (they tasted good and i was starving!!) after a week my strange rash disapeared and my swollen body resembled that of a normal pregnant woman again. they determined i could return to my home (after close to a month off and on in hospital i was getting comfy there!). The remainder of the pregnancy was very easy going (except when i was 9 mths pregnant i slipped on some wet tiles and crunched my tailbone...it hasn't been the same since then) As my due date passed i began to wonder if this beautiful baby girl i was carrying was planning on coming out any time soon. My doc wondered the same thing and set up an induction for May 21 of 1996 at 6 in the morning (egads!!) Well wonder of wonders Chelsea must have known we were about to force her to come out because at 4:30 in the morning on May 21/96 my labor hit hard and fast. My boyfriend didn't even have time to drink a coffee from when my contractions were first noticable to timed at 1 minute. (We had been expecting a long drawn out labor considering my sons labor was over 3 days) Chelsea must have been in a hurry to get things moving because I progressed very quickly and was at the hospital int ime for my induction but i was in heavy labor and ready to burst. Since my doc had been waiting for me to go in for induction anyways he was fully prepared for me and found the humor in my situation as well. They laid me out on a birthing bed and did an exam, as soon as the doc helped me sit back up my water broke before he could even tell me where i stood for dilation and effacment. pHe then mentioned if i wanted my epidural i had better get it now because my labor was moving so fast i probably wouldn't have time later since i was already 5 cm dilated. I agreed and they took me to another room that was usually used for c-sections and epidurals. Well it took them no time to get me an epidural (thankfully there were only two of us in labor there at the moment) Well almost immediatly after they gave me the epidural Chelsea decided to peek out and the nurse amost had a heart attack yelling for my doc to come quick. I still laugh when i remember this because my doc was in such a state as he ran into the room and went to sit on his stool that he wound up smacking his head on the lamp that the nurse had moved into position (i recall laughing and asking him to stay awake long enough to deliver..poor guy) well after they straightened out the lamp he pretty much just had to reach out and catch my daughter. My boyfriend and my mother came flying into the room just as my oldes daughter was born. I wasn't supposed to give birth in the room i was in, I was supposed to get my epidural and get taken back to my bright and cheery room instead of a sterile room with green tiles all over. Well from start to finnish my labor had only lasted 7 hours and I had born a beautiful and perfectly healthy baby girl weighing in at 7 pounds 9 ounces. To this day she still amazes me. |
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