Halle Lane's Birth Story

I went to bed on New Year's Day, fully aware that I would be holding my little girl in my arms the very next morning. I think that was the craziest part for me: I knew I was going to meet my baby in just a few short hours. My c-section was scheduled for 8:00 A.M. on 01/02/2020. I had a c-section with Hunter but it was rushed and very scary for me. This time, it was planned, and I had a better idea of what to expect. CGH doesn't allow vaginal births after a c-section, but I could have elected to go to Rockford or Peoria to attempt a V-BAC. I contemplated the idea for a few months, but I ultimately decided that with my pregnancy induced medical conditions, my respect and trust in my doctor, and the fact that my due date was in January with possible bad weather for traveling, I would stick to a repeat c-section.

Bobby and I had to be at CGH by 6:00 A.M. to check into registration. We then headed to to the OB floor to get started. We had two sweet nurses waiting for us in order to get me prepped for surgery. They had me change into my gown, inserted two IV's (two because in my first c-section, I lost a lot of blood and they wanted to have a way to give me a blood infusion if needed), had my labs drawn, and then met with my doctor (Dr. Bowman) and the anesthesiologist.

My mom, grandma, mother in law, and Hunter came up before surgery to see us before I went in. While we were waiting, the nurses told us that Halle could potentially be the New Year's baby since they didn't have any deliveries on New Year's Day. I thought that was so cool and unexpected! Our niece is a real New Year's baby so we thought that was pretty special.

I of course had some anxiety prior to surgery, but I think experiencing a c-section before gave me some peace. But truly, the anxiety was real. It made me think about my grandpa who experienced so many heart surgeries including a heart transplant. Can you imagine what was going through his mind prior to his surgery? Surgery is scary. I had to have a talk with Bobby beforehand, just to tell him, that if anything were to happen to me, to tell my babies every single day that I love them. That I loved them with everything inside of me.

Our surgery start time ended up running about 45 minutes behind schedule, but once we were able to start, they transported me to the operating room. Bobby had to stay outside of the operating room for the spinal and prep, but was able to come in once that portion was finished.

I think one of my biggest fears was the spinal. I'm not afraid of needles, shots, getting my blood drawn, etc. I was just afraid that I would be able to feel the surgery while it happened. While I sat on the operating table, the anesthesiologist started prepping me for my spinal. He started to feel my spine for the right spot and says, "Oh, you have scoliosis of the spine, Jordan". I had never heard that in my life which terrified me and made me think that it would be challenging for him to insert the spinal in the right spot. And then to only intensify my fears, he kept hitting different nerves in my back that sent shooting pains down my right leg. In my first c-section, that never happened. Fortunately, the spinal worked just fine and my nurse told me later that it is common for the anesthesiologist to hit nerves while attempting to insert the spinal. But nonetheless, very scary for me.

Once Bobby came into the room, the doctor's were able to start the surgery. It only took about 5-10 minutes before Halle officially entered the world. I remember feeling so relieved that she was out and breathing on her own. She weighed 8 pounds 8 oz and was 21 inches long. She was so big and chunky and all that I noticed were those big chunky cheeks. They immediately tested her blood sugar because I had gestational diabetes. Her first reading was 35 which is a little low but nothing critical. I was able to do skin to skin with her immediately in order to help her raise her blood sugar. That meant so much to me because I wasn't able to experience that with Hunter. He needed oxygen after birth and I wasn't able to hold him for 12 hours. Halle was alert, peaceful, and so at ease on my chest. It was beautiful.

After the surgery was completed, they transported us back to the recovery room. My blood pressure started rising to pretty critical levels and Halle's blood sugar dropped significantly after nursing for 45 minutes. I was given high doses of Labatelol and Halle was given formula in order to get an adequate amount of sugar into her bloodstream. After we were discharged from the recovery room, we were transported back to our room. Halle was put under a warming light to help regulate her temperature. My blood pressure steadily stayed high despite all of the medication given to lower it.

We had our family come to the room to briefly meet Halle because they had been waiting all morning (okay, more like 39 weeks) to meet this little girl. But, the more people I had in my room, the higher my blood pressure got, so my nurse told everyone to say hello and then leave. I felt bad that that had to happen that way, but I knew that it was the right thing to do. I had just went through major surgery, my baby's blood sugar was low, my blood pressure was high, and I was having a difficult time even thinking straight let alone have the strength to engage in conversation. Everyone was able to come back at a later time to visit when things had calmed down.

Thankfully, Halle's blood sugar stabilized after her two initial readings and my blood pressure lowered. We were finally on the right track and I was able to breathe a little bit easier. I had Halle in my arms and I felt so grateful that she was finally here.

We had great care by the nursing staff and of course my doctor, Dr. Bowman. I had Dr. Tugwell when I delivered Hunter and was really sad to hear that he had retired. He actually works part-time and flies into Illinois to work one week a month but I wanted someone who would be there religiously. I was recommended by a friend to give Dr. Bowman a chance. I really feel like she played a major role in my ability to make it full-term. She was so knowledgeable, innovative, on top of my medical conditions, and really made me feel heard. She spent a lot of time with me at every appointment which I appreciated. She is honest and straightforward but I needed someone to be that way with me. I appreciated her care and wisdom immensely. The nursing staff was wonderful, kind, and accommodating. But boy, we couldn't wait to get home.

I wish I could say that Hunter's first time meeting Halle was like the videos you see on Facebook. Unfortunately, that did not run true. Hunter was hesitant and unsure.

But with each passing day, he has slowly warmed up to the idea of having a little sister. He kisses her head, asks me constantly "Where's my baby sister?", and say's "Hi baby" when he sees her first thing in the morning. We are getting there, slowly but surely.

I would say that my recovery with this c-section was a lot better. I knew what to expect, knew that I needed to get up and move sooner than I did with Hunter. The pain was definitely tolerable but I pushed myself too far a few times before I was truly ready. C-sections are no joke.

Halle is inching near (1) month old already which doesn't seem possible. We are continuing to figure out this new chapter of our lives. It is beautiful, tiring, scary, hard, but worth it, so so worth it. I just really want to say thank you to everyone who has reached out to us, stopped by, brought us dinner, invited us over, and everything in between. When I wrote that piece on Facebook a few weeks ago, I didn't know what to expect. I was scared to say what I was truly feeling, I was scared to expose myself in that way. But those of you who reached out to me, shared your stories, sent me a message, made me feel heard and not alone, helped me process my feelings and crawl out of that darkness I was feeling. You don't know how much that meant to me, really.

So here we are now, a family of four. We are blessed, tested, tired, but full of love. Onward!