Part 2: The Journey to Labor

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December 20, 2024

Preparation

December 20, 2024. I circled this day in green on my calendar. It was the day my husband, Rob, and I were both anxiously looking forward to. After our full day of testing and meetings with our CHOP care team, we set the induction date. It brought about a sense of peace. Having it scheduled was one less thing to worry about amid all the uncertainty. It allowed us to prepare our children, family, and home for my time away. We started to feel anticipation and apprehension as we approached the final week of pregnancy. The biggest thing that held us together was our trust in God. Everything about this birth was uncertain due to our daughter's diagnosis of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, but God wrote out every detail, and we could trust that.  

As we counted down to my induction date, we prayed many prayers. I knew Elyse was safe in my womb and I thanked God He placed her there. We prepared the house and our kids for my time away. We packed our hospital bags, prepared my mom to stay with our other seven children, and spent time together as a family, cherishing each moment. Our faith sustained us, reminding us that we were not alone. My husband and I had so much peace, all thanks to God and the prayers people were praying over our family. On December 19, we drove to Philadephia for my last appointment with maternal-fetal medicine before our induction. The nurse asked how I was feeling, and tears welled up in my eyes as I rubbed my belly. As long as I had Elyse in my belly, I knew she would be safe, and I didn't want her to experience any pain. The nurse comforted me and assured me that we were in the best place possible for her to be born. Elyse was going to be safe with her care team. I took a big breath and released my anxiety and fear into God's hands. Holding onto it does nothing for you afterall.

The next day, December 20, we moved into the Ronald McDonald House. As we pulled up to the front of the house, I was amazed by its beauty. We walked through the iron gates up to the front doors and were greeted by glowing Christmas lights all over the lobby. Rob and I met with the coordinator to tour the house and show us our room. We sat in the cafeteria and ate some lunch. The whole time, we kept saying how blessed we are. This house was a huge blessing for our family. We didn't have to worry about how we would afford me living away from home. Not only did it provide me with a place to stay while our daughter was in the hospital, but it also provided more than enough food and transportation for me. Gratitude was pouring out of us to our Father in heaven. God's hand was indeed in all of this. We had enough time to move into the house and have a mini-date dinner at Shake Shack. My husband and I enjoyed a delicious meal with milkshakes, then drove to the hospital. It was time to get ready to meet our daughter.

Over and over again, we felt gratitude that Rob could be home through all of this without worrying about having to leave for work. (Read the previous blog post to learn a bit about that.) As we drove up to the hospital, I told my husband, "This is it. Today is our last time walking into the hospital with her in my belly. Today, we get to meet Elyse." We held hands as we walked through the building. Going up the elevator was one of the most nerve-wracking moments. We were about to enter the unknown but felt peace knowing God went before us.     

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Labor

We parked our car, walked through the halls, up the elevator, and through the doors of the Special Delivery Unit. A nurse greeted us and walked us to our delivery room. She gave me a gown and a pair of hospital socks, but I chose my comfy ones from home. Initially, I was planning on having a natural birth, but knowing I was about to go through unknown territory with this labor & delivery, it was best for me to be as relaxed as possible, so I opted to get an epidural.

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I am blessed to share an amazing God-moment I experienced weeks before our diagnosis! There were several instances when God nudged my heart, suggesting that this labor and delivery might be unique and a cesarean could be necessary. As this thought kept coming to me, I began to pray fervently, seeking God's will. From that moment, I embraced whatever He had planned for me with open arms.

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At 5 pm, my induction started by using cervidil, which had to be in place for 12 hours. Labor started nice and slow. I got to sleep overnight, and in the morning, I was able to eat a small breakfast and shower before I received my epidural and started with Pitocin. God provided my husband and me with such peace as we were going through this process of waiting for labor to begin officially. The pitocin helped me progress to 2-3 cm. As my labor was moving forward, the nurse and doctor noticed our baby was starting to show signs of Bradycardia. Bradycardia is a condition characterized by a slow heart rate. The doctor informed me if our baby continued showing these signs and de-stating, we would need to consider a cesarean. The thought of having a cesarean didn't scare me because God had already prepared me for this month earlier. Praise God for this preparation!

I felt pretty good as the hours passed, and the baby was doing reasonably well. Rob was doing some work on his computer while I was in bed, trying to rest before it was time to deliver our baby. While I was resting, I could hear the baby's heartbeat dropping after each contraction. While she was recovering each time, the consistency of her Bradychardia was increasing. The nurse would sit and monitor her for a while; I could see the concern grow on her face. The day turned to evening, and the nurse continued monitoring the baby and me. Rob started to doze off on the couch around 5:30 pm. The nurse came in to check on us once again. She went straight to the monitors. As she was watching, I had one good contraction, and as it was happening, we could see the baby's heartbeat slow drastically. At the end of the contraction, we watched to see if the baby would recover, but she did the opposite. We lost her heartbeat.

Part 3 to continue...

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Talk soon,

Ashley