Birth Story - Welcome Tristan Anthony Joseph Hennigan

BIRTH STORY

At 33 weeks, I was diagnosed with Choleostasis in Pregnancy.  This condition is very rare for women and is a result of my liver not producing bile correctly.  So bile salts get into your blood stream and cause extreme itching and can potentially be harmful for the baby.  It is usually recommened you are induced at 38 weeks.  It is not caused by anything other than a hormonal imbalance from pregnancy and disappears after the baby is born.  My doctor put me on medication immediately and continued monitoring me and Tristan very closely 3 times a week through ultrasounds, blood tests and stress tests.  I was also given steroid shots to assist in lung development for Tristan in the event he would need to be delivered early.

On Friday, March 18, 2011, we had a our weekly doctors appointment and ultrasound where we fully expected to talk with our doctor about an induction date for the following week at which I would be 38 weeks.  The ultrasound was first and we were told that Tristan was measuring at 5 pounds 4 ounces.  (Three weeks prior to this he was measuring 4 pounds 8 ounces.  They knew he was measuring small at this time but were not concerned. )  He should have been gaining a half a pound a week since the first measurements.  The ultrasound also showed his head was measuring larger than the rest of his body.  My doctor reported that she was concerned Tristan was not recieving the right amount of nutrients through the umbilical cord and thought it necessary and best for Tristan that we induce me that afternoon!  WHAT!!!  My mouth completely dropped as I was not expecting this whatsoever and thought I had a week still to mentally prepare for child birth!  Anthony (of course) jumped out of his chair completely excited, air pumping and yelled out "YES"!  What a nerd.  I swear he had everyone called before we even left the clinic. =)

The saying is certainly true that you can't prepare for birth.  I had done a hospital tour at Regions, had our bags partially packed, my work schedule all figured out for delivery a week later, blah blah blah.  Suddenly that Friday, my preperation went completely out the window.  Regions was full so I was now going to Abbiot Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, a hospital I had never been to, we had two hours to pack the rest of our stuff and get to there, and work - HA!  I will never forget the car ride home to get our stuff.  Anthony was on the phone the entire time, with a shaky voice from excitement, calling to tell everyone it was time.  All he kept saying is, "its my job to call everyone!" =)  Okay Babe, have at it!  I on the other hand, was completely speachless and remember looking out the window thinking OMG - I'm about to be a mother today for the first time in my life.  And OMG this is gonna be a long night - thank god we didn't go anywhere last night for St. Patti's Day!!

We got to the hospital at 2:00.  By 2:30, I totally had the ugly hospital gown off and my own night gown on.  It made me feel a lot better and ready to give birth looking more like Bella!!   By 4:00 they started the cervidal which is an induction medication to assist in opening the cervix (this can take up to 12 hours to work) WHAT!!!  By about midnight, I had begun to really feel the contractions and was in pain.  They decided to give me fetinol to take the edge off of the pain.  It took the edge off alright.  For the next hour I was histerically laughing because the drug made me feel drunk - this turned out to be a great memerable video for my son to see someday wayyyyyy down the road of course - LOL!!  Shortly after the hour was over however, I started feeling a lot of pain again.  They decided to give me some morphine (this shot hurt like hell) and a sedative to get me to sleep for a while.  A lot of good they both did - its not easy at all to sleep when you are in labor and have a trillion things running through your mind.  At 4:00 AM, they took out the cervidal.  I went through several more hours of contractions and pain.  In the morning I was able to eat, shower and put on my make-up which all felt great.  I remember one of the nurses laughing because I was putting on makeup and she said "when that baby comes you won't care about your make-up!" (LOL - I didn't believe her - I was stubborn and determined to put my make up on!)  By the time the doctor came to my room, I had begun dialating and was at 2cm.  I was in a lot of pain and crying my eyes out (there goes the make-up).  She decided she wanted to break my water and start pitocin to help move things along faster as opposed to doing another cervidal.  I was all for this because I didn't know how I was gonna get through the day with no sleep and the pain, but I refused to allow this to happen until I recieved the epidural (which I highly recommend).  After the epidural was in, my water was broke (around 10:00 am) and the pitocin was started.  I remember laying there thinking, well there is no going back now cause this little guy is coming no matter what with my water broke.  And then hoping everything would be ok and lil' Tristan would do well with labor.  Anthony was an adorable basket case pacing the floor, calling everyone on skype and his phone, paranoid about me, checking the monitors, etc.  You would have thought he was going through birth for the first time ever.  It was hilariously cute.  My sister, mother and a couple close friends were with me.  We also had Anthony's mom and sister on webcame.  It was nice to have all their support.  It was kinda funny, I think they were all more stressed out and impatient than I was.  I just kept shaking my head and laughing to myself.  Around 2:00 the nurse checked me and reported that I was dialated to 3.5.  I sat there thinking, oh great, I'm not having this baby until way later tonight.  I continued feeling a lot of pressure, continued hitting the happy button on the epidural even if I wasn't in too much pain cause I was afraid it would wear off - lol, and started to really have to breath through the contractions for the first time. Much to my surprise, nurse shift change was at 3:00 and from 2:00-3:15 I had dialated from 3.5 to 7!!!!!!!!!  HOLY CRAP!!  The nurse continued checking me every half hour.....

I will never forget how I expected to be a complete emotional basket case during childbirth.  What truly shocked me was around 3:45 I remember saying to Anthony, "Call the photographer babe and tell him to get here now because this baby is coming in the next half hour."  Anthony must have known he was coming soon too because he started cleaning the room like crazy and organizing everything, panicing, skyping, sweating, pacing, calling everyone, updating facebook, etc.  From that point on I got into an unexpected but complete focus zone, I was totally calm, I was breathing through every contraction, I said a few things to daddy up above to help keep me strong. I wanted to get through this all quickly so Tristan would be ok and if he needed to go to the NICU he could get there asap and they could help him.  The nurse came in and checked me again around 4:00 and said I was dialated to 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  OMG, here we go!

The nurse and doctor came in and it was time to push.  Our photographer arrived just in time during the "practice push", dropped his bag and started snapping pictures like crazy!  Anthony was BEYOND supportive, right by my side, coaching me along the entire time and said or did all the right things.  I pushed through 9 contractions and my son was immediately placed on my chest!  It was THE MOST intense, emotionally amazing, exciting and happiest day of my life.  I got to watch the entire birth in a mirror, I was able to touch my son's head while still in the womb, Anthony cut the cord, my best friend video taped the whole thing for our keepsake, it was perfect.  I remained so calm throughout the each step of the process and the entire room was full of a ton of love for me and Tristan.  EVERYONE was bawling their eyes out and we quickly were referred to as the "waterworks family"!  Most importantly, our son was crying, HEALTHY, BEAUTIFUL, and handled labor really well.  I look at him now and I don't think I will ever get over the fact that he was inside my tummy and we created this little bambino together.  There is no other day in this world that will mean as much as this day does to me except for the day I say my vows to Anthony and become his wife.  My god I couldn't have done this without him by my side.

Tristan Anthony Joseph Hennigan was born on March 19, 2011, at 4:28 pm, wieghing 5 pounds 3 ounces, 19 inches long and a head full of hair!!!!!!  Because he was so small he did have to go to the NICU unit but not because there were any concerns, simply because they wanted to make sure he could hold his temperature.  He was brought down to our room at 1:30 AM and has been with mommy and daddy ever since!  He had his first pediatric appointment today and looks great.  He has a small case of jaundice but other than that he is eating like a champ and excelling fast.  His doctor was very pleased!

I cannot for the life of me believe this little guy was in my tummy.  And I WILL NEVER EVER for the life of  me forget what an amazing experience having your own child is.  I am beyond grateful for many many things in my life but everyone was completely right when the told me I would suddenly have a new perspective on life.  I cannot scream loud enough how grateful I am for Anthony and for the special love we share for each other.  And now for the life of our son and the special love we hold for him.  He is simply beautiful and totally has our hearts!!  Below are some pictures of our little peanut!!  Enjoy! 

(Final pregnancy stats:  weight gain - 17 pounds, Choleostasis is officially gone, no strech marks, no tears, 7 pounds to loose before back to pre-pregnancy weight!)  And all smiles from ear to ear!!