Jaxon's Birth Story: Part I

Jaxon's birth story is a little lengthy, when told in detail.  If you know me, then you know I tell all stories in detail.
I keep this blog as an outlet for my thoughts, but also as an online journal, so to speak, in which I can look back on different events or experiences in my life and reminsce.  Thus, you're going to get the detailed version of Jaxon's birth story, broken into three different parts.

It all started on Tuesday, May 5, 2015.  I was 36 weeks and 3 days pregnant and following work that day, Nick and I met one another at Alpine Groves Park and awaited our photographer to get our maternity photos taken.

(I will do a separate post specifically about our shoot, showing you all about half of the photos we took)

Towards the end of our photo shoot, the photographer suggested Nick hop up on this giant tree stump, with me standing between him.  We did as instructed.

As she was taking photos, I felt what felt like a leaf stem poking my foot.  I repositioned my foot, but felt it again.  After about a minute, the poking feeling turned into more of a sting.  When I lifted my dress, I realized my feet were covered in carpenter ants.  I quickly ran away from that spot, threw off my sandals and Nick and I began furiously swatting the ants away.  As I continued to get the ants off my feet, Nick lifted my dress and discovered the ants were crawling up my dress, inside and outside, and it was covered.  He and the photographer began pulling and swatting them off, while I continued to work on my feet.

Once the ants were gone, we moved to a new location to continue with a few more shots before calling it a day.  However, I felt so itchy.  I didn't think anything of it in that moment.  I just assumed my itching was due to that heebie-geebie feeling.  You know the one I'm talking about?  When you find a bug in your bed or crawling on your arm and suddenly you're itchy all over with the feeling that there's more bugs?  That feeling.
I spent the next 15 minutes of the shoot incredibly uncomfortable and itchy, and thus very antsy (no pun intended) and getting anxious.  We then moved to what would be the last location.  She snapped some photos and I suddenly felt like my chest and throat were getting hot and tight.  I said I needed to sit down so we walked to a bench while Nick went to the car to get me a bottle of water.  The photographer asked if there were any photos we didn't get that I wanted.  She mentioned that we did not get any kissing ones and asked if I wanted any.  I lied and said no.  I could think of a few photos I really wanted, some be kissing ones, but I was beyond uncomfortable and anxious that I knew no photo would turn out well at this point.  I said I think we got them all and wasn't feeling well so it was best that we be done.

I mentioned to both her and Nick that I was getting light-headed and my tongue felt funny.  Nick said he could tell I was talking oddly and I realized my tongue was swelling, in addition to my chest and throat being hot and tight.  I realized I was having an allergic reaction (I had never had one before so I wasn't sure what the symptoms were).

We walked back to the cars.  I climbed in the driver seat of our SUV, thinking some air conditioning, water, and resting would make it all go away.  Nick sat in the passenger seat with me and just watched as things escalated.  I began getting very, very anxious and incredibly itchy.  I lifted up my dress to find my feet were red and swollen and I had hives all over my thighs.  Then they began appearing on my arms and chest.  The itching intensified to a point where I was scratching so badly I thought I might draw blood.  I couldn't stop.  I wanted to claw through my skin.  Then my belly became painful.  Not contractions, but just a pain in my entire belly and my vision began getting spotty.  Through tears, I told Nick we either needed to call 911 or he needed to drive me to an emergency room because I needed this reaction treated immediately.

We switched seats, leaving his car in the park.  As we exited the park, Nick called my OB's after hours to see if we needed to go to the ER or labor and delivery (we were told anytime we go to the hospital, go to labor and delivery but call beforehand so they can let them know we were coming.)  She asked to speak to me but told me that we needed to go to the ER because my breathing was impaired and that needed to be treated asap.
Nick flew down the highway to the nearest hospital as I was in tears and thrashing about in my seat, scratching my body all over as hard as I could.

He dropped me off at the door as I walked inside, barefoot, to the ER.  As she registered me, she called labor and delivery and they said they needed me to see them.  A labor and delivery nurse came down and wheeled me upstairs in a wheelchair.  When we arrived up there, she realized there were no clean rooms in the recovery area and left me there with Nick to get some help.  I couldn't take it anymore.  I was at a breaking point.  I got up from the wheelchair, pacing, scratching and crying and said to Nick, "Go find her.  Tell her I need medicine right now. I cannot handle this.  I am literally freaking out and can't breath and I need medicine immediately."  Just as Nick exited the recovery area to find her, she came back with the nursing manager, Karen, who took one look at me and said, "She needs to go downstairs to the ER.  We do babies here, not allergic reactions."  So they wheeled me back down to the ER and Karen came down with her equipment to monitor the baby.  At this point, my hives had worsened and were all over my entire body.

They immediately took me into a room and started an IV while getting my medical history, asking what had happened, and getting medicine ready to treat the reaction.  I don't remember too much of this, as I was still freaking out.  Karen and Nick were trying to calm me down, telling me to take deep breaths from the oxygen mask, and letting me know that I needed to calm down, not just for myself, but for the baby.  Hearing that, remembering that it wasn't just me, I began to take deep breaths.
It was then that I noticed the doctors and Karen were talking over me, not to me.  Karen began unhooking and unplugging things with a strong sense of urgency.  Another medical staff personnel in the room asked, "Where are we taking her?" to which Karen responded, "To the OR for surgery."
I looked at Nick, eye wide, tears streaming down my face, scared shitless, and again freaking out.  Of course, Nick was quick to grab my hands, have me focus on him and tell me that I needed to calm down, that everything would be okay, he wasn't going anywhere, but we needed to do what was best.
Karen then took over talking to me, telling me how important it was to calm down and take deep breaths because right now, the baby really needed them.

During my reaction, I was contracting every 3.5-4 minutes and the baby was not handling them well.  Suddenly, his heart rate dropped from the 150s to 60!! and that is when Karen said they were taking me in for an emergency c-section because the baby was in great distress.

I was so scared.  I honestly do not remember being so scared.  Not even through my cancer battle.  Hearing that his heart rate dropped to the 60s had me so scared that he might not make it or that something was severely wrong with him.
Never, ever did I imagine that my reaction would affect him.  It honestly wasn't even a thought in my mind from the time I was bit to the time I was in the ER.  I assumed they'd treat the reaction and all would be okay. Now here I was being told my baby was coming, in this moment, and he was in great distress.

For the first time in the entire time I've known Nick, I saw fear in his eyes and on his face.  He was doing an amazing job of being there for me, coaching me to stay calm and relax, reassuring me that everything would be okay because he knew how incredibly scared I was.  But I could see that same fear in his eyes.  Was it for me?  Was it for our son?  Both of us?  I don't know.  But I could see it and it only made me more scared.  The strongest man I know, who always holds it together, holds me together, and hides all negative emotions, was visibly scared.  Despite his smile and comforting words and touch, behind his caring eyes, was fear.

They were walking so fast, (it felt almost like they were jogging) down the hallway, with me on the ER stretcher bed, wheeling me up to labor and delivery.  As we were running down the hallway, they tucked my chart under my shoulder.  When I looked down at it, I saw a blank birth certificate and it suddenly became very, very real what was about to happen.  And I prayed to God to protect my baby and me, but more so that precious miracle baby.

Part II coming soon!