Microwave Baby

The phrase "bun in the oven" didn't apply to my first pregnancy. I used a microwave instead! And just like some food in the microwave, our daughter didn't brown on the outside and wasn't completely cooked on the inside when she was born.

I am one of the world's worst pregnant women. The only glow I had was the reflection from the porcelain. I don't remember one day of actually feeling good and being expectant at the same time. So in February, at 22 weeks, it did not surprise me that my body was once again rebelling. But this time, I believe by the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, I couldn't just rest and ride it out. I had been flushing in the face and on the neck for some time, but dismissed it because it happens sometimes in reaction to things I eat. On a Sunday night, I had my nurse mother-in-law check my blood pressure. It was high. I called the doctor, but since I didn't have a headache, he told me to lay on my left side and come in first thing in the morning. By then, it was higher. So, he laid me down, turned the light off and told me to rest while he made a phone call. When he returned, he said they were going to send me over to the hospital. Thinking 24 hours of observation was in order, I went. I checked myself in and walked up to OB. Five minutes later, Dr. R walked in. (I should have clued in to the fact that he had left a very full waiting room of patients behind.) They drew blood, ordered an ultrasound...
Dr. R told me that he had talked to a Perinatalogist and they were going to send me down to Peoria. I was still thinking consultation and I'd have to get gas in the car first, when his nurse asked if she should order the ambulance and he responded, "No, she's too sick. We need to get the chopper up here right now."
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What? Wait a minute... And all of sudden, I did have a headache, and I was terrified, and I cried the whole time that Dr. R explained about Preeclampsia and how dangerous it was for both me and the baby. I called Chad and Carol (my mother-in-law). We couldn't reach my parents. I was given steroids to speed up the baby's lung development and a bolus (Big dose) of Magnesium Sulfate (I shudder just typing the words) to prevent labor and seizures. After Chad arrived and everything was explained to him, he had to go in the hall and put his head between his knees to keep from falling down. A matter of minutes later, I was whisked into the Life Flight helicopter and waved as we took off. I felt a sense of peace come over me and completely relaxed. I knew that by then the prayer chain at church had been started and I had seen what happened when those dear people put their mind to praying!

Forty five minutes later the real whirlwind started. Doctors, lights, tests, needles, and more drugs. Somewhere in all of that, family arrived. Chad and his parents came first with my Mom and Dad shortly behind them. And we learned that the baby was a girl! Oh, Joy! A girl would have a better chance of survival and we had wanted a girl.

The medicine helped and my blood pressure stabilized. Magnesium Sulfate has some really wicked side effects, like feeling like a rotisserie chicken, but I knew God would help me deal with it. So I prepared to settle in the hospital until the baby could be safely born. I was two hours away from home, and I knew I would get stir-crazy, but it was worth it for our child. Our little J.