33 weeks.....???

Well this is where your regularly scheduled 33 week survey should appear... however, there have been BIG EVENTS happening in the Venema family in the last 6 days.

Lainey Grey Venema decided she wanted to meet her mommy and daddy earlier than expected! 

Born at 1:29pm - 2 pounds 13 ounces - 15.75 inches long

 Leave it to my daughter to make sure her entrance into this world would be a big production!  I have yet to write down her birth story, but I will try to do so here. Right now.

Friday the 17th, I went to the doctor's office for a non-stress test.  As everyone knows, blood pressure had become an issue in the last couple of weeks, so I was being monitored pretty closely.  Well, her movements were traceable and good.  However, my blood pressure was still elevated - even with my medication.  And there was a little bit of protein in my urine - the nurse didn't seem too concerned about that though.  In walks the doctor... "Well it's back to labor and delivery for you. I want them to monitor your blood pressure a little longer." My response? "Seriously? Again??? Come on... I had a laundry list of things to do today."  I called Phil and said "I'm going back to the hospital to watch TV."  (That's exactly what I did the previous Friday when they sent me.)  He asked if he should go with me and I told him no, it wasn't a big deal.  I had done this before...

I get to the hospital, go back to my comfy, dark room.  They draw some labs and everything is just fine - so I thought.  Then my favorite nurse, Courtney, comes in and says, "Remember when I told you about that girl I knew who ended up with reeeaaallly low platelets?  Yeah, well that girl is now you."  A look for concern and confusion obviously filled my face as I asked, "sooooo what does that mean?"  She tells me, "I'm not sure - Dr. Smith is looking over your labs now, but if I was you, I would call my husband and tell him to haul ass here because it's likely you're gonna have a baby....soon."

AHHHH! What are you talking about?! Baby girl is too tiny for this! She's only 33 weeks!! I called Philip, and told him to get there as fast as he could.  As I hung up the phone, my doctor walked in and confirmed the OR was being prepped for an emergency c-section.  

I had developed toxemia, my liver enzymes were through the roof and my platelets were  much below the normal level.  I remember my nurse saying, "Girl... your labs are giving me a headache!" The only cure for toxemia is to get the baby out - stat! So whether we were ready or not, Lainey was on her way.

I got prepped for surgery in the delivery room as we waited for Philip to get there.  As he races in, the wheels on my bed are unlocked and we are ready to roll.  But first, Phil has to get suited up too! I wish I could tell this part of the story the same way he does.  Every time he tells it, I laugh so hard, I feel like I may bust a stitch!  The nurse handed him a jumpsuit he needed to put on over his clothes, but it was definitely a size "schmedium."  Anyone who knows my husband knows he is not a "schmedium."  He looked at Courtney and said, "do you have a bigger one of these?"  She looked at him and said, "Yeah I might, but by the time I find it, you will have missed the birth of this baby!" So Phil wiggled himself into this jumpsuit, attempted to cover his work boots with the sanitary shoe booties and away we went rolling on down the hall!

Because this was a surgery, I was given a spinal tap and soon after that, my feet and legs fell asleep.  The c-section itself was actually not nearly as scary or stressful as one would think.  The entire time, my medical staff cracked jokes with Philip and I.  And although not everyone would want their doctor to crack a joke with a scalpel in his hand, it certainly fits for our personalities.  I think had there not been a light-hearted air in the room, Philip may have passed out. There were hooker jokes being told by my anesthesiologist, but that wasn't even the best part.  For the better part of the surgery, everyone in the room spoke in pirate voices. Really?! Only in my surgery would things like this happen! 

But within an hour or so, baby Lainey was here! With fully developed lungs, she came out crying and there was a sigh of relief in the room as we all knew there was a huge potential for her not to be developed enough yet.  All of her vital organs are developed as well - her Ap score was a 9! She's already making good grades!! 

At this time, all we really need is for her to get some meat on those tiny little bones of hers.  Everyday she is progressing in the right direction and is proving to be a healthy little girl.  She will be in the NICU until she is big enough to come home.  It's a miracle for sure to see that this tiny, precious little girl came from us. 

I am sure there are plenty of details that I am leaving out... like how our parents all got to see their granddaughter for the first time as the nurses carried her to NICU.  Or the amazing love I had for my morphine drip... but those are extra details, and there is no way I could write them all down.  But we know what happened that day, and now you sort of do too.