Early Arrival!

As usual I am insanely behind on my blog, but thought I better take a quick moment and try to catch up!

On the 18th of September I got up to go to my Saturday exercise class,but I was super swollen and didn't feel that great, so I almost didn't go. But thankfully I did go! I forced myself there and then as we started the class my teacher noticed how swollen I was and I mentioned that it was the first day of the pregnancy that I couldn't wear my wedding ring. My yoga teacher had always told us that if we couldn't wear our rings then it signified a problem.. it's not as normal as people think... So she told me to go downstairs and have my blood pressure checked. Again I wanted to ignore her, because always to this point my BP had been perfect! But I did it, just to appease her.

And what do you know.. it is high! I was shocked that it was high to be honest. I asked her what that meant and she said it could be nothing, but could be serious and that I should go see my doctor. I didn't want to - as is typical of me. I don't know why I don't like to call into the doctor like that. I guess I just never want to be seen as a worry wort! I finally gave in around 2 pm and send the doctor a message telling her my BP and my swolleness and she said to come in right away. Hmm...

I got home and researched online and it seemed that I had all the symptoms of pre-eclampsia. this is about the only pregnancy problem that I remembered reading about and the one I sub-consciously was worried about. As soon as I read all the symptoms I knew that I had it.. but I went to the doctor still hoping that perhaps she'd look at me and say that it was just water retention.

Nope.. as soon as she saw me she said I had to be admitted right away. I immediately burst into tears. Paul was at work, finishing up a film and I was all alone. She told me to get him there right away as she didn't want me to do this alone. In hindsight that was so great of her - there is no way I could have done it alone!

After a long process, I was admitted and put on the VIP ward (of course you pay to be there...) Still at this point I believed them when they told me that they were trying to get my BP down. Come to find out later, they were lying to me the entire time. My BP was going up and up the entire time and they kept saying it was ok. But still I thought that after 2 nights that they were going to discharge me.

Two days after my arrival I was getting an ultrasound to check out the baby. I thought this was my normal ultrasound that had actually been scheduled already for this day. Nope.. it was prep for what was to come! They had been withholding food from me all morning and after the scan I asked a dr if I could eat and she said "No! You are having surgery later!"

WHAT?! I again immediately started crying. Paul wasn't there, but luckily my friend Natalia was and she was able to question the doctor to figure out what was going on. They backtracked and said no, no, it was a mistake. Come to find out later - they had wanted to do the surgery that day, but were worried about my being too upset!

That night my OBGYN came in and said that there was no choice - we were doing an emergency C-section the following day. The baby was a good size, they had been giving me injections to help speed the lung development and if we didn't get him/her out, it could be very serious for both mother and baby. So I had no choice.

I was fine with it all up until they rolled me out into the hall and we were waiting for the elevator. I then began to panic. I haven't ever had surgery. I've never been in a foreign hospital, and much less having surgery! I wanted to have a normal delivery. etc etc.

Luckily Paul was amazing. He was right there by my side the whole time. I freaked when they said he couldn't come into the room where they did the spinal injection.. and i refused to go unless they let him. And they did.. thankfully. I don't know if I could have done it without him! I was a nervous wreck by this point.

And then it was time for the surgery. I was freaking out because I could still feel things - just not pain. No one had really explained this to me properly. You think that if you have had an injection to numb your lower body you won't feel anything, but that's not how it is. You feel the pressure of the blankets, the pulling of the skin, etc just no pain. weirdest sensation ever physically and emotionally!

I was pretty out of it when the little one arrived... Its a boy! And my first reaction " oh no.. we don't have any boys names!" haha. They put him by my head and he was wailing away and all I could think is someone needs to hush that baby! I have to say the hardest thing about the Csection is that you just aren't really there and don't get to experience the birth like you always imagine you will.

And then my body went into shock. That's the thing with pre-eclampsia, your BP is high until the baby is out and then it goes back to normal right away. Or for me, it went too low. I had to spend a long while under the electric blanket until my body got back to normal. Paul was sitting there with me on one side and the baby on the other - just making sure we were both still breathing! haha.

So there you go.... the early arrival of Cian Patrick Byrne!

Born on Sept 21, 2010 @ 3:10 p.m. at Liliavati Hospital in Mumbai. He was 7lbs 2 oz and 19 inches. Pretty great since he was 5.5 weeks early!