Scratch that last post, July 31st is JD Day!

I knew it was a good possibility that we would not make it to 8/13, but a lot can happen in a week.  To fill in the other gastroschisis moms that may find their way to this blog, let me start at the beginning.  On Monday night after dinner, I felt a drastic decrease in Joshua's movement.  This is concerning because he was consistently more active during the evening hours and I felt little to no activity after about 7 pm.  I didn't want to freak my husband out so I kept this observation to myself and vowed that I would stop by my doctor's on the way to work the next morning if I hadn't felt any significant movement.  On Tuesday morning Joshua remained too still so I called my doctor on the way to work to let them know I was planning on stopping by to have them listen to his heartbeat.  The nurse told me to hold tight and wait for her to call back with the doctor's instruction.  I went to work, immediately got the call from the doctor to go to the hospital for fetal monitoring, then called my husband to meet me there (just in case).  I felt a kick or two on the way to the hospital and thought I was probably overreacting, but wanted to err on the side of caution.  I was put in a triage room, hooked to the fetal monitor, and felt immense relief when I saw and heard his steady heartbeat.  David and I both thought I would be monitored for 30-60 minutes then I would go back to work.  No big deal, right?  The OB on call came to do an ultrasound and I was immediately worried.  I have had many ultrasounds throughout the pregnancy due to Joshua's condition so I know what is normal for him.  He had no movement at all even when the doctor tried to stimulate him in different ways.  He was no longer making practice breaths which he had been doing the two previous ultrasounds.  Our perinatologist was called in on his lunch break to check me out.  The ultrasound technician, Linda (love her!), showed up first and I felt relieved to be dealing with someone who has been monitoring Joshua throughout the pregnancy.  She and the perinatologist both concurred there was little to no movement even with acoustic and physical stimulation.  My heart sank as Dr. Rosemond confirmed my fears - the baby is under distress and needs to come out today.  The monitoring showed I was having minor contractions, but I wasn't even feeling them and unfortunately, my cervix was completely closed.  The decision was made to ripen my cervix for 12 hours with Cervidil then start pitocin the next morning to induce labor.  Calls to family were made as David went home to pack bags for us and I was moved into a labor and delivery room.  Plan A (really Plan B since Plan A was to be induced on 8/13) did not end up working out because after 5 hours on the Cervidil, Joshua was showing signs of cardiac distress including frequent accelerations and decelerations of his heart rate.  After much back and forth, the OB on call decided to pull the Cervidil and prep me for a c section.  I walked into the OR around 10 pm, received a spinal block, and the medical team quickly came at me from every direction strapping limbs down, draping my belly, inserting catheters, and many others things I am not even sure of (and probably don't want to know).  It was a bizarre and frightening experience, but I knew the end result was worth it - our baby would soon join us!  Joshua was born at 10:37 pm weighing 6 lbs. 4 oz. and was 18" long.  Hearing him cry as he was pulled from my womb was the most anticipated, amazing sound I can imagine (even as I turned my head and vomited profusely from the anesthesia).  After all the worries, concerns, tears, and sleepless nights fearing for my little boy... he is here and he is alive!  My goals after finding out about his condition were accomplished: he made it past 37 weeks and weighed more than 6 lbs.  I know have given him the best shot I can at a healthy outcome - now the rest will be left to God, Joshua, and the talented medical staff at Children's Hospital of Atlanta.

My beautiful baby boy after being prepped for transport to Atlanta.  I had about a minute to rub his head, hold his little hand, and wish him well on his big journey before he was gone.