Ashleigh's Arrival

I figured out I was expecting in January of 1997, in fact I knew it before I had any reason to know.  I bought a pregnancy test and “What to Expect When Your Expecting” in the same shopping trip.  My husband was working for UMaine at the time.  He worked in Orono all week, and came home to Winthrop on the weekends.  I remember the weekend I told him; he seemed to already know as well.   We had planned for a child, we were thrilled.  

I wanted my family doctor to deliver our baby.  Two months into my pregnancy I found out I had abnormal kidney function.  My family doctor sent me to Dr. Pinette in South Portland, a maternal fetal medicine specialist. 

The next week, I drove the hour and ten minutes to the medical offices near the mall in South Portland.  Dr. Pinette is on the third floor.  I sat in the waiting room with a woman carrying triplets and a 13 year old girl in her 7^th month.  It was a long 25 minutes.  After my exam, I was taken into a small board room for a consultation.   Dr. Pinette, a short, stocky man who resembles a cross between Richard Gere and Buddy Hacket, entered the room.  He sat across from me and spoke in a somber, serious tone.

“You have a lot of protein leaking form your kidneys, and have all the early warning signs of pre-eclampsia.”  He said this while looking me square in the eye.  “Right now, the fetus is developing normally, I expect it won’t continue.  Our goal is going to be to get you to your 26^th week.  At that point the baby has a chance for survival.” 
He paused to allow me a chance to absorb what he had just said.  “Do you have any questions?”  I didn’t. 

I was a bit confused and shocked.  I felt fine; the baby was fine for now, so I didn’t know what to think.   I have always liked information, now was no different.  I went from the doctor’s office, straight to the book store.  I bought a book on kidneys, a book on premature babies and tried to swallow what I had been told.  

After reading my books, I had come to grips with the concept of having a pre-mature, tiny baby.  I was sure it would all be OK.  My tests continued to show that my kidneys leaked protein, my blood pressure stayed high.  At every visit the baby was fine.   I was 13 weeks along, past the scary first trimester.  I still hadn’t told anyone, except my husband, that I was pregnant, then came April 1^st.   I called my mother. 

“Hi Mom,” I said, “I’m pregnant!”

“What?” She was at a loss for words, a rare event.

“April Fools!”  I yelled and laughed.

“You brat, I thought you were really pregnant, that’s not funny!”

“April Fools!” I repeated, still giggling.  It took her until the next day to believe that I really was going to have her first grandchild.  I didn’t tell her what Dr. Pinette had said about the baby being premature, I figured I would deal with that when the time came. 

Time came, and went.  At 20 weeks, I had normal ultra-sound, it’s a girl!  At 24 weeks, I tested negative for pregnancy induced diabetes; everything was still progressing normally.  At 28 weeks, I was finally past the critical point of fetal survival; if born now, the baby would now have a 90% chance of a healthy future.  I had another good ultra-sound at 30 weeks, it’s still a girl!  By 35 weeks my non-stress test, in the Portland office, showed that my blood pressure was really high, but the baby was fine.  At 37 weeks I am considered full term. 

Dr. Pinette and my family doctor decided it was better to induce labor now, not wait for my blood pressure to cause a problem.  They told me to be at the hospital in an hour.   An hour!  My husband is working 2 hours away in Orono, my mother is living three hours away in Natick and I need to be at the hospital in an hour, I don’t think so.  After much whining, I convinced the doctors to induce me the next morning.  I was to be at Maine General in Augusta at 7 am.  It was Tuesday, Sept 17.   My husband was a nervous wreck.  My mother was a bit overbearing.  I was excited, happy, confused and scared to death of the IV needle they wanted to place in my arm.   “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

The IV was in.  It hurt, A LOT.   I was in delivery room number 1, the good room.  The hospital was quiet.  The Pitocin dripped slowly.  I waited.  I played cards.  I did cross-words.  I watched TV; nothing happened.  About 7 pm the nurses unhooked the IV drip, leaving the IV in place.  They informed me we were giving up for the night and I would be induced and have the baby in the morning. 

I was transferred to a patient room on the maternity floor.  I slept lightly through the night, anxiously awaiting the arrival of my daughter.  I would have to wait.  The next day was a repeat of the first.  Pitocin dripped, I waited, and nothing happened.  At the end of the second day I was released from the hospital and scheduled to return four days later.

I repeated the process on the 22^nd, 23^rd, 27^th, and 28^th.  Then, on October 1, 1997, after 41 weeks of pregnancy, it all came to an end.   I began the process at 7 am, by noon nothing had happened.  Finally at around three in the afternoon the intense pain began.  My daughter, Ashleigh, was born at 7:21 pm after a long day of induced labor.   The very small, premature baby I was expecting was born at 41 weeks, weighing 8 pounds and 7 ounces and 23.5 inches long.  She had a size 3 foot at birth.  She was perfectly healthy and we were all very grateful.