My Birth Story | Vancouver, WA Photographer

If you have followed my blog at all then you likely know that my pregnancy was far from easy. I was sick pretty much from day one, I suffered through months of unrelenting nausea followed only by unbearable heartburn. I struggled with kidney stones and took more trips to the ER than in my entire life before. There were worries that my little man wasn't going to develop properly and would have issues with his heart. And despite all of that, I actually had a pretty good birth experience. My birth plan was no epidural, to have as little intervention

as possible and to deliver on my hands and knees or squatting. Things definitely didn't go as planned but luckily I knew that things never go as expected so I rolled with the punches. There were some rocky moments but I walked away feeling like a (sore and tired) badass super star.

It all started at my 41 week check up. Little dude was quite sleepy in me, only after a vaginal exam did he start to stir around. My doctor was a little worried that my placenta was starting to give up and wanted to talk induction. Originally I had wanted to avoid induction but after a week of false labor starts I was pretty ready to get that baby out of me. My doula described labor as starting a lawn mower, sometimes you have to pull the start cord a few times before the engine kicks on but it was like there wasn't enough gas in the tank. I was 2cm dilated and 75% effaced. Parker was a little guy and so he just wasn't putting enough pressure on my cervix to really get me dilated. My doctors plan of action was to start me on misoprostol to help my cervix open up.

We got admitted to the hospital that day at around 2pm. We lucked out, the one room they had available for us was this big beautiful corner suite. There were two giant windows, an extra large day bed and so much space to move around. I am honestly a little bummed we didn't get to take advantage of it more.

After we settled in they gave me the miso at about 3:30. Because I was being induced I had to be on continuous monitoring, I had really hoped to not have to be hooked up to monitors but now I am so thankful I was. The miso brought on very intense contraction that just didn't feel right. It felt like a giant sword was going straight through me. On about the third contraction a flood of nurse poured into my room. My contractions were putting too much stress on Parker and causing his heart rate to dip far too low. After only a few more contractions my doctor decided that they needed to administer terbutaline to counteract the miso. Getting the shot of terb was such a weird feeling, it was similar to adrenaline and left me feeling very amped up.

After all of that my doctor decided that a pitocin drip was the way to go. We had to wait for the terb to wear off before the pitocin could be started which gave my husband and I a little more time to just enjoy each other.

Finally around 7pm they started my iv of pitocin. My husband and I spent a little time walking the halls of labor and delivery but were soon relegated back to our room because my monitor was acting up and kept cutting out. Once back in our room I decided to take a bath. Our suite had this beautiful jet tub, I was pretty bummed I couldn't use the jets because of my monitors but very happy I was able to at least soak in a relaxing bath. My doula sprinkled some lavender oil in my bath and we decided that she should go home and get some rest while she still could. My contractions were about 10 minutes apart and it seemed like we were going to have plenty of time. I soaked in the tub for a little while after she left and finally decided to get out and try to get to bed to get some sleep, it was just before 10 pm. I had just enough time to get dressed and settled into bed before active labor hit. It seriously felt like a jet engine taking off, I went from a nice comfort pace to full speed in just seconds.

Parker was OP, (occipito posterior position occurs when the baby enters the pelvis facing forward with his back towards his mothers back. The back of the baby's head is referred to as the 'occiput' and is in the back of the pelvis against the sacrum) which made for some really intense back labor pain. After only a few contractions I was begging for drugs, I kept thinking to myself I can't do 6 more hours of this. Why I had 6 hours stuck in my head, I don't know and if I had any idea how quickly things were going to happen I never would have asked for them at all. I was giving my husband the safe word that really meant I needed help and he wasn't really sure what to do. My amazing charge nurse stepped up and told him to get my doula on the phone. She had just laid her head down on her pillow when she got the call, she had been got maybe a half hour. She rushed right back over to the hospital. I definitely wasn't coping with the pain well. My hospital offer nitrous oxide as an alternative to the epidural. The nitro was always my backup plan but in that moment I was worried it wasn't going to be enough. My doula convinced me to at least try it first before giving in and I reluctantly agreed. I am so happy she was there, she was my voice of reason when I couldn't think straight. The nitro definitely didn't get rid of the pain but it allowed me to cope with it better. It helped me to concentrate on my breathing and made me high enough to just not care about the pain as much.

I was definitely a little loopy from the nitro so when my water broke at around 11pm I was convinced I pooped myself. Because I was 41 weeks, there was meconium in my water which only validated my belief that I had just pooped. I took the mask off away from my face and in a daze announced to the room "I think I just shit myself. Guys, I just shit myself." My husband laughed and explained to me that it was my water breaking. Another contraction hit and another geyser of hot liquid burst out of me. I again insisted that I had pooped and was again reassured by husband that it was just my water breaking to which I exclaimed that at the very least I peed myself while it was happening. My nurse helped me off my bed and into the bathroom so my husband could change my bed sheets. I was distracted I didn't even notice the smell but according to my husband it was far from pleasant but he's a trooper and he powered through to help me have a clean place to labor.

I got back to bed and at 11:20 my nurse check my cervix and I had hit 6cm. I believe that Parker broke my water while flipping over to posterior position (When a baby is head-down but facing your abdomen) because after that things got a little easier. My back was very sore so things were still pretty painful but definitely not as bad anymore.

Things were clearly getting more intense and so at 12:23 my nurse checked my cervix again and I was 8cm and 90% effaced. Things were definitely moving quickly. It was only a few minutes later I started feeling the bearing down starting and had the overwhelming urge to push. I had spent most of the time up to this point on my knees leaded against the inclined bed but my nurse had my flip on my back to check again cervix. She explained that I still had a little lip left and wasn't quite ready to push yet. After flipping on my back that time I was too tired to get back on my knees and thought to myself "screwed it, this is where I will remain for the duration of my labor."

I was having a really hard time not pushing so she told me to puff out my cheeks like a puffer fish during my next contraction. I was still sucking in the nitro like there was no tomorrow and so in total drunk girl fashion I tried to puff out my cheeks but failed miserably and kind of just sputtered my lips. She could see my struggle and had another nurse come into the room. That nurse came in and checked my cervix again and told me I was ready to start pushing. My doula luckily thought to look at the clock, it was exactly 1 am when I was given the go ahead. The very next contraction Parker was starting to crown. Only a couple more contractions and he was out to his shoulders. The next one the delivery nurse told me to give her a really big cough and like a crazy little party trick I coughed a baby right out of me. It all happened so fast the doctor barely made it there in time. I only spent 8 minutes pushing and Parker burst into the world at 1:08am.

His birth was such a relieving feeling. The best way I can think to describe it is like taking a massive poop, honestly for me, the two things are were pretty similar. Labor might have been pretty difficult but the pushing and delivery were almost enjoyable. There were so adrenaline coursing through me, once the bearing downing started I really didn't feel any pain. I had heard that the afterbirth was very painful but when I delivered my placenta a few minutes later I didn't make any real effort to push, it just kind of slid out. I had a small tear, my doctor tried hard to get the bleeding to stop so she avoid giving me a stitch. Her trying to stop my bleeding was more painful and uncomfortable then Parker's birth. After a few minutes she gave in and informed I would be receiving one stitch to which I replied "that's fine as long as it means you will stop messing with me soon." I really just wanted her to leave me alone so I could finally relax.

The next hour I spent hold and nursing my son for the first time. I really enjoyed the baby friendly approach at the hospital. The day of Parker's birth was the best day of my life. I am so proud of myself, my son and my husband. He was such an amazing support throughout the process, just like everything, it was better with him by my side.

Special thanks to Shonda of Gray Feather Photography for beautifully capturing this special moment in our lives and to Kathy of Hearts Work Doulas for being the extra support and much needed voice of reason!

What the Heck is PRUV? | Vancouver, WA Photographer

What the heck is PRUV, this is a question I found myself asking a lot a few months ago. PRUV stands for persistent right umbilical vein, it is a vascular pathology found in babies while in utero. Essentially there is a vein in the belly that directs the blood flow through a fetus, normally the right umbilical vein begins to obliterate around the fourth week of gestation and disappears by the 7th week. In a baby with PRUV the right vein remains open through gestation affecting the way that blood courses through the fetus. This condition pretty rare occurring roughly in 0.1% of pregnancies and is generally diagnosed by ultrasound in the second trimester around the 20th week. It is associated with developmental problems in organs in the renal system and the heart, it is also common for babies with PRUV to be born low birth weights and can be seen in correlation of other conditions such as Single Umbilical Artery.

Back in December my husband and I went in for our second trimester ultrasound. We were elated to have another look our little man find out what we were having but we left our appointment feeling a little scared and unsure. You can read more about this experience in my previous blog post HERE. Because of the rarity of PRUV there was some confusion as to what was acutally going on at first and initially we were informed that our little guy had SUA and that they were going to need to monitor his condition through my pregnancy.

I developed a kidney stone back in January and needed to make a trip to the hospital because of it. While in the hospital we mention to the ultrasound tech that Parker had SUA but when she went to look into it she saw a normal umbilical cord. After a little more digging and referring to another doctor in the hospital we finally found out that Parker actually had PRUV. This is where things got really interesting, no one seemed to really know what PRUV was and didn't know how to describe it other than to that it could cause problems with his heart. At our ultrasound back in December they had us set up an appointment for an Echocardiogram at 6 weeks out. At the time of my kidney stone we were still about 2 weeks from the echo so of course when I got home and had some time I started searching the internet for more info but was really coming up empty handed. About the only thing I knew for sure was that PRUV was less serious than SUA, so that was a bit of a relief.

At the first echo they saw an abnormality on Parker's inferior vena cava. They didn't have much else to tell us, they just wanted us to come back in for another echo when his heart got a little bigger and they could see things a little clearer. We were still kind of in the dark at this point.

At our second echo we FINALLY got some answer. We had a fantastic tech who actually had seen cases of PRUV in the past and was able to really explain it to us. The doctor stood in while the tech was doing the echo portion of our ultrasound and was able to tell us right away that our little man's heart was looking normal and healthy! So much weight was lifted off of me at that appointment. I finally felt like I understood what was going on with Parker and I knew his heart was healthy. His femur was measuring in the 2nd percentile so they wanted us to come in for another ultrasound just to take another look at his growth but at this point they were feeling pretty confident about his health.

A snap from our 28 week ultrasound. Parker is head down and tacoed up with his feet in face.

Yesterday was our 32 week ultrasound and likely will be our last. His femur is still measuring very short but there are no other signs of genetic abnormalities, he weighed in a just over 4 pounds and is in the 40th percentile for his gestational age. He is growing well and so there is no longer any real concerns about his health or prognosis. We are looking at having a totally normal, healthy and short (just like his momma) baby here in just a few weeks.

Thank you to everyone who has been following our story and has been showing us all the support and love. There were moments that were definitely a little scary but knowing how loved we all are made it so much easier to be positive through the whole experience and I truly believe that the positive attitude we maintained made all the difference in the world when it came to Parker's prognosis.

Not all cases of PRUV result in complications, in fact according to a specific study only about 60% of cases delivery was unremarkable and post-natal evolution was favorable. We are so lucky to be in that 60%
Additional information on PRUV can be found at these sites;
https://sonoworld.com/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/

Here are a few snaps from our 32 week ultrasound. Parker is still positioned head down and seems to enjoy being tacoed over, he never seems to take his legs out of his face. His position has made it hard to see much of his face our last 2 appointment but he already has some hair and we were able to get a little peek of it so that was awesome. We are so excited to meet our little man this May and so happy to know that he is growing healthy and happy in my belly.

I've Got Some News! | Vancouver, Wa Newborn Photographer

I know a lot of my clients, friends and family already know this but I wanted to take the time to publicly announce that I am pregnant! My wonderful husband and I are expecting our first born son, Parker Lopaka Palaina Barnes, on May 13th, 2018. We are both over the moon with excitement to be going on this journey and we couldn't be more happy to be bringing a sweet little baby boy into this world.

Our first ultrasound at just 7 weeks

Even with all of the excitement and anticipation, everything still isn't rainbows and sunshine. I want to take a moment a get real with all of you, so far for me, this pregnancy has sucked! Don't get me wrong, I am so in love with my baby boy, I get so excited every time I feel him move around and dying to meet him but this pregnancy has been really hard. I got hit with morning sickness really early. I was maybe 4 or 5 weeks and not even yet aware that I was pregnant when it first started to get me. At first I thought I was just coming down with the flu or something but my observant husband knew better and insisted that I take a pregnancy test. Lo and behold, he was right! 

Second ultrasound at 12 weeks

I am officially 20 weeks now and just now starting to finally feel a little relief from the constant all day nausea. I still have my bad days and if I don't eat enough, eat too much or make the mistake of picking the wrong thing, the nausea rears its ugly little head at me. When I am not feeling like I am going to barf at any given moment, I am either plagued by horrible heartburn, debilitating migraines or excruciating rib pain. If it's not one thing, it is always another. 

Me at 15 weeks pregnant, still documenting myself all the time even if I don't feel so great.

Now besides feeling like garbage pretty much all of the time we've recently had more stuff piled on top. We went in for our second trimester ultrasound on December 20th. I couldn't have been more excited going in, we were going to get another look at our little baby and finally found out what we are having. I walked into that appointment feeling like I was on cloud nine and left feeling like I had just been punch in the gut. After the tech finished with all of her images she said it would be only a few minutes at the doctor would be in. 20 minutes or so later the tech comes back in and gives us this story about how the doctor had to run to some other building in the hospital and would be in as soon as she could. I am naive and thought that the doctor was really off doing something else but I have come to realize she was probably just really studying our ultrasound before coming to talk to us. After 45 minutes of waiting the doctor finally comes in and immediately hits us with 2 things. First, I have some dark spots on my placenta that are concerning. They could just be blood clots or it could be a growth, either way it could be harmful to the baby and we are going to have to monitor it closely through the rest of my pregnancy. Then the second thing, she tells us that there are supposed to be two arteries going in and two going in the umbilical cord but my little guy only has one going in. It's a condition call Single Umbilical Artery (SUA) and although it is one of the most common umbilical cord abnormalities it can increase the risk of the baby having cardiac, skeletal, intestinal or renal problems. It is his heart that they are particular worried about, although my doctor was able to see all 4 chambers of Parker's heart and thinks it does look good, they want us to see a neonatal cardiologist. 

Our little guy at 19 weeks

We get to start of our year with three doctors appointments in the first three weeks and until then we have to just sit here and wonder what will happen. Things don't look specifically bad but it is so hard not to worry. This little thing inside of me already means the world to me and there is nothing I can do for now but wait for more answers and do my very best to be positive. I will keep you guys all up to date as soon as we do know more.

Despite everything he is already a badass little rocker! He gives me so much hope already! 😍

So now I have told you about my story, tell me about yours! Leave me a comment and tell me about your pregnancy. Did you have lots of morning sickness? Or were there other symptoms you experienced? Did you have any scares or issues during your pregnancy or delivery? If so, how did you deal with them. Let's start a conversation, this is such an amazing and scary thing to go through as a woman and we should definitely all be talking about it more.

Cleaning the house at 10pm and I just had to stop to snap a shot of my 20 week belly. I can't wait to get my own maternity photos done! It is so important to exist in photos!