Celiac Ninja's Blog

Well, my sweet hubby and I had another baby, Surprise! its a girl. ? Yes, we didn't know until month 8.

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Doctors told me she was in serious danger because I am Rh-, that is O- blood. I chose not to do the rohgam. It is protein based and I have numerous allergies including to pain meds. When I had cancer I had seizures while the nurse was giving me retuxin, which is animal proteins. I seizured twice on the table and they had already given me banderol. They pulled it out and doped me up with more pain meds than when they started. I begged God to get me through that one, I didn't want to die in a hospital. No thanks!

So, after having 3 miscarriages earlier before our first son, we had our daughter one month early. I made sure I found a doctor that would allow me to go as long as I could and wouldn't push me into pain killers or surgery or use harmful methods to get her out on his own timing. People do a lot of stupid things to force things along based on fear. Why not trust what God has in store?? Oh that's right...because they find that too hard to do.

So, at 32 weeks, the doc had me go to Spokane Valley hospital, or Rockwood (same building), where I had to still stand my ground about the pain killers. Nurses kept coming in trying to convince me that giving birth vaginally was hard, that I should have an iv because I'll get dehydrated and I might need oxytocin or antibiotics put in my system...blah blah blah. I kept thinking, ya know....God made a woman perfectly capable of giving birth. And life and death are in His hands. But I guess lawsuits aren't....people.

So, I refused pain killers, they try to put an iv in but I swear my veins crawled into a hole in the ground and they missed about 4 times. Then one nurse said, "I'm just going to give you a little numbing agent on the skin and we'll get this done fast." So without further ado, he numbs the skin and I pass out. Everybody is worried I've gone into labor. My hubby is like, "Uh no. She passed out. She's allergic to pain killers."

In comes a more experienced nurse, she woes me with personality and before I know it she's got the iv in and done.

Doctor was very kind, allowed me to express my opinions on the Pitocin (oxytocin), heard my allergy list and let me do what I needed to first before he would step in and say "Were coming up on a deadline." So up the stairs I marched with my husband, did nipple stimulation before we drove there for 13 hours (over three days) and various other natural inductions. Finally, I was beginning labor just not fully into it. In came a nurse, she wanted to hook me up to full time Pitocin. We argued the concerns and finally came to an agreement of 2 drops of Pitocin every hour. Two hours later...Bam labor.

Labor was normal but became difficult when we found out her cord was wrapped tightly around her neck to the point her heart was slowing way down during contractions. So...I had to breath and wait during contractions and push when I didn't feel like it. That was hard. But she was born after 9 hours of labor, taken across the room to the incubator and resuscitated. She was 5.13 lbs. Her bilirubin was really low for an Rh- baby and her jaundice was minimal as well but they worried when the bili went up to 12 (20's being dangerous. 30 being immediate blood transfusion). They took her and I in the ambulance the next morning to the NICU. My husband made it there before we did, driving his every calm and passive way that he drives. By the way the ambulance was mandatory, $2,500.

Anyway....She was in the NICU for 5 days total, I walked through 3 buildings the day after giving birth to get to her and nurse or bottle feed and to get back to the Ronald McDonald rooms that are free but come only on a waiting list. Let me tell you, they don't like people staying more than 5 days there. Our home was 2.5 hours drive away. Motels about such were expensive and not convenient for round the clock nursing! I'm in such physical agony from climbing stairs for two days, having my water broken twice which didn't work (tough little sack), three different antibiotics and labor with a small tear of course, that I'm nearly dead by the time I get my boobies to my little hungry girl in the NICU. Sheesh. Ran out of milk. Hard to eat healthy and gluten free in the darn hospital. My sweet caring hubby made me gluten free food in tupperware for the whole week. Even went home to get our son from the babysitter's which was giving him milk (he's allergic). Saving him from more diarrhea.

Now, I'm arguing with the nurses there, telling them I've got Celiac real bad and the best thing for my little girl would be breast milk if my body could keep up. But it can't. She's getting my immune system in the milk as well, which is the problem she's experiencing at the time. Finally, I just do what I know is best, Similac Sensitive at room temperature. Bam Jaundice is gone. Four days after that bilirubin is below concern. Finally we get to go home!

There was a serious lack of time for me to personally bond with my baby girl through all of this stress. Too bad rohgam has to be protein based. But with God's wonderful Grace, she was born fairly healthy, has plumped up to 15 lbs and is 4 months old now with all the gusto and vigor of her mother....oh my. This will be fun. I'm gonna put these kids on a gluten free diet and sign them up for soccer!