Paige Indie Fyfe

I feel very grateful that we were able to make it to 36 weeks with Paige. Especially after the huge head growth she did and the worry she might come at 34 weeks. But after that huge head growth she slowed right down and remained stable. The rest of her body grew but head remained stable. 

So we got to pick a day for her birth and March 8 it was. Didn’t realize when we picked the day that it fell on international women’s day. I just keep thinking it’s a great day for my little lady to be born. She’s so special and already a determined strong girl. I can’t wait to see how she grows. 

March 8 came quickly. We had to get to the foothills at 11:00 for the Pretesting and potential blood work. 

Let me tell you though that finding parking at the foothills is no small task. We got to the foothills at 10:30 and didn’t find a parking spot until 11:00. Then we had to actually find where we were suppose to be. Foothills is insane. So many branches and buildings and elevators. I still don’t know how we managed to find labor and delivery but we did, at 11:30. Luckily they were cool with us being late. Must happen frequently. 

Got in to triage and they hooked me up to monitors to listen to Paige. She started having a party in there.  The nurse said,” I like this girl already”. 

We hung out there and my OB came in to meet us and walk us through what was going to happen. Up until this point I actually didn’t even know who was going to be opening me up and delivering my baby. So I was very glad to see before hand. I liked her to. Which was good. Found out later that most nurses there think she is the best. And I got a few compliments at how well I was stitched. So that’s good. 

Met with the anesthesiologist about what he was going to poke inside me. He was surprised when I told him I’d never had a spinal or epidural with any of my other kids. He walked me through what was going to happen and risks and such. Said some women’s blood pressure will drop, feel nausea and dizzy. He said just let me know how you feel. Because he had meds for everything and was there to help me. 

Then we got to wait around a bit more. We almost got bumped. A woman a curtain away was having complications so we had to wait while the on call OB checked her out. But then they took us back. 

I didn’t really know what to expect for an OR room. This was my first time with any surgery. 

I walked in and had to sit on the table. The anesthesiologist was behind me and getting ready. Had to sterilize my back and then start the freezing. Really weird feeling needles going into your spine!!! Hurt a bit but not that bad. I was hunched over holding a pillow and a nurse was holding my shoulders. Dan was out waiting in a little corner. Once the spinal went in there was this strange feeling. My butt got all warm and tickley. They quickly helped me lay down on my back. It was so strange slowly loosing feeling from my chest down. 

After maybe 2-3 mins I told him I felt weird. He has to pry a better description out of me. So I told him my shoulders and neck felt tickley. I had to squeeze his fingers and I could do he knew the numbing wasn’t going too high. So then he checked my BP and yup. It had dropped. Never had that issue before. I started feeling yucky and tired but then started to feel normal and good again. He checked my BP and it had come back up. Super fast fix. 

lack of sleep face and super nervous. 

Dan came in at sat up by my head after. They pulled up the screen and it was kinda tent like for a while. 

All the nurses and doctors were talking away and I thought I heard someone say let’s get started. Didn’t really pay attention but shortly after that I felt lots of movement and pressure but no pain. It was then I realized my guts were open and exposed. I started shaking just nerves and such. I looked over at Dan and he looked just about green. He asked me if I was alright I said yes. I asked him and he said no. The anesthesiologist looked at dan and asked him too and dan just shook his head. So he flagged down a nurse who helped dan stand up and walk out. 

I wanted to laugh but felt like I couldn’t/shouldn’t because I was pretty positive somebodies hands were in me or they had a scalpel or something. 

The nurse care back to me and asked how I was. I was still fine. She said Dan wasn’t going to come back also something I was fine with. She walked back to check on Dan. 

Dan walked out of the OR into the little alcove where they had a window with Ned students watching my c section. I told them it was cool. Learn away. 

The nurses had dan sit down and try to put his head between his legs. Which, lemme tell you, that man is NOT flexible. He did his best and a nurse gave him a cold cloth and some juice and he felt better. Pretty much just in time to turn around and watch Paige enter the world. 

A couple minutes after the nurse left my side to go back to Dan the anesthesiologist said your going to feel a lot of pressure. I did as someone pushed right under my chest a couple of times. Then all I felt was this release of pressure and heard the most beautiful scream in the world. (2:37pm)

While pregnant and going to all the several doctor appointments we had, the news we would get would be a roller coaster. Some days we got good news and felt like there was nothing to worry about. Other days it was miserable news and people didn’t think there would be a good outcome. Through it all we prayed. I prayed. Sure I prayed for a miracle and for the doctors to be wrong and this to all be a mistake. But then I had the thought and felt right about asking that when she is born just let her scream. Let her tell the doctors that she is okay. 

So that scream brought tears to my eyes and peace to my soul. I knew everything was going to be okay. We still have a long road of unknowns ahead but overall I know we will all be okay. We will make it through this. 

They brought her out screaming and showed her to me and turned her over to the window where Dan was standing and had her wave to Dan. Then they took her over to the NICU team in the corner where they assessed her and Dan came back out and started taking pictures. 

Dan came back over to me and asked me if I saw all her hair! Somehow in my joy of looking at her and being so relieved to hear her scream I missed the head full of hair. Nice thick (curly?) locks of dark hair. 

Once NICU was convinced she was okay they wrapped her up and brought her over to me. Dan held her up by my face for  a minute or two and then they helped dan place her in my arms. 

They wrapped her head right away because of the protrusion on her head which they decided was actually an encephalocele and not a cyst. It was all soft and spongy and I guess a cyst would be a bit more firm and rigid. 

So even though she was all bundled when I saw her I still could see that sweet innocent face. Man was it ever cute. 

I only got her for maybe 5 mins before they took her back and left for the NICU. Dan went with and I laid there getting pieced back together and thanking God for my miracle. 

Once I was out back together they moved me to a stretcher and took me to a recovery room. Where I had to wait to get some feeling back. The first thing I did though was ask my nurse if I could have water. I was so thirsty. So so thirsty. Luckily they gave it to me right away. I tried to take my time sipping it but it was just so wonderful. Luckily she got me another. And it was one of the first things dan commented on when he came back and found me. 

After just over an hour or so in recovery they decided I was doing well and they would wheel me down to the NICU to see my baby girl again. I didn’t get to hold her. Can’t really remember why. But I gotta touch her tiny fingers and see just how perfect she was. 

Her head was amazing to me. I’d been preparing myself for a bigger funky sized head. And while hers is big it’s still relatively shaped normal. Mind blown. She is so beautiful and reminds me the most of Max as a baby. I see glimpses of the other boys in her too but mostly max. 

After about 20 mins in the NICU I went to my room and got settled in. Didn’t get any food though which was ridiculous as I was starving!!! They gave me some crackers and juice which helped. Made me realize I wasn’t as hungry as I thought either.

I still couldn’t really feel anything either. Though I could move my legs. Strange sensation. I had massagers in my legs to help keep the blood flowing!!! 

Around 9:00 I was able to move myself more so I got to go back down to the nicu. Gotta actually hold Paige for the first time and breastfeed her. She took it like a champ. Topped her up in a bottle though just because my milk hadn’t come in yet. 

We also found out at this point that they wanted to transfer Paige down the road to the children’s hospital. And they wanted to do a MRI in the morning. 

So I spent most that night being transported down to the nicu to feed her and cuddle her. It was great. 

The foothills staff wanted to switch up times of her feeds because her MRI was at 9:00 and how she was eating odds are her next feed would land at 9:00. 

It didn’t go as planned and there was some mix up and she got over fed. And so was Pukey and gagging and so that concerned them. Anyway at some point when I was gone for an hour they put a feeding tube in her nose to feed her this over feeding her some more and making her tummy upset and angry. (She didn’t like formula) 

They ended up pulling the feed out of her so she wouldn’t puke in the MRI. and gave her an IV so they could still get some nutrients in her. 

She went down to her MRI and then went straight to the Children’s. Dan followed her and took care of her there. Met with doctors planning tests and all that. I sat at the foothills taking it easy so I would be able to bust out Saturday morning. 

Bust out I did. So glad everything went according to plan with that. We came straight to the children’s just in time for me to feed her. And boy did she chomp down and start sucking. Ever since then she prefers me!!! Haha though I pump enough off too that we leave her here at the nicu at night and go sleep at Tony’s. 

It is helping me to recover and get some sleep before she’ll be home and I won’t sleep at night. 

Can’t wait for the day we’re home! If she keeps staying strong and healthy it should be soon! 

Love my little fighter! 

First picture Dan sent me that I really got to see her Hair!!!