Sylvia's Here!

Sylvia Christine Ertman Trowbridge was born at 8:53 p.m. Friday, the 17th of October. She weighed 6 lbs. 15.7 oz. and was 20 inches long. She was born healthy and pink and fidgety.

She is beautiful! I have included the "story" in pictures below. The labor and delivery were very difficult and kind of scary and if you wish to get a general description of the events I have included a letter I wrote about it at the bottom of the post.

Sylvia and I made it home last night and we have been doing well today. We are spending it in bed (I will be confined here for a couple of weeks) and my mom is, VERY thankfully, here to help me care for Sylvia, my house and myself. We will be posting more pictures as we get them!


The Labor: Lots of IV's and a splitting headache
The Delivery: C-Section was decided upon after pushing for over an hour.

Weighing and Measuring: Our beautiful pink baby was a good size.

The Recovery Room: I FINALLY got to hold her!

Post Partum Room: Getting to know my daughter and still recovering from my headache.
Proud Papa: Taken Saturday, does any more need to be said?!
Little Pumpkin: Taken Monday, so precious.
Little Pumpkin: With Matching Pipe.

Going Home: This outfit is what her hospital picture was taken in as well

We apologize for the delay in getting this message out to everyone. The labor and delivery were very difficult and complicated and scary. Thursday night (same day as my last doctor's appointment when they were possibly going to admit me) I began having a constant throbbing headache and blurry vision. We went to the hospital where they admitted me and told me they were going to induce. They began the induction process but by Friday morning my preeclampsia had gotten so bad they had to put me on magnesium sulfate to prevent me from seizing. They also had to line my bed with padding for in case I did experience a seizure. I began to get a migraine (presumably from the preeclampsia).

Sylvia continued to do pretty well in the womb. They did need to add an amniotic flush to my IV and I was required to lie propped on my side to help keep her heart rate stable. These measures seemed to make a difference. I continued to decline and by the time I was ready to begin pushing I was in so much pain from my head that life was pretty unbearable.

I pushed for over an hour (maybe 75-90 minutes). Between an intense throbbing in my head and then an intense pain in my pelvis (a pain that did not feel normal to me for delivery and was so severe I wondered how I could just give up on everything), the doctors finally figured out that Sylvia was positioned wrong and was never going to come out. Her brow bone kept hitting against my pelvic bone (bone on bone pain was what I had been feeling), and a C-Section was immediately ordered.

I was in the O.R. with a couple of towels firmly wrapped around my head because of my headache and I remember very little of what happened. I remember asking to see my child and being told by a doctor, "In a minute." That minute became at least twenty. I finally held her in recovery a couple of hours after she was born. Fortunately Dave was there and was able to see her and hold her very quickly.

BUT Sylvia came out so healthy!!!

I was hooked up to IV's for just over a day longer to prevent seizures and, sadly, could not get pain medication for my incision until my blood levels looked good enough. They did by Saturday morning. The IV's left me feeling like I had the flu and I have never had such fatigue in my life (still suffering from it). Saturday was not peaceful. I had to have my IV fluids replaced every ninety minutes, blood drawn every three hours, vitals taken every two hours . . . I had people in and out of my room constantly! By the time the IV’s came out late Saturday night and the drugs had left my system, I was feeling much better on Sunday. (And the number of nurse/lab/doctor visits to my room had decreased dramatically.)

I was discharged last night and Sylvia and I made it home around 9:00 p.m.

We appreciate all the love and concern from everyone and your continued thoughts and prayers are much needed. We are well, but my recovery is going to be a while and I am frightened of being able to care for my child when I literally cannot even fully care for myself. Dave is well and is a very proud daddy, but he also has concerns as his job does not permit him to be as available to me and Sylvia as he would like. And while I could not be happier with my daughter and feel more blessed that she is so healthy, I do find myself sometimes wishing I were still pregnant and could “do-over” the labor and birth in the hopes of having it done “right.”

Sylvia is, however, the most beautiful baby and she has actually been very, very good thus far. We are eager to see her grow and to let you all know her most recent adventures and our most recent happenings as a family of three (plus all those animals!).

Love to All,
Dave, Valerie and Sylvia