Moments in the Wong House!: Siennas birth story

And when Isabella was 4 months old I decided to take a pregnancy test,and what do you know??!!!!! (it had taken us 1 1/2 years to conceive Isabella,so we were NOT expecting this surprise!).Turns out exclusively breastfeeding does not work as a contraceptive!hahaha.I was so ecstatic though.I knew I would have to to have another c-section (uterus was too torn) and that scared me,.and having what we thought would be a 13 month age gap scared me too I thought it was the best news ever.I mean children are the best blessing in life!

This post will probably be a bit more pregnancy related then birth.

When I was 8 weeks pregnant the results came back from my 6 week blood tests.My midwife rung me to tell me they hadn't come back as normal.Because of the blood transfusions I had had with Isabella,my body had created anti-bodies because my body saw the transfused blood as foreign and decided to attack.Hence the anti-bodies.My midwife assured me that at worst Sienna would be born a little jaundiced,and I would have to have a routine scan at 24 weeks just to check that bubs was ok.

My pregnancy went ok.I was still breastfeeding Isabella which I believe helped reduce the morning sickness (though it was definitely still present.But I was able to eat more which helped a lot).My scar from the c-section with Isabella was causing me quite a bit of pain but I put that down to not having long enough between Isabellas birth and this pregnancy for it to heal fully. (bit more on that in a bit).

So 29 weeks rolls around and I finally got an appointment at Waikato Hospital for a scan.We went in,never thinking anything would be wrong (after all,the only thing that would be wrong was jaundice!).The technician was very quiet and very tight lipped.We were told to wait in the waiting room for the doctor.At this point I started worrying.Steve tried to reassure me it was normal routine.Went in to the doctor,she fiddled and fidgeted a bit,then said something along the lines (I have blocked it out I swear!) of "ÿour baby is very sick and we are referring you up to National Women's Hospital in Auckland because this is beyond our expertise".She went on to tell us the anti-bodies in my blood had crossed over the placenta and were attacking the red blood cells in Sienna's blood.It meant her body wasn't getting enough oxygen.Which isn't a good thing.If it got too low she could have gone into cardiac arrest.
Three days later we went to our first of many appointments at National Women's.The first 3 weeks she was ok,but on the 4th week the doctor kept re-scanning and re-scanning.The oxygen level was way too low,so they arranged for an in-uterine blood transfusion for two days later.I really don't remember very much,and still don't understand it all.Even in typing this I have had to ask Steve.
The day after we got the news we ended up at Waikato being monitored as I was warned to keep an eye on her movements as that could indicate her heart stopping.Her movements slowed down,so up we went.She was fine thank God!
The hospital had an issue with finding donors that had an exact match to my blood.Turns out there are 7 people in New Zealand with blood that matches mine.One amazing man came home from his holiday to donate!Bless him.
The transfusion went well,her oxygen levels came up pretty quickly.Normally transfusions have to be repeated,but thankfully she only needed the one.
Because of the issue with her oxygen levels and my issues with my scar (there was a chance it could tear during labour,and by this point it was incredibly painful as it was),I was scheduled to have an elective c-section (I hate that word!I didn't want another c-section,I had too!Big BIG difference).

So at 37 weeks on the 12th of February we trooped up to Waikato Hospital (literally all 3 of us.I was still breastfeeding Isabella 5 times a day so she came too!).We ended up nervously waiting for 6 hours,but eventually went into theatre and

at 1.19pm Sienna Evelyn Abigail Wong was born!!!

The elective was so different to the emergency c-section!Night and day really.I was concious through it all,I got to hold Sienna within seconds!!!When I went into recovery I was able to feed her straight away,she guzzled some milk and fell fast asleep! (thank God that I kept breastfeeding and didn't have to wait for my milk to come in).

She had to have quite a few blood tests (blood was supposed to be taken from her cord but the screwed up,so literally 10 heel pricks later they managed to get it good enough to test it!).Apart from jaundice,she was a perfectly healthy and happy little girl!Isabella wasn't too sure about her at first (they are best friends now and we have never had a problem with them together).
The surgeon said while they were stitching me up that my scar had been tearing while she was inside,and recommended not having any more children (I don't think she knew I was so coherent and listening).In recovery we were told I would need to seriously consider subsequent pregnancies as I would have to be monitored really closely with my scar,so that on top of being monitored for bubs oxygen levels and future c-sections,we decided the risk was way too great for me and any other children,so hubby went and had the snip.Sienna has never had any major health issues,and is such an amazing,unexpected blessing in our lives!