The Angel's Veil

(WARNING- this is a lot of labor talk, so it might be too much information for you and I'm not real experienced in the medical field so I might say things wrong.) 

On the tenth day (Thursday, August 23rd) of being on strict bed rest at the hospital I started into labor again.  Josh came up mid-afternoon because I was having a hard time.  My contractions were picking up and I had dilated to a 6 by that evening.  When my doctor came in to check on me- he started me on all sorts of meds to stop the contractions.  I was on Indocine, a shot of Tributalene, and an IV with Magnesium Sulfate. The Magnesium was given to me for the baby because it helps reduce the chance of Cerebral Palsy. I received another shot of steroids for her lungs as well.  I also had a shot of Morphine for the pain and I didn't wait too long before I received my epidural. 
All the meds slowed down the contractions until noon the next day, Friday.  I felt awful with so many things going through my body on top of  the contractions.  Friday was the day I turned 25 weeks.  10 days in the hospital made a huge difference for Kate's survival 80-90% and decreased her chance of neurological damage to about 25%.  If she had been born at 23 weeks, like she had tried on the 13th the chances of survival were around 40% with 80% of neurological damage. I know it was through MANY, MANY prayers and by Heavenly Father's hand that she was given those extra 10 days to grow! 
I was a wreck most of Friday morning, because I knew Kate was on her way.  It was only a matter of hours.  My Doctor could only do so much to stop the contractions and everything had been done.  At noon, that day, the contraction medicine would wear off and I couldn't have anymore because of the risks to the baby and me.  As noon approached I had a little break down because I was so frightened to let nature take its course.  I didn't feel prepared to meet this tiny little baby and start on the next journey.  I asked the nurse if we could do anything else to stop this from happening and she called my Dr.  He said we could possibly stay on the Magnesium Sulfate and get another 12 hrs. of time, but that also made it so that if I did have her she would be under the influence of the medicine and it is harder on them to stabilize.  It was a very hard decision to make because I just wasn't ready to move forward, but neither Josh or I felt comfortable trying to postpone it any longer.  We decided to stop the meds. and let whatever was supposed to happen-happen. 
My contractions picked up and around 4pm my Dr. came in and said I was complete, the head was down in the birth canal, and my membranes(amniotic sac or bag of water) was bulging.  He talked with the NICU team and started preparing for me to have Kate.  He sat down and talked to us about his plan to
deliver her.  My bag of water  seemed to be on the brink of breaking, but was still holding strong.  Several doctors had told me that usually after an emergency cerclage is placed the bag of water breaks within the first 7 days.  My family made a joke about my amniotic sac and said I had a "Bag of Steel".  My Dr. told me he would like to try and deliver my baby with her bag of water still in tact if possible.  He said that only very special babies have this happen and they call it the "Angel's Veil".  The water cushions the baby and protects her from the pressures of labor especially on her head.  Labor on these preemie babies can often cause brain bleeds and a lot of bruising.  As crazy as this sounded- I was praying for her to be delivered this way to give her every chance possible to keep her healthy. 
I was prepped and ready to go to the OR for delivery.  It was 5 pm.  My Dr. wanted to give me as much time as possible to keep Kate in.  At this point every minute and hour counted still.  I needed to wait until 9 pm to make sure the steroids and Magnesium Sulfate had full effect on the baby, but chances of doing that were pretty slim.  So Josh and I passed time in the OR for an hour, while everyone else was on standby.  Just after 6, my Dr. came in and said he felt like we should deliver this baby.  Everyone started swarming the room preparing, but the NICU Dr. felt differently about delivering.  A bit of debate occurred between the two doctors about now vs. later.  They came to the conclusion that we would wait as long as possible to give the baby the best chances possible and so everything came to a stop. 
Within 10 minutes of this discussion I started bleeding heavily.  My Dr. said he needed to deliver this baby now.  In a matter of minutes Kate came into the world in her "Angel's Veil".  She was completely enclosed in her amniotic sac.  A miracle to say the least.  The scariest part was that my placenta completely abrupted and came out with Kate.  When this happens the baby is left without oxygen and crashes.  Timing was crucial- a matter of seconds with this delivery could have made a life-threatening difference.  My Dr. was expecting to be able to break the bag of water with his finger- but it truly was a "Bag of Steel".  He had to get scissors and cut it open.  She was quickly rushed away to the NICU team. (Looking back- I know we were guided in the decision we made to not continue the Magnesium, if we hadn't the placenta might have abrupted at anytime when we weren't prepared.) 
The NICU team immediately put her in a gallon size Ziploc bag to keep in her body temperature and humidity while they worked to stabilize her.  After she was taken to the NICU, the bag was removed and she was settled into the incubator. 
She is my LITTLE miracle baby-she is a very special and strong little girl!  I know without a doubt that the Lord was there guiding how this all played out.  I know that Heavenly Father protected my baby with His "Angels Veil."  I know I have been surrounded by angels, by loved ones that have passed on helping me get through this.  I know that many prayers of family and friends made a difference in my babies life.   I know my Dr. was in tune with the spirit and on many occasions throughout the last 2 weeks he knew exactly what to do and more importantly -when to do it.  Although this next journey in our life will be long and hard, I am so grateful for this special delivery! (Read the post "A Matter of Minutes" to find out why I was put into the hospital in the first place.)