Our newest addition

We had hoped to keep Baby Garcia in the womb as long as possible – but really only had educated guesses as to how long that may be.

Turns out, that was 32 weeks.

On Thursday the 30th, my platelets dropped, causing our consulting physician to recommend induction. Even before we began that process, my blood pressure started to rise again (and wasn’t responding well to drugs) and my swelling had increased dramatically.

I had lots of side effects of the induction drug and/or the magnesium sulfate I was back on to prevent seizures – and by the time the day was done, I was physically and mentally exhausted. I couldn’t stand on my own feet between dizziness from the magnesium and swelling in my feet. I couldn’t grasp a spoon to feed myself ice chips since my hands were so swollen. I couldn’t see thanks to an unrecognizably swollen face, along with the characteristic “visual disturbances” associated with pre-eclampsia. And my oxygen saturations were dropping.

By midnight, I realized that I would not have the physical or emotional strength to attempt a vaginal delivery (at least another 12-24 hours on Pitocin) with the restrictions my condition placed on me. I requested a Caesarean section.

At 3:32 Friday morning, Tirzah Mae Eloise Garcia was born at 32 weeks 1 day of gestation. She was 17.5 inches long and weighed 3 lbs, 5 oz. She was born with her umbilical cord tightly wrapped around her neck twice.

In retrospect, Tirzah Mae’s cord plus my own health status could easily have necessitated an emergency c-section had we proceeded with an oxytocin-induced vaginal delivery, and I could have then needed general anesthesia so Daniel couldn’t be there and potentially would have ended up with an incision that would make VBAC less likely.

As it is, God in His mercy gave us an uncomplicated c-section with ample chance for VBAC and beautiful, healthy baby born at 32 weeks, 1 day.

We’re still in the hospital – I will probably be here just one more day but we’re still working on getting my blood pressure under control. Tirzah Mae will be here longer, not because she isn’t doing well, but simply because she still has weeks of maturing to do before she’s ready to face the outside world on her own. For now, she’s breathing under her own power and starting to get tiny feedings of her mama’s breast milk. We treasure every moment we get to spend with our precious Tirzah Mae.

Thank you all for loving us and praying for us – and please continue to pray for us as we continue this joyful and challenging journey as parents of a preemie.