Today, Susanne was being admitted into the hospital to be induced. Her doctor had decided that with her being 41 weeks pregnant, it was time for baby Padilla to be born. Late as usual, Scott and Susanne arrived at the Hylton Family Birthing Center around 7:45am. They were immediately taken to a private room to get settled in. She was first asked to change into a hospital gown. It sounded like such a easy task, but she was proven otherwise. Susanne actually had to ask for some assistance with the gown because she didn't know which string tied to what. Next, Susanne had an intravenous catheter placed so that she could receive fluids and intravenous antibiotics. She was shocked at how much the intravenous antibiotics burned as they were administered. On the other hand, it was kind of cool for her to be on the other side of things and experience what some of her patients had to go through on a daily basis. Susanne was also hooked up to an external fetal monitor that allowed the doctor to continuously monitor the baby's heart rate and her contractions. Once she was all set up, they administered the Pitocin. She was previously warned that this medication would cause her contractions to be more intense and closer together for a longer period of time. She was not looking forward to that at all. Shortly thereafter, her doctor broke her water using a amnihook, which looked like a crochet hook. It was surprisingly not painful. Now it was a waiting game. Let the labor begin!
As Susanne's labor progressed, she requested to watch "The Bachelor" on Scott's laptop as a way to pass the time. At around 1:30pm, Susanne's contractions were getting pretty intense. Her doctor kept checking in on her to see how she was holding up. The doctor continued to ask her if she would like an epidural for pain management. Susanne had previously declined, but she wasn't opposed to it. She ended up changing her mind because her doctor repeatedly mentioned to Susanne that she didn't have to try to be Superwoman and that she should know better than anybody that there were pain medications out there for a reason. She thought that this was sound advice. By 2:00pm, Susanne listened and requested an epidural. During the procedure, she made sure that the anesthesiologist did not allow her to see the catheter that they would be using because she knew how big it was from doing them herself on animals. The mere size of it would freak her out. Susanne was already dilated to 5cm by the time the epidural catheter was in place. Her labor was progressing beautifully. Once Susanne was settled, Scott decided to go out to the waiting room to give everyone an update on her status. Scott was pleased to see that his dad had brought him lunch. While Scott was refueling, Susanne had a urinary catheter placed. This was a requirement for any patient that had an epidural because of the loss of sensation that occurred from the waist down. Afterwards, Susanne tried to get some rest. Scott hardly had time to finish his lunch, when Susanne called him on his cell phone to inform him that it was almost go time. She was already dilated to 9cm. He knew that he should probably get back to her bedside pronto. Susanne started to push at around 4:00pm and 32 minutes later, out popped little Paxton.
Paxton Eli Padilla weighed in at a whopping 5lbs 7oz, and was 19 inches long. It didn't take long before everyone realized that something wasn't right. The doctors immediately noticed that Paxton was not crying and that he was having a bit of a rough start. They rushed to get him stabilized and asked Scott to stand back. Their world came crashing down. They didn't know what was wrong. All they knew was that Paxton was in critical condition. Their thoughts about a how the labor and delivery process was supposed to be were shattered within minutes. Scott didn't get to cut the umbilical cord and Susanne didn't get to hold him post-delivery. The doctors finally informed them that they had found that Paxton had an obstructed airway along with a congenital heart condition that would need immediate attention. He was intubated with some difficulty, but they were finally successful. Once the endotracheal tube was in place, they were able to supplement him with oxygen. This was critical for his survival. Once he was stabilized, Paxton had to be transferred to the NICU of a nearby hospital that had the appropriate specialists who could address his specific needs. Scott and Susanne were already feeling a sense of loss even though Paxton was still alive.
This was definitely a bittersweet day for them. It was one that was filled with the joy of having a new baby, but the sorrow of having him taken away. They could easily see how people could take for granted the simple things about the birth of a child such as just being able to hold them.
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