Where do I start? After loosing Anne in November 2016, we were both scared and thrilled when I got a positive pregnancy test. We had those same feelings at 7 weeks when we went in for an ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy and over the moon when we heard his heart beating. At 11 weeks I had my initial OB appointment and, because of my history, was immediately referred to an MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist). Dr Tabb was amazing! Starting at 13 weeks I had an ultrasound every other week. On September 27, 2017, at 19 weeks 2 days, we had Oscar's anatomy scan. At that appointment we found out that he has a structural heart defect and we were referred to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for conformation.
I continued to to be seen by my normal OB on a regular schedule as well as Dr. Tabb every 2-3 weeks. We came to Cincinnati a couple of times for echos and an appointment at the hospital where I expected to give birth. A plan was in place that I would relocate to Cincinnati at about 36-37 weeks which would have been the end of January. I started having weekly ultrasounds at 32 weeks (the week of Christmas) with the knowledge that if anything changed, I would need to go to Cincinnati right away to ensure that Oscar would be born there. Joe, Jacob and I all went to that 32 week appointment on December 27th. Oscar looked great; we saw his hair on the ultrasound. His estimated weight was 3lbs 5oz; my cervical length was still over 3cm. He was in position but had been low the entire time and no one expected anything to happen any time soon. I saw my OB the next day; my stomach measured spot on; his heart rate was good and I went back to work.
Sunday, December 31, 2017 we were visiting with friends and I started having what I thought were Braxton-Hicks contractions. I told Joe that we needed to go home so I could lay down. In the car on the way home I realized that they were regular and so I grabbed a bag and threw in a change of clothes, Jacob's Godmother came pick up Jacob, and off to the hospital we went. I'm glad we went when we did. I was put in a triage room and when the nurse came in, she made the decision to not wait for the doctor, but the check me right away. It's a good thing she did because I was already at 9 cm! My OB and the on-call neonatologist were called and I was told that if I really couldn't wait to push that it was OK, but it would be best if I could hold off until they both got there. I was able to wait....just. Oscar Anthony Keller was born at 6:23 PM CST. He was 16 inches long and weighed in at 3 lbs 12 oz.
He was laid on my stomach and they waited about a minute to clamp his umbilical cord. We heard him cry - I can't express how relived we were to hear that sound. He was then whisked off to NICU, the neonatologist on the phone with Cincinnati to find out exactly what they wanted her to do. A few hours later, we were able to go see him in the NICU. Joe got word that he would be able to travel with Oscar to Cincinnati so he ran home to get a change of clothes to take along and a friend drove him back to the hospital so our cars would be at home. Around 1 AM the transport team arrived, did their assessment, transferred Oscar into a special bed and brought him to my room for a quick visit around 2:00 before he and Joe left for the airport in an ambulance. They rode in a private jet to Cincinnati. I was discharged from the hospital around noon on New Year's Day, about 18 hours after Oscar was born. A co-worker drove me home and did my laundry for me and I spent some time with Jacob. The next day a friend drove me and our van to Cincinnati while her son followed so we would have a car here.
You can see pictures and read more about Oscar's first weeks at Joe's Instragram account:
https://www.instagram.com/indianajo3/ (you don't have to join to view)
