Birth Story + AdventHealth South OP

The last time Ben and I stood in front of an AdventHealth hospital, we were going home for the first time after a 4-day stay in the NICU. I had the privilege of touring the new AdventHealth South Overland Park hospital (now open!) and gosh did it bring back so many emotions and memories from our experience just three short months ago.

Around 4:30am on September 2, I awoke thinking my water may have broken. It turned out to be a “false alarm”—or so I thought. An hour later, I awoke again and this time there was no mistaking that my water had, in fact, broken. Adam and I both could not believe it. I called my doctor’s office and was instructed to head to the hospital, as I was group B positive and needed to get started on antibiotics as soon as possible. Our hospital bags weren’t packed yet (my to-do for that day!), so we quickly packed, I took a shower, made arrangements for the pets, called my parents, and we were on our way to AdventHealth Shawnee Mission.

After triage confirmed my water broke, I was admitted and in my labor and delivery room by 9:00am. The day was already moving so quickly!

While I was making some progress, we needed to help it along since my water had already broken. So by noon, I received Pitocin and the waiting game continued. My contractions so far had been minimal, and most of the time I couldn’t even tell I was having one. Adam and I joked that if my contractions were going to be like this, maybe I didn’t need an epidural. HA! It wasn’t long after that the contractions really kicked in and the pain was intense (mamas who labor without meds—I don’t know how you do it). My epidural was in by 2:00pm.

My mom drove in from out of town and arrived at the hospital around 3:00pm. I was so grateful that the COVID protocols allowed for a +1 in addition to Adam. Just having her there made such a big difference—I’m a total mama’s girl.

The rest of the afternoon we hung out, monitored progress, and at 7:30pm I was fully dilated so we started practice pushing. That didn’t last long, however, because by 8:00pm I was in active labor and baby made his grand entrance at 8:29pm! He was a precious and perfect 7 lbs 13 ounces and 20.5” long. The flood of love and emotions I felt in the moment he was born and first laid on my chest are indescribable! I am beyond grateful for a smooth, uncomplicated (and fast) labor and delivery, as this set me up for an easy recovery!

In the aftermath, we learned that baby was Coombs positive as a result of his A+ blood type being incompatible with my O+ blood type. Because of this incompatibility, I had been sending him antibodies during the pregnancy, which attacked his red blood cells and put him at a higher risk for jaundice. We were sent to our postpartum recovery room and the medical team continued to monitor him.

Noon the next day, baby (who we still hadn’t officially named yet) had his bilirubin levels tested. The results came back high, so he was taken for a blood test to double check. Those results were even higher and about an hour later he was admitted to the NICU for jaundice. While jaundice is fairly common, it felt overwhelming to me/us. It all happened so abruptly, but it was necessary to get in front of this, as he was born at 37w5d and his liver wasn’t fully developed yet to fight the jaundice on his own. When I finally got to see him after he was settled into his NICU room, I started crying and pretty much didn’t stop the rest of the day. I knew baby was okay and receiving the best care, but seeing him under the bili lights and hooked up to the monitors made my heart hurt. Mama was an emotional mess.

[Quick shoutout to our our night nurse, Sarah, who was an absolute angel. She was with us all three nights when it felt the hardest and I am so grateful. Sarah understood what I needed as a new and first time mom, as a mom to a baby in the NICU, a mom trying to figure out how to breastfeed, as a mom running on very little sleep, and went above and beyond at every turn for both of us.]

I was discharged two days postpartum on September 4, and baby stayed in the NICU for two more days, as his bilirubin numbers continued to rise. By this point, we had landed on his name—Ben Thomas—and it broke my mama heart to be going home without Ben. (I’ll be sharing more on our NICU experience and treating his jaundice in a part II post covering postpartum and breastfeeding—-stay tuned!)

What made such a difference for us was that we lived less than 10 minutes from AdventHealth. Adam and I could easily and quickly go between the hospital and home in between feedings to shower, eat, etc. We didn’t have to spend that precious time driving through the city to get to and from the hospital and home. This, for me, is one of the biggest advantages I took away from the new AdventHealth South Overland Park hospital.

Conveniently located off 69 Highway and 165th Street, more KC metro residents will be able to receive incredible care at an AdventHealth hospital. This new state-of-the-art hospital is fully equipped with an emergency department, birth center, NICU, surgical services, intensive care unit, heart care and more! To say this new facility is beautiful and well-designed would be an understatement.

The layout of the building is incredibly intuitive and easy to navigate. Once you walk into the birth center entrance, the elevators are a straight walk ahead (and directly next to the Scooters—IYKYK). The birth center currently has eight functioning rooms with capacity for 16, two triage bays, an operating room for emergency C-sections, a NICU, and “sleeping rooms” for the on call laborist and neonatal nurse practitioner, who are available for the 24/7 birth center operations—all on the same floor! What’s even more amazing, is that labor and delivery and postpartum recovery are all in one room! No moving between rooms after baby is born. Plus, the majority of the rooms also have a bathtub, which will be especially beneficial for those mamas with birth plans or medical needs that necessitate access and use of a bathtub.

What resonated most with me was the quick and convenient access to the NICU on the other side of the hall. Parents can easily navigate from the labor/recovery room to baby’s NICU room without having to navigate long halls or multiple floors and processes to see their baby(ies). As a mama who was still a little wobbly from the epidural and moving slow from a vaginal delivery with a baby in the NICU, I more than appreciate the thought that went into this design and the positive experience this will create for families!

We absolutely loved our birth experience at AdventHealth Shawnee Mission, and I am so excited for more families around the metro to receive the same high quality of care and experience at the new South Overland Park location.

For more information on the AdventHealth South Overland Park facilities and available services, please visit their website here.

Photos 1-2: birth center entrance; Photos 3-5: lobby; Photo 6: triage bay; Photos 7-9: labor & delivery/postpartum & recovery rooms; Photo 10: nursery; Photo 11: operating room; Photo 12: NICU room