What a Week!

Okay, it's been a couple of days since I posted, because I had the baby!!!! On Wednesday night(March 4) I lost my mucus plug and started cramping. First thing Thursday morning (March 5) I called into my doctor. I was advised to go to the hospital. While getting ready, I threw up several times in the shower. I stopped by school quickly to make sure I had plans and copies ready for a substitute. I left school and headed to the hospital at 7:30am. At the hospital, I was placed in a triage room and hooked up to a monitor. When they checked my cervix, it was 1 cm dilated. The nurses and doctor on call were not worried, but they were concerned that the baby's heart rate dropped each time I contracted. They administered 3 doses of tribultaline to me over the course of the next hour and started an IV. The baby's heart rate stabilized, but I continued to contract. They were not painful contractions at this point....they just felt like cramps. At noon that day, I was admitted to a labor and delivery room and taken off the monitor. I was told they would continue to monitor me throughout the rest of the day and that more than likely I would be spending the night. I was confused, because they weren't highly concerned about the contractions and I was probably spending the night. Anyway, they brought me lunch and I just rested for the remainder of the afternoon. After I ate dinner, I started cramping again and they were stronger this time. The nurses put me back on the monitor and gave me a clicker to mark when I felt cramps. After an hour, they took me off the monitor and said the contractions were not regular. Nick came and saw me around 7 pm. He had been at the Agricenter all day setting up for the Home Show. He had not been feeling good all week, so at around 8 pm I told him to go home. That way he could check on the dogs and get some rest. I specifically remember telling him, "It's not like I'm having the baby or anything." I also was joking with him that this was a great test run for our real delivery day. So Nick leaves and I tell him I will call him if anything changes. My friend Laine came by and saw me and we visited for about an hour. I ended up asking her to leave because I needed to use the restroom. I was starting to have a lot of pressure. At 10 pm, things started intensifying. I was put back on the monitor and given a shot of Staydol. Earlier this medication had eased the pain a bit but was doing nothing for me now. The nurse checked my cervix at 11:30pm and I was 2 cm dilated. The contractions were very painful at this time and I was having to get up and go to the bathroom every 2 minutes to relieve the pressure I was feeling. Still, the contractions were not coming up on the monitor at regular intervals. I was having them at regular intervals and they just weren't coming up the way I was feeling them. I told he nurse she had to do something because I couldn't take much more. Around midnight, they administered magnesium through my iv. Just before 1pm, my nurse checked my cervix and I was 5 cm dilated. It only took an hour and half to increase from 2cm-5cm. I called Nick and told him to get here soon and I thought I might be having the baby. While I was still on the phone with him, another nurse came him to check me. I went from 5cm-9cm in about 2-3 minutes. I got off the phone with Nick and called my mom and dad and told them to hurry up and get to the hospital. The doctor rushed in and lots of nurses. I really started to loose it at this point. I asked if I was fixing to push this baby out. They did an ultrasound and confirmed that the baby was still breach. I was rushed into the operating room and was being prepared for surgery. Nick was still not there. I remember looking down and seeing a lot of blood. The last thing I remember was grabbing the doctor's hand and squeezing really hard. They stretched my arms out and placed a mask on my face. I was knocked completely out. Nick and my parents had made it but could not come back to the OR. I delivered my baby on Friday (March 6) at 1:45am. Everything is kinda of fuzzy after the delivery. I woke up in recovery with warm blankets all over me. I remember being mad and asking to see someone I knew. Finally, around 3pm they brought me back to my room. Nick and my parents were just staring at me with looks like I have never seen. I thought something was wrong with the baby, but I later found out they were just concerned because I was so mad. At around 3:30am, the NICU doctor came in to fill us in on the baby. I vaguely remember this. Then a NICU nurse came in and told Nick he could come see the baby. I was told I would not be able to see the baby until 12 hours after delivery. Nick and my parents went to the NICU to see the baby. They brought back the following pictures to show me.

My first reaction to these pictures: He's small, but not as small as I thought he would be. I was dying to see him myself. I asked my nurse why I had to wait so long. She said I had to be able to get up and walk to the bathroom and then to a whel chair before seeing my baby. I told her to bring on the wheel chair. At 9:30am, I got up and walked to bathroom and then to the wheel chair that would take me to my baby.