Wow... what a month its been. I've been trying to sit down and write for days (weeks) now, but I just can't find the time! Why, because I've got a newborn completely taking up all my time.
Abigail Olivia decided to arrive 2 weeks early on November 5.
We had been teasing some friends that were out of town all weekend that we were at the hospital. They were really concerned that we would have the baby while they were away. They even invited Gene and JJ to come for a while, but I told Gene that wasn't going to happen.
Sunday morning I felt a little sore. I was doing my morning routine and things just felt a little different. I was having braxton hicks (or what I thought were). It crossed my mind that this could be it, but i hadn't had any signs that it was time. My water hadn't broken, I didn't have the "bloody show", and the cramping really wasn't that painful. They continued on into the afternoon and I started monitoring them. Thank heavens for smart phones and apps. I downloaded an app that let me clock how long and how frequent they were. By 4:00 they were 7-8 minutes. Gene came home at that point and we decided that if they got to 5 minutes, we would go to the hospital. Well, at 7:30 we decided it was time to go. Better to be safe than sorry.
The drive to the hospital was surreal. I couldn't believe this could be it. I think I had convinced myself it was just false labor and I would be home later that night.
We headed up to the 6th floor triage. I told the nurse what was happening and they gave me a room. They hooked me up to the monitors. They did my blood pressure and then asked for the other arm. She said that side was a little high, she wanted to make sure it was really like that. She took the other side. While it was doing its thing, Gene asked what "high" was. She said it was 170 over something. And then the other side came up at 150 over something.
I knew at this point that I probably wasn't going anywhere for the night.
The doctor came in. She explained that my blood pressure was too high. Because I was a day shy of 38 weeks, they weren't going to send me home. I wasn't dilated at all yet, so she said they would start me on meds to do that and meds to try to prevent my body from reacting to the high pressures.
We started making calls. Letting our parents know that it was baby time. Some time within the next 24 hours, we would be having a baby.
Then the doctor came back in. She wanted to check the baby's position with the ultrasound. She moved the probe around for a while before telling us that she was breech. Ha! Either she turned back, or she didn't turn at all. (We think the later).
So... this meant a change of plans. This required a C-section. There were no other options. But, because I had decided to eat dinner, they couldn't do it till the morning because of the risk of aspiration. So, I was wheeled to a delivery room to get comfy for the night. I was hooked up to an IV and medicine.
The nurse warned me that the meds would make my body feel hot, but I wasn't prepared for what that was going to feel like. I have never felt that hot before in my entire life. It was an immediate surge of heat. Even my eyes felt hot!
Once that was regulated, I laid in bed for a while. Watching the teeny tiny TV. Gene slept soundly on the couch next to me. Around 2 the nurse asked me if I wanted something to help me sleep. I contemplated it, and ultimately decided for something. I knew the next day would be long and I wasn't going to get any sleep on my own that night. I had 4 more hours to go.
I was out instantly. I was awoken shortly before 6. The nurse was prepping me for the OR. Gene was getting prepped as well. I was wheeled down the hall into the OR suite.
I was given a spinal to numb me. It didn't hurt nearly like I thought it would. It was no different that an IV or a needle stick.
Gene appeared at my side and I could hear the doctor starting to work. It all happened so fast. I could hear them say she was peeing and pooping as they brought her out. I could hear them talking about how beautiful she was and how much hair she had.
They wrapped her up and held her next to me so I could see her. It was all still surreal.
They prepared me for recovery. The baby went to the nursery to get checked and Gene went to tell his parents.
I don't remember much from the recovery room. I do remember they brought Abby to me to hold her skin to skin. She was making all kinds of noises. The nurse told me she would have to go back to the nursery to get checked. In an instant she was whisked away and I wasn't sure why. The nurses continued to clean me up. Which included pushing down on my uterus. Even though I was numb from the waist down, I still felt every second of that pushing! Gosh it hurt!
From there, I was wheeled to my room. Gene went to check on Abby and brought her back to the room.
We were able to have a moment alone, just the three of us. It was incredible. We finally had the thing that we had been working so hard for.
All my hopes and fears were right there in my arms. She was precious. She was so tiny. She weighed in at 6 pounds 8 ounces. She was 18 and 3/4 inches long. She was a petite little thing. No baby chub at all. A full head of dark brown hair. It was love at first sight.
It wasn't much longer after that that the parade of family members started. Shirley and Gregg had been there since right after she was born. They were upset that they weren't in the waiting room the moment she was born. My parents arrived later in the morning. JJ came that afternoon. He was so proud. I don't think the big brother grin has left his face.
We were complete. We were whole. It was a long journey, but it was all worth it.
Glasses of Lemonade for everyone!
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