After going to the doctors two times in the last two weeks to make sure that everything was okay with my pregnancy, I went again this morning. I left work early because there was no way that spotting this late in the game was normal. Well, we got sent home from the doctors again saying that everything looked normal.
I went home and sat on the couch the rest of the day, afraid to move. My husband was great at tending to me, getting me whatever I needed. After relaxing on the couch most of the day, I started feeling cramps at 4:30 pm. I didn't say anything to anyone because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be having them since I was spotting, but once dinner arrived I said that I had been having cramps for 4 hours. I even timed them to be 3-4 minutes apart - not even thinking that they could be contractions! No one seemed concerned so I took a nap so I didn't have to feel them anymore. When I woke up around 11:30 pm, I went to the bathroom only to find that I was bleeding. I immediately called the on call doctor who said to come in to the OB triage so that they could observe me until Saturday. Chris did not understand why I had to go to the hospital if my doctor told me that everything was normal. However, he did take me. We left Ant at home to get some rest and told him that we would let him know if we needed him to come.
Once we arrived at the hospital, the doctor put the monitors on me and checked me. Luckily, I was not dilated at all, but unfortunately, I was still bleeding. The doctor told me that he thought there was only a 10% chance (at that time) of me delivering our son.
Once all my vitals were taken, then sent me to another room so they could keep a close eye on me. They put IV's in me for fluids and for magnesium to help the baby if he were to make an appearance soon. Once they hooked me up again to the monitors, the nurse told me that I was having contractions. I looked at Chris and said "those were contractions?" I know they were 3-4 minutes apart, but I didn't know that they were contractions! (Looking back I feel like an idiot - but when you are only 26 weeks, who thinks of having contractions?) Reality quickly set in.
The doctor checked me a couple hours later because the pain was getting worse. They gave me morphine to help the pain, but it did nothing for me. I knew by the look on his face that something just wasn't right. He then told us that I was less than a cm dilated, but that worried him. He told a nurse to give me a shot to help develop my baby's lungs, just incase he were to arrive today. They told me I would have another one (if I was still pregnant) in 24 hours. The doctor then told me that there was now a 50/50 chance of me having a baby today. He also said I would not go home pregnant, so if I did not have him, I would be at the hospital on bed rest the rest of my pregnancy.
We were both in shock. We had so much on our minds. I was only 26 weeks pregnant. Surely this couldn't be happening. My doctors told me everything that was happening with me were normal at my appointment!
When 6 am arrived, a new doctor came in and checked me again. I was 3 cm dilated. She told me I would have this baby today. TODAY. Chris and I cried. We had no idea what would happen from this point forward. We knew nothing would be the same. The NICU doctor came to talk with us about what would happen when our little boy was born. There was just too much information to take in. I remember them saying he would need a blood transfusion. I remember hearing that his chance of survival at 26 weeks was 90%. I am not sure that really made me feel better about having him, but I also felt a little better knowing that 90% is a good chance.
My mom was on her way from NY after Ant had called her telling her she needed to leave as soon as possible. Chris' parents were on their way. Things were getting too real. By 8 am I had an epidural hoping things would slow down. The contractions slowed down and were then 8-10 minutes apart. I went a long stretch with no contractions, hoping that I would stop progressing so I could let my baby grow a little more in my belly. Once the epidural started wearing off, the contractions came again every 3-4 minutes. We were devastated.
By 3:30 pm, I was 9.5 cm dilated. The doctor said that I may need a blood transfusion depending on what happened. I was afraid. I had no idea what was going to happen.
My epidural ran out again, and I had the most intense pain of my life. My mom and mother in law had to leave the room because I was in so much pain. Luckily, right before I started to push, the anesthesiologist gave me some relief.
No comments:
Post a Comment