I never recorded our "birth story" and while I know I will never forget that day, I wanted to get it in writing. So, in honor of D being 2 months old today, I thought today should be the day. I will also do a post about our week. If you don't want to read all this I understand...I just wanted it recorded for posterity :) I will be posting another entry with updates on D and pics in a bit.
October 14th was my swearing in ceremony. The ceremony was at the convention center and there was a lot of standing around that morning. I wasn't used to standing so much and I was uncomfortable by the end. However, I didn't think much of it. I blamed my discomfort on all the standing. I went to work that afternoon and ended up working a few hours late. Then, Nick and I went to dinner and picked up a birthday gift. Around 10pm I went pee and as I was walking out of the bathroom I felt like I peed my pants. It wasn't anything drastic like on TV, but something wasn't right. I was hesitant to call the doctor because I really thought I peed my pants, I mean, I was only 29 weeks pregnant, there was no way my water broke. After talking with a friend who is a nurse I decided to call the after-hours service. The on-call doctor called me back and very calmly told me I should come into labor and delivery to get checked out. So, Nick and I headed to Community East. We weren't panicked or anything because we both really thought it was nothing. In fact, we kept joking that we were going to the hospital at 11pm to be told I peed my pants. When we got to the hospital there was a moment of panic because we didn't even know where the labor and delivery unit was (we were scheduled to take a tour at the beginning of November). Once we got up there it just so happened that a friend's mother-in-law was my nurse. We were still joking around and just chatting. The nurse told us she was going to do a quick test and if the swab turned blue it meant my water broke. Let's just say there was no question, that swab turned dark blue fast.
I can still see the nurse holding up that swab. In a very calm "nurse voice" she told me they were going to do a few things very quickly and call an ambulance. That's when I really panicked. An ambulance? I was already at the hospital! She explained that I need to go to Community North because East's NICU wasn't equipped to handle a 29 week preemie. I started crying and Nick, as usual, stayed calm, but I could see he was scared too. I had to speak with North on the phone to give them my information. The woman asked my occupation and what do ya know, I was able to say attorney! They hooked me up to an IV and began pumping me full of magnesium sulfate, which felt like fire in my veins. This was to stop the contractions I didn't know I was having. I was given a shot of steroids to help develop D's lungs and then I was whisked into the ambulance. Nick couldn't ride with me, but the nurse did. It was all so surreal and we both were really thinking we were having a baby that night.
By the time I got to North my contractions had stopped and they had me on IV antibiotics (infection is a big concern once your water breaks). The doctor explained that it didn't look like we were having a baby that night, but I was going to be there until we did. The next 3 weeks and 4 days were full of ups and downs. I would have contractions and then they would go away. D's fluid levels would look good and then they would drop. His heart rate would be strong and then it would drop. I knew it was a real possibility that I would have to have an emergency c-section because D was in distress because of the lack of fluid. But, we never got to that point. He stayed strong and just kept growing
The evening of November 7th I was feeling pretty uncomfortable. I even mentioned it to Nick, but I was thinking it was just me getting bigger that was causing my discomfort. At that point I was on a contraction monitor for 4 hours and off for 2. No contractions were being picked up so I didn't think anything of it. At 2am the nurse came in and took me off my monitors for my 2 hour break. That was usually when I slept the best bcause I could move around more. But, I didn't sleep at all. My back hurt and I just couldn't get comfortable. When the nurse came back in at 4 I told her how uncomfortable I was. She said they didn't sound like contractions and she gave me some Tylenol and said she would check in a little later. Well, by 5:30 I knew something was going on. The pain would come in waves and I would have to grip the side of the bed. The nurse hadn't come back and Nick was sleeping. I woke Nick up (using some obscenities) and told him something was happening and I was angry the nurse hadn't come back. Nick comes and looks at the monitor and tells me "well, no contractions are showing on the monitor." That comment got him a few more obscenities and we called for the nurse. She also told me nothing was showing on the monitor (if one more person mentioned the monitor they were getting punched!). Finally, she moved it on my belly and BAM it stated picking up the contractions I knew I had been having.
At this point it was around 6:30am and I was 2cm dilated. This is when I started crying (and would continue crying the rest of the day). She told the doctor my contractions were bringing me to tears. She had no idea my tears had nothing to do with the pain. I was so scared because I just wasn't ready for him to be born yet. I wanted him to get bigger and stronger first. She gave me some Nubane for the pain (which was wonderful) and the gave me some IV fluids to see if the contractions would stop. They didn't. By the time my doctor got there around 8:30 I was 4cm dilated and she told me I could get my epidural. This made me cry more because it really made it real. By the time the anesthesiologist got there I was sobbing and he thought I was scared of the epidural. Again, nope. The nurse told Nick he should probably leave the room while they did the epidural (or at least sit down). He wouldn't. He stayed the whole time. At first the epidural gave me a splitting headache, but it went away pretty quickly and I was comfortable and much calmer. Our parents were all there after the epidural set in and we just kind of hung out. By 2:15pm I was fully dilated. The parents were kicked out and the doctor said I could try pushing. Well, that ws much easier said than done. I tried to push but I couldn't feel anything because of the epidural. So, we waited about an hour. At that point 4 nurses from the NICU came into the room so they could take care of D when he came. At about 3:15pm I started pushing. D's heart rate was going down so I had to wear an oxygen mask as I pushed. I pushed through 3 contractions and on the 4th one, at 3:31pm, Dominic Scott Rabiola was born!
I swear I didn't breathe until I heard him cry. When I hear his little squawk everything else disappeared. His cord was tied in a perfect knot, so it is good he came when he did. Nick cut his cord and the NICU nurses "puffed" his lungs, cleaned him off and let me hold him for just a minute. Then they had to take him up to the NICU. Our family was right outside in the waiting area and the nurses asked if they could show him to them on the way out. Of course we said yes. I would have liked to have seen them try to get past the grandparents without letting them look!
I got cleaned up and the families came in to wait for word from the doctor. After about 2 hours Nick was able to go up and see him. I couldn't because of the epidural. While he was up there the doctor came down and gave us the stats (4lbs, 16.5 inches) and told us he was breathing on his own and looked great! Nick then took our parents up there in shifts to see him. It was hard to see everyone else going up there, but a few hours later I was able to go see him. I didn't get to hold him that night. But, first thing the next morning I was up there and I got to hold him.
To say things didn't go how I planned would be an understatement. But, none of that matters now. We have our perfect, beautiful, healthy son home with us and we love him with all of our hearts...and that is what matters!
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