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If there is one thing I learned about my son it is that he is impatient and wants to do things in his own time.
Friday
I had been having contractions at night but not so bad that I could not sleep through them and they would not last all night. However, I wanted to mention it to the doc and have him check for any progress. My desire was to take Maddie to the Zoo on Saturday so that Mark and I could have a fun day with just her, showing her all the animals. We had been talking about it all week..what animals she was going to see and what we were going to do. I was really looking forward to it but was beginning to get that sinking feeling it was not a good idea (a 3 hour drive with about an hour or more where there is nothing around).
Dr Lee checked me out and said that I was 3 cm and 50% effaced. Where that still could mean he would not come early (I was 3cm and 50% with Maddie at 32 weeks), he still thought the Zoo was a bad idea...due to the car ride and being in the middle of nowhere for too long. I was heartbroken that my plans for Maddie were not working out...but I knew it was the right advice.
On the way back to Mark’s office I started to feel worse. I was having contractions but far apart. When we pulled up to Mark’s office his co-workers were outside on their way to lunch. Laura kept telling me I had that look of someone about to go into labor. I told her I was beginning to feel that way. After dropping Mark off, I had two more contractions on the drive home...one so bad that I had to grab the ceiling handle and bite my lip. It was beginning to concern me..they got as close at 9 minutes apart but then started to spread back out again until they were gone.
I called my parents and told them the trip to the Zoo was off and suggested they head straight out to KY. Of course their RV would not start and they were stranded in NC. It worried me but I knew they would do whatever they could to get here and they did. They spent the night in Charleston, WV (an hour away) and arrived in KY the next morning. I went through the whole night without any more contractions and started to feel better.
Saturday
Since we couldn’t take Maddie to the zoo we decided to just have a fun day with her. We started off going to Starbucks for breakfast. We let her pick her own breakfast, she picked a marble loaf and gobbled it down before going outside to play with daddy. I stayed inside because my back was beginning to hurt, as was my stomach and needed to stay in the comfortable chairs.
After Starbucks we headed over to Dreamland pool to meet Mandi and her little ones for some fun in the sun. I was feeling really sore, finding it hard to get around and feeling increasingly nauseated. After my parents joined us at the pool Maddie was no longer interested in playing in the water, she just wanted to hang out with Nana and Pop Pop so we packed up and headed to lunch.
I was wayyyyyyy to nauseated to eat but knew I had to so I went over to subway and got a veggie sub and then joined my family at the chinese buffet. I felt like I couldn’t make it though lunch, I was so sore and so tired...I could barely keep my eyes open. I decided to go lay down in the RV until everyone was ready to go. When we got home I took a 3 hour nap and woke up feeling a lot better.
After dinner (at the Mexican restaurant..where I did NOT eat anything spicy) Mark and I put Maddie to bed and snuggled in front of the TV to watch Clash of the Titians. I started to have contractions again, so Mark downloaded a contraction time app for his phone and started keeping track. I think they got as close at 15 mins apart and then started to spread out again.
Mark went to bed around 11:30 but after laying down for a few minutes I started to feel bad again. I started timing my contractions and they got as close as 8 minutes apart and were starting to really hurt. I felt like they would just go away since I had contractions at night before and they didn’t lead to anything but just in case I went to wake up Mark and tell him. He did not quite wake up which would explain his response:
Me: Mark, I am having contractions 8 minutes apart
Mark: Okay
Me: if they continue like this for an hour or get closer we need to go to the hospital
Mark: We are not going to the hospital tonight because we are not having a baby
Me: If they get closer we are
Mark: we are NOT having a baby tonight.
Sunday
I went to check my hospital bag and make sure there was not anything else that needed to go into it and tried to relax. However, this is where I got stupid. My contractions were still 8 minutes apart but they were starting to HURT, like couldn’t talk, couldn’t walk and almost crying kind of hurt. I should of woken Mark up and gone to the hospital (STUPID ME). But then the next one was 10 minutes later so I thought they were getting better. But then all of the sudden they were 5 minutes apart and even more painful, the pain got so bad that I had to run to the bathroom to throw up. . . I have never waddle/ran so fast ...made it to the toilet just in time but as I went to get sick the toilet lid closed on my face, smacking me hard. I screamed for Mark and told him we needed to go to the hospital. I asked him to call my parents and I would call my doctor. But he told me we would call them from the car, but he just wanted to leave. I argued with him that we should leave Maddie asleep and wait till my parents go there (yeah, I am the stupid one in this situation)...Mark told me we were not waiting. I protested the whole way out the door. Even suggested stopping by Mandi’s house to drop Maddie off. But Mark had a goal in mind and it was going to the hospital. It was 1:00 am.
When we got in the car Maddie asked me, What are we doing mommy?, in her sweet little whisper. I explained to her we were going to see Mommy’s doctor and that she might get to meet Blake tonight. To which Mark replied “Maybe not, we don’t need to have a baby tonight”.
By this point my contractions were 3 minutes apart and hurting really bad. I was sick to my stomach a few times on the way there. Thank goodness Mark thought ahead to bringing a trash bag. I was so miserable, I wanted him to speed...I wanted to get there FAST. But Mark was calm and collected, getting there but not risking our lives. He did run ONE light, which I agreed on before he did it.
When we got there Mark ran in to get a wheelchair while I waited in the car. When he got back he helped me into the chair then scooped Maddie into his arms along with her pink cat Helen and her blanket that he had so thoughtfully grabbed. By this point I was crying. The normal elevator was broken given Mark quite an obstacle course while pushing me and carrying Maddie. I am not sure how he did it, but I was quite impressed.
Mark gave the front desk my registration form and they took me back into a “let’s decide how serious this is” room to check me out. They had me pee in a cup and change into a gown so they could check me. I was 7cm so they went off to call Dr Assley and told me they were taking me over to the other side because I was DEFINITELY having a baby tonight. I started asking for drugs but of course they could not give them to me since I was getting a c-section. They seemed in a slight hurry but acting like they still had time. I, however was feeling worse and worse...not to mention guilty that Maddie was sitting there looking at me all concerned as I cried my way through contractions. When my parents arrived Mark went out to take them to the waiting room while the nurses left the room to go get things to prepare me for the c-section. While they were gone I was laying on my back and I heard a snap as my water broke. I started crying as the contractions got worse and I realized I was all alone. When Mark stuck his head in I told him and he said okay, that’s good. I asked him to please go tell the nurses right away and then whimpered about being left all alone so hurry. The nurses ran in, verified that my water had broken (not hard to do since it broke all over the sterile tray they put down on the bed), they checked my progress and told me I was 9-10 cm ad that they were taking me to the OR. The contractions had gotten so bad I was yelling through them.
They got me into the OR and moved me over to the operating table. The doctor checked me out and said that Blake was Breach (yet another good reason we did not go to the Zoo, Mark would of had to preform an emergency C-section in the middle of no where). For me things seemed to go from bad to worse. The contractions were unbearable plus I could feel the pressure to push getting stronger. I was crying, I was saying I could not do it....basically I was breaking down. After what felt like FOREVER they finally had to sit me up to give me the spinal block (which at this point I had asked like 20 million times when they were going to make the pain go away). When I sat up the urge to push was overwhelming, I could feel my body pushing even though my brain was saying no. I could see Mark standing off to the side giving me looks of encouragement but I was surrounded by nurses telling me I could do it, that it was okay, not to push...so on and so forth...it was not helping. I was screaming so Kay (an older nurse) grabbed me and gave me a big bear hug. I held onto her with all my might, I squeezed her probably way to hard through contractions but I could not let go...I felt like holding onto her was the only thing that was keeping me from splitting into two. Other nurses (younger nurses) offered to step in and take over for her...to which Kay responded “I don’t think she will let me go” and I replied “no I am not letting her go”. I remember yelling “Why don’t I feel a needle in my back”, “where is the needle” ...it felt like an eternity and the pain is getting worse by the minute. I felt like I was not going to make it. When I finally let go of Kay I saw she was shaking as bad as I was. I think I may of broke her. Finally they got the needle in my back and laid me back down. I thought the pain was going to disappear immediately...okay maybe I just more needed the pain to disappear immediately. Alas, it did not. The put up the sheet so they could get started. The urge to push was still there but after an eternity that started to disappear, however I could still feel being pricked and checked...and then the contraction pain came back...What the heck why would it come back? I was crying and asking to be knocked out (mind you I had previously said I never wanted to be knocked out during childbirth).
They put a mask on my face and instructed me to breath...Mark was by my side reminding me to breath too...I felt like it was never going to work but then the next thing I knew I was opening my eyes trying to figure out what was going on. I vaguely remembered hearing a baby cry, but didn’t think it was real. I remembered asking something about when is the baby coming or something, to which Mark responded “he is already here Holly, I am holding him”. He was born at 2:29 AM, 7lbs and 4 ounces and 20 inches long.
With the pain still fresh in my memory my next question was “you tied my tubes right?”. It was a very important question, as I did not plan on doing that EVER again.
Mark brought over Blake, I remember it taking a little while before the haze of confusion left. I thanked Kay for all her help and I think I may of promised her flowers. They let me hold Blake and I remember thinking he was PERFECT. After a few minutes they wheeled me into the next room where Maddie came in to meet her little brother. She was so sweet for it being about 3AM. She said “Hi Blake” and wanted to touch and kiss him. When they took Blake off to the nursery Maddie climbed into bed with me and snuggled until it was time for her to go home. She is such a sweetie.
I am so glad that Mark is so good under pressure. I think that if he had let me have my stubborn way to wait for my parents before leaving the house or was not as cool and calm as he was that who knows what would of happened. It went too fast, Blake was determined to come. I can’t imagine the pain if we were even later. I am grateful for him. What a great husband. What a great little family.
