Jack Ray's Birth Story

Jack Ray was due on September 8, 2015 however there were several times before then that I thought he was coming!  I had prodromal labor for almost three weeks prior to his actual birth and man-oh-man was that a frustrating experience.  I never felt natural labor contractions with Everett's birth because I was induced and with Nolan's birth the first time I felt a contraction was when I was in labor, so this was a new experience!  The first time I felt contractions I went for a few long walks and really was hoping that labor day was here, but it was to no avail.  At one point, I was having contractions for days on end- however they were not ridiculously painful and I pushed them to the back of my mind because I didn't want to keep getting my hopes up.  

My last belly photo, 40 weeks

September 8th came and went and Jack Ray seemed quite content in the womb however I was a little worried that he was 'sunny side up' (aka posterior position) so I asked my OB to check for me at my next appointment.  On September 10th I went in for my appointment and my OB determined that Jack Ray was head down but in the posterior position however he assured me that most babies turn to face the right direction prior to birth.  Since I was past my due date, my doctor mentioned that if I made it to my next appointment we would need to start talking about when and how to begin the induction process.  He was very approving of my wishes to have a natural labor and was more than happy to wait until I was 42 weeks pregnant to push for an induction which I was glad to hear.  

After my appointment that day, my mom, the boys, and I went to run some errands and I happened to feel a contraction- however, it was different than the ones that I had been having.  I pushed it out of my mind because I figured it was nothing and went about my day.  I continued to feel contractions throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening but kept assuming that they were nothing.  Around 9pm I started to time them because it seemed like they were getting a little more painful, they were about ten minutes apart at that time.  

As the night went on, they got more intense and closer together.  Tyler went to bed around midnight but I couldn't sleep because, although I was trying to not get excited, I wanted to see if they would keep on coming.  Finally around 3am when the contractions were about six minutes apart, I decided to try go to sleep. I was able to sleep in about thirty minute increments and got up around 6:30am to take a shower and get ready.  When I got out of the shower, the contractions were about four minutes apart and steadily getting stronger.  I called my mom, Tiphany, and the OB's office around 7:30am to let them know that I would probably head to the hospital in about an hour or so.   My mom and dad planned to meet us there and Tiphany was planning to come after I got checked into Labor and Delivery (L&D).  

We arrived at the hospital at 8:45am and as soon as I got out of the call I started to shake uncontrollably, which I knew meant I was in transition.  As we were walking in I text Tiphany "Come now. I am shaking."  Once we got up to L&D, they took me back to a triage room and checked to see how dilated I was- I was praying that I was at least 5cm!  The nurse asked me a bunch of general questions and then checked me and we discovered that I was 9cm! She quickly ducked her head out of the triage room and asked one of the other nurses to call my OB because the baby would be coming soon!  As we moved from the triage room to my permanent room I had Tyler call my mom to make sure that they were almost to the hospital.  

Once we got in the room, my OB came in and broke my water while the nurses continued to ask me questions and get things prepared.  Earlier in my pregnancy, I tested GBS Positive and had planned to have penicillin however since I came in at 9cm my OB decided  that there wouldn't be time enough for both doses.  I was actually relieved to not have to be hooked up to an IV while delivering the baby but it did mean that we would be required to stay an extra day at the hospital for monitoring.   One of the nurses asked me "Have you ever had a natural delivery before," needless to say she was glad to find out that I had and she didn't have to inform me that it was too late for an epidural.  

Breaking my water took the contractions from three minutes apart to less than a minute apart and they extremely painful.  After about twenty minutes, I started to bear down a little with each contraction and asked the nurse to check to see if I had any change.  She checked and said that I was 10cm but was not fully effaced.  My OB came in a few minutes later and asked me to do a test push to see if Jack Ray's head could help to get things where they needed to be.  After the test push , around 9:40am he asked me "Okay, are you ready to push?"  I think I kind of freaked out when he asked me that because I was expecting to have to hang out for a little while longer.  With the next set of contractions I started to push however, at one point I recall me falling back on the bed and saying "I don't want to do it anymore!" and "I can't do it, I'm not going to do it!"  At that point my OB, Tiphany, my mom, and Tyler gave me a little pep talk and I geared up for the next contraction.  Part of my birth plan was to 'catch' the baby after his head and shoulders were out, I pushed as hard as I could and finally little Jack Ray entered the world.  I was able to pull him right on my chest!

The first thing I noticed about Jack Ray was that he was looking right at me with his eyes wide open!  He took a few minutes to cry so the nurses were rubbing him with blankets trying to get him to make some noise.  I wasn't worried because I could feel him breathing and I was just so relieved that he was finally here.  Since Tyler isn't into the whole 'blood thing,' my mom was able to cut the cord! He was born at 9:51am on September 11, 2015 weighing 7lbs 12oz and was 21" long.  

Thursday Birth Day: Maddox's Birth

Welcome to Thursday Birth Day!  My hope is that this series will help to encourage women who may be expecting their first baby or their second/third/fourth/etc.  These posts will provide some real life experiences that we can all appreciate and maybe even learn from.  I also hope for this to be a place where women who have gone through birth can have a place to share their beautiful stories. 

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Baby Maddox's Birth Story

 

I woke up around 3am with what I thought was an upset stomach. I hadn't had any Braxton Hicks so had no idea what to look for with contractions. I decided to lay down for a little and then had the crazy idea that they may be contractions. I started timing them and they were 3 minutes apart. I told Brian I was going to go downstairs to eat and call my mom to start driving. Brian got up around 6am and was going to go to some jobs before we needed to go to the hospital. I told him it was probably not a good idea to leave.

My mom arrived around 7am and I just walked around the house, rocked in the rocking chair and ate some more. I finally decided at 9:30am that we should head to the hospital. I walked myself in while Brian parked and told them I thought I was in labor. They all looked at me like I was nuts and took me upstairs to triage to be checked. By that time, all the family knew and was headed to the hospital.

I sat in triage for an hour being monitored before anyone checked me. She said I was at  7 centimeters!!! I was shocked. So far I was just rocking side to side during contractions and it didn't seem bad. I wanted to deliver unmedicated but being in a hospital I had to have a dry IV in my forearm. I finally got moved to a labor room around 11:30am. My doctor checked me around 12:15pm and said I was 9 centimeters. 

She asked if I wanted my water broken or to wait it out. We talked about it and since I was doing so well with the pain, decided to have it broken. The pain got really intense and in 35 minutes it was time for me to push! I pushed for 25 minutes and right when I thought I couldn't do it anymore, the next push out he came. My sweet little boy, Maddox Thomas Martin, arrived on August 22, 2012 at 1:05pm weighing 8.4lbs and 21 inches long! 

Thursday Birth Day: Alivia's Birth

Welcome to Thursday Birth Day!  My hope is that this series will help to encourage women who may be expecting their first baby or their second/third/fourth/etc.  These posts will provide some real life experiences that we can all appreciate and maybe even learn from.  I also hope for this to be a place where women who have gone through birth can have a place to share their beautiful stories. 
 

Be sure to check out Jenn's blog and baby Alivia's birth story here! 

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Baby Alivia's Birth Story  

On August 7th we were anxiously awaiting my induction on the 9th.  Justin was at work and I was home with my Gram and the kiddos.  It was a seriously lazy day.  I wanted to nap all day but I tried to take a snooze in my bed and failed.  I fell asleep for about 10 minutes on the couch but then had to make the kiddos lunch.  Around 3pm I headed to bed again to try and nap, I had dinner in the crock pot so I had some time to kill.  Shortly after I finally fell asleep Justin called to say that he was on his way home.  I got up to put rice on the stove to go with my crock pot dinner then headed into the bathroom to pee.  I finished, washed my hands, got to the door, and my legs were soaked.  I called for my gram to get me a towel as I had been washing all of them but she couldn't hear me over the tv.  The kids were even farther from the bathroom so they couldn't hear me either.  I couldn't leave the bathroom and risk getting amniotic fluid all over the carpets so I sat back down and figured I'd call Justin.  After that I called Labor & Delivery to let them know I'd be coming in.  I spoke to them for almost 20 minutes so that they could be prepared for me.  I then called my gram's cell phone but she didn't answer.  That's when I remembered that I had rice on the stove and decided to make a run for it with wet pants to turn the stove off and grab a towel.

Fast forward a tiny bit and Justin and I are settling in at the hospital.  I had Gestational Diabetes, was GBS Positive, and had the bi-lobed placenta.  I had one-on-one nurse care because of all of this so the nurse hardly left the room.  I wanted another drug free labor and delivery but with the GD I needed hourly testing & fluids with sugars.  With the GBS I needed antibiotics for at least 4 hours.  Then I needed round the clock monitoring of the baby which meant the second she was off the monitor the nurse would push the belt into my belly harder.  She was driving me nuts!  By 7pm I was finally hooked up to everything and was allowed out of bed.  I sat on the birthing ball for quite a while because I was only 2-2.5 centimeters when I arrived.  I felt the contractions but they weren't painful.  The nurse asked about my other deliveries and on the night went.  I remember the 4th time they checked my sugar (that meant it had to be 10pm) I was shocked at how fast the time was flying by with little pain.

Shortly after the 10pm check I asked to use the bathroom again but the nurse said she wanted to check me first.  Into the bed I went and of course that contraction HURT.  She reached for my tonsils and said I was 5 centimeters,  I felt so defeated!  I had been having all of these easy contractions and of course they weren't helping me progress quickly and baby was still high.  Boo.  So I headed to the bathroom where I had two good contractions that were super painful.  While I was in there I heard the nurse calling for a delivery table (with all of the gadgets and gizmos) and she was telling Justin not to touch anything blue.  I heard them counting items on the table, and came out to see them finishing up.  I thought they were a bit premature with the delivery stuff... I was only 5 centimeters!

 I got back on the yoga ball for a good contraction and told my nurse that my body was starting to push on it's own.  She had me get back into bed so that she could check me.  That's when the bad contractions started.  The contractions that you try and breathe through, then you end up moaning a bit on the exhale.  I asked the nurse if it had been 4 hours yet for the antibiotics, she said it almost was.  No sooner than she declared me an 8 with a 'melting cervix' I got the shakes.  I reassured Justin who looked scared out of his mind at my shaking.  "It's just the final stages, it's normal!  I'm ok!"  The nurse typed something into the computer and said she had to grab something but if I felt the urge to push to call her asap.  The second she walked out my body pushed down hard and I let out a curse.  I think that's when I told Justin that I couldn't do this.  I crawled into bed as the nurse said, "If she pukes we are checking her again" and right on cue I puked.  No checking needed as the doctor walked in and could see Alivia's head.  I asked for a pillow behind my back and the nurse put it behind me only half way.  You had better believe that I told her about the pillow placement after that contraction!  haha!

The doctor told me that I could go ahead and push if I wanted and I started talking a mile a minute explaining that I never actually had to push a baby out.  They always just sort of come out on their own; I told her I didn't think I could do it.  She told me to try so I did and I felt myself ripping as I counted, "1, 2, 3" in my head so I stopped.  My body did not like that and gave me a killer contraction.  The doctor told me that one push would bring us our baby. Well I have seen enough episodes of the baby story and I know that they say that over and over for hours and hours sometimes.  So I asked if she could see the baby's head.  She said she could.  I then asked if she was sure one push would do it and explained again that I never pushed before.  She assured me that one push was it and asked if I wanted her to count.  I think I snapped at her when I said, "No!"  I HATE the whole counting thing.  So I gave it one big push, felt everything rip, and out Alivia's head came.  Then she was stuck.  The easy shoulders were not budging.  And the contractions were killing my back so I pushed and said, "Please just pull her out!" and out she came.  Little stinker thought coming out with her hand by her head would be fun which made her shoulders harder to deliver.



She was placed on my chest, her umbilical cord got to pulsate until it was empty, Justin cut his first cord, and we just stared at our precious girl.  After about 45 minutes we realized that we didn't have either camera out.  Things had went so quickly that we forgot!  Whoops! Alivia Pagie was born at 11:15pm and weighed in at 7lbs. 2oz. and was 19.5" long.  They got Livi cleaned up while I got up and used the bathroom and change my gown.  Then we all settled in for a long night of nursing, with little to no sleep.  I was exhausted, but I remember the nurse commenting on my make-up (which I hardly had any on) and Justin saying, "Babe, your hair looks really good."  I told him to "shut up" and he explained he was serious. He snapped some photos of us and I must say that compared to my other kiddos I looked great.  I remember being so swollen after their deliveries, hair up like a 'hot mess', and just plain exhausted.  Maybe the quick delivery played a part?  Anywho... the nurse was apparently curious so she pulled up the computer logs for the evening.  She then told us that from the time I was checked to be 5 centimeters to the time of Alivia's birth, only 45 minutes had passed!  So very thankful for a quick delivery as I didn't have pain meds!

Our doctor was awesome and showed us the sac with the bi- lobed placenta.  I wish we had the camera out because it was super cool.  Nothing like the scary stuff they speak of, it was inside the sac all nice and cozy near the big placenta with a super thick vessel attaching the two.  Not sure how you wouldn't deliver both being they are both in the sac, but better safe than sorry I guess.



Thursday Birth Day: Max's Birth

Welcome to Thursday Birth Day!  My hope is that this series will help to encourage women who may be expecting their first baby or their second/third/fourth/etc.  These posts will provide some real life experiences that we can all appreciate and maybe even learn from.  I also hope for this to be a place where women who have gone through birth can have a place to share their beautiful stories.

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Baby Max's Birth Story

My story begins on August 30, 2013. It was the Friday before Labor Day. I was 35 + 1, and at work like any normal Friday and started to feel what I could only describe as menstrual cramps. I asked a co-worker (who happened to be pregnant with her 2nd child at the time) what contractions felt like and her response was, “like cramps.” I imagined the next weeks would be full of these cramp-like pains. I spent the 3-day weekend attending another friends baby shower, with Chad at the hospital after he hurt his shoulder, spending some time on our new boat at Lake Proctor, and visiting my grandparents. Monday morning I woke up to discover that I was starting to lose my mucous plug. I was having more “cramping” pains and felt really tired. I took it easy and got some rest. Tuesday was another normal day. I went to work and felt fine the entire day. A co-worker and my boss both joked to me that I better not have the baby that week as they both had plans to be off of work. I really did not expect to have a baby at 35 weeks anyway, so I laughed their comments off. I spent the evening with Chad. He injured his shoulder and got orders from the doctor that he could not lift his arm, so he got the week off of work. He worked 12-hour night shifts leaving me home alone most nights. Something that often concerned me being pregnant and alone 30 miles from the hospital or him. That night he cooked dinner, I brought home some movies, and we camped out in the living room enjoying a night together. I folded laundry… it was like any other night. The hospital bag was packed, but in another room. I never thought I would need it yet.

At 2 am I woke up in pain. It was not severe, so I use the restroom and return to bed. I was so tired and all I could think about was going back to sleep. I was unable to fall asleep no matter how hard I tried and the pain was not getting better or going away. Then I started to throw up. Each time I would think I felt better I would try to go back to sleep, but it just was not happening. By this point I was worried that maybe I had eaten something bad, or maybe I had a stomach bug. Vomiting and diarrhea were not signs of labor that I had heard or read about. I began to pace the hallway of our house. Sitting or lying was not an option. Our dogs were following me everywhere I went. They knew something was wrong and would not leave me alone so I had to kick them outside. Back and forth, back and forth I paced the hallway. I remember hearing Leddy, our weenie dog, under the house whimpering, pacing under the house with me. I would throw up and then try again to go to sleep. I just knew that I would be so exhausted at work the next day and could not afford to use a sick day as I needed it for maternity leave. Chad woke up a few times during this time and asked if I was okay. Not thinking anything about labor I just told him my stomach was upset and that I was okay. I continued to pace the hallway, and try to get rest, but the pain was getting worse. I could not lie down any longer. I thought to myself once, “what if this is labor?” So I opened a contraction counting app on my phone and remember trying to use it but getting frustrated and in so much pain that being on my phone was the last thing I wanted to do. I could not concentrate on anything. I started to sweat and get really hot, then freezing cold, really hot, then cold again. Am I running fever? What if this hurts my baby? Being in labor never crossed my mind again.

At 5:30 am Chad came in to the bedroom to me crying on the bed. The only words I can remember him saying are “It is time to go to the hospital?” I ask him to wait for me to take a shower as I had been sweating so badly. I am pretty sure he was amused by my request, or maybe annoyed, but he let me know pretty quick that the hospital would not care about my sweat, and if they did who cares. I mentioned earlier that I had folded laundry before bed. Well, I left those folded clothes on the dining room table. I knew there was a pair of white, cotton, elastic waist shorts on the table so I ask Chad to grab those for me. I will never forget that he brought me back a pair of khaki shorts. Even in pain I had to laugh about it and tell him, “No, babe, white elastic shorts. These are khaki." Finally I was dressed, and ready to go. On the way out I asked him to grab a plastic bag for the 30-minute trip in case I had to throw up in the car. He then asks me where do we keep the plastic bags. Males are so funny. I think I may have yelled at him this time. (Sorry, babe.) I bet he never forgets where I keep those plastic bags now. I walked so fast to the car. It was nice to know that relief was in sight. The car ride was the coldest, longest, most painful ride of my life. Chad stayed quiet the whole time. I, on the other hand, was not quiet at all. I yelled at him once to slow down. What will we do if we get pulled over? Then I will just be in pain longer. How rude of him trying to rush me to the hospital.  I had the A/C up as high as it would go. Chad was freezing and turning all the vents towards me, shivering. I could not sit at all anymore. I was holding my self up off the seat by my arms. Using the console in the middle and the passenger door handle. Crying and moaning, I even told Chad, “How will I ever achieve natural childbirth if I can’t even handle this pain?"

We arrived at the hospital around 6:10 a.m and entered through the emergency room. We told the triage lady what was going on. Since I was over 32 weeks they bring me a wheelchair and begin to wheel me up to labor and delivery. That is policy, she tells me. A man pushed me up, but I could not tell you what he looked like. Chad was silent still. The pain was so severe, and again, sitting was so painful. I was holding myself up off the chair. We enter the elevator and another man enters. Again, I didn’t even look up. He asks the man pushing me if I was having a baby… the guy pushing me says “Nope. Something else is going on. No baby yet.”

When we arrive at L&D they do not have a bed ready so (for what seems like an hour) I am stuck in this wheel chair, holding myself up with my arms. It was actually only minutes, long enough for them to make a bed, and they push me into a room, and ask me to get into a gown. I kept feeling like I had to pee. I would try to lie in the bed and then run back into the bathroom. When I finally got into the bed I told the nurse that I kept having the urge to pee, and that it was painful to sit down. She told me that I had to sit so that they could check the on the baby. I was checked almost immediately and the nurses all began to scramble around in a hurry. I began to panic and asked them what was wrong? Why were they in a sudden hurry? “You are having a baby!!” one of the nurses responded. “NOW???” followed by “WHERE IS CHAD??”

They started to walk out of the room when I felt it happen. A sudden release of pressure, and the bed became wet. My water broke. I told the nurses “Uh, I think my water just broke.” No, she said, it hadn’t yet. I had to tell her, no, I mean right now. Chad entered the room then and all I can remember is being so happy to see him. We were having a baby, holy cow, not at all what we were expecting. They told me that they were waiting for my doctor, and he seemed to arrive immediately, bed head and all. I started to push, and I was so thirsty I remember. At one point one of the nurses was telling me not to push. HA. I later found out from Chad that my response to her was not a nice one. They were telling me to push while holding my breath but that was not happening. The growling sound I was making is one I will never forget. But I did not care at the time. Then it happened. The ring of fire. It is no joke. That phrase explains it exactly. A few more pushes and my perfect baby boy entered the world. I immediately asked what time it was. 6:54 a.m.

5 hours after I was awaken in pain, less than 1 hour after arriving at the hospital, at 35 weeks 6 days, my boy was here. He was placed immediately on my chest. The nurse to my right said, “He looks like his daddy.” He cried and Chad and I laughed through our tears. His chin was mine, we decided. His fingers and toes were all there. He was perfect. He was ours. The delivery was over, and I did it. I have never felt so proud of myself before. My doctor asked Chad if he wanted to cut the umbilical cord, and he did. I still had not looked up from my baby. I have never seen anything so beautiful. Then I felt my placenta being delivered very soon after. I asked to see it. My doctor smiled and seemed happy to oblige. Chad gagged and looked away as my doctor held it up. I am so glad I looked. The next few hours are a blur of blissful happiness. Max Owen was here… 6 lbs 3 oz 19.5 inches long. One of the nurses later told me that my delivery was one she will never forget. She started calling Max “Stone” because they thought I was there due to kidney stones. I was glad to know that I was not the only one taken by surprise by my symptoms.

Thursday Birth Day: Aria's Birth

Welcome to Thursday Birth Day!  My hope is that this series will help to encourage women who may be expecting their first baby or their second/third/fourth/etc.  These posts will provide some real life experiences that we can all appreciate and maybe even learn from.  I also hope for this to be a place where women who have gone through birth can have a place to share their beautiful stories.

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Baby Aria's Birth Story

The pregnancy and birth of my daughter did not go as I had always envisioned it.  When I went to my obstetrician for my first visit and he confirmed that I was pregnant I told him that I knew it was going to be a girl, that there would be complications, and that I would end up having a c-section.  The doctor tried to reassure me that things looked great and there wasn’t any implication that there would be complications or a need for a c-section. 

Around 20 weeks I was sent by my obstetrician to the perinatologist for some testing.  Up until this point my pregnancy was seemingly normal with no complications so I was not quite sure why there was a need for any further testing.  While we were doing the ultrasound at the perinatologists office we found out that my original gut feeling was right on two accounts, our baby was a girl and there would be complications going forward because they found holes in her heart and discovered that I had placenta previa.  

After that I started having appointments on an almost weekly basis with various types of doctors (a pediatric cardiologist, geneticist, perinatologist, and my obstetrician) to monitor the baby and me.  As it started to get closer the doctors asked if I would be comfortable delivering her up at Children’s Hospital due to the complications.  I decided against delivering up at Children’s Hospital and instead opted to deliver closer to home to be closer to my family and friends. 

We scheduled my c-section two weeks prior to her due date because she began to stop growing and her health was declining in the womb.  The doctors warned me that my baby might need to have heart surgery shortly after her birth but I just knew that everything would be fine once she was born. 

I made a post on facebook about heading up to the hospital to have my c-section, which all of my friends took as an invitation to come along with me.  I had an entourage of 18 family and friends there with me. My c-section ended up being pushed back due to an emergency c-section that needed to happen ahead of me.  After I got the news that I would have to wait even longer to have my baby my mother told me that she needed to go into work because she hadn’t taken the day off.  I was devastated.  My mother was supposed to be there with me for the birth of my daughter and now she was rushing out the door.  

I finally was taken back to the operating room to have my baby.  Aria was born on March 2, 2011 and weighed 5 pounds and 13 ounces; her APGAR scores were perfect, she latched on right away, and most importantly the holes in her heart closed.  

Although this birth wasn’t the birth I had envisioned (home birth, no interventions, etc.) what is important is that Aria is a bright and healthy girl and she made it into this world safely. 

Thursday Birth Day: Roland's Birth

Welcome to Thursday Birth Day!  My hope is that this series will help to encourage women who may be expecting their first baby or their second/third/fourth/etc.  These posts will provide some real life experiences that we can all appreciate and maybe even learn from.  I also hope for this to be a place where women who have gone through birth can have a place to share their beautiful stories. 

We are kicking off this series with a firecracker of a little guy! Little baby Roland was born at just 28 weeks gestation but he didn't let that stop him from growing and getting stronger and stronger! Read Carrie's story of Roland's birth, below. 

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Baby Roland's Birth Story

My pregnancy started out so normal! Our first appointment at 8 weeks showed measurements right on track, a healthy heart beat, the start of a wonderful journey to parenthood. This would be the only “normal” appointment we would have the remaining 20 weeks of my pregnancy. That’s right you read it right, 20 weeks. My husband deployed when I was just 19 weeks pregnant with our baby boy! We had prepared ourselves for his absence during the birth of our son, as much as anyone really can prepare! I traveled to Virginia for the holidays to be with my family and returned to California on December 11th. December 12th my pregnancy changed in ways that no one could ever prepare for. I was in preterm labor at just 24 weeks due to a shortened cervix. My contractions were stopped and I was placed on strict bed rest beginning that day! Bed rest? I have a full time job, a house and 2 dogs to take care of all by myself, not to mention I have NO family anywhere near me. 

I was visiting the high risk doctors once a week at this point and every week was different; I was going to make it to full term, then our goal date was January 31st. Christmas came and went as I laid on my couch. Skyping with my husband everyday letting him know that I and baby were well. On December 27th and 28th they gave me the steroid injections for the baby’s lungs just in case he decided to start acting up in there again. I made it through New Years and I was feeling pretty good, better than I had in a few weeks! 

January 3rd at 9:30 am the high risk doctor told me that my blood pressure was elevated and that the protein in my urine had gone up another unit so back to L&D I went for more monitoring. I went home that night feeling what I thought was defeat, but slowly I started feeling worse and worse. I slept all day on the 4th of January and when I woke up on the 5th I knew something was wrong. I felt like my skin was about to burst. I ran (well more like waddled) to the bathroom and found my self face to face with a sumo wrestler. My worst nightmare had come true; I was showing active signs of preeclampsia. 

I admitted myself to L&D here in town and was there for about an hour before they decided it was best that I be transported to Sacramento to the high risk maternity ward and where there was an amazing NICU. I was in Sacramento for 24 hours, skyping with my husband telling him everything was going to be ok, and all the while I literally felt like I was dying. My head was pounding and my stomach was cramping terribly. At 4 pm January 6th 2013 my doctor came in and told me that my kidneys were shutting down, my protein was at 11, and my blood pressure was so high I was about to stroke. All of that meant nothing to me as he muttered his next sentence “we will be delivering your baby via emergency C-Section tonight!” What? My baby is only 28 weeks and 3 days, he’s not ready to come out yet, I could suffer through anything they threw my way just to keep the baby in-utero. 

The next few hours were such a blur, I had to tell my husband that our precious baby would be celebrating his birthday January 6th instead on March 28th, I had to tell my mother to book her flight immediately instead of in April, I had a room full of some amazing people that were trying to be so strong for me all the while I could see the fear in their faces. I even had to send my friend out to try and find me a charger because my husband would be joining us for the delivery via Skype and my computer decided it was a good time to fry! So many doctors and nurses both for me and the baby came in to introduce themselves; I remember none of them, even today! 

At 8 pm I climbed on to the stretcher myself as they wheeled me down to the OR, talking to my husband the whole way! It was now that I was alone with him that I could finally let it out and just cry! Cry because I was terrified of the uncertainty of my son’s health at this point and cry because I was so disappointed in myself for not being able to keep him healthy. My husband was a champ the whole time; he never once let me see the fear in his face as I held the phone above mine while they took my son from me.  

At 8:27 pm on January 6th I heard the most amazing sound any parent waits to hear, my 28 week 2 lb 8 oz Roland Pierce was born screaming!! They quickly took him away and my best friend with my husband in hand on the phone stayed with him the whole time. Once I was out of recovery I was able to see my baby boy for the first time, breathing on his own with no oxygen. It was at that point I knew he was a fighter and he was going to continue to fight until he came home with us. 7 weeks to the day later, at just 35 weeks gestation, Roland came home with us on February 24th. He amazed us in the NICU and every day since has continued to amaze us with how perfect he is.