Sunday, January 10th was the beginning of a long rollercoaster ride for us, however, we were oblivious at the time. I had some things start to happen around 9:30 that night. I told Jake and he suggested that I call the on-call doctor. I looked up some information online and decided that I’d wait until the morning to call; a decision that will haunt me for the rest of my life.
I got up the next morning and what was happening the night before had continued, along with some other things. On my drive to work I noticed that I was having a lot more braxton hicks contractions than usual and one of them was accompanied by cramps as well. I got to work and was pretty worried. I had already told Jake I thought I’d end up at the doctor’s office before the day was over. I sat in my cubicle doing research online. One of my co-worker friends, Kori, stopped by and I told her what had been going on and started to cry because I was really scared. She calmly told me that I needed to get up, put my coat on, and go to the hospital. I remember her saying “If something happens it can happen in a second so you need to go.” Kori may have saved Carter’s life.
When I got in my car I called the doctor’s office to explain what had been going on. The nurse called me back and told me that when I got there (an hour away) they were going to hook me up to a monitor to check the baby’s heartrate and monitor contractions. Then they would have me go see the doctor after that.
I got to the hospital around 10:00 (my doctor’s office was in the hospital). Jake knew and was on his way from class. I sat in a room with the monitor on for about 30 minutes. Then when I was in the waiting room to see the doctor Jake got there, thank goodness. I had to see a different doctor because mine was all booked up. The nurse took me back and the doctor came in. She said that the monitors showed I was having some contractions and during them Carter’s heartrate was decreasing a bit. She checked me to see what was going on and told me that I was 8cm dilated. WHAT?!? I was only 29 weeks pregnant! That doctor left the room to get my doctor and Jake and I just kind of looked at each other in shock. Neither one of us completely understood what was going on. The doctor and my doctor came back in the room and my doctor seemed very concerned. She asked me when everything started and told me they were going to get a wheel chair and take me over to labor and delivery to try to slow things down and keep Carter inside as long as possible.
They pushed me down the hall into my labor and delivery room, which was already filled with probably seven people. It was all very overwhelming. They had me change into a gown and started working, right away. I got an IV, catheter, and the bed was tilted so my feet were higher than my head. They also brought in a lady to give me an ultrasound. Once everything had calmed down and the nurse was the only one left in the room I remember saying “Just to clarify, I won’t be leaving here pregnant?” She said no, probably not. Then I lost it. I was scared to death, but still not fully comprehending the seriousness of the situation I realize now when I think back.
I’ll leave out the rest of the details, but at 2:44 am on January 12th Carter was born. He weighed 3 lb 1 oz and was 16 in long. I remember seeing him right after he was born, the doctor held him up for me. He was pink and he was crying. I was so relieved to hear him cry.
