Birth story, part 1

I had been saying I was ready (Here), but nothing had happened the whole week.  I was actually feeling really good and worked on Friday all day.  I picked up Alex from preschool and we drove home, it was a nice evening.  We went outside after we were home and I decided to pull some weeds here and there.  It has been tough for me to bend over because of my big belly.  But, I did it anyways, just carefully.  Maybe this was the “burst of energy” people tell you about before you go into labor, I don’t know…

Lance came home and made a side comment – you shouldn’t be working so hard, you’re trying to have this baby, aren’t you?  Relax, rest, etc. 

We had dinner that Friday night and I put Alex to bed, it was my turn.  We read 3 books of his choosing, rubbed his back, had 2 hugs and 2 kisses and made the dimmer JUST right, only one time (otherwise he’ll ask for endless adjustments). 

Not long after that I went pee and found lots of blood.  I was a little freaked since it was bright red and there was quite a bit.  About a week earlier I had some very light spotting, probably due to my cervix dilating.  Normal stuff, I wasn’t worried about.  I decided to use a new pad and wait and see what was happening.  I waited about 1 hour and still quite a bit of blood. 

I called my doula and told her what was happening, she suggested to call the maternity center and just make sure everything was OK.  So, I called them and they agreed – come in and get monitored for a bit and just make sure. 

We called my Mom to come and stay with Alex, even though I was pretty sure that I would just be monitored and be sent home, but it’s better to be safe, right?  I was telling her all the things that were happening instead of asking for what I needed – so she finally asked me the question “So, do you want me to come up there?”  I wavered a bit – not really sure what I wanted or needed, and finally said “yes”.  I wanted to get to the hospital ASAP and see what was going on, but Lance had to wait for my Mom to get there.  So, I decided to drive myself to the hospital (again) and Lance would join me after my Mom arrived at our house. 

I probably arrived at the hospital around 9 or 9:30 PM and Lance got there around 11 PM.  When I got there my heart was racing and so was baby girls heart.   We were scared – this was reminding me of what happened last time a little too much.  The nurse checked my pad and agreed that it was a lot of blood, too much to be not worried about it.  Also, when I got to the hospital and went to the bathroom, I passed a “half-dollar” size clot.  I thought it was the dreaded mucus plug, but it wasn’t.  It could’ve been from the dilating cervix, or from a little placental abruption (where part of the placenta pulls away from the uterus).  It could be dangerous if it was an abruption, but little girl looked pretty happy, albeit with a high heart rate. 

The hospital OB came to visit me after the nurse did a full work up and monitored me for about 30 minutes.  They did a speculum exam, OUCH!, and tried to see where the blood was coming from.  They were not able to tell.  She checked me and I was about 5 cm dilated and was having semi-regular contractions, just ones that I couldn’t feel that much and weren’t painful to me at all. 

With me coming in at 5 cm, 80% effaced, VBAC, with a prior history of pre-eclampsia, contracting and bleeding – they weren’t letting me go.  I was officially declared “in labor” and was admitted to the hospital. 

Lance and I called the doula and told her to come – I was “in labor”. 

Everyone had the funniest reaction – You are 5 cm and still walking around/you worked today/you don’t feel the contractions?

The answers - Yes/Yes/No