My "Almost" Birth Story

Well, I gotta say it. Caleb is an extremely obedient child. I asked him to exit the premises and he tried his hardest to comply.

If it weren't for medical intervention, we'd be in the hospital holding Caleb right now.

I had mild contractions all day yesterday. Terry's office had thrown us and a co-worker of his a baby shower so I spent the afternoon there, then took Micah by to see his Great Grandma and then Adriah and Jill. It was while I was at Jill's that I began feeling somewhat stronger contractions. Around 5:45 p.m. Micah and I got in the car to drive home. It became an insanely long drive because my contractions started worsening. And they grew to be strong enough that I was breathing through them. Terry and I were both stuck in rush hour traffic, so we started making hospital plans over the phone. I was making lists of things to pack in our hospital bags, mentally trying to go through the house and clean it up, etc. I knew, without a doubt that the contractions were real.

We got home and Micah was thrilled that his dinner was chicken nuggets and loads of ketchup. Terry began washing clothes I wanted to take to the hospital. I started packing Micah's overnight bag. There was so much to stress over that I honestly didn't even think about sitting down to time contractions. Instead I worried that we didn't have a game plan for where Micah was going, I didn't have my diaper bag yet, much less have it packed. I got really mad when I realized I didn't even have a "Coming Home" outfit yet. (Seriously, I am so not the person to have in a crisis. I can't believe I was worried about clothing...)

I think the reason I wasn't too concerned with timing the contractions was because they were so strong that I didn't have to question them. My plan was to get things done and then relax a bit before I called the doctor. So that's what we did. We got Micah in his pjs, turned all the lights in the living room off and let him lie down on the couch and watch a movie. Then Terry and I lied down on the bed armed with tools to time the contractions.

I don't know if I'm alone in this or not, but my contractions are impossible to time. Instead of saying things to Terry like, "Ok, it's starting," and "Now it's over," all I could do was say things like, "It's mostly in my back," "Now it's really strong," "It's fading...no it's back," "ooh, that was a sharp pain." I tell you all of this to help you get the picture of our night. Doubt was the name of the game. Is this or is this not labor?

I had classic signs of labor and at the same time some very big signs that books and doctors would categorize as false labor. I was playing the guessing game again. So, I started walking laps around the house. I figured that I knew the contractions were strong when I sat, I knew they were strong when I was lying down. So, I needed to find out if they were strong when I walked. Truth be told, I think they did lighten a little when I walked. But, then I sat back down and they came full force.

Around 9 o'clock I decided to call my doctor. I was so happy to learn that the doctor on call was the one who delivered Micah. I talked with her for a while and she said that since my first born wasn't a preemie, that statistically it made it unlikely that Caleb would come early too. I was thankful for that reassurance. She asked me to come in to the hospital anyway, just to get checked. So, we loaded Micah up, dropped him at Mel's for the night, and drove the rest of the hour-long trip to the hospital.

The contractions had lessened in pain on the drive over, so by the time we arrived, I was a-n-g-r-y. Angry that I'd given in AGAIN and turned my families world upside down just cause I was unsure about a few cramps. I kept telling Terry I was so sorry for making him stress. By 10:45 I was in my hospital gown and hooked up to monitors. We watched Micah's heartbeat and my teeny, tiny contractions on the monitor. I was so embarrassed to be there in labor and delivery looking like a fool in a movie who just didn't know how to tell the difference in gas pains and contractions. I felt like the pregnant girl who cried, "wolf!"

They checked my cervix and I have actually progressed since last week. But, I was still just at 1 centimeter. The nurse left us in the room for a while to stew in our own annoyance at the situation. I was ready for them to unhook me and send me home. Then, surprisingly, the nurse came back in and said, "Let's adjust your position. You're having too many contractions for me." I thought she was making fun of me and so I said, "You're kidding, right?" She said nope, and when I looked, sure enough, the monitor was showing regular contractions at 2 minutes apart. I was baffled and I told her that I wasn't even in half the pain I'd felt at home during the contractions.

She left the room again once I was in a different position. She turned me onto my left side, that "magic" pregnancy position, and said, "This should get more blood to your baby and allow the contractions to stop."

But they didn't. They got stronger. The next time the nurse came in she sent Terry out to go sign some forms and she finally verbalized what I'd been wanting to hear. The contractions were real. The labor was real. If they didn't take action, I'd have a baby soon enough. All I could think was, "I'm not insane! I wasn't wrong! Hooray, I'm not a spaz!"

So she tells me I'm to get a shot of Terbutaline which will stop the contractions. She warns me that, "it will make you feel like you've just run a mile." That wasn't all too clear for me... Will I be tired, rejuvenated, have sore muscles, what? Turns out it makes your heart race. I felt like it was jumping out of my chest it was going so fast. I kept saying to Terry (who was happily, although tiredly, watching Whose Line Is It Anyway), "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Seriously- come feel my pulse!"

A bit of time goes by and my nurse comes back in to tell me that the contractions lessened, but didn't totally go away so she's going to give me another shot. I had one immediate question. Will this make my heart beat even faster?! "It's likely," she says.

Oh, boy was it! Not only did it speed me up even more, but it made me feel like I was on crack. Everything was funny (and do you know how hard it is to not laugh and make your monitors go hay-wire? The struggle just makes you laugh more!). I was suddenly wide awake and had a million things to tell Terry. My arms and legs were shaking, I couldn't move my leg at one point. It wasn't necessarily a great feeling, but I couldn't slow my brain down enough to grasp how crazy it was making me feel.

They sent Crystal, the same night nurse who was there during Micah's delivery, in to say him to us. I was so happy to see her- she'd been wonderful 2 years ago. But I know I only said incoherent things and I felt silly.

Finally I was given the all-clear to go home! They gave me big jug of water, made me sign a bunch of papers, and told me the ever popular medical advice: "Just take it easy."

We didn't even get to the elevator before my nausea kicked in (I suppose from the Terbutaline?). I kept imagining myself puking in the halls and then being forced to stay longer, so I rushed to get to the car. We finally made it home about 2 a.m. and I asked Terry to bring me a bowl to puke in. Thankfully I never needed it. I think I was asleep as soon as I hit the pillow.

It was such a crazy experience to go through and another example of how unpredictable and darn-right frustrating pregnancy can be. In fact, as I sit here typing, I'm feeling contractions coming on even though I was told Trebutaline would cause them to go away for good.

In the end they told me that if this had happened 9 days later (my 37 week mark) they would have let labor progress. They told me that without medical intervention, I'd have a sweet baby in my arms today. But, I am grateful we were able to stop labor. Caleb needs more cooking time (no matter how mean his eviction-demanding mommy gets). And I need to get a "Coming Home" outfit!

So, in the last 12 hours I've been in pain, in doubt, embarrassed by disappearing contractions, vindicated when the pain came back, tired, and high on speed...er, Terbulatine. I keep reminding myself of the TV special on the Duggars I watched on TLC. When Michelle was in labor with her 15th child she said something like this to the cameras following her, "We aren't going to wake the children up yet. There's no need to until we get to the hospital and know for sure that this is the real thing."

If she can't tell a difference after 15 kids, then I'm not going to stress about not knowing, either!