The Meatloaf Saved the Day

The Rest of the Story.....

After our appointment on Friday, November 13th, I was still of work because of the “early labor” and was told to take it easy. Since we didn’t have good meals during the week due my hospital visits, I decided I would make meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and home made Nestle Toll House Cookies for dinner. I was really craving meat and cookies!

I rested all morning with contractions every 7 minutes. I had just finished lunch when I had a really strong contraction and then I felt a little “gush” of something. I went to the bathroom and found nothing except that the pad I was wearing seemed a little damp but definitely not soaked. It didn’t look like urine but I couldn’t be sure. So, I just figured it was something from the doctors checking me all week. The contractions did come a little closer together and later that afternoon I felt another smaller “gush”. It was the same as before but now I was questioning if my bag of water was leaking.

I called Chief at work and gave him a heads up. I also told him I wasn’t going to call the doctor because they would tell me to go to the hospital and then when I got there they would tell me to go home and rest! I told him I was going to “monitor the situation” and that I didn’t feel bad so it couldn’t be anything.

After Chief got home from work he walked the dogs and I was finishing up dinner. I was still timing contractions to be about every 5 minutes but to me they felt worse the day before. We had our ice cream and cookies for dessert and then it happened. I had another “gush”. This time I didn’t have a pad on so I was positive it happened. Chief convinced me to just call the hospital and it wouldn’t be a big deal if we just went there for them to confirm that my water did or did not break.

We headed off to the hospital. We checked in and were put in the same room as the previous night. I got undressed, hooked up to monitors and then the nurse took a peek and told me she was very sure I broke my water. Then the resident came in and confirmed it to be true. My first thought was I couldn’t have the baby on Friday the 13th; Nemo spelled backwards is Omen!

Well, the meatloaf saved the day! Because we ate a big dinner so late in the evening the anesthesiologist said the surgery would have to wait until 4:15 AM. There was nothing left for us to do but try to sleep and wait. We tried to rest and maybe would doze in and out. Mostly I was laying and watching the monitor. I loved listening to Nemo’s heartbeat. I had so many thoughts and emotions. I couldn’t believe that the baby was coming in a few hours. I held Chief’s hand, I cried, I thought about the future. I even wrote Nemo a little note just before the surgery.

Promptly at 4:00AM they came and took me to the OR to get prepped. Chief stayed behind and waited for them to get him. The OR was interesting. They had good classic rock playing on the stereo. Everyone was running around getting things ready. The anestesiolgist told me that the usual plan for C-Section is that the woman gets and spinal and epidural, but because of my allergy to morphine I was only able to get a spinal. The big deal is that they only have 2 hours of numbness. If I could have gotten the epidural the post op pain would have been less because the medication would have lasted 6 hours. I was really worried about getting the needle placed in my back but he talked me through it and it wasn’t so bad. Almost immediately the medication kicked in and I was basically paralyzed from my rib cage to toes. That is the worst feeling! I also had some lightheadedness and was dizzy because my blood dropped a little bit. They would give me IV medication to help with this.

I was so anxious to see Chief and when he came in I felt a lot better. A little while later I heard Dr. R say it was a big baby, asked for the vacuum and with two people pushing him from the top and Dr. R pulling from the bottom it was announced that we had a baby boy!

Tears of joy filled my eyes. Chief went to the baby while he was being taken care of by the NICU team. Everything seemed to be fine. Our little one was healthy and screaming!

I couldn’t wait to get to the recovery room because I had only seen the baby for a second. Chief and I waited for over an hour and I asked the nurse to please bring him to us. Finally, she did and when I held him I instantly loved him.

Nemo was 9 lb 2 oz; 20 inches long; and born at 5:07am. I will remember this day and that moment as the best part of my life.

Labor and Delivery (Part One)

Labor and Delivery… I am sorry that this is late but for those of you who don't know the story here it is part one and I wrote this on November 13th.

On Monday November 9th, I had an OB visit and NST (non stress test). During the visit I started having contractions 5 minutes apart. The OB-GYN check me and said I was only a finger tip dilated and I should go home with the instructions to call if the contractions did not let up or if they got closer together.

Chief got home from work and walked the dogs. Then he and a neighbor moved the rocking chair to Nemo’s room. Unfortunately, he also threw out his back in the process. By 7pm I had talked with the doctor and was sent to the hospital because the contractions were now 2-3 minutes apart and I had some concern about the amount of spotting that was occurring.

We grabbed the bags and off we went to the hospital; me with contractions and Chief with back spasms. When we got near the hospital Chief considered not parking in the garage because it would cost $4.00. You see, he pays for parking because he is an employee, but his parking spot is a bit of a walk for a man with an injured back and a woman with contraction. Thankfully, he opted to park and pay!

I knew his back was killing him so I hopped out of the car, grabbed the bag and cameras. He was having a hard time getting out of the car. We walked slowly to the hospital and I asked him if he would like a wheel chair and I could give him a push. I carried the stuff for a while until his back loosened up and then he took over. His next funny question and I think he was serious: “Do you want to take the stairs?” I think my glare answered the question.

When we got to L+D they quickly got me on a monitor. Yep, contractions are regular and 2-3 minutes apart. I was examined and was told I dilated about 1 cm. They decided to give me a liter of saline with the hope that this would slow things down. Over an hour later I was still contracting. I only progressed to 2 cm, which isn’t very much in 8 hours. The next step was to give me a shot to stop the contractions. Finally, around midnight they stopped and we got to go home.

We made it though the week until Thursday when the contractions started at 2:00 AM. At my OB appointment I was checked again and still only 2 cm. The contractions were only 7 minutes apart and I was instructed to stay home, drink fluids and call if anything changes. On Friday we had our ultrasound and we saw Dr. White afterward. The baby was 9 ½ pounds. Dr. White talked to Chief and I about our options. Her gut feeling was that the baby is big and if we tried to labor naturally it would probably result in 48 hours of labor and a C-Section anyway. She did check me and I was only 2 cm dilated with the baby still high. I was sent home to rest and wait for Nemo to come on Monday.

Now I am resting, drinking, and praying that everything works out. I can’t believe we are going to see our baby in just a few days. It seems that the time has passed too quickly. I know this pregnancy will end and another journey is about to begin. I thank God everyday for blessing us with this baby. Nemo, mom and dad can’t wait to meet you.