This was my easiest pregnancy in terms of feeling well. We had had a scare at 12 weeks with heavy bleeding. No cause was found, but when the doctors did a sonogram, my baby was bouncing and kicking and moving as it had been all along. A wave of relief swept over me. From that moment on, the baby took it easy on me. I still had my bicornuate uterus to keep an eye on - the reason for my preterm babies - and I had gestational diabetes once again. But I felt good. Like really good. I couldn't believe the energy I had this time around and how much easier this pregnancy felt. We had a great (and very busy) summer, and in August we closed on our new house. We started moving in, and two days later went to Colonial Williamsburg. After we returned, we jumped right back in to moving and unpacking. School was approaching quickly, and David worked tirelessly to get moved in and unpacked. I helped as much as I could with a growing belly and orders to lift nothing.
Back-to-School came, and the night before the first day of school, I packed lunches and snacks and backpacks and bags. We all headed off to a great first day of school.
It was nice to be back at work. Don't get me wrong, I'd take a lifetime of summer and how relaxed we get to be. The new house has a pool, and the joy that my girls get from that pool is so beautiful. It was nice to be back at school and back into a routine again, though. It's easy to be back at work when you know you won't really be working later than Thanksgiving. I had a nice time seeing my students again - this is the first year that my 8th graders are all mine. I had them in sixth grade, seventh grade, and now they were my elite 8th graders. I am very proud of the fact that my first year back at JFK I had 14 eighth graders, my second year I had 18, and now this third year I had 67 students signed up for zero period eighth grade chorus. I was going to spoil the heck out of those kids. I have lunch duty this semester, and I spent the whole period walking around, catching up with students on how their summers were. My AP James offered me a chair, but I was truly enjoying my time with the kids, and I felt fine. I should have taken that damn chair.
That afternoon I headed home around 1:00. Addie & Charlie were napping and Elliot was still at school. I took advantage and laid down for a bit. I headed out to pick up Elle at the bus stop, eager to hear about her first day of school. All I knew for sure was that it was hot and I wanted to take my girls in the pool. Elliot gave me few details about school (as is her way), and started right away on her homework - to read for 20 minutes. She read to her sisters - she's such a good big sis. I laid down again, I was starting to feel a little off. After the 20 minutes, we all got in our bathing suits. I was excited for how good the cold water would feel and how light I felt in the pool. We stayed in the pool for a little over an hour. I always rush my kids on to the next activity, but they were being so good, and it felt good being in the pool. I was still not feeling great, but the pool definitely helped.
I texted Dave to see if he wanted to go to Friendly's for dinner - it has become a first day of school tradition. He said it sounded great. We got ready and off we went. While there, I was feeling worse and worse, and started to realize that I felt bad, then okay, then bad, then okay. I started timing the bad periods. They were coming every 6-8 minutes. Hmmm. I drank more water. I told Dave I wasn't feeling well. When we got home, he said not even to unbuckle the girls, just go get in bed. I put the foot of our bed up, drank tons of water, and worried about getting lunches packed. I was certain it was Braxton Hicks contractions. I had just gone back for my first day of teaching, I was on my feet too much, I overdid it. I googled Braxton Hicks. They shouldn't be painful. They shouldn't be regular. Now my contractions were every 5 minutes. I called the hospital.
The doctor said what I thought - you're tired from your first day back, you did too much, you're dehydrated. Then he said what I expected - you should probably come in, we'll check you out, we'll hook you up to an IV. We called our parents and told them it's probably a false alarm, but we were off. On the way to the hospital, the pain was getting worse. I must not have looked good, because they sat me down in triage, then got me right back up and into a bed. David was still parking the car. They timed the contractions and put me on several monitors. They started an IV - it took 2 people and four tries - it was the first time I saw David nearly pass out. I watched the blood drain from his face as nurse #1 tried to get the IV going. Nurse #2 got it on her first try, thank goodness.
The contractions were now incredibly painful. And they were coming every 2-3 minutes. I was given a steroid shot at 11PM to help develop the baby's lungs. I would receive another in 12 or 24 hours, depending on how imminent the birth was. The doctors decided to put me on magnesium to slow the contractions. I was only 23 weeks and 5 days. This baby simply could not come yet. I was given an epidural eventually for the pain (thank Heaven for epidurals - I became a much nicer person to be around after that!). The magnesium made me groggy and cloudy and loopy. I saw my husband cry for the first time in years. He is always so strong, he takes care of his four girls so well. I could tell it was killing him to see me in so much pain. Once the epidural kicked in, I was a much happier camper. It was the middle of the night - midnight maybe? I was exhausted. One nurse made me take of my rings and remove my earrings. I remember feeling angry with her - I was feeling better and this baby WAS NOT coming now. I was told I'd be in antepartum until his arrival. Dave prepared himself to be a single Dad for several weeks while I lived at the hospital to keep this baby in for every extra hour we could.
Two NICU doctors were sent in to talk to us about what would happen should the baby come that night. I can only recall Dave sitting on the couch in my room while they talked. I have no recollection of the conversation or how long they were there. The rest of the night and the following morning are a a blur. I slept on and off from 11PM to 11AM. Several nurses over that time period remarked that I have sleep apnea. Apparently, as I sleep, my oxygen sats drop to around 90, and they should be at least around 95. Oh good, something else for me to worry about. Now I am being told to have a sleep study done. Because I need one more thing on my list.
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