Since my last post, life has gone absolutely bananas. After our first trip to the hospital from the front ending, I ended up back in the hospital 2 other times with preterm labor. Both times they were able to stop it with meds but the last trip on February 3
rd landed me exactly where I didn’t want to be….bedrest. But I was willing to do what I needed to do to take care of this baby so off to bed I went. Well, maybe not as much as I should have. I suddenly felt the nursery needed to be in order. We got the majority of it done over that weekend and it was a good thing we did. Monday, February 7
th, I didn’t feel great so I just kept napping on and off all day. To top it off, our heat went out so it was a good thing I stayed in bed so I didn’t freeze. After Dave came home from work, his dad came over to help with the heat. I decided to take a bath to try to warm up. When I got out, I felt something coming out of me as I walked down the hall. I will be the first to admit this pregnancy has caused me to have a lapse in bladder control but this felt different. I tried not to freak out as I walked up and down the hall a few more times to make sure I was feeling what I thought. My water had broke. I called the doctor and she told me to go the hospital because if my water had broken, she would induce me because the baby would be more likely to get an infection if we left him in. Keep in mind I’m 34 weeks and 6 days pregnant at this point. So much for bedrest working. I calmly called Dave to our room and tell him not to panic but I think my water’s broken. His response is a shrill, “What do we do?” We were both kind of teary eyed at that point because we knew it was too soon. I told him we needed to pack a bag and go to the hospital. Once we gained our composure, we load into the truck and start calling parents. I was scared to death. Scared about the safety of my baby, scared at the thought of labor, scared of all of it. We arrive at the hospital around 7pm. I’m taken back to a room and given a test to see if the fluid I’m passing is amniotic fluid. Jackpot! It was go time. The doctor came to talk to me and see if I was dilated. I was 2 cm. She told me that NICU would be in the room during delivery and Jackson’s breathing would decide if he needed to go to NICU or could go to the regular nursery. Luckily, she had given me steroid shots to develop his lungs the previous week when I came in with preterm labor so now we would see if it paid off. My nurse got me hooked up to the dreaded IV and the pitocin was started to induce my labor. I was already starting to contract on my own since my water broke but the pitocin would get things rocking. All the parents arrived by 10pm and I was starting to feel more contractions. They weren’t as bad as the ones I had the previous week but they were coming pretty close together. Since I’m not one for pain. I decided to go ahead and get my epidural around 11pm. This was the part I dreaded more than the delivery itself. A big fat needle going into my spine. Dave stayed with me and I tried to relax as best I could. It took 3 tries before she finally got it in. She just kept saying I needed to relax. Ugh..yea right. I will say that not being able to feel the lower half of your body is the weirdest thing ever. The nurse checked me again and I was 2.5 cm. A whopping half cm change in over 4 hours. Unfortunately, I had a reaction from getting so worked up about the needle and the epidural itself so my blood pressure tanked to 55 over 30. I felt it coming and was able to tell the nurse and Dave. At that point, they cut the pitocin off until I stabilized. The next couple of hours were a blur until I got my head back on straight. They finally started the pitocin again around 1:30am. The nurse checked me again at 2:15am and I was a whopping 3 cm. Dr. Miller had said it would be over in the day Tuesday but I never thought it would be that slow. Dave and I decide to try to rest at that point. Easier said than done. Right about the time I would doze off, the stupid blood pressure cuff would go off. It did that every 15 minutes. Around 4:15am, I started feeling funny. There was a ton of pressure. I told the nurse I either needed to go to the bathroom or my epidural was wearing off. She checked me and I was 9.5 cm. I was shocked. I moved at the speed of light in 2 hours. I think Dave’s words were, “Sweet Jesus!” He starts calling parents to tell them it’s time and to come back to the hospital. Everyone had disbanded to get some rest since Dr. Miller said it would probably be over in the day except the moms, who were holding down the lobby. Dr. Miller showed up around 5am and I start pushing. After a few rounds of pushing, I feel the most intense pressure I have ever felt. I had to get this baby out. I give what Dave’s refers to as my T-rex growl and it’s over. At 5:26am on February 8th, Jackson David Wicker makes his entrance into the world. I glance down and briefly see him as the doctor hands him off to the NICU. I felt so tired at that point but I was waiting to hear that cry. After about 20 seconds, I hear the sound I was waiting for. Then I hear all of the nurses kind of screaming. He was peeing all over them. That’s my boy. The NICU gave him the all clear which was a huge relief to us. The actual delivery really was the weirdest thing I have ever felt. I almost felt out of body with what I had just done. I never thought I would be able to make it through. Dave was awesome. I had worried he would pass out but he was right there, cheering me on the entire time. Once Dr. Miller got me all cleaned up, I was finally able to hold my son for a few minutes. The feelings that overcame me are something I can never put into words. Finally getting to meet this person who I had tried to protect all those months and would continue to try to protect for the rest of my life was a surreal experience. Here was our baby. The one we wanted so much and thought we might never have. He was early but he was okay. How lucky were we? After getting to hold him for a few minutes, they took Jackson to the nursery to get cleaned up and weighed. I got moved to a postpartum room and waited to see my child again. They brought him to me around 7:30 and announced he weighed 6 pounds 5 ounces. What?! This kid was 5 weeks early and he weighed that much? Maybe it was a blessing I didn’t go 40 weeks or our gi-baby prediction would have come true.
After all was said and done, I was a little disappointed about a few things that happened. First, it was the wrong month. I do wish I could have carried him closer to term but he had other plans. I wish he could have been placed on my belly after delivery and that Dave could have cut the cord. But these things were not meant to be. In the grand scheme of things, they don’t matter at all. What matters is that our son arrived safely and is healthy, albeit early and big. Thus began our journey into parenthood that you will hear more about in the weeks to come. February 8, 2011 was a day that changed my life forever. I will never be able to thank God enough for that.
Toastingly Yours,
