Trying to Make an Early Arrival

This past Thursday, Kayden tried to make his appearance...
This is the story of Kayden's first 'April Fools'!

Thursday Night, Chris was working and I was home with Makenzie. Makenzie and I went to In*n*Out with my dad a few hours prior. About 845-9pm I noticed my belly getting really tight and then letting lose. The contractions were about 8-10 minutes apart at this point. About 20 minutes later, they started coming down to 5 minutes apart. I called my mom to let her know what was going on, then called Chris to let him know as well. Around 945pm, they started getting pretty intense. The contractions actually started taking my breath away and I was getting really bad back pain. At this point, I asked Chris if he could come home any time because I think it might be time to head to the hospital. He made it home around 1030pm or so. Chris called Daniel and Lyndsey asking them to come over and sit with Makenzie while we head to the hospital which they graciously did (they are amazing friends).

We got to the hospital about 1130pm and at this point my contractions were down to 4 minutes apart. They checked my dilation and I was measuring at 5 cm and 80% effaced. Since I was only 35 weeks and 4 days pregnant, my doctor wanted the nurses to try and stop my contractions. It took them 2 1/2 hours to stop them. They gave me two shots of adrenaline stuff for my heart which they have found through research to also stop or prevent contractions. I hate that stuff. It makes my heart beat hard and fast and gives me visible uncontrollable shakes followed by a headache. So, to counteract the side effects they also gave me an Ambien which is a pain medication and sleep aid... oh, how I love modern medicine!

They sent me home, only after saying they were going to call in a prescription for more heart medication, which I would have to take every six hours. Upon getting to the 24/7 Walgreens where the prescription was supposed to have been called in, naturally, it wasnt. We had to call the nurse who called the pharmacist who then called us back, saying they called the wrong store. We called the store to cancel the prescription then call the nurse back and the nurse had to call the other pharmacist who we were talking to face to face... needless to say, the pharmacist had to call the nurse directly for specific instructions... We got the medication about the same time I began to hallucinate due to the drugs.

Upon arriving back home, Chris called Daniel, who was staying at our house babysitting our sleeping baby with Lyndsey, at about 3 in the morning. Daniel and Chris then dragged me inside the condo and Chris put me to sleep. I could only imagine what someone would think had they saw two men drag a helpless women into a condo... Anyhow, I awoke the next morning trying to figure out what happened after we got to the pharmacy...

Shortly after I woke up (90 minutes), the contractions started again. We waited until about noon until the pain was too much and went back to SRD Sienna triage at 12:30pm. We advised them of the situation and they started running tests. Due to the fact I was in labor, was still dilated at a 5, and was 80% effaced (still) they tried calling our doctor. After another 45-60 minutes they were able to get a hold of Dr Torres (my OBGYNs medical partner) who stated to give me another shot to see if they could calm the contractions... After the adrenaline shot, I continued to shake but they could not stop the contractions. They called our Dr again who advised he did not feel comfortable releasing me at my current conditions (contractions, dilation, and effacement) and admitted us in under a 23 hour observation.

I had contractions most of the evening and most of the morning (for about a total of 10 hours). Dr Torres came in to evaluate the information and my labor conditions, but due to the fact I had not progressed in my dilation and effacement during the 10 hours of labor, again sent me home for BedRest (can only walk to and from bed to bathroom) with orders to drink as much water as possible!!! Dr Torres said 90% of babies born in the 35th week are perfectly fine, have fully developed, and do not require any special medical attention, but he and Dr Fleisher would rather me wait till my 37th week (official full-term) when they are almost 99.99% certain there will be no special medical attention needed, which I can understand.

...It was a difficult situation because I couldnt go home (too dilated), couldn't stay there (not progressing), couldnt get induced (7 days before 'full term'), and couldn't get contractions stopped (too effaced), so I needed to stay there, but just temporarily for 23 hours (continual contractions)... I felt like I was in prison for a crime I had not committed; "Wrongfully Convicted" by the prosecutor whose name is commonly known as, Mother Nature; Kayden's First April Fools' Joke...

But with all things in their place, its the health of our baby Kayden and myself which is the most important thing, even though spending over 24 hours straight in the hospital sucks, getting 5 Liters of fluids sucks, getting discharged from the hospital sucks, being bed ridden sucks, etc... a couple extra days in the belly will help lil Kayden tremendously. I guess, 24 hours in the hospital yesterday is WAYYY better (and cheaper) than an extra 48-72 hours of Kayden being in the oxygen tent and under the artificial lights because his little lungs are not fully developed and he has a little jaundice!!!

The sun came up along with a renewed hope and vigor for the day. It is Monday, 9:30am and I am starting to have pre-labor conditions (pooping A LOT, extreme cramping, lower back pain, small contractions 25-30 minutes apart, increased small spurts of energy, desire to nest, and that 'doesnt feel right' feeling that can not be explained).

Our appointment with our OBGYN Dr Fleisher is today at 12:15pm and Chris and I are hoping that today, 36 weeks and 1 day, is close enough for Dr Fleisher!!! We have daycare (Thanks DAD) figured out for Makenzie, our hospital bags RE-PACKED, Kayden's diaper bag packed, and his car seat all ready to go. Chris is hoping we can schedule the contractions around the March Madness Connecticut-Butler Championship game... but unfortunately for him, Dancing With The Stars is on tonight :)