The Ever Anticipated Birth Story...(PART 1)

You guys wanted to read it...let me warn you...it is FOREVER long! I might have to post it in installments! ;) There are pics...and they are incredible! I was GINORMOUS!

K...I'll copy it word for word from my journal:

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

It was about 4:30am when I got out of bed for the billionth time to use the restroom...it was different this time. I was having some serious cramping when I would sit down and try to void. It felt like my bladder was completely full, but I was having trouble emptying it (which could be a sign of an urinary tract infection). I went back to bed and tried to sleep, but woke up several more times to repeat the same process. Finally, stubborn Suz, who did NOT want to bother the nurses..paged her night nurse to tell her my symptoms. They collected urine by performing an "in & out" urinary catheter insertion and sent off for cultures and a UA. I was put on the contraction monitor for time being..."just in case"...

By this time, the day shift had started and one of my favorite nurses, Sherri, was my nurse for the day. My "stomach cramps" were getting worse. When Sherri walked in and saw my face in pain, she knew immediately that something was wrong. "I have NEVER seen you look like this"- she said, looking extremely anxious.

It was 8:00am...my breakfast had come, but Sherri wanted me to hold off on eating & held my insulin for the morning...to wait and see what was going on. My fasting blood sugar was 69 (which was extremely low for me)...so on top of the cramping, I felt a little shaky. Surprise, surprise, my urinary testing came back negative. Sherri readjusted my contraction monitor and we waiting for Dr. Tabor to make his morning rounds.

In the meantime, I had called Joe to tell him that I was having some pretty serious stomach cramps...to which he nonchalantly replied, "Suz...are you just trying to freak me out? You were just fine last night." I told him that these felt "different" and that I was in some serious pain. We were trying to decide if he should make his way to the hospital or not...he ended up leaving immediately. I also called my dad to give him a "head's up" b/c everything was just so weird...I had a feeling that things might progress rapidly & he had a 1.5 hour trip ahead of him WITH my dog, Shiloh. Dad called my mom and Aunt Judy (who were at my house) to tell them to hurry up and get to the hospital!

During the time that I was alone in my hospital room, waiting for Joe, mom, and Aunt Judy, my body started throwing some serious contractions. Tabor finally made his way to my room, walked in, saw me in pain, and had the same look of surprise that nurse Sherri did. He had never seen me like this and said, "I don't think I've ever seen you NOT smiling." He proceeded to check my cervix..


"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! HOLY COW!"


The look on his face was priceless..SCARY to say the least. He stands up and says: "Whelp, you're at a 3." And I'm pretty sure I said a word that I don't say very often. He looked worried...so deep in thought. To which I said, "OKAY DOC, now YOU are freaking ME out! I've never seen that look on YOUR face!"

He then tells me that the next hour will be critical in determining how we will proceed. They will monitor my contractions and Sherri will re-examine my cervix in an hour.

YIKES...HOLY COW...SERIOUSLY?! Its all happening..just like that?!!? I hadn't had one contraction for 30 weeks and now BAM! It was all happening so fast. Now Joe had walked in and he was so nervous. He sat next to me and held my hand through my intense contractions. They were coming every 3 to 5 to 10 minutes. They hurt SOOO bad! My mom and Judy had arrived.

I didn't know at the time, but nurse Sherri had already called Labor & Delivery and the NICU to tell them of my status. I was the infamous "quad mom on the third floor" and they had been preparing for my imminent delivery for weeks. When Sherri came back to examine me---"OUCH again"---still at about a 3. Tabor was monitoring my contraction from his office in the next building and wanted my cervix re-examined in another hour. We might be trying Magnesium Sulfate if the contractions don't stop.

"What?!! NO!!! ANYTHING BUT MAG!!!" I had heard horror stories about this drug and what it does to you. Mom and Joe continued to watch my contractions on the monitor...they were getting stronger (even going off of the graph paper!) and more frequent (3 to 5 minutes). Sherri came in to check my cervix...still a 3. She really freaked me out when she said, "Oh, I can feel Savannah's head!" (scary much?!)

Tabor decided to have me change into a gown, start an IV, and give me a Foley catheter. It was time for the MAG..."duuum dee duuum dum" (the ominous riff played in my head like ultimate doom and gloom were knocking at my door) They were going to try to use the Mag to stop my contractions...if it doesn't stop them relatively quickly, then it wasn't going to work and delivery would be certain.

YIKES! I can't believe this was happening and that I was about to be on Mag! When the drug started into my vein...it was the weirdest feeling. I immediately started getting HOT from the inside---out. It felt like all of my internal organs were on fire! My face began turning red and I kicked the covers off of me. I felt VERY loopy...hard to describe...but those of you who have been on Mag can for sure relate!


Ahh....good ole Mag!

I was still throwing intense contractions every 3 to 5 to 10 minutes...so needless to say, the Mag was NOT working! Dad was already on his way from Waco. I had texted all of our friends to tell them that I might be delivering that day. And about the time Joe had walked downstairs to grab a slice of pizza, Sherri walks in my room with Dr. Thigpen (Tabor's associate)...Dr. Thigpen proceeds to tell me that my contractions weren't stopping and he would be assisting Dr. Tabor in my C-Section that was scheduled for 3:00pm that day! WOW! He stated that the NICU only had FOUR BEDS LEFT...IN THE ENTIRE NICU! They were all right in a row and they had our name on it! He continued to tell me that he wished every patient were like me and that I had such a great attitude and outlook on this pregnancy and this was the reason I had gotten so far!

WOW, I couldn't believe that in one hour, I was about to be delivering my babies!!! Joe walked back into the room to find Thigpen in there and his eyes got HUGE! SCARED! He scarfed down his pizza and his stomach was in knots! We started calling friends/family/everyone! I wrote on my blog...very loopy...but notified my blogger buddies that I would be delivering within the hour! ;)

This video is incredible...look at my stomach! Notice the red mark? My skin was actually bursting and bleeding in some spots! That's how much it stretched! OWWW! The indention is from the tocolytic monitor that was strapped to my tummy. The stretch marks...well...they are just absolutely beautiful! ;)




Crazy, huh?

I was taken down to Labor & Delivery, tons of nurses were in the room, trying to fill out the paper work to get me ready! It was mass chaos! My dad had made it in from Waco (speeding like a mad man!), my brother made it, my best friend Adriane was in attendance...the Steeces were stuck in Minnesota and were on the next flight out! it was all too surreal. So much going on...so much happening too fast! WOW...slow down...please...this is like a weird dream!





Finally, SHOW TIME! After snapping some pics, I was rolled down to the C-section room...we took up both of the two largest rooms they had. Two babies would be taken to one room, the other two would stay in my room. There were TONS of staff in there...22 people to be exact! Being a surgical nurse, I felt completely at ease in the O.R. Anesthesia started my spinal and I kept asking for Joe..."Don't forget my husband!...Someone please don't forget to bring in my husband!!" (like they would?? come on, Suz!)

...to be continued...

(I know...don't you hate me?) :)