It was a crazy day on January 18, 2012. To start off, I didn't get much sleep because the night before I was having contractions from around 7pm til 2am when I finally fell asleep. I didn't realize they were contractions as I was expecting something totally different. What I was feeling were very strong menstrual cramps and that is not what I thought it would feel like. The next morning sometime around 8am, I woke up and thought I had peed the bed. Still not fully awake, I went to the bathroom and it just kept coming. I tried calling Brian, but he was at his BNI meeting and didn't answer. I sent him a text saying, "call me now!" He did, and I told him what happened. He told me to call labor and delivery. I was still embarrassed cause I still wasn't sure what was happening. Labor and delivery said I should come now, that my water had broke. Ok, I'm still 3 1/2 weeks early. I called Brian back and he said, "Ok, I'm on my way, but it might take me awhile cause it's snowing pretty bad out there." I called Amy, my sister-in-law, and with panic in my voice told her what was going on. She was very excited and helped calm me down a bit. I was already packed and ready to go, but for some reason, my brain had stopped functioning. I had to tell myself over and over: "pants, shirt, socks. pants, shirt, socks." just to get myself dressed. I just kept walking around the house completely confused. Finally Brian got there. It took about an hour. We loaded up and made the long drive, which should only take about 25 minutes, to St. Luke's downtown. This was the first snowfall of the season and man, the traffic was bad. It took us over an hour to get to the hospital. Good thing I wasn't in pain or it would have been a miserable drive. Brian and I just kept laughing because when your water breaks it's not just one gush of water, it trickles out continuously, so I was completely disgusted that I had to sit so long in the car. We finally made it safely to the hospital and into labor and delivery we went.
So I wasn't even dilated when I got there, so they let me sit for awhile, and got me all hooked up on I.V. They sure know how to make you feel beautiful when you are having a baby. I mean check out the hat they made me wear. I sat for a couple hours waiting for something to happen. Finally Dr. Lowder came in and told me that since I wasn't dilating, I needed to have a c-section. With the waters broke, there was a risk of infection if I didn't have her soon. Of course I had planned on doing it the other way, so I was a little bummed. Then the panic set in. Something about having a needle stuck into your spine is a little unsettling.
The nurse took our picture before I was wheeled off, without Brian, to get anesthetized. They would let Brian in the operating room until I had gotten the spinal. Good thing Dr. Lowder is a patient, nice man who held me through the whole thing and talked to me to keep my mind off what was happening. It really wasn't as bad as I expected, but it did hurt a bit.
The last c-section I had, 15 years earlier, I don't remember feeling all the tugging and pulling as I did this time. It was very strange. I kept asking them, "Am I supposed to be feeling this?" Then they would say, "Does it hurt?" Well it didn't hurt, but it felt very strange. Being strapped down on a table with arms out, like a crucifix, not being able to feel anything from the breast down is a bit frightening especially for a control freak like myself. Then at 2:51pm my sweet little miracle joined us on earth. When I heard her cry for the first time, I was so relieved. I asked Brian to make sure she had all her parts, and he assured me she was perfect. The doctors even said her color was amazing. Her umbilical cord was nice and thick, and she was very healthy looking.
I was very surprised by her weight, especially for being 3 1/2 weeks early. She weighed in at
6lbs 11.4 oz, and was 19 1/2 inches long.
And so the journey begins with my sweet little miracle, Oliva Nicole Owings.
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