I had started having contractions early Monday morning around 7:00am or so, and so I started timing them. Turned out to be a good thing that I did that because they were about 3-5 minutes apart for a solid hour and a half straight. I called my doctor and she said to go in if they continued for another hour (which they did). River came home from work after I called him and told him what was going on, and after that we finished packing my go-bag/hospital bag and headed on out. We did make a pit stop at Target first in order to get a few snacks and I of course forgot my toothpaste.
We arrived at the hospital around 11am and were put into a smaller room where I would be evaluated to determine whether or not I was going to be admitted. They hooked me up to the fetal monitors, determined that I was 3.5 cm dilated and then we just sat around waiting for awhile. I had called my mom earlier in the morning after timing my contractions and so she had headed on up to Eau Claire and arrived around noon (I had also called Keels, who said she would come to the hospital later if I did actually get admitted). After mom got to Eau Claire and came up to the room we were in, the nurse suggested walking around for an hour or so to see if my cervix would dilate any more. So mom of course took charge and had me walking the hallway like a crazy person but it was kind of fun to chat and just relax (as much as I could in between contractions anyway). After about 2 hours, around 2:30pm, I was almost fully effaced and only 4 cm dilated but they wanted to admit me (hurray)! I called Keels to let her know what room we were going to be moving to, which was the rather large water birth room with the HUGE tub and nice TV :D
My nurse came in (Teriena I believe was her name) and she said that my Dr. wasn't here yet but had said she wanted the Resident Doctor to break my water in order to get my cervix dilating more and get the labor process fully underway. Of course she said it was up to me if I wanted to do that, and I said I was okay with breaking my water (especially if it was going to make things move a little faster). The Resident Doctor (a man) came in with the nurse a few minutes later to break my water. The first attempt he didn't seem to really get anywhere and it was beginning to be uncomfortable so he let me have a little break. The second attempt, he finally managed to break my water, but said that it might take a little bit for the fluid to actually come out. I moved around a little bit while laying in my bed and felt the gush of water I was told to expect (by this time it was close to 3:10pm), which was a relief to me knowing that my labor was actually going to happen! River peeked at the fluid to make sure it was clear like they had said it should be, but found that it was pinkish/red with blood so he told me to press the call button.
The nurse for the shift change came in a few seconds later and noticed on the fetal monitor that the baby's heart rate had dropped dramatically. She had me lay down flat on the bed and turn to one side and then the other in order to try and move the baby around (and possibly off the umbilical cord). She couldn't get his heart rate to increase any so she had to call for another nurse to come in, who then called over the hospital intercom a "Code-C". River nor I had no idea what was going on but I of course was frantically trying to figure it all out in my head while laying there being man-handled and prodded by suddenly 10 different people all at the same time. I remember having a lot of questions and comments flying through my head in a panic but all I could vocalize was "is the baby okay" which no one responded to.
Suddenly, they were carting me out into the hallway and River's hand was pried from mine and I felt myself panicking and gasping for air. This sudden reality seemed like a nightmare and I had no idea what was happening, though I did manage to ask "where are we going" and FINALLY got a response saying: "we're going to the operating room to get this baby out." At that moment, I heard my mother say something (I think it was "Honey, I'm right here" and then heard her say "She gets panicky and someone should just talk to her") and I was having trouble breathing and I was feeling really cold. A bunch of people were talking and asking me questions but I couldn't answer anyone because I couldn't breathe properly. I felt them prepping my abdominal area with the sterile stuff (the orange stuff you see on TV or in movies) and suddenly it hit me that I was going to have a c-section. Finally someone (not sure who) leaned over so I could see them and looked me in the eyes and said "we're going to put you under so we can get your baby out safely, are you allergic to any medication?" (I managed to shake my head no) and then he said "okay, I just want you to breathe deeply and we're going to take really good care of the both of you." Last thing I remember, my throat felt like it was being crushed and I was trying to say "I can't breathe" but nothing would come out because I couldn't take a breath.
Next thing I remember is opening my eyes in a hallway with an oxygen mask on and who do I see in front of me?! .... River holding my son looking at me with panic and love and every kind of emotion all at once. I remember asking if I could give Tiny a kiss before they continued to wheel me away. After that I remember being in the recovery area for awhile (very tired) and then waking up again in my room where I was handed my son for the very first time. I'm pretty sure I had wanted to cry, but I couldn't muster the strength, so I just held Tiny close and thanked God that everything had turned out alright.A few days later, my doctor told me that the way the umbilical cord was attached to the placenta and it's membranes was very weak, and that when my water was broken, one of the smaller blood vessels ruptured causing me and Tiny to start losing blood (and causing Tiny's heart rate to suddenly drop). She said that if this had happened at any other time or at any other place, Tiny would not have been saved no matter how fast they may have reacted. (They had him out in 9 minutes, by the way... CRAZY).
I thank my guardian angel for being so close to us both that day and am very grateful for the tiny miracle that is my son.
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