Unexpected Arrival!!!

On Saturday, I started feeling some cramps in my abdomen and did some research online. Braxton Hicks contractions, or false labor pains, typically occur in the third trimester and helps to prepare mother for true labor. However, those false labor pains continued through Sunday and into Monday.

When we got home from work on Monday evening, I started noting that the contractions were about 6-7 minutes apart and growing in intensity. I called the doctor's office after dinner and he advised that we head to the hospital. He told me that the only way to be sure that I am not in labor was to get an evaluation. Scott dropped me off at the hospital and took Jake to our friends, Tim & Laura house for a sleep-over.

My evaluation confirmed that the contractions were, in actuality, real and that I was already 6cm dilated. The baby was breach and the nurse proceed to "scold" me for not telling her this vital piece of info when I walked in the door. (Sorry lady! I was trying to breathe through contractions. Sheesh) The staff went quickly into action with the epidural, IV, and preparation for a Cesaran. Honestly, when I got to the hospital, I expected to be sent right back home, told that I was dehydrated, drink plenty of fluids, take a warm bath and relax.

I was not prepared emotionally to meet this baby. My biggest worry was that it was too early for the baby to come into the world and I imagined the worst happening. I found that I was blaming myself for not being confident in reading my own body. I should've raised the red flag on Sunday morning when I first had an inkling that something was odd. But I didn't because I didn't want to be the fool that over-reacted and gets sent home. Well, it was too late to dwell on all those emotions because this baby was come out today... No questions asked!

Because I didn't carry him full term (only 32 weeks), Baby Joey is a preemie. He has taken residence in the Neonatal ICU as he needs help breathing. Joey isn't producing a surfactant in his lungs. This surfactant prevents the lungs from sticking together when they expand and contrast. Also, babies do not have the suck/swallow/breathe reflex until week 34/35 so Joey needs to continue to develop outside of the womb, where his peers stayed in their mommies' bellies to develop in utero.

Bottom line, this means that we will be spending a lot of our time at the hospital with Joey over the next several weeks while still maintaining structure and schedule for Jake. It is going to be a whirlwind Spring.

As I lay awake here in my hospital room, I am thinking about my boys. Jake: as he is going to wake up this morning in a home that is not his, cry out for him mommy or daddy and we aren't there to cuddle with him. Joey: as he spends his first night in the world in a NICU so far away from his mommy and daddy. Scott: as he will be spread thin in helping me during my recovery, transitioning Jake from an only child to a big brother, and encouraging Joey to grow strong and healthy.

To my boys: my cup runth over!! I love the family we have become...

Click here for pics of Joey's Birth Day