It’s been exactly four weeks since the birth of baby Maurice, it’s still hard to believe he’s already here since he wasn’t due until this Friday! I went into labor at 35 weeks and 4 days, much earlier than I had initially thought. I will say the whole experience was so much better than I could have ever imagined! I was starting to get nervous thinking about going into labor and giving birth, but I can honestly say it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
Before I get into it, here’s a little bit of what was going on before I went into labor. When I was 28 weeks I had my first blood pressure that was a bit high. They would do the first take and it would be higher than it should be, they’d take it at the end of the appointment again and it would be normal. This happened at my next appointment as well (30 weeks), and that’s when my doctor mentioned that it could be gestational hypertension. Moving forward she wanted me to do non stress tests twice a week, and an ultrasound once a week along with my weekly check ins with her as soon as I got back from my baby shower in Cleveland. She was hesitant about letting me travel, but I had an appointment right before I was supposed to leave and my blood pressure wasn’t too high and everything else looked good, so I was able to go.
Fast forward two and a half weeks, we had just got back that week from our trip and I had my first round of testing. I went for my non stress test, everything looked good, he was moving like crazy and we hit the required movements within the first 10 minutes. The nurse mentioned I was having contractions, but I couldn’t feel them at all. I chalked them up as Braxton Hicks and we went over to get the ultrasound. Everything looked great at the ultrasound and I then had my weekly appointment with my doctor, I was 35 weeks at this point. Because I was having contractions she checked me to see if I was dilated at all, and sure enough she said I was already at 3 centimeters. She had told me if my blood pressure stayed elevated that she would have to induce me, so she was content that I was already dilated, she wanted me to go into labor on my own rather than having to induce. She said she thought he could come in the next couple of weeks, which really put our butts into gear! We were not really expecting that at all and still had so much to do. That weekend we went into baby mode and worked around the house getting things done around the nursery etc. Sunday I mentioned I was feeling some lower back pain, thinking it was from everything we had been doing the day before, looking back on it now, I was probably in early labor!
Fast forward two days to Tuesday July 2, it was very early morning, I woke up to a little bit of cramping, but it wasn’t painful enough for me to think much of it. I just flipped over and went back to sleep. At about 7:00 am I got out of bed and went to the bathroom and I felt what was like a popping inside of me. My first thought was “Did my water just break?!” I thought maybe I was just being paranoid, especially since water wasn’t gushing out. So I went downstairs and started making coffee and unloading the dishwasher and that’s when I started feeling some cramping. It felt like I was having period cramps, but obviously never having gone through this before I still wasn’t sure if it was the real deal. I was supposed to have another stress test that morning so I thought I could go in and tell them what was going on.
I called my Mom and told her what happened and she said I had better call the doctor and head to the hospital that it sounded like I was going into labor. I went upstairs to tell Mo that I thought my water might have broke, by the look on his face I think I shocked him! I called the hospital and they said it sounded like I should start making my way into the hospital. I decided to hop into a shower and start getting things together that I needed to bring with me. I had started making a list of everything I needed for my hospital bag, but nothing was even packed yet. As I was getting ready, the cramping started getting pretty intense and water was really starting to come out now (sorry for TMI!) and at that point I was 100% sure my water had broken!
The pain was getting so bad I was having to take breaks and go lay down on the bed. Rambo kept coming up to me on the bed, he definitely could sense something was happening. I’ve seen women going into labor on TV or in the movies and they take their good old time getting to the hospital, but that was not the case for me! I started throwing whatever I could think of into a bag and thank God for Mo helping me because I couldn’t really even think straight at that point. I just posted a blog post last week on what to pack in your hospital bag here if you’re pregnant and wondering what kind of items you should pack. We finished gathering everything up and rushed out the door. As we were driving to the hospital I was clutching the door handle every time a contraction would come, they were so painful and close together I was only getting a couple minutes of relief in between each one. That car ride felt like forever, even though we were only about 20 minutes from the hospital.
Once we got to the hospital we rushed up to labor and delivery and all I can remember was continuously asking when I could get an epidural! My nurse got me changed into a gown and checked me to see if I was ready to go into a delivery room and when she did I was already at 7 cm, no wonder I was in so much pain! She quickly got me into a room and started the process of getting all of my info and calling the anesthesiologist. They weren’t sure if I would be able to get the epidural at first because they didn’t have my blood work. They ended up getting it soon after, thank God, because I don’t know how much longer I would have been able to take that pain! I had heard horror stories about the epidural, but it was literally my life saver and I honestly didn’t even feel him put it in. It really made the whole experience so much more enjoyable, once I got that we were smooth sailing! We put on some music, called our family and friends and relaxed, I was completely out of pain. Mo had been keeping our family updated through everything and luckily my Mom was able to switch her ticket and she made it to California by the end of the day.
It was another hour until my doctor came in to check me. At that point I was already at 10 cm and she said it was go time! They started setting everything up for the delivery and explaining how the breathing and pushing would go. I lucked out with having the best nurse ever, and my doctor was amazing as well. I felt so relaxed and calm throughout the delivery. Everything from there happened so fast, I literally pushed for two minutes and baby Maurice was here! He was 6 lbs 4 oz and 19 inches long, a nice sized little guy for being so early!
They had explained that due to him coming early that they may have to take him into the NICU, the nurses were waiting in the corner as he was being born. He came out with one big cry, but he was having trouble breathing. They put him on my chest, let Mo cut the umbilical cord, but then quickly whisked him away to suction him out and assist him with his breathing. It was a little scary seeing them rush around and working on him, but everyone stayed so calm, which made me think everything would be ok. I was able to hold him one more time quickly until they took him to the NICU to be put on oxygen.
The whole morning was such a shock and everything was so much quicker than I had ever thought it would be that I honestly didn’t even process what was happening. After my doctor finished up with everything, we were able to go and see him in the NICU, definitely not something I had ever imagined I would have to do. The next two days he continued to stay in the NICU, which was strange not having him in the room with us. The hardest part was when it was time to leave the hospital and not being able to bring him home with us. At some points I felt like I didn’t even have a baby because I wasn’t taking care of him like I should be. I just put it in my mind that I would take the time that he had to be there to get things ready for him at home and let them give him all the care he needed. In reality he wasn’t supposed to be here for another month! It ended up being a total of 10 days in the NICU while he learned to breathe on his own and then learn to breathe and swallow at the same time. The care we got was some of the best and I couldn’t be more thankful for the nurses and doctors we had in the NICU.
It’s been two weeks since we brought little Mo home and our hearts could not be more full, I love being a Mom! He’s been doing so well, he gained a full pound within the first week of being home. We’re definitely learning as we go, I can’t wait to experience all of the different fun baby stages with him. Although he came early, I really couldn’t have asked for a better experience bringing him into the world. It was such a special day and one that I will definitely never forget! You’re already so loved little man <3
Xoxo,
Danielle
