Pop! What was that?

I was lying in bed. It was dark outside. I had just woken up to pee (again) and I was slowly drifting back to sleep.

...

...

POP!

My eyes slam open, and I shoot out of bed. "LEO WAKE UP! My water broke!"

Leo groggily looks at me and mumbles weakly "Huh?" (pause) "Oh shit, OMG!" Leo stands up quickly in bed, and steps right down into my puddle of water. -Slip!- Leo falls to the floor, slipping in the puddle. He rushes to the bathroom to take a quick shower to wake himself up. I grab the phone, look at the time: 5:45 a.m.

My mom rushes to my room, "Honey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, my water broke."

"Oh my God! Are you hurting? Do you need help?"

"I'm fine Mom." -pause- I wince from the contraction. "Ugh, it hurts!"

Leo comes back into the room and says "Let's go!"

"Honey, we don't even have a hospital bag ready yet!"

We hurry to shove things into the bag as my contractions are coming fast and full force now. It's becoming unbearable, hard to breathe. We leave the house and hop in the car.

Leo says "Uh oh."

I cringe. 'Uh oh' is not exactly what I want to hear at this point in time. "What is it?"

"We're out of gas, we won't make it to the hospital."

We pull into Chevron and Leo rushes inside to pay. He pumps the gas and hops back in the car, turns the key and... nothing. Why isn't the car starting? What the HELL!?
"The battery died."

"What do you MEAN the battery DIED? I'm in labor and the BATTERY DIED!!!?"

Leo apologizes and gives me a hug. He calls his grandma, who lives right down the street, to give us a jump. It was 6 a.m. and nobody at Chevron was there to jump us.

She arrives 10 minutes later and they jump the car. I'm crying from the pain of the contractions. It's unbearable, I can't take it anymore. I NEED THE EPIDURAL!

We hop on the freeway to the hospital. "GO FASTER!"

We arrive at the hospital at 7 a.m. I'm crying as we get into the elevator and a woman gives me a sympathetic smile. We sign in and wait for them to send us to triage.

10 minutes later, we're welcomed back. I am told to change into a hospital gown and they ask for my pad to test it for amniotic fluid. The nurse is extremely rude, and says "You're looking very mucousy. We don't think it was your water, the baby probably just kicked your bladder."

I was furious. I was contracting like mad, and was dying for pain meds. Forty-five, yes, forty-five Hellish minutes later, the nurse returns.
"Well, I guess it was your water. We can admit you to L&D now."

We begin to walk to the other side of the Maternity floor. Contractions coming faster, harder now, I pause while walking, waiting for them to pass. We arrive to the room, and I'm told I must have a bag and a half of IV fluids before I can have the epidural. I was crushed. The pain was engulfing me, I could not take this any longer. It was an hour and a half before the anestesiologist comes in, it was the woman in the elevator who smiled at me. Thankful is an understatement at this point. My fear of needles flew out the window. It felt as if time stopped dead in it's tracks while the needle was shoved into my spine. Relief was coming, this was sure. 10 minutes passed and my lower body was numb.

I glance at the clock again: 9:30. Leo goes to the cafeteria to get some food, and my nurse cath's me, warning me it could be a long, long time before the baby is born. After all, most first time moms have long labors right?

...

Wrong.

At 10:00 I'm feeling pressure. Oh my, what is this? This is very uncomfortable! My nurse comes in and checks me for dilation. "Oh my God!"

"What?"

"You're 10 cm! Time to start pushin'!"

It's so hard to push, I can't feel anything. The epidural was just administered half an hour before, and the effects are still in full-force. Three hours it takes me, to learn the true art of pushing. In a last, exhausted effort, I push with all my might. Her head crowns, and the nurse is shocked at how much came out. She calls the doctor and says "DONT PUSH, the baby will come out now if you do."

The doctor arrives, and I begin pushing again. After 3 pushes, he gives me an episiotomy and instructs a nurse to bring over the vacuum extractor. After one more push, her head is out. 1:08 p.m.: I stare, watching the birth, I'm in utter shock. That's my baby, my daughter. My purple, blue, and bloody daughter. She's beautiful, weighing in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces and 21 inches long. She looks so healthy, but her breathing isn't right, she hasn't cried yet.

"Is my baby okay?" I yell, terrified.

The doctor stares blankly at me, "Yes, she's fine. Just having trouble breathing"

My daughter is handed to me, and I hold her for 10 seconds. She is then wisked from my arms and taken to the nursery. What's wrong with my baby? Is she okay? Terror shakes through me, as I wait for some news. It's hours before I know what's going on...

Christmas Eve Celebration

It was that time of the year again! Christmas Eve with Leo's family at his Grandma's house. I struggled to get ready, with the bulging abdomen I had. Nerves shook through me as we left for her house. Half of his family hasn't seen me at all during my pregnancy.

We arrived at her house at 5:05 p.m. and we were the second guests there. His sister and brother-in-law, and their two kids were there already.
"Oh my God, you're so BIG!" Nikki proclaims, as I waddle through the living room. She stands for a hug, and her husband stands for a handshake. The last time I had seen them was a month ago, when we went to their house for dinner. At that dinner, her husband, Lee, had said to me "Wow, you can barely tell you're pregnant! What, have you gained... ten pounds?"
"Yeah, about that. At my appointment, I'd only gained 11."
Now, at this dinner, right before Christmas, he says to me "WOW! You're big now, aren't cha?"
(...thanks...)

After the big greeting, and the Ooo's & Aaw's over my belly, I continue my walk... -err-... waddle to the sofa. The should-be 2-second-long-walk seems to take forever. My massive stomach sure did this to me a lot lately... Everywhere I walked seemed to take longer, and longer each trip. Every time I had to pee, it seemed like it took longer to get there than the time before.

Finally, I take my seat at the couch, and I planned to stay in That.Exact.Spot until I had to get up to leave for the evening. Of course, my minuscule bladder ruined these plans...over, and over again. This little baby inside of me had a blast kicking at my bladder these days..

Other family members began arriving swiftly, and boy did their eyes opened wider when they saw my belly!
"Oh, when are you due?"
"You look so big!"
"You look so small!"
"Pregnancy looks great on you!"

That last comment really made me chuckle inside...
I'm the size of a cow, and you're telling me I look GREAT?

Presents were accustomed at this occasion, everyone got some. Nikki and Lee got us The Dark Knight, Leo's great-grandmother got me a manicure set. Leo's grandma got me a dress. We also got a lot of odds-n-ends gifts, as well. We all ate our yummy food that his grandma cooked, and the evening was drawing to a close. After nearly everyone had a second (and third) helping of lasagna, everyone started shuffling out. We all said our friendly goodbyes, and everyone wished Leo and I the best of luck with our impending arrival..

We left that evening and went home to sleep. Sleep was hard to come by, nowadays, with me waking up at least 7 times a night to pee.
These last weeks of pregnancy must be preparing for what it's like to have a newborn...

Heading home...

After 4 long days in the hospital, I was ready to go home. I had been pumped with Magnesium Sulfate, Nifedipine, and Terbutaline until I felt as if I was going to go insane. Being stuck on bed rest, and having to use a bed pan to pee was the worst feeling in the world.

My contractions were letting up, and were back to normal braxton hicks again. My OBGYN came in to see me, and told me that they would be sending me home. He had written a prescription and told me to take it.

I finally left that dreaded hospital, knowing that I would be back here in a few short weeks to deliver. Next time I came, I was praying I'd be carrying my daughter in a car seat when I left... Not waddling out weakly, because of the multiple drugs the doctors shoved on me because of those contractions.

I went to the pharmacy to fill my prescription, and came to find out that my insurance didn't cover it! It was $79.95, and I only had $6.00 on me at the time. I had to call my mother, and ask her for the money. I was embarassed to ask her for money, to aid me in my pregnancy.. I created this child, why can't I be the sole provider of her? Leo and I... I wish we would have had the money. We drove to her work, and picked up the money from her. I picked up my prescription, and finally headed home...

We pulled into the driveway, and walked inside. I went into the bedroom, and laid down.

This is how it's going to be... for at least 3 weeks.

Moderate bed rest.. I had three options. Lay in bed, sit on couch, sit in bathtub.

I dont know how you can possibly be considered "on bed rest" if you are getting up every ten minutes to pee...

So, I laid in bed most of the day. I laid there, daydreaming of the day I would finally get to lay in bed with my little girl in my arms, instead of my tummy...

I went into pre-term labor.

I was 36 weeks pregnant and had been having crazy braxton hicks for a week. One afternoon the contractions were coming every 5 minutes. I hadn't even gotten approved for state health insurance yet!



Leo spent the entire day, racing back and force between home and the Dept. Of Economic Security and home, trying to get me qualified and covered as soon as possible. Finally, he comes home and says "You've qualified. Do you still need to go to the hospital?"

"YES!"



We head to the hospital, and walk up to the L&D floor. The nurse in triage says to me, "I don't think you're in labor. You don't seem very uncomfortable. It's probably just braxton hicks contractions. You can stay, if you want, and we can monitor you, but it's your choice. Do you want to stay?"

"Yes I really think I need to stay."


She hooks me up to a contraction monitor, and I was contracting regularly, every 2 minutes. She rushes in "I need to check your cervix! You're contracting a lot!" -- "Oh my! You're 3 cm dilated and 75% effaced. The head is engaged. You'll probably have this baby tonight!"

The nurse began me on an IV Drip, and gave me a shot of terbutaline to try to stop my labor. The drug increased my heart rate to 120 bpm. It was not helping, so they gave me an additional shot of it, which raised my heart rate again. Now my heart was beating at 150 bpm!
She had to draw 4 vials of blood, and I started feeling dizzy. Everything started going black. I got really light headed and the entire room was spinning. My heart was throbbing in my chest, and I couldn't see straight. Leo was getting worried, and angry at the nurse for doing this to me.
10 minutes later, my eye sight was coming back and I was beginning to feel better. My heart was still beating at 150 beats per minute, but I didn't feel so crappy anymore. The nurse had to draw one more vial of blood.

The contractions weren't stopping, and they needed me to go to a biophysical ultrasound, ASAP. I got one last shot of terbutaline before I left, which raised my heart rate to 180 BPM! I felt like I was having a heart attack.

The biophysical went great, except they determined that she was only 34 weeks gestation, instead of 36. She was doing her practice breathing, and her fluids were looking good.

I went back to the hospital room, and stayed there for 4 days while the nurses gave me Magnesium Sulfate and Nifedipine to try to stop my labor. Those were the WORST 4 days of my life. I was placed on 3 grams of mag sulfate an hour. The most they can give you is 6, and the most they had given anyone before was 4 grams/hour. I wasn't allowed to walk, and I had to use a bed pan to pee. It was so horrible. I couldn't wait until I could just go HOME..

First Ultrasound

I'm 33 weeks pregnant and haven't yet had any ultrasounds. I tell Leo about how much I love all the 3D/4D ultrasound pictures I see in the baby magazines.. Leo wanted to make me happy, so he started calling around to local places and we made an appointment for PeekOfYou 3D ultrasounds..



I started getting nervous. "Will it be a he, or a she?" "What will it really look like?"



30 minutes before our appointment, we hop in the car. Leo turns the key on, places it in drive, and we head there. The entire way I'm silent: All I can think about is the pending ultrasound. Butterflies flutter in my tummy as Leo parks the car in the parking lot.



We hop out of the car, and walk quickly to the entrance. We walk inside and a sign on the counter reads "Please fill out this paperwork as you wait. I am in a scan."



After I filled out the paperwork, the minutes drug on forever, silently killing me with anticipation. Finally, the woman before me walks out of the room, with a huge smile on her face. Her remaining family members followed, all talking giddily about how cool it was. The technician took the paperwork from me, and we followed her into the scan room.

A big projector screen hung on the wall. There was a couch on the left side of the room, and a big bed in the middle. This did not seem like an ultrasound exam room, this was more like a bedroom in a rich person's home!

The lady asked me to lie on the bed and uncover my stomach. I did as told, and revealed my abdomen. She turns on the machine, and places the goo-covered receiver on my stomach. A black and white image was revealed on the screen.
"It's a girl!"

As the ultrasound progressed, we got to watch out little daughter move around in my stomach, in color 3D images. I have to say that it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life.

When her little heartbeat fluttered on the screen, mine stopped dead in my chest. It was finally real to me- I'm having a baby, a daughter, and she will be here in about 7 short weeks... And I have no baby items to show for her yet...

My first prenatal appointment

I was 32 weeks pregnant, and I hadn't yet seen a doctor. Today was the day! Terrified of the day ahead, I begged Leo to let me stay home...
"Honey, no! I don't want to go! It's a male doctor! Please let me stay home baby!"
"No, baby. It's important. This is for the baby. You have to go."

When 10:30 a.m. rolls around, and it's time to leave, I grab my birth certificate, social security card, and I.D. card, and we head out. The doctor's office is about a 15 minute drive away. We pull into the parking lot, and walk inside. The receptionist scowls at me while I write my name on the sign-in sheet.

Leo and I take our seats in the cold office waiting room. The minutes ticked by slowly, as we waited to be called.

"Katrina?" -- "Please fill out this paperwork for your insurance."

I walk back to my seat and Leo and I begin filling out the never ending paperwork. After I finish, I take it back to the counter, and the receptionist tells me that a nurse will be seeing me shortly.

Waiting to be seen seemed to take hours, when in reality, it was only about 20 minutes. My heart was pounding in my chest, and my mind was racing.

"Katrina?" -- "Hi! How are you feeling?"
"I'm doing good."
"Please take a step onto this scale." -- "163 pounds. What did you weigh before you got pregnant?"
"152."
"Okay, good. You're gaining well." -- "Please follow me into the office."

We arrive into the office room and she haves me pee in a cup and change into the paper gown. I sit and wait for the doctor while she describes to me what a speculum is. Now I'm terrified and want to leave more than ever.

Dr. Rubin comes in and measures my belly. He said its growing accordingly. Then he takes the doppler machine and places it to my tummy.
"Thump, thump, thump, thump"
The nurse says "Do you hear that? That's the baby's heartbeat."

I got chills throughout my body, as if ice were running through my veins.
Thats my baby's heartbeat.

Finally the appointment is over and I can go home. I check out with the receptionist and she gives me a goody bag of formula samples and a couple of magazines.

I walk out of the office ecstatic. It was finally real, today. I have an OBGYN... and I heard the heartbeat, finally.

Now to get an ultrasound...

My marriage

It was 2 days after my mom found out about my pregnancy. I was still a minor, and for state insurance, they're income was slightly higher than the limit. If I wanted to be covered, I needed to get emancipated- ASAP. Time was running short.

I asked my mom to take me to get a marriage license with Leo. Leo was 17 at the time, and I was 16. We both needed our parents there. We go to the court house, and fill out the paperwork. Hand over the $112.00 it costs for the filing and copy.

We head out of there. Now it was our job to find a priest to marry us- BEFORE tomorrow morning at 9 a.m.
My first pre-natal appointment was then. If I wanted to get care, I had to be emancipated, and have proof of it. I was filling out the insurance forms then, as well, and needed the marriage license.

I called the Bishop of my church at 8:30 at night. He was getting ready to leave for the night, but by some grace of God, he asked us to come in. We were casually dressed and it was really quick.
Before we married, the Bishop talked to us for awhile. He said some encouraging things and reminded us how rewarding marriage is. He reiterated that compromise is key in a healthy relationship.

We had two witnesses, for legal purposes, the Bishop, and of course- ourselves. We said our "I do's" and were both holding back a tear. I love this man- I want to spend my life with him.

We walked out of there, and went home. We were no longer a "dating couple" -- We were MARRIED.