A trip down memory lane

Last year New Year's Eve brought an unexpected, frightening experience. Join me as I recall the events of what occurred...

30 wks pregnant, recent graduate of PT school (Dec. 8th), & new homeowners. Logan & I were shopping around Lowe's & Home Depot for a refrigerator to put in the new house we had bought few days earlier. All of a sudden, I felt as though Stryker's head had dropped even lower. Logan noticed that I would stop occasionally to rock or rest. He became concerned & asked why. I told him Stryker felt lower & made walking seem more like waddling but reminded him how low Stryker had been throughout the pregnancy. Logan was not satisfied with the reassurance & suggested we go home to rest. Reluctantly, I listened to him. Logan wanted me to call my mom on the way home to inquire about Braxton-Hicks contractions. My mom did not experience these so she was not able to help me. Both my mom & Logan wanted me to call the doctor's office when we arrived home. I agreed, even though I knew there was nothing wrong. The nurse gave me the following instructions: lay on my left side, drink lots of water, try counting the pressure episodes that I was experiencing, & call her back in 10 minutes. After 1 minute, I was unable to indicate the beginning & end of each episode. A return phone call to the nurse resulted in a trip to Brookwood's Labor & Delivery. My mom met us at the hospital. There, I was immediatley hooked to the monitor. After a few minutes, we noticed several nurses coming in & out of my room. My main nurse came to us stating that I was in active labor & we needed the contractions to stop soon or Stryker would be born today. Complete & utter disbelief. I turned to Logan with fear. The words were still being processed in my mind as the nurse continued telling us that the doctor & the neonatologist were called. When the nurse left the room, my eyes filled with tears. I was no longer a strong healthcare professional but now a helpless, scared mother-to-be. All of the negative outcomes of premature births came racing through my mind. How could a perfect pregnancy be abruptly interrupted with a situation like this. Dr. Adcock came by my room for a meeting followed by prayer. Such comfort knowing our doctor is strong in his faith & always leaning on God during his daily work. Following Dr. Adcock, the neonatologist & nurses came to set equipment up as well as answer questions. Dr. Adcock's plan was quickly initiated beginning with prayer and medicine. Magnesium is a strong drug used in attempt to stop contractions. I was started on mag at the highest dose possible. Just to say my opinion, this drug is absolutely horrible! I felt as though I was burning all over with nausea added on top of that. My room was so cold that Logan even had his hooded sweatshirt on & the nurses came in with jackets. The nurses were gracious enough to find me 2 fans to attach to my bed for extra cool air. I was in & out of being "with it". After 2 days, the contractions were successfully stopped enough to come off the mag. Truly answered prayers.

To make a long story short, we remained in the hospital for 2 full weeks. The contractions continued during that time but were monitored & supressed with shots. Dr. Adcock had me on strict bedrest at first & progressively weaned to walking only to bathroom with quick showers every other day. The scary situations never ceased but we knew a premature birth was a possibility. Logan stayed with me every day & night. My mom would stay for awhile each day to give Logan a break. Logan's family would bring supper most nights. Dr. Adcock would visit almost daily & call us occasionally. We were definitely spoiled by the OB-GYN staff as well as the nursing staff at Brookwood. We could not have asked for a better experience in such a scary situation. Thank you to all for the wonderful care.

We were able to leave the hospital with continued mild contractions & prescription medicine to calm the contractions. I was to remain on bedrest (walking to bathroom & showers every other day) & schedule weekly appointments with Dr. Adcock. At 36 weeks, we were taken off bedrest & all medication. Yeah! Almost forgot to mention that I attended my baby shower on bedrest & sat in hallway while Logan & mom decorated the nursery.

Six days later, labor hit. It was a Sunday. Valentine's Day. Logan, Fletch, & I attended church (mom had to work). During the service, I poked Logan to tell him that I was counting numerous contractions but not painful ones. The contractions continued, but we decided to go out for Valentine's Day lunch at Bright Star. Yummy! We thought it might be a good idea to lay down when we got home. The contractions subsided. That night, I was awakened by my first painful contraction causing me to sit straight up in bed at 10pm. I tapped Logan & told him "this is it, call Dr. Adcock." I stayed doubled-over while trying to pack my bag. Dr. Adcock told us he would call the hospital & would see us soon. We got in the car. It was in the middle of a thunderstorm. I looked at Logan & we both smiled knowing this time we would be coming home with our little boy. I called mom on the way to the hospital. The nurses greeted us at the door & had everything ready for us. I knew the drill. My mom arrived as the monitor was being placed on my belly. The nurse informed us that contractions were inefficient because they were strong but as one contraction was starting to end another one was beginning. Dr. Adcock had to give me medicine again to slow the contractions in order to make them more efficient. Then, he gave me bad news...he had to be at the Alabaster clinic. Are you kidding?! We wanted him there more than anything. He is board certified in high risk pregnancies which made us feel better. But we knew his group was great. Dr. Ross ended up being our doctor that day. The anesthesiologist came to place the epidural. My mom & Logan's mom stayed in the birthing suite with us until time to start pushing. It came very quickly. Stryker was born 45 minutes later (would have been quicker but he got stuck). He was truly a miracle. A gift from God. I'll never forget that first moment of seeing him & then feeling him against my chest. Mom & Logan's mom came back to the birthing suite after a little while to hold Stryker before going to our room upstairs where the rest of the family met us.