Three Weeks Ago Today...

On Wednesday February 26th, I was scheduled for my weekly (37.5 week) prenatal appt. We always scheduled my appts for later in the after so the Mr could be with me. (BTW, he never missed one appt, and I'm so thankful for that.) Our appt started off with an ultrasound to see if AC had turned. We found out she had indeed turned, and that her turning was more than likely what was causing all the extra pressure I was feeling.

With each prenatal appt came a urine sample. As big as my belly had gotten, it was getting harder and harder to get them a sample. I joined the Mr in the room and the nurse came in to check my BP. It was 153/100. And she gave me a look that meant it wasn't good. I knew I was going to be checked so I got ready for that, and the nurse walked back in. She said I needed to give another urine sample — I had a high protein count in my urine sample. So, she took my tumbler to fill it up again with ice and water so I could get ready to head back to the bathroom. In the meantime, my Dr came in and said she had a change of plans. We would be headed to the hospital to be monitored for a few hours, but before we left, she wanted to see if I had progressed any. I wasn't even a half of a finger tip, so she felt confident I wouldn't be going into labor anytime soon.

Immediately the Mr and I started asking questions. And trust me, we had a lot of them. What would happen at the hospital? How long would we be there? Should we be worried? 

My Dr was very calm and said, how would you feel if she is born tomorrow? The Mr and I looked at each other and both said, if that's what we need to do, we are fine with it. But rest assure we really didn't fully understand what that meant because we were still convinced she wouldn't be coming anytime soon. And I'll let y'all in on a little secret... AC was scheduled to be born on March 10th. My Dr had been talking with us for a few weeks about taking her that day. So, we figured we had a least another week and a half.

We were given a packet of paperwork to carry with us a block up the road to the hospital and were told to make sure we were given a labor and delivery room just in case we didn't leave the hospital. And my Dr said she would be in touch with us soon.

We arrived at Shelby Baptist around 4:25 p.m. Getting out of the vehicle at the hospital was surreal. Both of us not really knowing what all to expect, we entered the door and headed to the nurses station of labor and delivery. We were informed they only had one room available, and since we weren't in labor they were going to put us in a recovery room. But, I did exactly what my Dr asked us to do, and told them, no... she said put us in a labor and delivery room. 

We entered into room 10 and the Mr immediately made himself at home in the recliner with the remote in hand. The nurse gave me instructions on getting another urine sample, getting set up with the baby monitor and blood pressure machine, and informed me that I would have some blood work done. Next came a thousand questions as I listened to AC's heartbeat fill the room, and as my BP was taken every 5-8 minutes.  We were finally left alone... so I started to try and calm down and watch The Middle. A few nurses came in every few minutes to check on me, and one lady even sat down on the couch and started asking about our baby's name, the nursery look, etc. It was about 6:15 and the nurse was still sitting around talking to us when the phone our room rang. No one knew we were there except my mom, and we didn't tell her what room we were in. The Mr asked if we should answer the phone and the nurse said, well, I would if I were you. (I think she knew we were going to be getting that phone call because of all the questions she was asking and she stayed until the phone rang and then slipped out of the room.) 

He answered the phone and said, sure, hold on a second. He put the phone on speaker and I heard my Dr's voice fill the room. Her next words I'll never forget... Well guys, we're having a baby tomorrow! I immediately started shaking. She said my BP wasn't going down, and the protein count in my urine was still high so she thought it was best to have AC the next morning. I started asking was she sure it was okay for her to born that early and she informed us that she would be fine. She told us we could wait, but she felt sure we would just be back the following day or two to have her. We then begged her to be released for the night and we would come back first thing in the morning for the c-section. She said she wanted me to be continually monitored, so going home wasn't an option. She also ordered me a sleeping pill so I could get some rest. Before hanging up, she told us she would be by first thing in the morning to chat and we would have our baby before noon the next day. 

I don't remember what my BP reading was after that phone call, but I remember a nurse coming in and asking if I was okay and saying, you must have just found out you're having her tomorrow. Apparently my BP had jumped quite a bit with that news. 

The first person we called was my dad. He informed us February 27th would be her birth date about a month before then. He was in a meeting in Tennessee, but said he would be leaving the next morning early to be there to meet his grand baby. We called mom next and then the Mr's mom. We also asked that none of them mention to anyone that we were in the hospital or that she would be born the following morning. It was already after 7, and we had so much to do and talk about that we really didn't want to be bothered with a thousand phone calls and texts. The Mr left to go get our hospital bags, and to pick us up some dinner. Mom was at our house so she helped him get everything I was waiting to pack together. While he was gone, a nurse came in and started asking even more questions and had me sign paperwork for the next day. The instructions I was getting were in one ear and out the other. I was still trying to comprehend that I would be holding my little girl the next morning.

The Mr got back to the hospital around 9 with our bags and dinner. However, he forgot the pillows, so he would have to drive back to the house to get those. (Our house is only 5 minutes from the hospital, so it wasn't a big deal to go back and get them.) Anyone want to guess what our dinner was that night? As we were eating, I told him that this was not how I pictured our last meal as a couple would be, and he said... well, I knew it would be McAlisters, though! Ha!

After a quick trip back home, we started to settle down for the night around 11. The Ambien I was given made me see double, and I didn't sleep a wink. The Mr got a few hours of sleep, but I think both of us had our minds racing with thoughts about what the following morning would bring.