False Alarm Fiasco

So often when I talk to girls about their labor stories, their story involves a "false alarm" trip to the hospital where they end up being sent home. After hearing these common instances, I was bound and determined not to let that happen to me. First of all, I would hate to bruise my "tough" ego and look like I went to the hospital with just "weak" contractions, and second, who wants to have to go through all that drama just to be sent home knowing you are going to have to go back and do it again. Yeah, that was so not going to happen to me. I knew the chances of me being induced were high (as I was with my 1st two) but if I did go into labor on my own, I was going to have to be keeling over in pain before I went to the hospital. Well God has a sense of humor and a great way of humbling me. No I didn't go to the hospital thinking I was in labor over contractions- I did much worse, and far more embarrassing. I mistook my water breaking. How do you make that mistake like that without basically unknowingly peeing on yourself. That my friends is a question I would just like to bypass....

I wrestled with whether to share this on the blog out of my own embarassement, but since it was a big part of Sadie's (prenatal) life and since I can usually handle some good embarassement (I'm really good at 'laughing "with ya'll"=) as Ryan can attest, I decided I would share my story.

8:00 on Thursday night I was getting the kids ready for bed. Ryan was at class and I texted him to get him out telling him my water broke. He rushed home and we got the kids packed to spend the night at grandma and grandpa's -the timing was really good too, as Papa Ross had just had knee surgery that day and Grandma was also going to have Bailey the following morning, oh and it was pouring down rain, so yeah, timing was excellent of course...

I wasn't really having contractions too badly, even though I had had bad back pain all day, so I did have some hesitations in my mind, but I just knew I wasn't stupid enough to think my water broke when it hadn't. Haha.

We to the hospital and were in a room a little after 10:00. When I think back actually our first 15 minutes there were very scary. I was not in the bed for 2 minutes when the nurse was panicking and I was getting oxygen, and IV for fluids, and questions shot at me left and right including talk of C-Section, and being told I wasn't going anywhere anytime fast, water breaking or not. When the nurse put the heart rate monitor on my belly, she had a confused look on her face and said.. "Your baby is not happy, she is not happy at all". Her heart rate was in the sixties and stayed there for they said about three minutes before spiking and then falling into a normal rate. They immediately called in the ultrasound tech and doctor. We had a long and thorough ultrasound, in which everything to much relief looked great. By the time the doctor saw us, I was having painful and steady two minute apart contractions, but was still not dilating any more. The contractions kept up for about 2 -3 hours and the babies heart rate stayed good. They decided at this point (around 1:30am) that they would keep me through the night to monitor the babies heart rate and the doctor also figured I would probably deliver with the way my contractions were going- if not we would talk about inducing in the morning. I was relieved I was not going home at that moment because I looked at Ryan on the verge of tears and said, "There is no way they can send me home with contractions like these." Well shockingly the contractions waned and I rested. When the doctor came the next morning there was no change- "you have a stubborn baby and a stubborn cervix!" she said- oh goody. So a long twelve hours and 3 LITERS of fluid later, I was sent home with no baby and no pride =).

Oh and some other fun facts from the ultrasound-- she estimated her weight to be a mere 8 lbs 2 oz (woohoo! I was hoping for our smallest baby yet, but NO, if she is right she will be by a good bit our biggest!) And she kept trying to measure the head and it was measuring much farther along than the rest of her. The girl said "This may not be right, she's kind of turned catty wompass." I looked at Ryan and laughed and just said "Oh no, it probably is." We will probably be having another beautiful big headed Braithwait Baby, haha. And her heart rate looked great the rest of the time we were there so to this point, they don't seem concerned.

So I have been instructed to take it easy to last until Monday, and I am trying to obey, as I have said I am not showing my face in that hospital again until I know for a fact I will be leaving with a baby in my arms and can fulfill my promise to Hannah Gracie this time that we will be bringing "her Sadie" home to her.