Week 37

Week 37: The unexpected

Well... I started inconsistant contractions Sunday night but there was no change when I was examined at my appointment Monday morning...

Tuesday I finished packing my hospital bag (it was on my to-do-list for week 37) and realized I hadn't painted his door canvas. So, I painted his "X marks the spot" sign and started up another round of contractions. While I was painting I remember thinking, OK. I think I am ready as soon as I finish this sign. And I prayed about some things and had an amazing sense of peace. I got in the tub for my nightly bath, but soon had overwhelming senese that I REALLY needed to take a nap, right then. I slept until around 9:30 and woke up with a lot stronger contractions. My parents had just returned from a concert and were getting ready for bed when I came downstairs. Mom took one look at my face and asked what was going on... Once I told her she thought it would be a good idea to start timing my contractions. Dad acted like we were being silly, and he went to bed.

At 10:15 pm we started recording my contractions, noting when they started, when they stopped, how long they lasted, and how far apart they were. By 11 pm they were 8-10 minutes apart and lasting two minutes. Griffin called around midnight to tell me he had just gotten into town, when I told him what we were doing (I'm not sure he really understood what was going on at that point...) he said to call him back and let him know what was going on if I needed to. Mom and I then talked about calling my doctor's office because by that time they were every 3-4 minutes and lasting two minutes. Once I got in touch with the on-call nurse I was convinced to go ahead and come in to be monitered, at least. We got to the hospital at 1:20 am.

When I first got to the hospital I was almost 1 cm dialated and close to 80% aface. I stayed on the moniter, had some blood work done, and wasn't checked again for another 2 hours. By then I was 1 1/2 cms dialated and more aface... My contractions started to slow (or drop off completely), so I was convinced I would soon be sent home. But by the next time I was checked (about another two hours) I was a little over 2 cms and I was 90% aface. They decided to go ahead and keep me... I was going to have a baby.

They broke my water at 7 am, I got my epideral by 8:30, and began pushing a little before 1 pm...

aleXANDER Cole was born December 16th, 2009 at 1:55 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and measured at 20 inches long.