Much to our shock - and the shock of all our friends and family - Ellary Elizabeth decided to grace us with her appearance 4 weeks and 1 day before her due date. Her birth was what we like to call "Fast and Furious" and is definitely a story we will never forget {and to ensure that, I'll type it all out below}
Starting on the evening of Sunday, April 2nd {the last day of our spring break} I was peeing my pants off and on - or atleast so I thought. When we went to bed that night I went to the bathroom, crawled into bed - remember hearing a little popping noise and then felt myself pee a little. I hopped up and went to the bathroom with a change of bottoms thinking how that was odd. In the middle of the night when I got up to go to the bathroom, again when I returned to bed and laid down I peed a little.
I pulled up Google {which lets be honest you should never do} and literally typed in "Can you be pregnant, go the the bathroom and then pee your pants right away?" Everything I read said that is normal, that you must not be emptying your bladder and when you move the pressure might make it empty more. That night I got up pretty much every 30 minutes to go to the bathroom - it was horrible.
Monday morning we got up to report back to work after spring break and I just didn't feel good. I had a pain in my lower tummy that would make me stop what I was doing any catch my breathe. I didn't think anything of it - thinking that must be braxton hicks contractions - after all we still had a month to go. I went to work and right away was looking forward to 3:30 when I could go home and take a nap - I struggled through the day not feeling good and just needing to sit {which is hard to do when teaching Kindergarten}.
That evening I came right home and took a nap and pretty much didn't leave the couch. I did "pee" my pants again but again, thought nothing of it because some of the ladies at work said that would occasionally happen to them as well. The hubs dad was having surgery in Ann Arbor on Tuesday morning and so the hubs was going to go down after school and stay the night, returning for our weekly doctors appointment on Wednesday. I asked him if we could wait to see how I was feelign Tuesday because I wasn't sure I wanted to be alone. That night I didn't get up as often in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and actually got a decent amount of sleep.
Tuesday morning I woke up feeling a bit better. I got ready for the day having to stop occasionally for that darn pain again. My principal came in during my Language Arts block to do my final observation of the year - I was so nervous I'd have to run out to go to the bathroom but thankfully I made it through without having to leave. When I was dropping the kinders off at lunch my principal asked how I was feeling, I told her, "I'm pretty much done with being pregnant." {mind you I have felt superb the entire time and didn't have a single thing to complain about}. She said she could tell and she was glad she came to observe me today because she wasn't sure how long I'd be there. In the teachers lounge at lunch I was telling everyone how I just didn't feel good and explained the the pain I was feeling. They all said it must be her making her way down.
The hubs came down to my room a couple times to check on me and I told him I still wasn't feeling well. I felt bad but I really didn't want him leaving to go down to Ann Arbor. At the end of the school day my coworker came in and said maybe I should call my doctor just for peace of mind since I still wasn't feeling well. I called and talked to the nurse, she thought I might have a UTI and that's why I was in pain and peeing so often. We moved up my appointment the next day and they told me to go to the hospital in Cadillac to leave a urine sample so they'd have results in the AM.
The hubs and I then headed to Cadillac {about 25 minutes from home} to leave the sample. On the way there the hubs started to time my "pain" {which we now know were contractions} and they were about 10 minutes apart. I left my urine sample and we headed back home. We stopped to get gas when we got back into LC and at that point my contractions were 5 minutes apart. While pumping gas the hubs called his sister, who's a PA, and told her what was happening. She said to go to the hospital NOW!
I was so convinced that we weren't having a baby I told the hubs I just needed to get home and lay down and I'd be fine. We got home, I laid on the couch and the hubs heated up some left over monkey bread for me - as he was bringing it over to me I was having another contraction and he said, "I'm packing a bag, we're going to TC now." I tried to go upstairs and help him throw clothes for me in a bag - but I had to lay down on the bed and tell him what drawers to grab what out of. I had him grab the baby's bag too, just incase {which in my OCD ways I already had packed}.
We weren't sure what to do with the dog. Our plan was always to bring him to my parents, who live 2 minutes from the hospital, but they were currently at Disney with my sister and her family. We called some friends, explained what was going on and they said not to worry they'd come get Otis. So , up to TC we went.
At this point the contractions were very painful and coming faster - the hubs asked me to tell him when one ended and honestly, it was hard to tell. After we were on the road for a bit we realized we didn't grab the car seat. The hubs asked if we should turn around and get it - I, again convinced we weren't having a baby today, told him it was fine and if we did need it someone else would bring it up to us I'm sure.
The hubs continued to time the contractions and by the time we got to TC they were 2 minutes apart. A drive that normally would take 45-60 minutes took us 30 minutes --- needless to say the hubs knew we had to get there and get there fast.
We pulled into the ER at the hospital, the hubs jumped and ran out saying he thought his wife was in labor. They brought a chair out for me - the hubs asked what to do with the car and the security guy said he wasn't suppose to but that he'd park it for us. They wheeled me down to a room in the maternity ward to get checked in. I remember telling the guy pushing me, "I'm going to feel really stupid if this is nothing." He told me not to worry about that.
We got into the room and the nurse asked how I was feeling - I told her I needed to push. She asked if anyone had checked me, we said no. So they got me into a gown, hooked up monitors to listen to baby girl, and the doctor came in to check me. Well, wouldn't you know I was at a 9! She said we'd have a baby within two hours. I was so worried and just kept asking if baby girl was okay. They assured me she was. The doctor asked me what my plan was for pain management - I told her to give me whatever she could, to which she replied it was too late and I couldn't have anything. The hubs said he was happy he wasn't on the other end of that conversation with the face I gave her. ha! I kept apologizing for swearing and the nurse assured me that what happens in maternity stays in maternity and they've heard much worse.
At this point they quickly wheeled me down to my room in the maternity wing - I remember them warming me about bumps, my eyes were closed from the pain and occasionally I opened my eyes and saw ceiling tiles moving by and still couldn't believe this was happening!
We got into our room and a slew of nurses appeared. Since I was 4 weeks early the NICU was in there in addition to everyone else. They were trying to hook up my IV in between contractions and something wasn't hooked up correctly so when they got it in blood squirted everywhere. At this point I had started pushing - I remember grabbing the side of the bed and telling the hubs to text my dad that we were having the baby. I kept telling him to take pictures too.
They had me roll on my side to get baby girls heart rate to slow down, made me breathe through some contractions {that's not fun} and told me that yelling wasn't helping baby girl {but it was helping me deal with the pain!}. I started pushing again - while on my left hand side - and after 15 minutes of pushing - Ellary was here!
Was it how I had thought birthing my first child would happen in my mind, not at all. But the crazy thing is - everything worked out. We didn't have the baby in the car {thank goodness!} and although she was early, Ellary was healthy and didn't need to be whisked away at all. Do I wish our parents could have been there - without a doubt. Did it hurt to call my mom afterwards and know that she was devastated she was missing her baby have her first baby, yes - but I told her it was okay, we'd be here after their vacation :)
So 24 minutes after arriving at the hospital our beautiful baby girl was in our arms. I am so very thankful that the hubs trumped me and said we were going to the hospital. We joke that for the next baby I'll have to move in with my parents once we hit 30 weeks :)
