I met up with Catherine at 1pm and we had a lovely lunch. I had half of an Italian Combo Sandwich (Roast beef, smoked turkey, ham, salami, Swiss cheese, peperoncini, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions & our special sauce, on Ciabatta) and the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad (All-natural citrus-herb chicken, mixed field greens, romaine lettuce, vine-ripened tomatoes, red onions, Gorgonzola, apple chips & white balsamic apple vinaigrette). We chatted about everything under the sun for hours. It is what we do. We do not see each other as often as we would like, but we always pick up right where we left off and always have plenty to talk about. We sat at Panera for THREE hours and just chatted away.
Then we walked over to Barnes and Noble because I really needed to pick out a baby book for Little Miss Minley. On our walk over there, I started having these pains in my tummy. I ignored them...we looked at all the adorable Children's Books and then moved on to the Baby Books because I was getting quite uncomfortable. I picked out two, and bought them both.
After shopping at Barnes and Noble, we headed to our cars to say goodbye. Well, we started chatting again and so I said we should sit down. We sat at a table and chairs set outside of Panera, all the while, not feeling so great. Another hour or more passed, it was something like 6pm when we finally said goodbye.
I headed home and got on my computer checking the usuals (Gmail, Reader, Facebook, Message Boards) when Justin noticed that every few moments I was sighing and/or wincing. He asked if I was having contractions and I said yeah. For how long? Oh since 4pm...it was 7pm. Have you been timing them? Nah, I am fine.
Well, they kept getting stronger so Justin started timing them. Every time I would have one, he would right it down and keep track of how long they were lasting. Well, they were coming every 3 minutes, and lasting a minute. The doctor's rule to call for labor is every 5 minutes, lasting 1 minute, for 1 hour (aka 5-1-1). At the 45 minute mark, I realized that we may be heading to the hospital soon, so I headed to the shower to clean up the girly parts and shave my legs. (A girls gotta look cute, right?) Well, the contractions kept coming, and they hurt!
I got out of the shower, and Justin got in. The contractions were still coming and still following a 3-1-1 pattern. I called my Mom to see if she what she thought. (I always call her first; I do not know why) She said definitely call the doctor. I dialed the doctor and then shoved the phone to Justin, because I started having a panic attack. "This is not happening" "I am not going to the hospital" "This is crazy" "It is not time yet" "I am not ready" "I am not having a baby"...crying the whole time. Justin leaves a message and then the doctor called back. She was super sweet and said that it sounded like we needed to come in and they would be waiting for us.
I needed to pack up and get a move on it. I refused to pack my bag early for fear of jinxing labor. I had not even made a list of what to pack yet. I had a list in my head, and I am a fast packer, so I thought nothing of it. Well, let me tell you what...when you are in labor, you cannot remember a darn thing. I knew we needed to pack the camera, video camera, cell phones and chargers. I knew I wanted to pack snacks, a nail file, deodorant and my makeup. Slowly, as I wandered through the house aimlessly trying to figure out what on earth was going on, I grabbed Minley's hospital clothes, shower sandals, slippers, chapstick, my laptop and iPod...and that was about it.
Justin packed me a pair of PJ pants, a shirt, socks, a tank top, and a pair of his boxers. I was freaking out because I had no clean undies. I was in desperate need of doing the wash. This upset me more than anything else. I was so frustrated and could not get past it. Justin also picked up some dishes and got a trash run ready to go. He forced me to pick and outfit to wear to the hospital. (My favorite back dress...and some boyshort undies that I hate, but that was all I had).
I called Aunt Leona because I was supposed to call her back when I was done with lunch with Catherine. I could barely talk because I was hurting so much. I grabbed the snacks from the cupboard and a croissant and a water. Justin grabbed the car seat, the bags and we were off. It was 9:20pm by the time we got on the road.
Carrol Canyon, one of the two roads that takes us to the freeway was closed, so we had to turn around and go back to the Mira Mesa on ramp. Lovely! We get on the freeway and Justin is driving along in the middle lanes of the freeway...when I say "that is our exit" and he goes oh...it is? We have driven this road a gazillion times. I think he was nervous and excited too. We drive along Miramar Road and Justin is asking me questions and then looking over and realizes I am in pain...so he does not expect a reply. I think he commented 10 times about how he would look over, and I would be wincing. We got to Genesse and I told him to turn again...100 feet later, he asks me if this was the light for the hospital. No dear, we still have a few miles. Is it this one? No...keep going...see that big blue sign wayyyy in the distance? That is the hospital.
We finally get to the hospital and turn in. We were able to park super close because the place was dead. We went to the Women's Center Entrance and ran for them to let us in. It is really cool. The Labor and Delivery portion of the hospital has its own entrance. You do not have to go through the main hospital doors, or if after hours (like us) through the Emergency Room.
We take the elevator to the second floor and the midwife that Justin talked to and a nurse that was assigned to us greeted us. I sat down and Justin gave them my admission paperwork. A few minutes later, my nurse took me back to the "Chair Room" which was like a small triage room. I was private, but shared a restroom with another chair room. She had me change in to a hospital gown the then she hooked me up to a fetal heart rate monitor and a contraction monitor. Justin came in within a minute of us getting settled in. Then the nurse pointed out that he left our bag at the nurse's station, so he went to get it. They took my temperature, it was a little high, and did a pelvic exam to check for dilation. Still 1cm.
They had me stay on the monitors for about an hour. At one point the contraction monitor started spiking really crazy. The rest of the time, the contractions were mild. The nurse came in and was feeling my belly and watching the monitor. Minley hated being on the monitors, and wiggled and kicked the entire time. I do not think she like the little monitors pushing on my belly. Maybe she was hearing her heartbeat on the monitor? Who knows. So after the crazy contraction spikes, the midwife said to switch the monitor out for a new one. Everything seemed fairly calm.
The midwife said that the contractions I was having were probably from my bladder infection, but she wanted me to wait, walk and be observed for a little while. They took the monitors off of me and sent me a-waddlin'. The second floor is a two loops connected by a corridor that leads to the labor and delivery waiting room. We walked and walked. We saw all these teeny tiny little babies. We walked past the nursery a few times, and I could hear the little cries. It hurt my heart so bad. Every time I heard a cry, I started to tear up. I could hear baby cries coming from the postpartum rooms too. I could not believe how tiny all these babies were. Minley feels so much bigger, but I bet she is really that tiny too.
We walked in the figure eight between the Labor and Delivery and Postpartum areas for about 45 minutes. It was tough...Justin said it was hard to walk that slow...I said it was hard to walk that fast. Haha. One one of our laps through L&D, I heard a new baby take its first breath and scream, well, not the breath, but that first big scream. I darn near lost it. That was going to be me VERY soon. After our 45 minutes of walking, we headed back to our "Chair Room" and waited for the midwife to come in and check me. She was delivering a baby, so we waited a few minutes.
At that point, Justin and I both knew we were not having a baby that night. In fact, we called my mom around 11pm and told her that it was not going to be happening. At 11:45pm, the midwife came in and checked me. Still at 1cm. We were heading home. I felt like such a fool. I was "one of those women", the one that goes to the hospital and leaves with a baby still in her belly. I told the nurse and midwife I was so embarrassed and they assured me that it happens ALL the time. They had to hook me back up to the monitors for 20 minutes, per hospital policy before sending us home. The midwife was so sweet and explained a lot about the Group B Strep Test (I tested positive) and how I really did not need to worry that much. She went over what true labor is going to feel like. She said sweat on the lip, unable to smile or talk, pain! Hmmm...my mom never had that kind of pain...she also went over when to come in if my water breaks. She went over how to tell a Braxton Hick Contraction (your belly will feel like your chin) versus a true labor contraction (your belly will feel like your forehead).
They gave me my "go home" papers and gave me the boot. They needed my room. The place was super busy. There were 2 girls at the desk checking in as we were leaving...one was not that far along, a teen with her mom, saying she was leaking fluid...(I highly doubt it was fluid, pregnant ladies are just soggy. I had to learn this too). With my tail between my legs, we left. I stopped at the restroom on the way out. As I came out, another couple was coming in...they had a rolling cooler, two rolling suitcases, a lap top bag, two shoulder bags, a birthing ball, two pillows and a blanket. She did not even look like she was hurting, and I know she was not scheduled for an induction, because they only do those in the morning and it was 12:30am. I laughed all the way to the car...good luck lady, with as busy as they are, you are going to get sent home. Justin and I nicknamed them the Circus. Haha.
We got home and Justin crashed in to bed because he had work in a few hours. I sat up and pondered everything in my head for a while before heading off to bed around 4am. I thought about how I really needed to pack a bag, or at least make a list. How I needed to keep the house clean from now on. How I needed to keep myself looking cute because once I am in labor, I am going to be good for nothing. I am glad we had a trial run. I know that I will freak out and not be able to think...and I know Justin will act calm, but be losing his mind as well. Minley stayed calm the rest of the night, and I did not feel another contraction.
So that is the story of Labor and Delivery, Take One. I know it was long-winded, but I wanted to get the whole story down before I forget. I have already forgotten so much about this pregnancy, and without this blog, I would not remember. Hopefully, Labor and Delivery, Take Two, will result in the birth of our sweet, adorable, little baby girl!
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