Prepare to be inundated!

What is about to ensue are a lot of words & a lot of pictures (in no specific order, might I add..I have yet to really figure out how to properly download photos to my blog!) In fact, I can't get them to line up the way I want, so they'll be randomly distributed throughout this post.

So, as y'all can tell..our little boy is here! YAY! A tad bit earlier than expected..& now that the dust has settled, we're ok with that!

On Friday, March 12th, I went in for my usual appointment..pee in a cup, check my vitals..blah, blah, blah.
Medical assistant pumping the cuff on my arm: "Huh. Your blood pressure's kinda high..that's weird..you run low."

Me: Well, I was a little rushed this morning..we can recheck it..what was it?

Medical Assistant: 150/90

Me: That's not too bad.

Got in, saw my Dr..she said re-check the blood pressure after I'd chilled in the waiting room a bit & asked if I had any headaches..not really, that I can think of..So, we rechecked the BP..it was still a tad high...

Dr: Why don't you come back in on Monday & we'll recheck it

Me: OK..my husband & I have a trip to Moab this weekend..are you still ok if I go?

Dr: Sure, just take it easy & come back in next week.

So we traipsed off to Moab..Jeff was riding in a fundraiser for Huntsman Cancer Institute..that's a whole 'nother blog...it was fun & I took it easy & just walked the doggy & chilled at local coffee shops.

Came home on Sunday. Went in to my Dr (saw a different guy, though) on Monday..pressure was still high so that Dr sent me home w/ a 24-hr pee collection (don't ask!). I asked that Dr if I could go into work that night..I really didn't want to use vacation time until I had our little guy.

He said: It's a night shift, right? Should be a little slower (hahaha..all my co-workers are laughing now..yes?)..sure, you can go in.

So, I went in to work Monday night. Notice I'm kiiiindaaa having a headache.."hmmm, wonder what my BP is" I think. So I check it. 175/110. Oh. OK. Higher than I though it'd be. Not awesome. So I kept rechecking it. And it stayed high. And I was getting a little nervous. So, just to be safe, I called my Dr on my way home from work & left a message w/ her nurse. Juuuust as I'm snuggling down in to bed my phone rings. It's my OB's nurse.

Nurse: We would like you to come in today.

Me: Oh. OK. Sure..what time?

Nurse: Now.

Grrrreeeeaaaaat.

I will now abbreviate: I went in. They put me on 'strict' bedrest but told me they'd be surprised if I made it 2-3 more days before inducing me. I laughed at them. Work was wonderful about helping me get 'called off' my Tuesday night shift (so I didn't have to use vacation time), & friends brought me books & chocolate (thanks Cheryl, Kelly & Heather!). I kept checking my BP at home. It stayed sky high even while I was flat on my back.

Here comes 3AM Wednesday morning..Are those contractions? Seriously? Well..they're not strong, just regular..every 5 minutes for 3 hours. And my BP? 190/120. Jeff was 'mildly' concerned..& I'll be honest, knowing what I do, I was a little nervous about stroking out at this point. So at 6AM I called the OB on call. She heard my BP's & told me to come in to be checked. I fully expected to be sent home to chill some more, but packed a bag anyways. Good thing I did. 'Cause they decided to induce me. HOLY. CRAP. I was SOO not ready for that!

So. Anyone here ever been on high dose magnesium sulfate? Raise your hand (hi, Amber!). Anyone ever had your guts torn out, eyeballs removed, legs turned to jell-o, all while being told 'PUUUUUUSSSSHHHHH'!!!! I really don't have adequate words for how freakin' AWFUL that stuff makes you feel! Magnesium sulfate, in high doses, is used in toxemia to relax muscles, which in turn, prevents seizures & strokes in someone w/ high blood pressure. Which, for me, equated to 3 different catheters (how much easier would it have been if they just left the first one IN?), cause I wasn't going to be walking on those jell-o legs, being unable to hold my head up at times & puking while pushing through my contractions. I opted for an epidural..which, I was extremely grateful for while I dilated from a 4 to a 10 in the space of about an hour..but when it came time for the pushing, I felt so out of control because of the Mag Sulfate, that I let the epi wear off pretty much all the way so I could feel when I needed to push. I'll be honest, it hurt like hell..I have a whole new measuring stick for pain. But I felt in control. Jeff had to basically fold me in half towards the end of the 2+ hours of pushing, & I felt so exhausted I was 'sleeping' in between contractions..haha! Side note: My husband is amazing. There is absolutely no way I could've done this without him..He physically & emotionally kept me going when I absolutely felt like I couldn't. And the second that I got to touch our little boy's head..it was all worth it, & I just couldn't stop crying. From that moment on, love has a new definition for me.

So at 11:04 PM we had Mr. Aiden. 6lbs 3 oz & 19 inches long & for that reason i'm glad i had him a month early or he'd of been huge! However, I was NOT glad he came early at the time, because after a few short minutes of getting to hold him, they whisked him away for further respiratory evaluation. Jeff went w/ him, & I'm so glad he did..our little guy had 2 episodes where his oxygen levels dropped dangerously low, leaving him unresponsive & gray..Jeff said he's never had a worse moment in his life. It bought the dude an instant pass to 24/7 monitoring & oxygen. My nurses were awesome & rolled my huge bed into the nursery after I was all straightened out & let me touch his foot..I went right back to feeling so helpless..I couldn't move out of my bed because of the magnesium & my little boy couldn't be taken out of his bassinet or unhooked from the wires & IV's he was now connected to..saying that the situation sucked is an understatement. All those wires & IV's hooked up to my little guy just broke my heart.

But, long story short, I believe in miracles & prayer (thank you everyone) because Aiden turned around pretty quickly, & only had to stay a couple extra nights in the hospital. The hospital social worker was great & worked it out so that even though I was discharged the day before Aiden was, we got to 'board' for free in our room so we didn't have to leave him. And now we have our little baby dinosaur (you should here him growl:) home. There's more drama following this whole story, but I'll save it for another post!

You still reading this? Wow! :)