A Long Awaited Update...

It has been for-evah since I wrote a post. I am not even sure why it has been hard to find time to blog. I do enjoy it and it gives me an outlet for all my feelings...but for some reason it has been hard.

So where have I been? What has been happening since I was last on here?

I have been trodding through pregnancy...just trucking along. April was kind of exciting because I had my baby shower, thrown by a great friend...with a bit of short notice. It was very laid back and a great chance to catch up with friends. And of course...like at most baby showers where a big group of women are together...the conversation turned to child birth and war stories. It was so fun to hear what everyone else has been through.

The only bad part of the day was that a tornado hit our area that evening. We are okay but many families lost their homes and belongings. It is a beautiful thing though to see how the military community comes together to help their own. Just simply amazing how we all just come together to get things done.

We had a laid back Easter with brunch at the O'club with friends. And then a little relaxing in the backyard. Exactly what we needed since we had a busy couple of weeks coming up. I spent part of the day thinking about how next year we would have our little girl with us and how I would dress her up and buy her first Easter basket. How we would go to church that day and then try our hands at a little egg hunting. I can't wait to have all of these firsts with her!

We (well mostly me!) went on a bit of a baby shopping spree. I got all the last little things to finish of the nursery so that we would be prepared for our little one to arrive. I got diapers and diaper cream and a changing pad. I got the last couple of decor items I needed. For some reason I was really feeling the nesting urge...I had to get these things done. I knew we would be busy with a trip to Georgia to see my cousin graduate from sub school and then I would be in the last month of my pregnancy. So I pushed to get everything done...

This past weekend we were productive around the house and then took some time on Sunday to head to the beach for the first time this year. It was a wonderfully relaxing day and just what we needed. We also got maternity photos taken on Saturday...and I can't wait to see them! BJ prepared on Sunday evening to do a field training for 3 days. He was going to be gone from Monday morning until Wednesday evening...and then we were leaving on Thursday for Georgia. So he had to get packed for both trips because he would not have time when he got home. I woke up briefly with him Monday morning and said goodbye.

I spent my Monday trying to treat my sunburned legs...umm yea I got a bit too much sun on Sunday. I ran over to the hospital on base to pick up a copy of my OB records to take on our trip...just in case...and then headed to my first lamaze class. After that I stopped at the grocery store and picked up some vinegar and milk of magnesia for some home remedies to treat my sunburn. I also stopped by McDonalds for a cheeseburger :::hangs head in shame::: which is pretty much my only pregnancy craving. And just because...I also got a cheeseburger for my puppies!

I got home and coated my legs in m.o.m. and chowed down on my burger. I watched some TV and then headed to bed. And then hell broke loose.

At 4:45 am I woke up needing to use the bathroom. This had become a norm for me since Madison had turned head down and was constantly pushing on my bladder. As I swung my feet off the bed and sat up...I felt a gush. I could not believe that I was peeing my pants...pregnancy was no longer fun at that point! Oh and thank God my husband was not home to witness this less than joyful part of pregnancy. So I waddled to the bathroom trying not to pee on our carpet and as soon as I made it to the bathroom there was another huge gush. Embarrassment set in hard.

I made it to the toilet and peed. A lot. And kept peeing. I sat there in amazement that my bladder could hold that much liquid. And did I really drink that much liquid??? But I did go to the bathroom before I went to bed. What the hell was going on? What strange bladder issue was I having?

I grabbed a towel and put it between my legs and let my dogs out to go potty themselves. They must have thought I was crazy for letting them out at that hour. I walked back upstairs and put some clean clothes on. I put clean undies on with a big ol' pad (Thanks to a friend who had given me hers that were left over from the birth of her own daughter a few months ago!) it was soaked within minutes. I used a second one before I even went back downstairs. As I was walking down the stairs...it hit me. Could it possibly be my water that broke? No way...I was only 33 weeks pregnant. That is way to early.

So here I was soaking through pads, husband not home, and trying to figure out whether or not my water broke. I called my friend Karen (her husband is a family practice doctor and has delivered babies himself) and asked what it was like when your water broke. We talked for only a couple of minutes and she said I will come pick you up. I called BJ and told him what was going on but told him not to leave his training until I got to the hospital and made sure about what was going on. I was still not 100% convinced that it was my water.

Karen got there and we headed to the hospital...I brought nothing with me other than my purse because it could not possibly be something that would require me staying at the hospital. We pulled up and I got out of the car...more gushing of fluid that streamed down my leg. Lovely. At least it was not in Karen's car! So I got wheeled to L&D Triage. I got all settled into a bed and the triage nurse checked the fluid.

Yep...it was confirmed...my water had indeed broke. I was 33 weeks and 4 days pregnant. Definitely not ideal. Amazingly I did not freak out. But the nurse started whirling around...within a minute I had an IV and was getting a shot of steroids to help mature Madison's lungs. The OB that was on-call came in and talked with me. My best option at that point was to get transported to a hospital an hour away from home. But he also told me that my own OB was on her way in to cover the floor and do a scheduled c-section. So we decided to just chill a bit while we waited for her. I had also called BJ back and told hom what was going on...he left training immediately but it took almost 2 hours for him to get there because of the crazy morning traffic to get on base.

My OB came in and she was just as shocked as I was. She had just checked me barely a week before and my cervix was closed tight. She went ahead and checked me...I was dilated to 2 cm. She checked me about 30 minutes later...because I was having regular contractions and I was at 3 cm and she could stretch me to 4 if she wanted to. Not good news...this baby girl was coming. There was a bit of a debate as to whether or not we should still transport. There was a risk that I could deliver while in transit. We decided to go ahead with it because our baby needed access to the Level 3 NICU and the Naval Hospital only has a Level 2. So off we went in the ambulance. The ride was bumpy and I was contracting every 2-3 minutes and they were getting more intense and lasting longer. At one point they turned on the lights and sirens. But we made it with me still pregnant.

I got checked in at the new hospital and the checked me again...definitely 3 cm maybe even 4. They started me on a med to stop the contractions...at this point the goal was to get me to the next steroid shot and as close to 34 weeks exactly.

So here we are today...I am 33 weeks 6 days pregnant. I have had both steroid shots and they have stopped the med to prevent contractions. We are now in a waiting game. I could go back into labor at any time...but have not as of yet. Tomorrow at exactly 34 weeks the doctors will be starting an induction. This means pitocin...which scares the crap out of me and while they are somewhat vague as to the plan after that...it looks like I will be a mommy to a preemie baby by the weekend. At this point they are more concerned with the risk of infection than her being born early. But I am on antibiotics to prevent infections so that is good.

I am still in complete shock that I will have a baby in a matter of days or hours. I was supposed to be pregnant until June. I was concerned about the fact that I washed onesies that were for a baby 5-8 lbs and thought there was no way she would ever wear them and it was a waste of money. I actually thought that I should return them because of that. I guess not.