The best day. Ever.

The story of the scariest and best day of my life so far. (before pieces of it are gone from my memory).

I hit 35 weeks on a Wednesday. I went into my OB Dr. Beck the Monday before that and he told me that I needed to be on bed rest for as long as possible. Which meant no work. I asked him if I could finish out that week (i was training my replacement that week) and he said Yes, if I only did half days and stayed down at my desk. So, that Friday, at 35 Weeks and 2 days I had my last day of work.

To celebrate, my mom and I went to get pedicures. The girl working on me kept commenting on how swollen my feet were. Yeah lady, I know.

I was going to have my mom color my hair on Sunday, but I forgot about it. I didn't worry about it because I still had some time.

Dr. Beck suggested that I go into the hospital for a non stress test, to just check on the baby that next Monday. (March 17th) He said it was nothing to be worried about. I didn't worry about how I looked (no shower, no makeup, etc.) because I was going to be going right home and I could take care of it then. Funnily enough my to do list for that day (since it was my first day of not working) was to get the diaper and hospital bags packed and bottles sterilized. Jace had a late start to work that day (11AM) so he decided to come with me since it was only supposed to take 30 minutes.

We got in there, I got strapped in, and the test began.

The nurse kept commenting on how well Nash was doing. I felt like that was a good sign. After 40 minutes (and a side comment to Jace about maybe going to Target on the way home to buy something preemie JUST IN CASE), the nurse said that she was going to call Dr. Beck and give him the results and see what he wanted to do. She came in 10 minutes later...and told us that they were going to keep me in the hospital for 24 hour observation. Apparently my blood pressure was HIGH. Like ridiculously high.

So. Weird. We weren't prepared for anything like this! Jace called work to tell them that I had been admitted to the hospital and that he wouldn't be coming in that day. Then he looked at me and said that he was going to go get changed and get some things from home (laptop, dvds, phone charger, toothbrushes...) and he left. After about an hour after getting situated in my room (L&D 10) my nurse Christina walked in with Dr. Beck. ????? Dr. Beck looked me square in the eye and said, "well...looks like we will be having a baby today." WHAT!?!? My blood pressure worried him enough that he didn't deem it safe or worth it to try to keep Nash cooking longer. He was going to induce. He checked me and said that my cervix wasn't softened hardly at all, and he did an ultrasound--Nash was measuring at 5 and a half pounds. Then he left.

I was alone. I was doing my best to absorb this information. I was ready! No. Just kidding. I wasn't. I probably went back and forth a million times in the next hour or so. I called Jace. I told Jace. Jace freaked out. He started sending mass texts to our families....including my mother (who he should've called because she called me in tears freaking out because she couldn't be there for me right then!)

Jace finally got back to the hospital. Right about then the nurse came in to insert cervidrel to soften my cervix. YOWZA. Not pleasant. However, then she checked me again (only after an hour after Dr. Beck left) and she discovered that I was 80% effaced and dilated to a 3. I was in labor all on my own.

My dad left work for a few minutes to come help Jace give me a blessing. It was a wonderful comfort.

Over the next few hours, contractions were coming in waves. I handle pain pretty well, so I was dealing with them fine. It finally got to the point of every 3 minutes where I was having trouble talking through them without stopping. That's when we called for the epidural. The nurses changed and my night nurse Susan was shocked to see my blood pressure. At one point in time it was 212 over 110. Which...is scary high. Jeremy the CNRA came in and that's when my brain took over and thought about the needle of the epidural and I started to internally freak out. However, it was done quickly and was WONDERFUL and MAGICAL once it took effect.

My mom was finally able to come to the hospital at this point. Because of my blood pressure they had me on a medication called magnesium sulfate (helps prevent against seizures caused by the high blood pressure) which also made me feel horrible. The nurses described the medications effects to my mom and they told her they made me feel like I was on chemo. Since my mom has gone through chemo she could understand that I was not feeling well. I also was limited on visitors because extra stimulation would not be good for me. (Fun fact, that's why music, loud TV, noisy people, and bright lights were bugging me. Because of my high blood pressure. All of those things could've called a seizure.)

The plan was to have Jace and my mom in the room for delivery. Those were the only people that were "allowed". Its a good thing too. Everything about this delivery was "unfortunate timing". Jace's sister Jen had just had her baby Calvin 3 days earlier and Jace's mom was in Utah with her. My brother Jeff was in Kingman working. My dad had to be home with my brother Randy so my mom could be there. Then on top of it all I wasn't going to be allowed visitors really anyways. Just weird.

I was progressing nicely. I got to 100% effaced and dilated to an 8 around 11 PM. They put the peanut ball between my legs and I got to a 9 by midnight but no further.

Jace's dad came around midnight to see us. He waited out in the waiting room hoping to be there when Nash was born. He was out there for close to an hour when he decided to go home since the nurse said it could be awhile.

Around 12:30 AM I started feeling the contractions in full. However, I wasn't sure if it was pain or the pressure they kept talking about. Jace and my mom both told me it was pain (by the look on my face) and Jeremy came back in and gave me a dose of the good stuff. I felt nothing. It was really nice. It also gave me a chance to take a 45 minute nap. I woke up exactly 45 minutes later and the nurse was at my side. I looked at her and said something is different...and she checked me--I was at a 10 and ready to start pushing.

They got me in the stirrups...Jace was holding one leg and my mom was right behind him and the nurse was on the other side. I started pushing. In the middle of pushing my dad walked in (with a very lovely view of his daughter birthing his grandson) and he sat down on the couch. In the back of my mind I was thinking..."you aren't supposed to be in here..." but by then, who cares! It was actually nice to have more support there. So I was pushing some more after that. Apparently Nash was ready and I'm a great pusher because before you know it--his head was there...and they hadn't called Dr. Beck yet. !!!! Oh. I was not happy. Because that meant that I had to stop pushing. I cant even describe the horrible pain and horror of needing to push, feeling the need to push, and having to try and fight against your body. It was a very long 15 minutes until my doctor arrived. They put me on an oxygen mask to help me breathe and I started crying while trying not to push. My mom and Jace kept trying to talk to me and give me words of encouragement and I made them stop.
It was hard enough trying to focus on not pushing.

Once I saw him walk in, I said I'm pushing now, and I started pushing. I had a second sack of water that Dr. Beck had to break, and in 3 big pushes, Nash kind of flew right out of me. Dr. Beck had to tell me to stop pushing, and he lifted my super TINY little man up. On March 18th at 2:05 AM at 35 Weeks and 6 days I had given birth to my son. The first thing Dr. Beck said was "oh! he's smaller than he was measuring." I looked at Jace and his face was priceless. I looked at my mom and she was crying. Jace then cut the umbilical cord and they whisked Nash away to put the CPAP on him real quick to "pink him up". During that time, I delivered the placenta and I asked to see it. Dr. Beck held it up and described it as a jelly fish. Quite accurate. Then Jace, my mom, and my dad were all crowded around Nash while they were cleaning him and measuring him. I tore some, so this is the time when Dr. Beck started stitching me up. At this point my epidural was wearing off quick and I started to feel the needle while he was stitching me up. They had just finished cleaning me up when Jace's dad walked in and was able to see Nash and he came over to see me too.

They gave Nash to Jace to bring over to me. He was 4 lbs 12 ounces of pure joy. The nurses placed him on my chest and I started to cry. He was perfect. He was amazing. He was MY SON. Mine. I helped create this tiny little miracle. He started pushing on my stomach with his giant tiny feet--right where he would kick me when he was inside of me. That was a wonderful reminder that he and I shared 9 months of special time just him and me.

("Pinking" him up)

(My little cone head)

(Horrible picture of me--the medicine they had me on was truly awful. However, this is the first time I held my son. I couldnt believe that he was really here!)

(Nash is obsessed with his hands! It started in the womb and hasnt stopped since!)

(The first picture I ever took of my husband and son)

The were evaluating him closely because he was born at 36 weeks (preemie status). Miracle of all miracles the only thing "wrong" with him was his blood sugars were low. Meaning he wasn't allowed to stay that night with us in the Recovery room. He had to be in the nursery.

(My first time seeing Nash after delivery)

(The first time seeing him after he had spent the "night" in the nursery)

While the high blood pressure was a nuisance for me and a danger for both Nash and myself...it did something truly miraculous for Nash. The "hostile" environment of my body with the BP prepared him for life outside of my body. It developed his lungs faster and even though he has no body fat--it helped him regulate his temperatures. He was a super tiny preemie that spent the regular 48 hours in the hospital and then left with mom and dad. Even though his weight had dropped to 4 lbs 6 ounces.

(discharged! going home!!)

Jace was lucky enough to have 2 weeks that he could take off and help me out--especially since my BP was still insanely high (and the day after returning home from the hospital I almost was admitted again) and I couldn't do too much.

Nash now is 5 weeks old! We passed his due date on April 16th. SO funny. So far--we haven't gotten a schedule down. We're still working on it. However, at his 2 week check up he was back up to his birth weight and as of 2 weeks ago Monday he was 5 lbs 2 ounces! And yesterday he weighed in at 6 lbs 8 ounces! Hip hip hooray!! We are doing something right. Sleep still eludes me and Nash, but this little guy is totally worth it. I sure love him and would do it again and again.

(1st night home...we didnt sleep AT ALL. Nervous wrecks.)

(1st picture I really got with his eyes open)

(His car seat just swallows him up!)

(All the preemie clothes that we had were getting washed. This was a newborn gown. Doesnt fit very well. haha)

2 days after being discharged from the hospital, I was almost readmitted for extremely high blood pressure. Still trying to figure out what is going on there. Grateful that I didnt have to leave my newborn!

(1st smile I caught on camera myself! He is so cute when he smiles in his sleep!!)

And there you have it! The Hunt family! :)