Channing's Birth Story: Part 1

This is the first part in a series of posts I'm doing on Channing's birth and NICU stay.

Channing's Birth Story: Part 1

***Warning! This post contains words like mucus and cervix. You've been warned!!***

November 19, 2010 I was hanging out on the couch with MG watching Winter's Bone. It was a Friday night. I was 26 weeks and 4 days pregnant. Earlier in the day, I had felt some pressure in the lower parts of my abdomen. (I'm trying here people!). I chalked it up to her getting bigger, me getting bigger. I wasn't alarmed at all. I wasn't in any pain. My belly just felt heavier. Anyway, later that evening I was watching the movie. I go to the bathroom. I see mucus. I think "hmmm that's new". I don't think too much about it. But just to be sure, I text message a friend who had given birth a couple months before. I ask her if she'd experienced anything like that. Her reply was "NO!". Hmmmm, that's not good. So I go ahead and call the doctor. She asks if I'm having contractions. I say "This is my first pregnancy. I don't know what contractions feel like". She asks if I'm in any pain or have tightening. I respond with a "nope". She tells me I'm not in labor or dilating if I'm not having pain or contractions. WRONG!!!!! But I trust her and go back to the movie.

I go to sleep and throughout the night continue losing more mucus the few times I get up to go to the restroom. I wake up in the morning. I have blood tinged mucus. I know this isn't good. I call the doctor again and tell her what I've noticed. Again she tells me I'm probably fine but to just go to Labor and Delivery to get checked.

I go to Labor and Delivery by myself. I tell MG I'm just going to get checked. No biggie. He was working on moving us that day. I didn't want to alarm him or his parents, who were helping us. I make it to the hospital. I had some trouble finding where I needed to be. The hospital was pretty deserted at 9am on a Saturday. Eventually I find it and they check me in. I sign some paperwork for me, then they hand me a stack of paperwork "for the baby, just in case". I look at her like she slapped me in the face. Remember, I was just being a paranoid pregnant lady. This baby was not coming today! I go ahead and sign the pointless baby paperwork. They take me back and hook me up to a monitor.

Baby is fine, heartbeat is fine, no contractions. Woo hoo, just being paranoid. I had a cookie cake to purchase and the sooner I could be on my way the better! They wanted to do an ultrasound just to be extra cautious. I wait for the tech to come with the ultrasound machine. In the meantime, I text MG and tell him everything is fine, no worries, waiting on ultrasound. . .