Violet's Birth Story - Part 1

Things are hectic in our household lately! As people always say, babies get their days and nights mixed up and Violet is definitely mixed up. Today she is 2 weeks and 1 day old and fussiness and all, she is the most precious thing in the entire world. She has turned our lives upside down in the best way ever. Functioning on little sleep is hard but well worth it. We're taking her to her first pediatrician appointment today and I can't believe what a big girl she is becoming each day. It's about time I start to tell y'all her birth story :)

It all started on Sunday, February 26th, my due date. My parents invited Ronnie and I over for a BBQ in celebration of Violet's impending arrival. Up until that night, I'd been set on the fact that I would end up being induced, as scheduled for Friday, March 2nd. Before leaving my parents' though, I made a potty stop and stood up with some horrible cramps. This got me thinking that maybe I was wrong, this baby might be coming sooner than I thought!! That night I got very little sleep and had some weird pains which I would find out two days later were actually contractions!

The next day, Monday, Feb. 27th (also our 6th anniversary of dating!!) I called into work because Ronnie's car had broken down and he needed to take my car to school. He thought Violet would be here soon too so he knew he couldn't miss school in case he needed to miss other days that week. When I called in, I knew my boss was slightly irritated (he's never been understanding!) but I didn't care. It wasn't just about the car - I had awful back pain, pressure so bad I could barely walk and I was just about done. That day for sure made me think that Violet would be coming sooner than Friday! Before Ronnie left that morning I told him, "This is the first time I can say I am officially DONE with being pregnant."

Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

I went into work despite all the pain I was feeling. Since I was now convinced that Violet would be coming soon, I wanted to be sure that I tied up all loose ends at work. Ronnie was off school so he drove me to work, after a stop to McDonald's (my pregnancy breakfast staple!). I had a big glass of cold orange juice with breakfast and it hit me around 10:30am that despite drinking it I hadn't felt any movement from Violet. I tried not to freak myself out but I just knew something was off. I gave it some time, moved my belly around and talked to her trying to get some action. I felt one kick but it wasn't enough. I continued to work though and thought I'd just give her some time. An hour later I still felt nothing so I drank some cold bottled water to try and get a reaction. Nothing...Cue the freak out. 

I immediately called my OB's office and  explained the situation to the nurse. After putting me on hold for what seemed like forever, she came back on the line and said that they wanted me to come in asap so they could monitor the baby. Knowing I had to wait for Ronnie to pick me up, she said to be there by 12:30.

Ronnie knew something was up because when I called him to come pick me up, he was ready for it! He had showered, taken care of some errands and was ready to come get me. At 12 on the dot, he showed up to my work and I tell all my co-workers that I'll see them in 6 weeks. I just KNEW Violet was coming. Again, Ronnie was prepared because he had loaded our bags and the car seat in the car  :) We made it to the doctor's office at 12:30 and on the elevator ride up, Ronnie and I talked about this possibly being our last time together as non parentals. It was a crazy thought but we took a "last" picture just the two of us just in case ;)

Once we got in the doctor's office, I was immediately hooked up to a heart monitor. My OB's nurse Amanda is so amazing and totally calmed my nerves when we got there. Even after seeing how high Violet's heart rate was, she didn't act like it was an emergency so Ronnie and I stayed calm and enjoyed just laughing and talking in that room while I was monitored.

Amanda came in a couple times to check on the monitors and after telling her I still felt no movement, she gave me cold water and some chocolate candy to try and get Violet to move. I felt maybe one slight kick but it wasn't enough. She said Violet's heart rate should be fluctuating and not staying so consistently high so that was definitely a cause for concern. All throughout, I was getting those same cramps but the nurse said the monitor wasn't picking up any contractions so she wasn't sure what the cramps were. Since my OB, Dr. O, was at the hospital, the nurse called in Dr. K to come check on me. He was a nice older man and after watching the monitor, he said the same thing the nurse had except this time he said that I was definitely having contractions. I guess I do have a high pain tolerance because they didn't feel as painful as I thought they would be. I never even thought they could be contractions! Dr. K made me feel my belly at the same time I felt the "cramps" and said "Don't you feel that tightening in your belly?". I did and immediately felt stupid for not knowing they were contractions all along! ha. He didn't seem overly concerned but decided to send me over to Labor and Delivery to continue to be monitored. He told us "I can't say for sure what Dr. O will say but there's a good chance you might have this baby today!".

Luckily the hospital is attached to the office building so it would take us just a couple minutes to get over to L&D. We were shocked, excited and definitely nervous. We walked over, tightly holding hands and even getting a little teary eyed. (Ok, I think I full on started crying.) I was so scared for Violet's safety and I was nervous about being induced much earlier than I had mentally prepared for. We talked about how perfect our girl was going to be and how we couldn't wait to be parents soon. But we weren't prepared for just how soon we would be meeting her...

updated to add:

• Part 2 
• NICU Story