{the baby}

we had it planned out that while i was in school, he was home. while he was in school, i was home. our baby was due may 15th. right before graduation on june 11th. well.....this little one had other ideas. i went in to my doctors appt. on april 1. the did the usual checks, blood pressure, weight...yeah. everything had gone crazy. i'd gained 16lbs in 3wks. by blood pressure was way high. they made me do a urine test....it was loaded with protein. they sat me in a room, the doc came in scanned the chart and dropped the bomb. "go to the hopsital...i'll meet you there in about 2hrs. you are pre-eclamptic and we have to get your bp down."

ummm.....ok. panic mode set in slightly. called my mom "hey...on our way to the hospital......no don't come down yet...it'll be alight.."

after a quick stop at dunkin donuts {hadn't had breakfast yet...gotta eat before going to the hospital right?} we were at the hospital. hooked up to monitors and on a magnesium sulfate iv drip {to lower the bp}.....good times were coming.

this was all april 1st. i was so determined that she wouldn't be born that day. nope...wasn't having it. she could come anytime after 12:01am april 2. the meds they had me on was so trippy. S stayed with me all night. all cramped in a really uncomfortable chair, poor guy.

on april 2nd things really stared to happen. the doctor had said that due to the pre-eclampsia, we'll be having the baby today. my bp was crazy high, i was still putting out a lot of protein and it was getting scary for the health of me and our baby. we called parents and said "now, get down here." their 2hr drive was done in 1 1/2. i called my work and explained that i would no longer be coming in, S went to the school real quick and saw his teachers and explained what was going on. i called my friends who i had class with and told them to let our teachers know. then we prepared ourselves for being actual parents.

at around 3:30pm the nurse came in to prep me for a c-section. i wasn't able to have a natural birth and it would have caused too much stress on the baby. everything happened around me while i was in a slight daze. some from the meds, some just from still processing that this was happening. she wasn't due for another 6 weeks. we had NOTHING prepared for her at home. just a few things here and there, but other then that...nothing. i was supposed to be sitting in class!!! showing my friends my rings and telling them about the wedding.....but there were other plans in the works apparently.

S was amazing through all this. my parents were taking pictures of everything, well most everything. at 4pm i was wheeled into the operating room. my reaction to the meds was i was shaking like i was cold. my teeth were chattering and everything. S was there holding my hand, which is HUGE for him since he doesn't deal with blood and guts too well....like he'll pass out not so well. at 4:23pm on tuesday april 2, 2002 i heard her tiny cry when they got her out. i only got to see her beautiful face for a second. she was only 4lbs. she was amazing. all her apgar scores were in the 9's. the next thing i knew, she and S were gone. off to the NICU to make sure everything else was fine. and she was. she was absolutely perfect. just tiny.

the hardest part was me. they get me stitched up and in recovery. i was running a slight fever and wasn't allowed to see her till thursday. it was the longest time ever. while i slept, S went to class. poor guy hadn't slept properly since monday and he's still doing what's right. i called my bff and man...was she a lifesaver. she came walking down the hall to me carrying 2 HUGE bags of stuff. burp cloths, onesies, two outfits, diapers, nursing bras! she is amazing. she helped me wash my hair, put some make up on...help me feel human again.

thursday afternoon i was finally able to see and hold my baby girl. she was just....wow. so tiny but so strong. her little hands just wrapped around my finger and held on. momma was here. everything was alright.

i was released on friday april 5th. little a wasn't able to come home till a week later. it was the hardest thing leaving the hospital without her. it felt wrong. i wasn't able to drive so i was bugging everyone i knew to come pick me up and bring me back to the hospital. the nurses were like "you don't have to come every 4hrs...you should be resting." .... yeah not happening. i was there as much as i could be. on tuesday april 9th was back in class. my teachers had the paperwork ready for me to skip this quarter and graduate next quarter. yeah...not happening. i was 10wks from graduation...i was finishing. but since we had our schedules set up right, we made it work. when she finally came home, those next 10wks were a blur. thank god for friends. our roommate worked at chili's at night so dinner's were called in to him and he brought food home at times. our parent's both worked and my mom is allergic to the cat who lived with us at the time so none of them could come down to help. i really don't know how we did it....just thinking about it...wow. 26 days after she was born, i turned 21. my bff came over and spent the day with me. she baked me a cake, we went to the video store and rented videos {remember having to do that? back in the day..hahahaha} S came home with balloons and chili's {can you tell we loved that place..now we don't eat there like ever hahahha} and spent the night as a little family with videos, homemade chocolate cake and love.


all this happened 9 years ago. i remember it like it was yesterday. i look forward to the years to come and the adventures we have yet to have. thanks for reading "our story". hope you enjoyed it. i had a blast remembering this and sharing it with you.