It Was Supposed to be a Relaxing Day at Home

Ryan has been gone a lot this spring and summer for work.  It's been a challenge being pregnant in the heat and having the boys alone, but we've been managing pretty well.  Ryan left two weeks ago for his last TDY of the summer to Las Vegas.  We knew he would be cutting it close on the baby's due date and even closer on the c-section date, but it was a really good opportunity for him, and he needed to go.

Meghan and Lizzy came in for a visit on Wednesday.  Meghan came to help with the boys and keep me company until Ryan got home on Friday or Saturday.  She kept the boys for me that night while I got my hair cut, and then we did a little shopping later that evening.  We stayed up past 1am talking and then turned in for the night.  I was having some back and leg pain, but that was nothing out of the ordinary for me. 

At 3am I woke up with some pretty severe abdominal pain and terrible nausea.  I've always had scheduled c-sections, and I have never been in labor.  I have never had a single contraction and only had one episode of Braxton-Hicks contractions one afternoon when I was pregnant with Colin.  Based on my reading, I didn't think the pain I was experiencing was labor.  I was beginning to worry about kidney stones, as I've had a couple other symptoms of those.  At 5am I got in the shower to try to relax.  I was able to sleep until 6. 

Meghan woke up around 7am, and we talked about my symptoms.  She too didn't think I was having real contractions, so we decided to just wait it out for a while.  My doctor's office opened at 9am, and I left a message for a nurse to call me.  A few minutes later I decided I probably needed to go up to Labor and Delivery just to get checked out.  The pain was pretty severe, and there was definitely something going on that wasn't normal for me.  It was just Meghan and me with three children, so we decided Meghan would drop me off at the hospital and then bring the kids home and wait to hear from me.

When I checked in, the nurse really didn't think I was in labor.  She was concerned I may have a stomach virus and was dehydrated.  She took me back to a labor room and brought in the equipment to hook me up to the monitor as well as start an IV.  Once the monitor was on, it became clear that although my pain didn't exactly match the usual definition of labor pain, I was most definitely in labor.  Upon exam, I was at a four, and my contractions were about 40 seconds, 2 to 3 minutes apart.

Oops!  Ryan was in Las Vegas.  Meghan was at home with three children, and I was alone at the hospital.  To top it off, my doctor was also out of town.  I began frantic phone calling.  I gave Meghan a list of friends to start calling to see if someone could babysit so she could come be with me at the hospital.  Meghan called my mom who immediately jumped in the car and began the six hour drive up here.  One of my doctor's associates was on call, so he came up to the hospital.  Ryan had been flying late the night before.  I woke him when I called, and 30 minutes later he was at the Las Vegas airport trying to buy the quickest ticket out of town.  There had been talk of monitoring me as long as possible and waiting until the very last minute to do a c-section in an attempt to get Ryan into town, but when the doctor arrived and realized this was my fourth c-section, he said they couldn't wait.

I have amazing friends.  Without any warning, Elana dropped everything and raced to my house to relieve Meghan.  She had another committment with her own kids, so my friend Katie left work to help Elana with all the logistics.  Meghan raced up to the hospital and met up with me just in time.  They were just starting to move me to the OR.  Meghan got dressed in her scrubs in the hallway while I got my spinal.  The hospital staff was really amazing and very compassionate about the whole situation.  Ryan was not able to get on a flight right away, which actually worked out better for us because the surgeon allowed him to be on speaker phone the entire time.  They also allowed Meghan to take all kinds of pictures throughout the surgery.

Aaron Wesley was born screaming at 11:52am, and Ryan was able to hear those first cries.  He was 8 pounds, 3 ounces.  The doctors correctly predicted he would be my biggest baby.  He was 19 inches long, shorter than Colin, longer than Eli, and the same length as Clayton.  I don't think he looks very much like Colin, but he does have a blend of Clayton and Eli's features.

Within minutes of arriving in the recovery room, a captain from Ryan's office arrived.  Her generosity and the generosity of many in Ryan's squadron was amazing.  She had a long list of things she and others could do and would do for me, and she begged and begged to know what else she could do for me.  I told Ryan that I think if I had asked her to put lotion on my feet, she would have dropped everything and done it right then.  She coordinated dinner for Elana, Katie, and all the kids.  She also arranged for someone to pick up Ryan at the airport and bring him to the hospital.  She brought a little gift for Aaron and contacted the Red Cross about the situation (standard procedure when things like this happen to military). 

Ryan and my mom arrived at the exact same moment that evening and both were happy to meet little Aaron.  It was definitely a whirlwind kind of day, but so far everyone is healthy and happy.  Aaron had his first echo this morning, and the preliminary results look good.  I am so appreciative of everything my friends, family, and the hospital staff did for me to make this delivery go as smoothly as possible.

And now, introducing

Aaron Wesley
July 29, 2010 11:52am

8 lbs, 3 oz  19 in