One Year Ago part 1

On September 29, I started getting cramps after lunch at school. A good friend of mine had had a baby two weeks prior and a week before that, I remember her telling me she was having period like cramps & that she was pretty sure that was a good sign she would go into labor soon. Easy for her to say, she was due in just a few weeks. I on the other hand, still has five to go. Five. So when my cramps started, I told people about them, but no one seemed to think it was serious. By the end of the day, they were still random but enough for the nurse and I both to think I needed to go home, lay down on my side and drink water. By 5:00 they hurt. Like bad. They weren't going away like your typical period cramps do & they were in my back. So I called another friend, who had been through this three times, the most recently being three weeks ago. She informed me I was in labor. I'm sorry, what? I can.not. be in labor. Mike was in Durham, my mom was at DWTS in LA, my dad was in Atlanta, Lee & Tina were in Disney, Stacie was with my mom so that meant Ryan had the boys in Tega Cay. I could not have my first baby right now. So holding back tears, I called Park Ridge & they told me to come in. Lindsay sent Luke to get me and she met us at the hospital with her two toddlers and newborn. Once admitted, they checked me and PTL, I hadn't dilated, effaced, nothing. Lindsay & Carter stayed with me until about 11, I stayed over night & the next morning, I thought I was going home. I was wrong. Around 5:30/6 or maybe 6:30/7, I can't remember, nurses swarmed in my room & started asking me all sorts of questions, checking my stats, hooking me back up to fluids.... "Are you in pain? Do you feel contractions?" ... No, not really... What is going on? Palmer's heart rate had dropped and wasn't going back up as quickly as they had hoped. Again, terrified and all alone. Instead of discharging me, they were hooking me back up and ordering an ultra sound. You'd think that in this case they would make that US urgent, but since Palmer's HR finally went up & had stabilized, they didn't rush it and we got to hang out in L&D a little lot longer. Thank gosh Mike's family was near and not working. Stephanie and Joan joined Lindsay & Carter (who had come back) & hung out with me while we waited for the US. Finally around noon, we had the bio physical US and baby looked good! He passed his tests and I was finally discharged to go home. The doctor told me that this could have just been a small hiccup and there was a good chance I would make it to my due date, & haha he could even be late. The nurse on the other hand, told me she thought my body was getting ready and that I could most likely deliver in the next week or so. So I went home on Tuesday, worked two half days on Wednesday & Thursday, and took Friday off because I had my 35 week appointment then.

Small, yet important note, I was never checked again in the hospital & I was supposed to have my 35 week appointment that day. They moved my appointment to Friday, and never told my OB that I was admitted for early labor. Which would have been nice for her to know going into the following weeks appointment. 

...This was def the beginning of mother hood for me.