January 21, 2014...the day that changed our lives forever

Side note:  I have been wanting to sit down and write out Will's birth story since the day he was born.  I hope that one day he can look back on this blog, and the stories, feelings and emotions, and events will all just be a great supplement to his baby book.  So, this story got a little long because I didn't want to leave out any details that one day I might want to remember.  If you make it through the whole thing, KUDOS to you!

So here's how it all went down...

5:15am, January 21, 2014:
I wake up feeling kinda strange, but I had been waking up every day feeling blah.  I was just ready to have the baby at this point, and sleep was a distant memory (or so I thought).

5:30am:
I wake back up in pain, like a legitimate pain in my belly.  Somehow I had enough sense to hit the stopwatch on my watch and time it.  The pain lasted for about 3 minutes or so, and then I went back to sleep.

5:45am:
I wake back up with another contraction.  I time it, and again it lasts a couple of minutes and then I go back to sleep.  I wake up to go to the bathroom, and my pants are already wet by the time I get to the bathroom.  I just assumed that I had lost all control of my bladder and denied that my water had broken.  I put a towel under me in bed and tried to go back to sleep. I continued to have 2-3 minute long contractions, then I would fall back asleep for 15 or 20 minutes, only to wake up with another one.  I did this for about an hour.

6:45am:
I decide to get up and take a shower and see if moving around would stop the contractions.  I was still convinced I was in false labor and that by moving around, I could make them stop.  After all, I was supposed to go to work, and I was still in the process of training my replacement at this point, so I was bound and determined to make it in to work!

7:00am:
Matt wakes up and comes into the bathroom, and I nonchalantly tell him that I have been having contractions steadily for about an hour and a half.  He is still in that morning fog and is brushing his teeth, but I remember his head snapping up and him saying "Are you serious?"  Ha.  It was so funny.  At this point, he thinks we should go to the hospital immediately, but I had no interest in going there only to find out I'm in false labor.  I didn't want to be one of "those people" (which I realize now is just silly).  We called my mom, and she wasn't sure, but thought we should call the clinic.  We decided that was a good idea because we had just learned in our birthing class the week before, that it can be a lot simpler if you go through the clinic where they will check to see if you are dilated and can tell you whether or not you are essentially wasting your time going to the hospital and wracking up another medical bill.

So, I told him we would just wait until 8:00 and then call.  I also wanted to try walking around some more to see if they would go away.  They didn't go away.  Matt takes a shower and I continue to lean on the bed trying to breathe through the contractions.   After Matt gets out of the shower, he begins timing the contractions for me, and they are now anywhere from 5-10 minutes apart and still lasting 2-3 minutes. 

8:00am:
Matt calls the clinic promptly at 8:00am. I thought it was so funny that he was so excitable, and I was calm.  It was definitely a roll-reversal for the Kleppes! Ha!  The on-call nurse told us she thought it would be a good idea for me to come in and get checked since the contractions were getting closer and closer together.   She told us they could work me in around 10:00.

The next two hours are somewhat hazy to me. I think we packed our bags like crazy people (just in case).  My mom came over to ride down with us.  And I continued to have contraction after contraction.  They absolutely took my breath away, but then would leave so quickly.  That was the most bizarre part.

9:30am:
We drive to the clinic and get checked in.  I had TERRIBLE contractions in the car and in the waiting room.  I know I looked like a crazy lady bending over the back of one of the couches in the lobby, but I didn't care.

10:00am:
The on-call doctor has them test me for a UTI (just in case), and when it comes back negative, he checks me.  He matter-of-factly states that I am "dilated 3 centimeters, and that we should probably go downstairs and get checked in for a c-section."  This is NOT AT ALL what I expected, but afterwards I kept telling Matt "see, these really do hurt.  I guess it is the real thing."  I was still in denial because we were three weeks early!  He did warn us that the on-call doctor may want to try to stop my labor since I was 3+ weeks early, but he said that would have to be her decision.  At this point, I think we were pretty confident that this baby was coming TODAY.

10:30am:
We leave the doctor's office (and for those of you that don't use Willow Creek, the clinic is upstairs above the actual hospital, so it's super convenient) and head down to the hospital to get checked in.  My dad had also arrived at this point, and this is where it actually began to feel real.  We hugged my parents goodbye since we knew we would be going back to the triage center to check in and then we'd be whisked off to the OR.

10:30am-12:00pm:
This is all kind of a blur to me.  They got me in a bed and hooked up to an IV. 

Our nurse was awesome--super kind, funny, and no-nonsense (which is my favorite kind of nurse).  We filled out lots of forms, which was totally annoying because I was trying to talk and write while having contractions. I asked right away when I would get pain medicine, and they never really answered me.  That was also kind of annoying because I remember thinking "I was supposed to be a scheduled c-section, so I wouldn't have to feel all this pain. Ha!"  Matt was great about holding my hand through the contractions; I'm sure I about broke his fingers.  Finally, the anesthesiologist and the on-call doctor both came in to talk through the procedures, and we had to ask "so we're having the baby today?" Our doctor just laughed and said "YES!!"

12:00pm:
They took me back to the OR. As they are wheeling me back, the doors open and my mom desperately wanted to give me a hug before I went back. Our doctor opened up the swinging doors for her, so she thought she could come in. Apparently she didn't see the huge red signs on the door or the red line on the floor that said "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY."  Our doctor about ripped her arm off reeling her back in. Ha!  At least my parents got to see me and told me they loved me.  Matt went to put on scrubs I think.  

By this point my contractions are absolutely taking my breath away, so I was grateful to get my spinal. The worst part was hunching over (while contracting) so they could put the needle in.  You have to sit so still, and I had a hard time doing that.  I honestly don't remember much pain, just a little burning, but then within minutes it was sweet relief!  From there everything went really fast....although it is the weirdest feeling to lay flat on a table completely exposed but totally numb.  Again, at that point I just didn't care too much.  I was ready to get the show on the road!  I did start to get nauseous from laying flat on my back and because I hadn't eaten anything all day in case we ended up having the c-section.  I asked the anesthesiologist if he could do anything and he immediately gave me something for the nausea and raised my head up a few inches, which instantly made me feel better. 

12:15pm:
Matt comes back in the OR and holds my hand.  I am finally completely numb and for the first time since 5:00am that morning, I had some relief and could just relax.  But I couldn't relax because I started shaking so bad.  I just could not stop.  It was cold in the room, but people had also told me that that can happen in surgery.  It was the weirdest thing ever.

12:20pm: Everyone in the room (doctors, nurses, the anesthesiologist) were all so pleasant and calming.  We all talked the whole time, but I don't remember a word we said. I felt tons of pressure and pulling as they opened me up, but I just kept thinking about the baby that they were pulling out of me and how surreal the whole experience felt.

12:29pm: As soon as the baby was out, our doctor let Matt check everything out since we still didn't know if Baby K was a boy or girl.  He immediately says "It's a boy!!!" I remember thinking "of course it is!" Haha.  We would not have been prepared for a girl.  I think we both knew it was a boy from the start, but how do you really know?

12:30pm:
Matt got to hold him, and I remember having to ask him to bend down so I could actually see his little face.  

He looked SO CHUBBY to me, which is exactly what I wanted all along.  He was just precious.  Matt asked me as they were leaving, "So is his name William Matthew??"(which was the name we had agreed on for a boy), and I said "can you give me a little time with him before we make that decision?"  We laughed and agreed to wait to name him until we were sure it fit.  Matt and another nurse whisked Will off to weigh him, measure, clean him up, and everything else that they do.  As they went into the nursery, my parents were able to watch everything through the big window.

12:35pm: I got stitched up and within a few minutes was in a recovery room shivering away all by myself.  Honestly, it was the most relaxing moments of the day.  My baby boy was here and healthy, I wasn't contracting anymore, and as soon as they gave me more meds, the shakes wore off and I was even able to get some ice chips.  It felt great to just relax for a few minutes, knowing that when they took me back to our room, I was now responsible for another person's life.  Don't get me wrong, it was the longest 30 minutes ever to wait to see my hubby and baby, but I just relaxed and tried to enjoy it!

1:15pm:
They wheel me back to my room.  On the way I see my parents, Matt, and a nurse with our baby.  The nurse was actually the lactation consultant and she told me that he was ready to eat NOW.  Ha!  I hadn't even held him yet, but he wanted to eat.  

It made me so happy.  So, that's what we did.  From the start, he did a great job nursing and the lactation consultants were so helpful, staying in our room just as long as we needed them.  It was such a blessing.  Our community group leader also popped in right away to say hi, which was so thoughtful.  I remember thinking "she's good.  How did she get here so fast!??" :-)

The rest of the day was filled with oohing and aahing over every little thing he did.  We took picture after picture.  It was so fun to see Matt holding our baby. 

We decided he definitely looked like a William Matthew, so he finally had a name.

We had lots of visitors, and it was a wonderful afternoon and evening.  We felt so blessed by each and every visitor that came to show us their support.  We had a great first night...with the advice of many, we sent Will back to the nursery between each feeding, so we could get some sleep.  Honestly, Will and I's nurses were nothing short of amazing.  Again, I am always convinced that nursing is a calling and a ministry, not simply a job. 

Our family of two became a family of three.
It honestly was a wonderful day.
I am still amazed and in awe that he is here and ours.
It was the day that changed our lives forever!