Happy Birthday Isaac

Wow! What a crazy couple of weeks it has been.  At my last OB appointment (Wednesday, Dec 2) I was surprised to find out that the labor process had begun.  I was dilated to three centimeters and my cervix was thinned about seventy-five percent. Chris and I were very excited!  We were told that I could have Isaac any day or it could still be weeks.  Due to the pain and discomfort I was in, I was praying he would come soon.
The following morning I was having what I thought to be contractions.  The pain was happening about every six minutes and lasted for almost a minute.  I thought, "This is it!."  Chris headed in to work only to turn right back around and head home.  At four o'clock am on Thursday morning, we were hospital bound.  By five I had been checked out and hooked up to the monitors.  Nothing had changed... Dr. Coulter-Smith told me that I was having contractions, but they were not yet strong enough to do anything.  It could still be days, she sent us home.  I was very upset, but knew that she was right; I would rest better at home.  We were back home by eight, and praying that we would be returning to the hospital later that day to have a baby.  The hours rolled on with no change.  The contractions were coming and going, but not at a steady rate or strength.  The weekend came and went, and still no Isaac.  On Monday, I was very emotional.  All I wanted to do was sleep and cry.  I went to bed thinking that I would never go into labor.
Tuesday morning I woke up at six am like normal to get Jordan up and ready for school.  I was feeling weird and my back was hurting me, but I thought nothing of it, because I had been feeling like that for day.  Jordan walked out the door for school at 6:45 and around seven, I was determined that my water bag was leaking.  I woke Chris up and said "I really do think it's time."  We hurried around getting showers, and gathering things up to head back to the hospital.  We made the decision to go pick Jordan up from school on our way, just in case this was the real thing.  At about 7:45am the pains started.  They were VERY strong, and happening every three to four minutes.  It was at this point I knew that I was going to the hospital and that I would not be leaving there without Isaac.  If she, Dr. Coulter-Smith, tried to send me home, I was prepared to fight!  Below is a slide show of the big day!


To view the entire photo album visit my Picasa page!

What a Day....

First off, I guess if you read this blog on a regular basis you've noticed that I never finished my 14 days of thanks post. I am so bad about getting on here every day and writing. I did not run out of things to be thankful for, just ran out of time and energy to write about it. One of these days I will finish a series of post that I start! I am still planning on posting a baby shower and Halloween post....I guess its better late than never!

So...moving on to my last 36 hours....Its been a little crazy!

At 8:30 yesterday morning (Wednesday) I had my regular weekly check-up at the OB (I am 36 weeks). I didn't really know what kind of progress if any I had made but I was anxious to find out. The Dr. checked me and to my surprise told me that I was dilated to 3 and 75% effaced. I had no idea! I was very excited thinking that things were really about to happen. Then, my wonderful Dr. said, it could happen any minute or it could still be weeks away. WEEKS AWAY???? I was a little bummed by that but at the same time encouraged. We went home and I spent the day on the couch just resting. All afternoon and evening I was having contractions that were between 6 and 10 minutes apart. They didn't hurt but I could tell that they were real contractions.

I went to bed (on the couch) thinking that I would have a horrible time sleeping. I slept great from about 11 to 3. When Chris got up to go to work I woke up sure that it was time to go to the hospital. We gathered up a few last minutes things and headed out the door around 4:30am. When we got to the hospital they asked me the 10,000 questions they needed to know and then hooked me up to the monitors. Everything looked great. My heart rate and blood pressure were perfect. Isaac's heart rate was dead on where it needed to be. They check me and NO CHANGE! I thought, well thats ok....things are happening and I know it. The monitors showed that I was having contractions about 6 minutes apart. About an hour later...they were getting a little stronger and about 3 minutes apart. My Dr. had been called and she said she would be there shortly to check on me. At about 7:15 my Dr. arrived, she looked at the computer that showed my contraction history and checked me again. STILL NO CHANGE!!

Since I am only 36 weeks she said she would not do anything to induce labor. She wanted Isaac to stay in as long as he needs and that we should let things happen naturally. She said that I would rest better at home and that she was discharging me. Chris and I were both shocked. How can they send me home with contractions happening every 3 minutes? When that question was asked, we were told that the contractions were frequent but not strong enough to help in the progression of labor. They told me to go home and eat something and get plenty of rest. When the contractions gos stronger (to the point I can't talk through them) or if my water broke to come back.

To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I had dealt with my anxiety, I was relaxed and ready for Isaac to enter this world, just to be sent back home. We took Jordan to school (He was right on time) and then headed home. I got a good cry in on the way home and then decided I would just sleep to pass the time. Chris went on in to work (he was 4 hours late) and I layed down on the couch to veg. I was able to sleep from about 8:30 to 1. When I woke up...I felt a lot better about everything. I am sad to say that I think the contractions have all but stopped. Isaac is enjoying his time inside my tummy and is not ready to come into this crazy world yet. We are very excited to meet him but I know that he will come when the time is right.

Thank you to everyone for the thoughts, prayers, phone calls, and support. I will keep you updated on all the happenings through my facebook and plurk pages and post on here as much as possible. We are almost there!! What an exciting time in the Cotter house!