On the morning of September 18th I woke up with what I thought were Braxton hicks contractions. My pregnancy app had notified me earlier that week that these practice contractions would be paying me a visit soon. I had kept up on my reading, researched every little thing and so I thought I knew exactly what to expect.
I continued my day as usual and went to work. Throughout the day I noticed my stomach tensing up more and more. But I let the day get away from me and I stopped paying close attention to what was going on. After work I started running some errands, but as soon as I got to the bank I felt a pretty strong contraction, so I decided to head home.
I laid on my bed with my timer set and started counting each contraction. After 30 minutes I had counted 10 contractions, which I had already read wasn't normal. My husband came home from school early that day and found me on the bed counting. He wanted to rush to the hospital right away, but I was still skeptical. I didn't want to be "that patient" that comes in for every little thing. He called my Mom who agreed that I needed to rush to the hospital. I reached my midwife (who was out of town) and she also insisted on me going in to labor and delivery just to be safe.
My husband raced to the hospital. He knew something was wrong and I could see the panic on his face. As soon as we walked through the doors the team was there. They hooked me to all of the different monitors where they could see our baby boy was in distress and my contractions were getting stronger. The doctors were confused because I wasn't dialated, but the contractions were definitely real ones.
Down the hall was the neonatal specialist who decided that an ultrasound needed to be done. He found that my placenta had an abruption and my uterus had blood clots. Ryan and I both saw the ultrasound, but we still weren't exactly sure what it all meant. They told us that our baby was feeling the way we would feel if we were to run up and down a flight of stairs while holding our breath. We knew that couldn't be good.
When they wheeled me back to the room there were people in operating clothing waiting for us. My heart sank as I looked at my husband. We both knew what this meant, but we were terified about the outcome for our sweet boy. He was too young and it was way too early. We felt completely helpless. I remember everyone talking to us and prepping us for what to expect during the next few minutes. But I don't remember what they were saying. My eyes were filled with tears and my mind was racing with my own thoughts.
They had to hurry and I could feel the rush around me. I said goodbye to my husband as tears rushed down both of our faces. As we raced to the OR we passed the NICU (newborn intensive care unit) team. They were gathering things and getting ready for my little one. When we entered the operating room all that I can remember is the uncontrollable shaking and the tears that I couldn't stop from flowing. I was terrified. I didn't know what to expect and out of the 20 people in the room, I didn't have anyone that I knew.
I woke up to my husband telling me how beautiful our boy was and reassuring me that everything would be okay. He had his phone right there filled with pictures to show me. It was still hard to believe that my little guy had been born. That he was here and that I wasn't pregnant anymore. I was sad because neither my husband or I were able to witness him being born. But we know that in emergency situations the Doctors have to do what is best for the baby which meant putting me under anesthesia so they could complete an emergency cesarean.
Our sweet Karsten James Scott Conradi was born weighing 2lbs 3oz and 14inches long. He was immediately taken to the NICU where he will be for many weeks to come. We know the road is long ahead, but we can't help but be so very thankful for our boy. He is our whole world. He is a fighter and he is getting stronger everyday. We love our darling Karsten James Scott.
We know that he is going to kick butt!
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