At 37 weeks (January 26th), we went to the doctor and found out I was dilated to about 1 cm and 70% effaced! 5 days later at the next doctor's appointment, I was 1 1/2 cm dilated, 70% effaced and at station -2. The doctor scheduled my next appointment for the next Tuesday, but I never got to go.
On February 1st, our good friend Derek Olson's wife went into labor, and her original due date was February 14th (I think). So when I found out she was having her baby, I got reeally anxious! Although I was only 38 weeks pregnant, I felt soo ready for it to be over! The next night I busted out my "Just Dance 3" video game and danced for about an hour to try and get things rolling, and just around midnight I started having some mild (looking back I know those were just mild) contractions, and they came every 15-20 minutes. So I stayed up and finished packing the hospital bag to see if they'd continue, but about 2 hours later I surrendered and went to bed. By morning they had completely subsided, but I stayed home from work anyway in an attempt to induce labor yet again. I spent most of the day standing, walking, cleaning, dancing and doing anything to help things along. That afternoon I even had a chiropractor appointment scheduled, and it was only 2 block west from our apartment so naturally, I walked! There's also a mexican food restaurant across the street from the chiropractor's office, so I stopped by on my way home to see if spicy food really helps. Now that I think of it, I never got to test it! An hour after I got home from my appointment, I started getting intense contractions, every 5-10 minutes apart. I called Kurtis, who was at work, and asked him to take me to the hospital. By the end of our conversation it was difficult to talk and when I had to get up to get in the car it was difficult to walk. I thought "this is it!!" We were both in shock, driving to the hospital felt so surreal, was this really happening?!
Well...we got to the hospital and they hooked me up to the monitors and after an hour...nothing. The contractions subsided again and I wasn't dilating, so they sent me home. After two bouts of false labor, I finally gave up. Kurtis and I were really disappointed the next morning after getting our hopes so pent up. We had nothing to do that Saturday morning, so we just lounged about, wallowing. I know I was only 38 weeks and a lot of moms wait even longer than 40 weeks, I just shouldn't have let myself get so anxious. Though, even after all my impatience, that morning I went into labor! Not sure when, and I didn't even know what I was feeling were true labor contractions because they were different from all the other contractions I had before that. I didn't feel good, so I had been laying in bed, but after laying there a while I realized I wasn't getting any warmer and started getting chills and pain in my lower back (9:30 am). I waited it out for a while, thinking I was just sick, but then again that would be reason enough to be concerned; so I finally called the hospital to ask them about it just in case. They had me come in (11:30 am) and when they checked my cervix I was dilated to 4 cm and 90% effaced...and had a fever of 104. :(
After an hour of monitoring my contractions, they checked me again and I had only dilated to 4 1/2 cm. I had to dilate at least 1 cm/hour for them to admit me, but since I had the fever, they admitted me anyway. The doctor informed us that because of my infection, they strongly advised me not to get an epidural, as the needle could push the infection through to the baby. So I decided not to get one, and trusted that the Lord would help me through natural labor. By 3:45 pm, I had only dilated to 5 cm, so they broke my water for me and by then my fever had also gone down. Around 4:30, the doctor came back and said my infection was under control, and I was safe to get an epidural if I still wanted one. At first I declined, and then about a half hour later I changed my mind! It was about 5:30 and was about 6 cm, 100% effaced when I got the epidural, and it was wonderful to say the least. By 6:00 I was 9 cm and Daren was at station +1! I got to 10 cm by 7:00 and started pushing at 7:20. Those 2 1/2 hours of pushing were the most empowering moments of my life, and I couldn't have done it without Kurtis, Tara (my cousin) and Michelle (my best friend), who were there to cheer me on through each and every push. It was miraculous. Especially when at 9:45 pm, Daren James Speer was born, and at 9:48 he took his first breath. He had a tear in his lungs, which we later found out was caused by an infection. He had contracted Strep B, which I had been given antibiotics for, but he got it anyway. After they finally got him to breathe, they whisked him away to the NICU to get him on oxygen and antibiotics. Kurtis went with him to get updates from Daren's doctor while I got cleaned up and ate some food.
I saw him for the first time 2 hours later, amazed and slightly bewildered that I was actually a mother. He was 7 lbs 8 oz and 20 in long. He looked so frail and helpless with his CPAP and feeding tube and all the monitors he was hooked up to.
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| Meeting Daren for the first time |
I thought, he's perfect, and we--who are imperfect--are supposed to raise and teach him? It was a huge, but humbling realization and we feel so blessed that Heavenly Father would entrust us with such a wonderful responsibility. Are we capable? Not on our own, but we are through the Lord's grace, and that's what makes it wonderful. The Lord using us as His hands to bring about his righteous purposes is an incredible blessing, and we are so grateful every day.
After I was discharged, I would drive to the hospital in the morning and stay there most of the day to feed him every 3 hours, and kept myself occupied in the lobby, or went to run errands between feedings. Daren stayed in the hospital for a total of 14 days; even though the tear in his lungs and the infection had healed within the first 5 days, they needed to keep him on antibiotics until the full 14 day dose was finished. The nurses called him the "antibiotic hostage" haha.
In the end, our little trooper had gone through at least 5 pricks of needles from IVs to PICC lines and 2 spinal taps, and he amazed the nurses with his speedy recovery and strength. He is such a good baby, and we surely could not have asked for more, even with all the complications, he is healthy and strong like nothing ever happened. We feel so blessed to have the support of our amazing friends and family, especially our parents. So thankful to our Father in Heaven who is also helping and supporting us, every step of the way.
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