Welcome!
Before I begin on this journey of figuring out what it even means to blog, I wanted to say a little something and hopefully at the end of this journey, I am able to look back and reflect on what a crazy and rewarding time it has been.
Never in a million years did I think anything like this could happen to me. I have lived a pretty healthy life having never once smoked and only drinking on occasion (not counting college). Besides the random UTI or strep throat, I never really even went to a doctor. I was going to school full-time at Moraine Valley and working part time at a very prestigious job (haha).
In September of 2011, I found out I was pregnant. Although scared out of our minds, Ryan and I couldn't have been happier. Life is all about throwing you curve balls; you just have to learn how to hit them. We developed a plan and had from that moment until May 18th to get our lives together before our beautiful boy arrived. The plan was almost perfect. I was finishing up school in early May, Baby Ryan was due May 18th, and my internship wasn't until July. We had that one plan, and that's the only plan we had intended to stick with.
Before I begin on this journey of figuring out what it even means to blog, I wanted to say a little something and hopefully at the end of this journey, I am able to look back and reflect on what a crazy and rewarding time it has been.
Never in a million years did I think anything like this could happen to me. I have lived a pretty healthy life having never once smoked and only drinking on occasion (not counting college). Besides the random UTI or strep throat, I never really even went to a doctor. I was going to school full-time at Moraine Valley and working part time at a very prestigious job (haha).
In September of 2011, I found out I was pregnant. Although scared out of our minds, Ryan and I couldn't have been happier. Life is all about throwing you curve balls; you just have to learn how to hit them. We developed a plan and had from that moment until May 18th to get our lives together before our beautiful boy arrived. The plan was almost perfect. I was finishing up school in early May, Baby Ryan was due May 18th, and my internship wasn't until July. We had that one plan, and that's the only plan we had intended to stick with.
Starting around mid-January, I started having mild contractions. They were not painful, not regular, and very spontaneous. Thinking nothing of it, I went on with my usual days. February 1st, now 24 weeks pregnant, I had a doctor’s appointment with my OB. Everything was very routine; I asked him questions, got some answers, listened to Ryan's heartbeat, and then we were done. I had told him about these mild contractions, and a bit worried, he had stressed if they started feeling any different to contact him immediately.
On Saturday, February 4th, I had woken up with these mild contractions again. They were the same--not painful and irregular, so I got myself up and ready for work. I had worked at this prestigious job of mine until 4:30pm and then had come home to relax. It then all began at 7:00pm.
I started feeling contractions and this time they were painful. I kept track of them and they were almost exactly 7 minutes apart. After contemplating going to the ER or not, I got myself up and told Ryan we needed to go a.s.a.p. We arrived at the ER and I was almost immediately admitted into Palos Hospital and sent to Labor and Delivery. Once on the floor, I changed into a gown and was checked to see if I had dilated--surprisingly I hadn't. From 8:00pm until about 1:30am, I was in a serious amount of pain, but not dilating. Ryan stayed by my side the whole time and attempted to make me feel more at ease. After checking me again after some time, they were just about to send me home, as I had not dilated at all. They asked to do one final check before I got back into my clothes and that’s when they realized I was 1cm dilated.
On Saturday, February 4th, I had woken up with these mild contractions again. They were the same--not painful and irregular, so I got myself up and ready for work. I had worked at this prestigious job of mine until 4:30pm and then had come home to relax. It then all began at 7:00pm.
I started feeling contractions and this time they were painful. I kept track of them and they were almost exactly 7 minutes apart. After contemplating going to the ER or not, I got myself up and told Ryan we needed to go a.s.a.p. We arrived at the ER and I was almost immediately admitted into Palos Hospital and sent to Labor and Delivery. Once on the floor, I changed into a gown and was checked to see if I had dilated--surprisingly I hadn't. From 8:00pm until about 1:30am, I was in a serious amount of pain, but not dilating. Ryan stayed by my side the whole time and attempted to make me feel more at ease. After checking me again after some time, they were just about to send me home, as I had not dilated at all. They asked to do one final check before I got back into my clothes and that’s when they realized I was 1cm dilated.
Things took off from there. The contractions were getting worse, and my OB was now on his way to the hospital. Once at the hospital, now around 4:00am, my OB checked me once again to see if I had progressed. What he said next will always stick in my head. "You are 2cm dilated and 75% faced." This meant I had progressed and my uterus was now thinning out preparing for delivery. Palos was not a complex hospital equipped to handle a 25 week baby, so they immediately transferred me to Rush Medical Center.
While I took a fairly quick ride in an ambulance to Rush, Ryan was calling our families to let them know I was in preterm labor. Although way more scared than I was, partially because I was now on some medication that had me feeling preeeeetty good, Ryan somehow looked like he was remaining calm. Once at Rush, they had checked me again and I was now 3cm dilated. They started an IV of medication that included a steroid and some sort of enhancer to speed up lung and brain development for baby Ryan, while another medication tried to stop my contractions. An hour or so later, they had checked me again and I was at 4cm; I stayed 4cm for the remainder of the day.
For the rest of my night on Sunday, and all day Monday, I had not felt one contraction. Baby Ryan was doing great, and I was feeling like I had just dodged a bullet. I would remain 4cm or slightly smaller for the remainder of my pregnancy, which I thought, was going to be until May 18th. That was until I woke up the next day, Tuesday, February 7th, at 7:30am with contractions again.
While I took a fairly quick ride in an ambulance to Rush, Ryan was calling our families to let them know I was in preterm labor. Although way more scared than I was, partially because I was now on some medication that had me feeling preeeeetty good, Ryan somehow looked like he was remaining calm. Once at Rush, they had checked me again and I was now 3cm dilated. They started an IV of medication that included a steroid and some sort of enhancer to speed up lung and brain development for baby Ryan, while another medication tried to stop my contractions. An hour or so later, they had checked me again and I was at 4cm; I stayed 4cm for the remainder of the day.
For the rest of my night on Sunday, and all day Monday, I had not felt one contraction. Baby Ryan was doing great, and I was feeling like I had just dodged a bullet. I would remain 4cm or slightly smaller for the remainder of my pregnancy, which I thought, was going to be until May 18th. That was until I woke up the next day, Tuesday, February 7th, at 7:30am with contractions again.
I had told Ryan the night before he was good to go to work in the morning. I felt great on Monday and there was no sign I was going to go back into labor. When contractions started on Tuesday morning, I knew something was wrong. I immediately texted my mother and Ryan that I was contracting again and that they were painful. My mom immediately got in the car and headed to Rush. I continued to text Ryan until I couldn’t bare the pain anymore and handed the phone over to my mom. She, of course, with the direction of the nurse, told Ryan he needed to get to the hospital right away. I would spend the next few hours again in a serious amount of pain and again not showing signs I was dilating. Around 12:30pm, they transferred me back into the labor and delivery room and started pumping me with the same medication they had before to prepare Ryan’s lungs and brain, and to stop my contractions. Around 5pm, I had finally stopped contracting and was feeling a little better. I had not dilated in that whole time, so they thought my contractions were non progressive. Coming in to give one last precautionary check at 7pm, the MD had a look of shock on her face when she told me I was 9cm dilated and 80% faced. Now, I would have been fine with 4cm, would have understood 5cm, and could have remained calm with 6cm, but 9cm, that was a huge increase from just being 4! She told me to be prepared for delivery, but even then, I couldn't believe it!! A half hour later, now 7:30pm, the MD entered again to check me and I was 10cm dilated and 100% faced and ready to deliver.
From that moment I swear, everything was going in slow motion and I was in another world. A team from the NICU was called in, multiple nurses were present, and Ryan was putting on his scrubs to be there with me in the operating room. It felt like once they wheeled me into the operating room, I had begun pushing. Now I know people are going to sit there and say, "It couldn't have been that hard to push a 2 pound baby out", but until you have pushed a 2 pound baby out without any pain medication, don't talk to me. It took me a second to figure out where exactly I was aiming to push at, but once I found "the spot", Ryan was out in a matter of minutes.
Our little warrior was born February 7th, 2012 at 8:04pm, weighing 2 pounds 1 ounce and 14 inches long at exactly 25 weeks and 4 days. They had warned us that once he was out, the NICU team was going to rush him away to get him immediate medical attention. Baby Ryan came out a fighter though, and allowed his daddy to see him for the first time just minutes after he was born and before being whisked away to the NICU. I laid there dazed about what I had just experienced and how fast the whole process was. I swear there were at least 15 people in the room and I could only minutes after delivery pick out 3 of their faces…one of course being Ryan's. Once back into the labor and delivery room, I was greeted by the smiling faces of Ryan’s family and my mom and sister. Well, my Mom was crying, but they were happy tears. I also was told that my little sister was driving all the way from college home to be there and give support. My dad could not be there because he was obligated to stay at work, but I knew he would get to the hospital as soon as he could. From then on, I knew my world had changed.
The nurses were very nice and considerate and knew my main priority was to see baby Ryan to see that he was doing okay. Once my post-partum room was ready, they wheeled me into the NICU to see him for the first time. It was so surreal to think that this tiny baby, who was just hanging out comfortably in my belly, was now laying in an incubator (isolate) fighting for his life. A human’s will to live is truly inspiring, and baby Ryan definitely had the will that day. Ryan and I just sat there staring at him for a few moments, in disbelief that we had just experienced having our first child. We would spend the next 2 nights going to see him as much as we could in the NICU and having our wonderful family and friends visit to see this miracle baby.
This is just the beginning of our journey in the NICU, and I am sure it will be filled with plenty of ups and downs. I want this blog to be real, to be from the heart, and give everyone all of the facts. I will not sugar coat anything about having a baby in the NICU, and am using this as a way for me to reflect back on Ryan's progress in the future.
Our little warrior was born February 7th, 2012 at 8:04pm, weighing 2 pounds 1 ounce and 14 inches long at exactly 25 weeks and 4 days. They had warned us that once he was out, the NICU team was going to rush him away to get him immediate medical attention. Baby Ryan came out a fighter though, and allowed his daddy to see him for the first time just minutes after he was born and before being whisked away to the NICU. I laid there dazed about what I had just experienced and how fast the whole process was. I swear there were at least 15 people in the room and I could only minutes after delivery pick out 3 of their faces…one of course being Ryan's. Once back into the labor and delivery room, I was greeted by the smiling faces of Ryan’s family and my mom and sister. Well, my Mom was crying, but they were happy tears. I also was told that my little sister was driving all the way from college home to be there and give support. My dad could not be there because he was obligated to stay at work, but I knew he would get to the hospital as soon as he could. From then on, I knew my world had changed.
The nurses were very nice and considerate and knew my main priority was to see baby Ryan to see that he was doing okay. Once my post-partum room was ready, they wheeled me into the NICU to see him for the first time. It was so surreal to think that this tiny baby, who was just hanging out comfortably in my belly, was now laying in an incubator (isolate) fighting for his life. A human’s will to live is truly inspiring, and baby Ryan definitely had the will that day. Ryan and I just sat there staring at him for a few moments, in disbelief that we had just experienced having our first child. We would spend the next 2 nights going to see him as much as we could in the NICU and having our wonderful family and friends visit to see this miracle baby.
This is just the beginning of our journey in the NICU, and I am sure it will be filled with plenty of ups and downs. I want this blog to be real, to be from the heart, and give everyone all of the facts. I will not sugar coat anything about having a baby in the NICU, and am using this as a way for me to reflect back on Ryan's progress in the future.
Today begins day 1, and I hope there is at least one person who will be reading these and following myself and Ryan throughout our experiences. Cough Lindsay cough. haha
This is great jen! I'm so proud of you guys! I cant believe its already been 2 weeks!! I'm so glad we can see his progress that u share. He will be home with you guys before you know it! Love u! :)
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