I didn't spend this Memorial Day in pre-term labor....

THIS year at least. Two years ago on Memorial Day (May 26th) my water broke when I was 24wks 6days. The previous night I went to bed feeling kind of sick but thought I just needed to sleep. That morning around 2:30am I woke up to some cramping and went to the bathroom thinking maybe I just had to pee. Plus she was moving around like crazy so I knew she was ok. I went back to bed but at 5:30am woke up again to worse cramping. Again I went to the bathroom but this time there was blood. I went into the room immediately, turned the light on, told Chase to get out of bed ASAP because we were going to L&D, got my jacket and my shoes and we were out the door. I was so frantic and knew something was not right especially since I was in a lot of pain. Luckily we lived like 5 mintues away from the hospital (although Chase started to go the one that was 2 min or so away thinking it was the right one but it wasn't). I had no idea where L&D was so we showed up at the oncology entrance. I got out of the car and the entrance was locked...now I have no idea why I even got out of the car...I was so frantic. Then Chase said it was around the corner...so what did I do? I started RUNNING to the other entrance...up stairs, the whole 9 yards. Idiot.

I show up and tell them I need to see someone ASAP because I was bleeding and having pains. They asked how far along I was and I said I am 25 weeks (why not round up right? Later on they kept saying she's only 24+ 6....I wanted to slap the nurse....give me 25 weeks gosh dang it!). They immediately had me take a pee sample and switch into a gown. Then they hooked me up to the monitors. Heartbeat strong. Thank Gosh! But I was contracting every few mintues. They took a test to see if my water had broke and it came out positive immediately. The nurse's face when she confirmed it told me the whole story. But how was it positive? I hadn't felt my water break...although now I look back and am kicking myself in the butt considering I had leaking the few days before. I even called my sister asking if my water was breaking and she told me I was probably just peeing myself. So I ignored it. Idiot.

So they call my doctor and we had to wait for him to come. He came as fast as he could but those minutes were agonizing! He showed up about 15 min or so later and immediatly checked to see if I was dialated. I wasn't. Thank Gosh! But I was 50% effaced. Not good. So they decided to start me on a medicine to stop my contractions (I forget which one it was) and Nubang (that I remember since it made me feel like I was on a cloud and took all the pain away). My doctor is LDS so we asked him to give me a priesthood blessing with my husband. I felt such peace and I knew everything was going to be ok. Chase on the other hand was bawling. I had never seen him or any man cry like that except for in movies. He thought she was going to die. I knew she wasn't going to die...yet...at least not that day.

So kind of a side note but I can't forget to put this in. That weekend was memorial day weekend and some friends invited us to go camping with them. I had a bad feeling about it and told Chase that if I went into preterm labor I would be totally screwed. He just rolled his eyes and said I was being paranoid. I just had this feeling in my heart that I needed to stay home. I'm SO glad I listened to that feeling. Now I know it was the Holy Ghost telling me to stay put! I'm so glad I listened because who knows what would have happened had I not.
You know how I said I never felt my water break? Well my uterus showed me. She always does. Soon after, I felt a gush...not a HUGE gush but still a gush and sure enough it was fluid. That made me shake with fear and all I could do was cry, but I had to be strong. I knew that it could still be ok. I had recently watched an episode of some baby show where this girl was admitted with preterm labor and they were able to stop it. She ended up going past 40weeks and they had to INDUCE her. haha kinda ironic doncha think? So why couldn't I be the same? Now I know they just never show anything but success stories on tv...

After they stabalized me they said that I was going to stay in the hospital until I had the baby. And if miraculously I didn't have her in the next few weeks and actually made it to 34weeks they would induce me to avoid complications. Oh how I longed for those extra weeks. Soon after I got settled into my room they told me I was getting a high risk dr (Dr. Chaulmers) instead of my regular OB (Dr. Cain). I love both drs still. They were so lovely and caring and have such great bedside manner! It definatly made my time on bedrest so much better and  more calm.

That day they brought in an ultrasound and she was measuring at 23weeks and 3days and was about 1lb 9oz give or take. WHAT? I was 25 weeks how am I that small? It's within the normal range. Yadda Yadda. Whatever. I had bigger problems to worry about. In the ultrasound they detected something that my routine ultrasound at 17weeks (I knew I shouldn't have had it that early!) didn't detect. She had a double bubble which they explained could be (key phrase being could be) a birth defect called duodenal atresia (an intestinal blockage) and it had a high correlation with Down Syndrome...a 1 in 3 chance. They later had me go to a geneticist in MFM and the lady was such a biatch and wanted me to have an amnio to see for sure if she did have Down's (ughhh hello I've been in preterm labor) and that it was too late to terminate. Ugh thanks but no thanks. Wouldn't have terminated anyways. Annoying. I tried not to focus on the fact that she could be DS because I would love her no matter what. Plus Dr. Chalmers was so great and told me not to google anything and not worry about anything right now except for baking my little girl. I took his advice and am I glad I did because I googled duodenal atresia later after she was born and found some scary stuff. Turns out she didn't have duodenal atresia but a jejunal web (lower down in the intestines and not an atresia since the 2 ends of the intestines were still attached, it just had a weblike blockage) and it isn't associated at all with DS. I would've worried myself sick for nothing.

I lasted 12 days on hospital bedrest. I was thankful for every one of those days and I'm sure it either 1. saved my daughter's life or 2. saved her from more complications and possibilities of lifelong disabilities. I will share the rest of the events leading up to Jayda's birth for another post next week when she turns two! Crazy!

Memorial Day will never be the same though and I will always remember it as the day my water broke. That and on the one year "anniversary" one of my friends gave birth to her full term stillborn Sophi. I think about my friend and her baby a lot but will always think about her on Memorial Day (although of course it was on a different day every year).

This year Memorial Day was awesome! We took Jayda and Chase's sister Caity and her boyfriend Taylor to Zions and went hiking. It was a blast! We didn't so much do hiking as much as Jayda played in the stream and we climbed rocks and explored or as much "exploring" as a two year old can do. She for some reason hates water (go figure she hated it inutero as well haha) and she just clings on for dear life when she comes near a body of water. She finally got used to it but still didn't fully appreciate it. :D Here are some pics of us up at Zions!

I love her pose. haha It's like an old lady pose or something haha

You can see the terror in her eyes.

She needed some cuddles from her daddy after being in the scary water.

I love this picture of her!

Caity and her boyfriend Taylor. We kinda like him. :D