Carson's Birth Story - Pt 1

I have wanted to make sure that I document Carson's birth story before I forget any of the details, unfortunately, I am sure by now I have already forgotten some of the small details. However, his birth seemed to pass so quickly that I am sure I wouldn't have gotten it all down anyway. 

Carson started preparing me for his birth much earlier than most babies do. I had preterm contractions starting at 26 weeks. Thankfully for us the preterm contractions were not causing dilation so I did not have to be admitted in the hospital or going on full time bed rest. I did take 5 days off & spend those 5 days in bed to see if that would slow down the preterm contractions or make them stop entirely. That did not happen but it all worked out anyway. 

My last day of work was supposed to be on April 12th. The last week at work for me was really rough. I was so sore by the end of the day & was hardly able to concentrate due to the contractions I was having & the intense pelvic pain. So after working from home Monday & Tuesday, I called in on Wednesday, April 10th & said I would not be in anymore. I spent the next few days in bed, relaxing, watching TV, napping, and running a few errands here & there. Overall, we had a pretty uneventful weekend. My sister in law, Allison's baby shower was that Saturday so I got up and went to her shower. I was pretty sure I would have him any day at her shower as he was really low & I was already 3cm dilated. 

I had an appointment on Wednesday, April 18th & I knew at this appointment my OB had planned to sweep my membranes if I had not delivered before then. Monday & Tuesday came & went so I knew that the membrane sweep would be happening at my appointment. I had heard that this was a painful procedure so I was mentally preparing myself for the pain. I knew it would be nothing in comparison to labor so I was ok with it if there was a chance it would get things moving & we'd be meeting our baby sooner rather than later. When I arrived at my appointment my OB confirmed that I was still 3cm dilated & that she was going to sweep my membranes. She did the sweep, which I am happy to report was not at all painful. In fact, I didn't feel a thing! I was surprised when she said that she was done. My OB finished my exam, told me she was on call the following day & that hopefully she would see me then. She also stated that if your body is ready most women go into active labor with in 48 hours of having their membranes swept. YAY!

Adam & I decided to go out to eat at Gustav's to enjoy one last meal (possibly) without children. We had a great dinner & went home to get to bed. I was preparing myself for my last good night of sleep (Ha! Says a pregnant women who gets up to pee 32 times every night! :)) & a long day the following day. Wishful thinking! I woke up at about 3am to go to the bathroom.. When I laid back down I couldn't help but notice that I was having cramping. I started timing them & they were about 10-12 minutes apart. I continued to count them for the next 2 hours when Adam's alarm went off. When his alarm went off they were about 8 minutes apart. I told Adam he probably should stay home but he decided to go ahead and go to work since he only works 10 minutes away & I had a lot of false labor over the last few weeks. My contractions would get as close as 3 min apart & then totally stop. I agreed that this wasn't a bad plan & I would call him if they got any closer for him to come home so we could go in to the hospital. 

6am the contractions were now about 5 minutes apart & these contractions were more intense than the false labor contractions I had been having. I called Adam & he decided to come home. We then decided to go ahead & go in since they were close together consistently for over an hour. I walked into the hospital at about 730am. My OB was at the counter, she smiled and said "Hi Karli! What are you doing here?" I responded that "Hopefully your little sweep worked!" - the nurse took me to the triage room where she checked me.. I was 3.5cm dilated! I was so disappointed. I had though for sure I had progressed more than .5 cm overnight. Oh well. The nurse told me to go ahead and walk for an hour & if I progressed anymore then they would keep me.. 

A walking we went... 

Part 2 on Thursday!