Long Version...(aka TMI Version)

I woke up Sunday morning not feeling good at all.  My back was hurting really bad and I was cramping up a lot.  I decided to jump in the shower, hoping that the heat would help.  It did a little so we decided to go on to church.  In the middle of Sunday school I was feeling so awful that we left to head home to call the doctor.  We didn't make it home before I got sick, yes, on the side of the road.  Once home I actually started to feel a little better so we went back to church because I had nursery duty.  Needless to say, the pain came back and just as bad as before.  We decided to go on with my parents to lunch like we usually do on Sundays because I couldn't really tell the difference between my back pain and the contractions.  About 20 mins into lunch I couldn't handle it anymore.  Noah stayed and finished up lunch while Seth took me home to call the doctor and get the car packed because I was pretty sure that it was time to head to the hospital.  

Once home the doctor told me to sit in a quiet place to see if I could get a feel for the difference between the contractions and the constant back pain and also to count the number of times I could feel the baby move.  I was told to call her back in half an hour with an update.  Well, at the end of my 30 mins, the baby had only moved twice (we were looking for at least 4 times) and my contractions were every 3 to 4 minutes apart.  So, we were told to head to the hospital so that they could check on the baby and to monitor my contractions.  

At the hospital we were admitted right away, I'm guessing the look on my face said get me in a room now!  They hooked me up to all the machines and my contractions were now coming every 2 to 3 minutes and the baby's heart rate was pretty good, but not going up and down like they like to see so they decided not to let me go home.  So, they gave me some meds to make the contractions stronger and faster (which worked...and was very painful, they said I wasn't dilated enough to have any pain meds yet...ugh!)  

About an hour later I thought my water broke, I told the nurse and she took a look.  It wasn't my water...it was a hugh, huge, huge gush of blood!  They all freaked out, doctors were called, several nurses came running in...I was told that I would have to have an emergency c-section.  (Pause for a minute...I just want to say a prayer of thanks for James being breech a few weeks before because it forced me to look up info on c-sections so I didn't freak as much as I could have.)  So, they put an oxygen mask on me, put in a catheter (which hurt so bad, remember I hadn't had any pain meds yet)...and I was taken to surgery.  Because it was an emergency they wouldn't let Seth come with me, so I lost it for a second.  Through the tears he told me he loved me and that the baby and I would be fine, though I wasn't too sure.  

Once in the operating room I had to move from the bed to the table.  They started rubbing me down with something cold while they put up the blue divider, I was given a breathing tube and they put some meds in my IV that knocked me out.  That's all I can remember.  When I came to I was so out of it, I remember asking for my husband and if the baby was ok over and over.  Seth was right there to hold my hand and told me that James was alright. 

Later I found out exactly what happened...my placenta detached from the uterus wall.  James swallowed a lot of blood and they weren't sure how long he'd gone without oxygen.  They had to do chest compressions to get his heart going.  He's doing much better now but is still in the NICU.  They said if we hadn't been at the hospital when my placenta detached that he wouldn't have made it and I may not have either because of all the blood loss.  I thank God that I was having all that back pain which made me call the doctor because usually I'm the type to try to sit and wait it out.   

Baby James was born on Sunday, May 24th at 6:23 p.m.  He weighed 7lbs and 4 ozs and is 20 inches long.  I didn't get to see him in the NICU until the next morning which made for a very long night, and then right before I was headed to see him for the first time my nurse wanted me to take some pain meds, which made me very dizzy so I only got to see him for a second before having to go back to my room.  I tried again a little while later and was amazed!  He turned his head towards me when I started talking to him.  I was so worried that we wouldn't have bonding time, but he waited for me and is just perfect!  

We've taken lots of pictures and have posted some of them here for you.  (And for Noah, because children aren't allowed in the NICU so he hasn't been able to see his little brother yet except for in pictures and videos.)

Enjoy and thank you for all your prayers!!!