Friday Morning, January 12th, six weeks before Aubrey's due date and two weeks before her planned (already early) C-section, I woke up with contractions about eight minutes apart. Sporadic contractions hadn't been unusual for me during my pregnancy from about 25 weeks on, but never consistent and never more than one or two in an hour at most. So when I was having them at this frequency I knew something was up. Within the next hour the frequency increased to about every six minutes and so I put in a call to my doctor around 8:30am to see what he wanted me to do.
The day before (January 11th) I had a routine appointment with my OB when I received my first dose of steroids in preparation for Aubrey's birth on the 29th - since she was supposed to be born at 36+2 this was being done for her lungs to help them mature to minimize her need for excessive support after birth. He also, at this appointment, informed me that at that point should I go into labor they would not intervene (the way we had to do in December when I had a previa bleed). With Aubrey being 34 weeks, me having steroids on board, and the added risk of my previa complication, they would go ahead and deliver her! The joke has been Aubrey heard that loud and clear because the next morning she was on her way!
So, at around 9am I drove to the hospital where my OB's office is because they asked me to go ahead and come in so they could hook me up to the monitors and keep an eye on the contractions as well as Aubrey so we'd know how to proceed. After about an hour and a half we could see that yes, they were contractions, and yes, they were getting closer. So at this point it was time to admit me to the hospital, hook me up to an IV to get fluids to hydrate me, and see what happened next.
The unique thing about our situation is that whereas most mothers would be told to labor at home until their water broke, or until the contractions stopped (in the case of false labor), etc. this wasn't an option for me. The purpose of the planned c-section for the 29th was to be as early as possible to preempt labor and as late as possible to allow Aubrey as much time as we could - as dilating would expose my placenta previa, and as a result put me and Aubrey at great risk for placental abruption and hemorrhaging. SO all of that is to say, when suddenly I was contracting and laboring, a decision had to be made - and what ended up being safest for both me and Aubrey was to bring baby girl into the world - THAT AFTERNOON.
It was such a whirlwind! At 1:45pm, just moments after my doctor clapped his hands together and said "Let's have this baby!" I called Justin (who was home getting a few things to bring back to the hospital) and told him the news that we were going to be parents sooner than expected! By 2:15 I had pre-op labs drawn and by 3:05 I was being rolled back to the operating room!
Aubrey was born January 12, 2018 at 3:39PM
weighing 4lb 6oz
measuring 17 inches long
She was Admitted to the NICU immediately following her post delivery evaluation and was placed on an NG Tube for feeding, a CPAP to help her breath, and was also given a UVC as she needed a blood transfusion a few hours after birth (Mama ended up needing TWO, yeesh!)
Aubrey at 4 days old
January 16th
Today Aubrey is two weeks old, she's still in the NICU but as of this morning is off of ALL support and it looks like she could discharged over the next 4 or 5 days. We are overjoyed to have her here, and are anxious to bring her home!
Thank you so much for all of your prayers, we can't believe this little girl is ours.
Hallelujah, what a Savior.
