D-DAY NOVEMBER 9, 2009

November 9th, 2009
This is probably going to be a long one, but worth reading!
During the night, I felt some slight cramping in my lower back. I got up and got ready for school, still feeling slight cramping every now and then. That morning, I had my 4th grade math class in the computer lab. I was sitting down giving several students their multiplication tests while the rest of the class played math games. Every time I had to get up to help a kid on the computer, my lower back cramped up and it hurt to move. Half bent over, I went over and helped my students. I still thought nothing of these cramps. By lunch, these low back pains were becoming more frequent. Thank goodness my pre-student teacher was teaching my afternoon 5th grade classes. By noon, I was sitting at the table in the back of my room with Renee and Denise, as the 5th grade math lesson was being taught. Denise said I better start timing these pains, since they were increasing in frequency. We quickly realized they were 5 minutes apart!

So I called my doctor, but the office was closed until 1:45 for lunch! Now what? I ended up talking to someone from the Aultman Birth Center and they took an assessment of me over the phone. I patiently sat in my classroom just waiting for the next pain to strike - and for my doctor to call me back. Word got around to my principal that I was in pain every 5 minutes. He called the high school to let Tom know about my condition. He also would not let me stay at school any longer (do you think he saw the tv shows where teachers delivered in their classrooms)? At about 1:45, Denise drove me home, where I waited for Tom. He walked through the door about 5 minutes after I got home to find me hunched over the kitchen table. He was nervous, asking lots of questions that I did not know the answers to. Although I had no idea what was going on with my body, I reassured him I was ok and was probably not in labor. I packed a small hospital bag JUST IN CASE, and headed to Dr. Domingo's office. Oh, first we had to drop off some packages at the UPS store. I continued to write down every time I felt pain. We arrived at the doctor's office a little after 3. They took me back for a non-stress test, which tells if you are having contractions and how intense they are. After about 20 minutes of sitting there in pain, the nurse looked at my print-out and told me I was not contracting! WHAT?!?! Dr. Domingo proceeded to check my cervix. He told me it was closed. By this point, I think Tom was wondering if I was making these pains up. Dr.Domingo sent me over to Aultman anyways to get a shot that would relax my uterus. He also thought some IV fluids would help me.

We drove across the street to the hospital. I was still in pain every 5 minutes. I even had to stop halfway into the hospital until the pain subsided. They took me into a little room and had me put a gown on. Lucky me, my nurse was just learning how to put in an IV. I hate needles to begin with, but at this point, I was willing to do anything to feel better. I sat patiently and watched Ellen as she repeatedly jabbed at the veins in my hand. We sat for an hour and a half while I got fluids. Although they gave me the shot to relax my uterus, I was still in pain and found it hard to lay still. By this point, Tom was really thinking I had an extremely low pain tolerance! At about 5:30, the doctor came in the room to check me (and was probably going to send me home). He checked my cervix, looked at me and said, "YOU'RE HAVING A BABY TODAY, YOU ARE 10 CENTIMETERS!" Tom and I were completely shocked. I said "Are you joking, really?" And the frenzy began!

In my mind, I thought, "Ok.....let's do this." I knew at 33 weeks, the baby would be ok, but would have to spend some time in the NICU. I told Tom to call my mom, Renee and Danielle. I knew the word would spread fast. He of course also called his family, who had just arrived in Florida. I am obviously not one who has good timing. My mom was supposed to be in Florida that week, but stayed home because something told her she needed to be here. Talk about intuition! Tom was in a slight panic but felt reassured when the doctor told him we'd be in room 23. He was also calmed when the doctor asked what we were naming our little boy. When we said, "Mason James," the doctor said, "Oh, MJ." For those of you who don't know, Tom was/is a big Michael Jordan (MJ) fan, who was number 23.

They got me to my room and all I cared about was getting an epidural. Although I was experiencing some pain, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. After 3 attempts, my epidural was finally in place and I felt great. The nurses and anesthesiologist couldn't believe how calm and still I was during the epidural. They broke my water about 20 minutes later. By this time, my mom, dad, Michelle and Danielle had arrived. They said a quick hello and then had to make their way to the waiting room. It was time to push. It sounds crazy but I felt as good as do now, sitting here typing this blog. I was also as calm as I am right now. Every few minutes, the doctor would tell me when to push. This went on for about 2 hours. Between pushes, we watched Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Little People, Big World and Jon and Kate Plus 8 on tv. I was even answering Jeopardy questions between pushes. I was making little progress. I think it was because they gave me that shot to relax my uterus. My uterus was not pushing Mason down and out like it should have. Who knows, I am a teacher, not an OB! At about 9pm, they turned my epidural off. They wanted to see if I could push him out while feeling the contractions. Nope! By about 10:20, Dr. Domingo told me we needed to do a c-section. That sounded good to me!

They numbed me from the waist down again and wheeled me down the hall to the operating room. I was able to see everyone in the hall and tell them I was fine. Mom, dad, Michelle, Danielle, Grandma, Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Gary were there. The c-section went fast and at 11:02, Mason was out.

Mason James Miller
4 lbs 17 3/4 inches
Born at 11:02 pm