That is not pee!

I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. A very common thing for me at this point in my pregnancy. Well, when I got there a lot more water than a usual trip to the bathroom came out. I paused, then it occured to me....

Ah, Bob...I think my water broke! (It is 1 :30 am)

Are you sure?

I am pretty sure that this is NOT pee!

Holy crap! Says the not so sober hubbie!

I say we better get organized and head to the hospital now.

Oh Erica, you remember the video we saw in birthing class, people always rush to the hospital and then end up waiting there for hours and hours. They said after your water breaks, you have plenty of time...chill out!

Ok, I will chill out...NOT! My children are coming! So, I went to get dressed and was feeling ok, so decided to slow down a little. Luckily, I had already packed my hospital bag fot this event!

Then, ouch!!! Ok, not cool, contraction, I think!

Bob, we need to go NOW!

A quick splash of water on his face and we were ready to go. We headed toward the car and remembered my mm had borrowed my SUV for the day so all we had for hospital transportation was Bob's Infiniti (small sports car).

Somehow, I plop my contracting body into the bucket seat and off we go.

Seriously, Bob is driving like 50 mph down the freeway.

Um, can you step on the gas a little bit? Oh, he says. I think he was totally zoned out!

Upon arrival at the hospital, Bob dropped me off at the door and wheeled me up to the L and D check in area. They told him to go park the car and return. They would check to see if I actually needed to be admitted. (oh, please!)

Well, did not take much looking...oh yeah, you are admitted! As they said that, the bigger cntractions started to come. Ouch! This really does hurt, what is that breathing stuff I am supposed to do again!

Just as Bob returns, they are getting ready to wheel me to another room where I will go through much of my labor. I remind them many, many times, yes, I do want drugs to ease the pain!!!

After , oh, an hour or so I finally got the relief I was looking for. An epidural! YAHOO! Of course, as he is sticking a needle in my back to EASE the pain, I am having a contraction. Try and sit still. Ok, whatever!

And the soothng began! What a relief!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I only felt pressure, kind of like I had to go to the bathroom. You are progressing, the nurse said, but take some time to sleep now.

SLEEP? Are you serious! She said yes, you will need it later. We debated calling the family, but it was the middle of the night, and we really did not have any news, so decided to just wait a while.

So, I did actually begin to doze off and Bob did the same on a cot next to me. Occasionally, he would go to my bedside and say Did you feel that!?!

Not really....He would say that was a REALLY strong contraction (he loved watching the monitor and reading the printouts). Hmmm. I would say. A little pressure I guess.

So, now, after a little rest and hanging out, the nurse came in and checked me. Oh my! You are going to the delivery room now! So, Bob gives the family a call, it is early, but not horribly early, and simply says "it's time!"

I tell them to wait to come to the hospital as I think it will still be a while. They don't listen and come rushing down!

Once in the delivery room, it did not take long for the babies to arrive! Madison arrived at 8:35am. She was beautiful, perfect, healthy and breathing on her own!!!!!!!! A wonderful 4 lb 3 oz baby girl.

One down, one to go!

15 minutes later, Riley came into the world. He also was perfect, healthy and breathing on his own!!!! A 3 lb 11 oz baby boy!

It was the best day of my life. My husband by my side and my two amazing children welcomed into the world.

Off to the doc!

Going to the doctor was, sadly, the highlight of my week when on bedrest. It gave me the chance to get out in the world, breath fresh air and see how my babies were doing. I did this every week for the 6 1/2 weeks I was on bedrest. The appts went well, I usually had an ultrasound and always had new , good information to go home with...yes, the babies were growing, no I did not need to go to the hospital for bedrest.

Well, by the time I had been on bedrest for 6 1/2 weeks I was huge!!! I always said I wanted to go to my doc appts alone b/c I wanted the freedom of being able to drive, see the world etc. That week I seriously did not think my belly would fit behind the wheel of the car anymore. In addition, sitting up for a long time was getting REALLY uncomfortable! So, my sweet mother said she would drive me. I laid down in the back seat of the car as she drove me to the appt.

I waddled up to the office and went through the appt as usual. I told the doctor I was having a bit of "tightness" so he said he wanted me to go to the hospital to be monitored for contractions. So, back in the car I went...my mom drove me to the hospital where I went to the L and D foor for tests.

They strapped these obnioxious belts around me to monitor the babies heartbeats and my contractions. Then, told me I need to wear them for 2 hours! OMG! (Mind you at this time is was near noon and this pg woman was starving!!! no food they said!)

My sweet mother sat with me and helped me pass the time. The results were in and they were calling my doctor. Next thing I knew, I had the phone in my hand and he wanted to talk to me! Oh geez!

Yes, I was having small contractions. Nothing to get too excited about though. He could admit me to the hospital and give me some drugs to stop them and hope I could make it another week. At that point I would be released and just wait for A and B to come. OR I could go home, stay on strict bedrest and probably be fine. He said "you make the call."

Are you kidding me! I cannot make this decision! Of course I wanted to go home, but I wanted my babies to be fine too! He said the babies would be fine and b/c I was so good about bedrest he would send me home. I had a secret big smile on my face. Ahhhh....

So back home I went. Bob returned from work that evening and was so happy all went well, decided to have a celebratory glass of wine. (God I wished I could have one too!!!) Well, the one glass of wine, turned into two and so on and so on...I think the bottle was recycled before we went to be...he...he. All was fine...until...

Husband of the Year!

While on bedrest, I had to give up doing all the usual household tasks I took care of every day. While on the one hand, would seem like kind of a relief, on the other hand was more stressful! I hated sitting around staring at things I wanted to do...I mean, I actually WANTED to empty the diswasher and do laundry! Strange but true...

Bob swung into action. He would get up in the morning, bring me coffee and then get ready for his day. Before leaving for work, he would check to make sure I had everything I needed. Then, off to work all day long (not an esy task anyway) then back home only to face more work. He would come home, prepare, serve and clean up dinner, do laundry, pick up the house, walk the dog....ok , you get the idea. He just did everything without one complaint and usually a smile on his sweet face! He would talk with me, watch tv shows etc.

I cannot express how much I appreciated all that he did. He always has been my hero, but he proved himself yet again!

Let the Bedrest (and schedule) Begin!

Hmmmm, the thought of laying around all day, reading, watching tv, surfing the net and chatting with visitors sounded ok to me. My belly was big and my energy was getting a bit low. What a way to rest and regroup before the babies came!

HA! That mentality lasted for the weekend and then the reality began to set in...I was stuck, indide my house, inside the walls of my bedroom, all day, every day! EEEK! My doctor said I could get up to pee, make a quick breakfast and a quick lunch, and shower every other day. Staying on the main level of my house was important and lying on my side was ideal. I already missed the fresh air, the freedom and TARGET! I sadly missed going to TARGET!

So, I decided, being the type A person that I am, I needed a routine, I needed a schedule. I also need to remind myself that this was a temporary situation and it was for the health of my children! I needed to keep these babies "cooking" for as long as I possibly could.

Get this. I would get up, (ok I mean wake up, I did not actually get up!) turn on the TV and beg my sweet husband for a cup of DECAF coffee (such a morning pick me up...he...he...) Then I would hang out while he got ready for work and catch up on the latest news.

Once Bob left for work, I would waddle to the kitchen to make some breakfast. My pregnancy craving was eggos...yummy! Then, back to bed to eat on my side. Ellen and The cast of the View would help me make it through the morning. 11:00am mwas one of the worst times of my day. TV was horrible. It is usually when I would email and chat with my friends, especially my good friend Paula who was also on bedrest at the time. We might even get crazy and play online cribbage together! (It was mostly chat and play cards in between! :) )

Noontime meant I could get up again to get some lunch! :) I would waddle back to the kitchen and make myself something and go right back to my bed to eat it while laying on my side. My TV tray pulled up to my bedside was my new best friend. I always made sure to bring some extra yummy treats back with me for mid afternoon munching. Usually a pudding cup, green M and m's and some nuts. (Wierd pregnancy thing, always ate the green M and M's first!)

I often would watch episodes of "A baby story" much of the afternoon. If it was a shower day, I would take a break, hop in the shower, change clothes and go right back to bed. I was not able to stand to dry my hair, so my hair was usually a mess of curls as I could not blow dry my hair straight. Hey, at least it was summer and it felt kinda good to have wet hair.

In the late afternoon, you could find me sneeking to the kitchen for a snack! Hey, good for the babies and good for my brain to see a change of scenery.

My final trip to the kitchen would be to sit at the table with Bob for dinner. He would come home from work , make dinner and get it all on the table. What a sweetie!

As darkness set in, I would be back on my side in bed, dreading the night ahead. Nights were the toughest time for me. I had trouble sleeping, horrible heartburn and general uncomfortableness. If I could not sleep, I would go lie on the couch in the other room as not to disturb my sleeping hubbie.

Bedrest is kind of a mental torment, a sort of game. You are crabby about it, hate the restriction and loss of freedom, but could not be doing it for a better reason. I needed to be strict about it, I needed to endure it, the longer I could, the healthier my babies would be. I just wanted healthy babies, and had to remind myself of that every time I had the urge to get up, sit up etc. My babies were depending on me! I needed to do my best.