The Craziest Time of My Life - the start of our NICU journey

So one of my motivations for starting a blog was the NICU. I wanted to blog about the NICU, because it doesn’t seem like there is a whole lot out there about being in there. I honestly really didn’t even think about a NICU or what having a premature baby meant. I did know a friend who had twins that were in the NICU for a while, but I just never really processed what it was like. An old coworker recently just had her baby at 28 wks and it is bringing up memories. Not bad just all the thoughts, confusion, and stress.

I’m going to start off with the beginning and how it all happened. I will be blogging about our stay later. It feels like I have a crazy story which is how all NICU mommas feel! We all have our own special, unique stories.

Tuesday night I wasn’t feeling the best, and I just thought maybe I was feeling Brooklynn’s head down and that was why I felt uncomfortable. Our god daughter was born Tuesday morning, and we went to visit her in the hospital. I remember telling her mom how I felt uncomfortable but it must just be the baby turning around. At an appointment about 2 wks before the Dr said she hadn’t turned and gone head down. I even said I don’t think I can handle this feeling the rest of pregnancy! We left and I was just feeling uncomfortable and crampy. I wasn’t sure why but I just assumed I was tired because we had just got done moving into a new place the week before, and I was staying busy trying to get everything in order. That night I could not get comfortable!! I was cramping some, but I just thought I was having Braxton Hicks contractions. I felt like I tried everything to get comfortable, but I finally fell asleep around 12 and woke up around 3 feeling contractions. I called the Dr and she said I probably wasn’t in labor, because I had fallen asleep. Well it didn’t feel right to just let it go, and I was more persistent that something didn’t feel right so she said go ahead and go in.

The whole ride into town (we live 30ish minutes out of town) I kept doubting myself wanting to go back because it felt like this would all just stop - I couldn’t possibly be in labor! I would have a contraction but then it would go away and I would feel fine. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if they were contractions because I was able to handle them and I just assumed labor was absolutely horrible and it would hurt much more than what I was feeling!

When we got to the hospital, we waited for probably about an hour before being seen? I’m not sure if it was that long or not, but when the Dr checked me I was 4 cm dilated. Immediately they rushed me into a room and a whirlwind of things happened. I was trying to stay calm, because I honestly thought they could stop my labor and I’d probably just be on bed rest. I really hadn’t processed that I could possibly be having my baby that early. They got me hooked up to magnesium to help relax my muscles and hopefully space out the contractions more. That was awful. I instantly felt super hot, uncomfortable, and nauseous. They didn’t say anything until my husband asked, “are we having the baby today?” They said yes, and I broke down. I really didn’t think that was going to happen, but they told me the longer I kept her in the better so I knew I HAD to stay calm and relax. They had given me a steroid shot in that whirlwind of things happening to help her lungs develop quicker to give her a better chance. The Drs assumed I was going to have her quickly, because within an hour of being there I went from 4cm to 6cm. Once things kicked in though I think it helped my body relax and my contractions weren’t as strong. I was so blessed by this, because around 11am they decided I would probably be able to make it to Denver in a helicopter since I had dilated only to 7cm. In the middle of all of this there was a snow storm so they sent down an ambulance from Denver to get Brooklynn assuming she was going to be born there in Cheyenne. The storm cleared up enough for me to be able to go in a helicopter though which was such a blessing. I was able to wait until Thursday morning to have her plus have another round of the steroid shots which I think helped her a ton. That truly felt like a miracle, because the Drs thought for sure that I was having her Tuesday morning. It was scary flying in the helicopter because they said if I started to give birth that they would land the helicopter somewhere which was very nerve wracking!! Maybe someday I can have a fun helicopter ride! Thursday morning, I got the second round of steroid shot for her lungs then 2 hours later she was born at 7:04am. When she was born, she came out crying which was a huge relief! I knew she was going to be okay. Then the NICU team took her away and got her hooked up to everything she needed. That was the start of our NICU journey and little did we know what a crazy journey it would be.

God was with me through all of it. I think what helped me the most though was knowing that God was taking care of me and the baby. I also had amazing support from my husband, family, and nurses.

The picture is of our sweet baby girl the day she was born. This is one of my favorites. We honestly at that point hadn’t fully decided on a name. Funny thing was is I really questioned Nick on what we should name her the night before I realized I was in labor so we had almost decided!

Hope you all have a great day! Thanks for reading!

🤍 Donika