Friday morning I began having contractions every 10-15 min. They weren't too painful, but definitely different from the braxton hicks contractions I'd been having. So, I called Rob and asked him to come home, just in case this was the real thing. We timed them for a couple hours, but they didn't get any closer, but they did get a little stronger. I was supposed to go in for an appt. that day to see if I'd dilated enough for induction on Monday, so we decided to head out towards the drs office and hospital, and just see what happens. We stopped at McDonalds cause the kids were hungry and suddenly my contrax were every 7 min or so. I decided to call the dr. and she had me come in to get checked. We found out I was dilated 3cm, but since my contrax weren't really close enough, she said to just go home and either they'll get stronger and closer, or we would induce on Monday. Rob didn't want to leave, because it's a 20-30 min. drive and he was afraid we wouldn't get back in time. So we called his mother to come get the kids, and then we walked and walked and walked some more. When I was sitting and resting in the hospital lobby, my contrax suddenly picked up to every 3-5 min. I called and headed up to L&D.

When I got there, they hooked me up to the monitor and I immediately noticed that Regina's heart rate was really high. The nurse seemed a bit concerned, but she said it might come down in a little while. Well, it didn't. It stayed very high, and she wasn't moving at all. They kept moving me in different positions to see if we could change it, and the poked and pushed my belly, and for a few min. it might go to a more normal level, but mostly, her heart was just pumping way to fast. When my dr. arrived, she broke my water to get things moving faster, and we saw that she had passed meconium. I started to feel panicked, and I thankfully had brought a little cross with me, so I clutched it and began to pray. The contrax started getting really painful, so I got an epidural and tried to relax. About an hour or so after the epidural was in, my dr came in and said that she was going to have to give me a c-section. She said that I was only dilated to 4cm. and that she was worried that Regina might not be able to handle a long labor. I was terrified, but I wanted whatever was best for baby. So, they started prepping. They hoped that she would be ok once she was out--that maybe it was just the distress of labor causing the problem with her heart. They brought me to the OR, and got started with the c-section. It was the worst thing ever. I felt no pain, but when she was born, I didn't even realize it, because she didn't cry, and they didn't show her to me or anything. Rob left to go see her, and they finished stitching me up. It wasn't until 2 hours after she was born that I was able to go look at her, but I couldn't hold her, because she was in an oxygen tent and had wires all over her. She is so beautiful. She looks just like Sarah, but with lots of dark hair. She's my first baby to have any hair. They were getting her ready to go the a children's hospital in Boston and we prayed that it would be a very short stay.

Rob and I went back to my room to try to rest, but it was impossible to sleep. The next morning around 5am, they called and said that because her blood count was really low and her blood pressure was low, they were going to give her a blood transfusion. I immediately woke up Rob to tell him, then called his parents so they could pray. They called a little later and said that she was doing better, and her blood count was normal, and her blood pressure was normal as well. They'd only given her a partial transfusion, because they didn't know how her heart would handle it. Thankfully that's all she needed. They also told us that her heart and liver were to large.

At this point, and even now, they have no idea what is causing any of this. The breathing problem is most likely from her breathing in the meconium while in the womb, but that doesn't account for the heart/liver being enlarged, or the blood problems. They've done a million tests, but everything comes back negative. Her heart and liver are large, but they are functioning normally. Her heart is a little fast, and sometimes it gets a bit low when she's sleeping, but it doesn't seem to be causing her any problems.

Saturday, I asked my dr if I could be transfered to the hospital that ajoined the Children's hospital where Regina was. She called, and was told they had no empty beds, but to call again during the night to see. So, I prayed. Sunday morning, the nurse came in and said that a bed had opened up if I still wanted to go. So we signed papers to be discharged and I took an ambulance to Boston. Rob was going to go home and pack himself a few things and meet me there. As an aside, I do not recommend EVER taking an ambulance ride to Boston 2 days after having a c-section. I thought I was going to die. Those are the worst roads ever.

So, Sunday afternoon we go to the hospital, I ate lunch, pumped some milk, then went to see Regina. I was finally able to hold her and it was wonderful. She was hooked up to so many machines and had so many tubes running out of her, it was a little scary, but it was great to finally have her in my arms. The next day we called to check on her, and they said they would be taking her off the ventilator that evening, and possibly taking out the feeding tube in her stomach as well. So, we went over to see her, and she looked so great without all the extra tubes. She was doing much better and I held her for a while.

Yesterday was my last day there. I was glad to be going home, but sad that I had to leave Regina there. I felt like I was abandoning her. They said that she was doing really well, and basically, they want her to finish her round of antibiotics before they send her home. They said there is a good possibility that they'll send her to a more local hospital tomorrow to finish out her stay in the NICU. They are probably going to remove the IV in her head either tonight or tomorrow, and today they are giving her her first feeding from a bottle. Unfortunately, they ran out of my breast milk, and I'm pretty sure we won't be able to drive down today to bring more, but a few days of formula won't hurt anything. The kids were able to see her for the first time yesterday, and they just adore her. The twins keep talking about how cute she is, and how much they love her. I think dd was a little freaked out by the iv in her head, and all the wires and machines in the NICU, but I'm sure once she's home, and not so fragile looking, she'll be more comfortable around her.

I'm doing ok. It's been a horrible few days, but things are looking better. In a way, I suppose this was a sort of blessing in disguise, as I've been able to get a lot of rest and time to recover before I have to care for Regina. C-sections are awful things. I'm hoping that by the time she's home, I'm feeling a bit better, and hopefully not popping pain pills quite as much. Rob has been my rock through all of this. Emotionally I'm a mess, and I honestly don't think I'd have been able to manage any of this if he hadn't been there. He's been taking great care of me, even getting up in the night to help me pump milk.

And that's about it. I'll keep everyone updated as I know more, and of course I'll let everyone know when she's finally home.

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