Saturday to Sunday

Early Saturday morning I woke up around 3:00 am feeling kind of yucky. The awesome nurses here helped me try a few things to feel better so I could get back to sleep, and after eating some graham crackers and resting I was able to fall back asleep after an hour or so.
I woke up for good when they checked my vitals at 9:00am and I felt good. Around 11:00 am S finally felt comfortable about going home for a bit. Its about a 30 minute drive and he needed to get some clean clothes, shower, and take care of a few little errands.

About 11:15 am I had a contraction, but it got better when I stood up so I decided not to worry about it. I ate some food and got on Facebook.

Then my good friend Janis came to visit me, with a bucket full of fun things to help me pass the time while I was bored. It was so nice to be able to talk to her!! We chatted for a while then she decided to go. Unfortunately, she missed Solomon by about 3 minutes! So as you can see it was a very uneventful day as far as bb went. No need for fetal heartbeats nor monitors of any kind. They just checked my vital signs through the day and that was about it.

A bit later there was a few random contractions, so they decided to hook me up to those two monitors. I was using them when my family came so they got to see his heartbeat on the monitors. My family was here for a long time and the random contractions continued but they were not consistent in intensity nor time. After my family left I ate dinner and S and I talked quietly while I tried to be extra calm and relaxed. Some time later I got a strong contraction in my back. At that point I quit eating and things started happening quickly. My awesome Perinatologist was called and they decided to move me back to Labor and Delivery this was about 9:00 pm and everyone started guessing he would be here before midnight. I told S that if we could make it past midnight I would 'technically' be 27 weeks even though he was measuring a little smaller than that. When they checked me I was a 4 and station '0' and things continued to move quickly and I started to wonder if we would make it to 11:00pm, let alone midnight. The contractions had moved almost completely to my lower back and felt more like I imagined that they would. Once I was settled into L&D everything slowed down and S and I actually decided to try and sleep and rest. I lay quietly listening to his heartbeat and saying prayers of gratitude that it was staying steady and not dropping with any contractions. I even was able to fall asleep for a few minutes at a time but tried to listen constantly to his heartbeat. I had the greatest nursing staff that was a perfect match for me, They explained everything that was happening and didn't hesitate to be completely honest and calm, but stuck to business without sugar coating anything. They decided to do a check just in case and I should have looked at the clock, but I didn't...sorry. He was coming, and NOW! So they rushed me into an operating room just in case they needed to do a C-section and in case he needed resuscitation. The NICU team was notified as was my Doctor and everyone met us in there. S put his fun little outfit on and then it was time. At first they didn't want me to push because he is super super tiny, but then he got a bit stuck since I was only dilated to a 6. I struggled to get the pushing right at first because how they wanted me to do it just wasn't working for me! Everyone was so positive and encouraging and no matter what was happening I could hear the reassurance from S. I vaguely recall them asking S if he could see his head and knowing that he was right there along with S squeezing my hand was just the right combination.  Next thing I know everyone started yelling for me to quit pushing! He was out! The nurse yelled out '58' and I had to think about what time she meant (1:58 am) I honestly didn't expect him to look the way he did. I almost didn't want them to show me because I assumed he was going to be blue and limp. In reality he actually started making some 'cries' they sounded more like 'meows' but it was the best sound ever! He was also quite pink and he has LONG legs. Prayers of gratitude were sent again because he was a lot bigger than I anticipated. S was allowed to follow the NICU team to the other room and after all was said and done with me they wheeled my bed by so I could peek again. The expression on S face was nothing I had ever seen before and I didn't know how to read it. There was a huge crowd around our little guy but it seemed synchronized and no one was acting like there was anything too wrong. I lay in recovery and repeated the "Serenity Prayer" like S and I had done earlier in the day while I waited for news. When Susan told me he was 2 pounds 1oz it was like a wall of relief, HE BROKE THE 2 POUND POINT!! I had to ask her to repeat his length because I had gotten focused on his weight. Who knew 14.25 inches could be SO big and SO tiny at the same time.
After a million years went by Susan informed me that because bb was doing so well they hadn't taken him back to NICU yet and asked if I thought I could get in a wheelchair to see him. ARE YOU KIDDING? Of course I could do that you crazy lady! So we did! This time I saw expressions that were familiar to me on S face, I KNEW instantly that things were better than our expectations. I tried to split my few moments between listening to the NICU doctor and NNP while I stared at my sweet little man and tried to memorize all of his details. The things that stuck out to me was how much hair he had, sure it is whitish-blonde but it was certainly there. His long legs seem to match his giant hands (yes...I said giant to describe a 2 pound preemie but his hands compared to the rest of his body is shocking) I was even able to hold his tiny hand with my finger to keep him from pushing the ventilator out of his mouth. Our bb facial expressions were amazing as he certainly showed us he was very unhappy with all that was going on, and one of the NICU nurses showed me we could see his little tongue from the right side. Maybe he will be the kind of kid who sticks his tongue out when he is concentrating on something.  A few minutes later they had him prepared to move and S and I were told it was time to leave. We were taken back to the regular room and a blur of blood pressures and vital checks happened while S notified only a few people our bb had arrived (since it was almost 4:00 am at this point) I was finally able to stop shaking and things calmed to the point we were able to make the final decision about his name. We had 2 names but decided to wait until he was born to choose.
Maximus is a BIG name but he will grow right into it :)