The Week Before

I will start at the very beginning...

I went to work on July 17th (2014) feeling as normal as a "woah pregnant" woman can feel but as my morning went on I started feeling pain in my lower back and abdomen (it was like an inter tube of pain). I tried to ignore it and after coming back from lunch the pain was so distracting I didn't think I could finish out my workday. I did some googling because I thought I was experiencing back labor but I was perplexed because the pain was constant and unlike what I knew contractions were supposed to be like. I ended up going home to rest and was able to sleep for a little bit. Nic and I were supposed to go to a water birth class that night and I was still very determined to go. I got my things together and even grabbed my hospital bag "just in case". I met Nic for dinner but was in so much pain and discomfort that I could not eat and the thought of sitting in a hard chair for a 2 hour class was making me really nervous. We decided to go home instead (I was super bummed) and after laying down for a few minutes it was very apparent that I was running a fever. Nic got on the phone with the midwife on call (Vickie) and she agreed that my description sounded like back labor but things were not adding up since the pain was constant and I had a fever. She asked me if my kidneys were hurting and immediately I felt like my right kidney was on fire. I was unable to localize the pain on my own but thankfully Vickie knew what was going on! We headed to the maternity antenatal unit at Women's hospital around 9 pm and I was kept on a stretcher (umm WHY do they make someone with kidney pain lay on their back for hours?!) until being admitted with pyelonephritis (pregnant women are more susceptible to kidney infections and it is harder for them to fight since their immune system is compromised to care for baby) at midnight. They tried to start an IV but were unsuccessful (dehydration) until the millionth third attempt in the crook of my right arm. As soon as I was admitted they started pumping me with fluids (as soon as one bag emptied another went on) and monitoring baby girl. They had cuffs around my legs to prevent clots so it was an ordeal every time I needed to go to the bathroom....and I had to go a lot. I was 37 weeks pregnant and being pumped full of fluid! ha! Nic was so amazing and helped me deal with all of the contraptions every time I had to get up and down. I forced myself to eat a granola bar because I had not eaten since lunch but I did not keep it down (thanks for running to me with the trash can, Nic). The first night was painful and sleepless and I continued to run a high fever. I had never been in so much pain in my life. Poor Nic 'slept' on the couch in my 55 degree ice box and helped me as best he could. There were people in and out of the room all night- taking blood for testing (so many needles!), monitoring, administering meds, etc. The next day was about the same. I tried to rest but it was so hard! I had several visitors but I was not much fun to hang out with (sorry, y'all!). My fever continued to spike so they determined that I needed to stay another night. My blood pressure was high (naturally) so they tested for preeclampsia. Thankfully, the results were negative but they continued monitoring in case it changed. I tried to eat but couldn't and sleep was hard to come by as well. I stayed one more night and was finally released on the 20th. By the time we left the hospital I was exhausted and by the time we got home I felt like a blimp. I retained a LOT of the fluid that I had been given and found it painful to sit, stand, and lay because of it. I did not sleep well that night and the next night I started having what I thought to be gas cramps (side effects from all of the meds I was on?). Monday came and I texted into work saying that I would try to come in at lunch but I was going to try to get some more rest. I ended up not going at all because the weird "gas" pains were making me so uncomfortable and I was just so tired. I had my mom bring me some gas-x on her way home from work and funny, it didn't seem to help. I told Nic when he got home and he pointed out that I had been experiencing contractions and was in labor. I think I was a little delirious or in denial? who knows! He started timing my contractions Monday evening a full day after they began...