We continued going to our appointments and the dilation in his heart continued the same; however at this point we’d be reminded to not fixate on measurements. The reason being the further along we were, the less accurate they were.

We finally made it to December and I was running towards the bathroom at least 5-6 times a night and sleeping was impossible. So far I had a headache and migraine-free pregnancy, which I was more than thankful for. I had suffered from chronic migraines for a few years now and all of a sudden, I started to  have episodes of extremely bad headaches. I pinned it down on lack of sleep, migraines and the pregnancy, so I just sat in our bedroom in the dark trying to fight off the headaches with Tylenol.

During my appointment on December 4th, the doctor noticed my blood pressure was very high and I told him about the headaches— he said that he would admit me had I had a headache during my visit. High blood pressure during pregnancy could pose a very dangerous situation for George and myself because it could indicate preeclampsia. This was also the visit where he said that George’s head was too large and after the pelvic exam, there was no chance he would be delivered naturally. So my C-section was set for December 20th. I sat there thinking December 20th??? I’m about to pop now!! I quickly asked if we had to wait that long. He explained that we had to play it safe to ensure his lungs were mature enough and he felt that 37.5 weeks was the right amount of time.  He instructed me to monitor my blood pressure at home and thankfully my mom has a blood pressure cuff, so I did. Waking up with a headache wasn’t entirely uncommon for me, but the next morning I did as the doctor told me and my blood pressure was through the roof. Rich stayed with me in the morning because he knew I wasn’t well, so he suggested I called the doctor. At 7:30AM, I called in and they told me to continue monitoring and if it persisted to just go in to the Emergency room. I ensured Rich I’d try to sleep it off and that I’d be okay while he was at work. At 2PM, my blood pressure was getting higher and higher and Rich had only been in the office for an hour before he raced home. By 3PM, we were already being admitted and they hooked me up to monitor my blood pressure, as well as George’s heart rate. At 7PM, a nurse came in and said they found some protein in my urine and the high blood pressure along with the headaches concerned them. At this point, I was asking if I could eat because I was starving and craving Taco Bell, so of course, I asked if I was ready to go home. The nurse chuckled and said, “Instead of going home, we’re going to have a baby tonight!!” Rich and I looked at each other and next thing you know, I was signing all the consent forms for surgery. They put me on magnesium sulfate for the preeclampsia and administered a steroid to assist with George’s lung development.

I was rolled into the OR at midnight and I became so overwhelmed with the amount of people in the room. I felt so unprepared for what was to come because we didn’t know what to expect. This was the moment we were so anxious for and I just prayed I would hear him cry. I couldn’t wait to meet him and finally hold him. We heard him cry on December 7th at 12:53AM and I cried with joy. I hoped to feel him in my arms, but they quickly showed him to us and took him away. It’s all a daze as I heard the doctors talk about vacationing in Patagonia, I knew something wasn’t right. I kept asking Rich what was going on and he just held my hand while telling me everything was okay. I heard a metal tool fall on the ground and someone say, “WHOOPS!” I was losing blood and my uterus wasn’t contracting. They gave me a medication to assist with this. I started to get nauseous and Rich held a bucket in case I was sick. The anesthesiologist administered not one, two, but three different medications to help relieve the nausea. I started to feel overwhelmed and couldn’t contain myself. The anesthesiologist asked if I liked music and I couldn’t even bring myself to get a word out. Rich quickly said, “Yes! She does. She likes Adele!” We listened through around 5 Adele songs (If i remember correctly) before we were finally done. I was taken to the recovery section which I can’t remember much of due to all the medications. I briefly remember finally meeting George as they rolled him past me towards the NICU. This was the beginning of a journey with our little George in the NICU.