The day Maelee was born- September 3rd, 2011

At 9:35 am my water broke; not just a trickle but something like you see in the movies!! I stood in the bathroom for a minute and then yelled for Lee and explained to him my water broke....he appeared in the door way with a red hand towel (like that would be big enough to clean up the mess!).  I took a deep breath and realized that today our daughter would be born early, 7 weeks early!!
I began to get a little stressed not realizing exactly what that meant in that moment. I gathered a few things to bring to the hospital- we had not found time to pack our bags yet figuring we had at least 5 more weeks.
Trying to stay calm we called the doctor to let them know we were on our way, packed a few things, and made sure the animals were taken care of.
Pulling out of the driveway was very emotional, I couldn't believe that today we would become parents. And then I realized we forgot my jug of urine; there is no way that 24 hours of collecting would go to waste! We pulled back into the house and Lee grabbed the jug- back on the road again.
When we arrived at the hospital we pulled into where we were taught in birthing class and this wonderful man at the reception desk pushed my wheelchair to OB triage while Lee parked the car.
I was so thankful I had pre-registered the week before and didn't have to answer a million questions. Once they heard I was only 33 weeks and my water was broken, I was hooked up to a monitor within minutes.
Lee arrived upstairs and handed over the jug.....at last it was out of our possession. :)
Once we were in the triage room and situated Lee began to make phone calls. He called his sister and left a voicemail and his mother. My parents were called later when we knew exactly what the plan was.

By 10:30 am the doctor had been in the room and declared we would be having a baby today....well duh! My blood pressure was now 155/100 and they finally realized that I had pre-eclampsia. Thankful to have an answer just wished it didn't have to end like this so soon. After a quick ultrasound she determined Maelee was still breech (with my uterus shape she had always been breech and had no way to turn) and we would be having a c-section. Since this was part of my birth plan from the beginning of pregnancy the surgery did not worry me. I watched one in nursing school so I knew what to expect. We were scheduled for a 1:30 surgery.....now the nerves were setting in.

My sister in law arrived at the hospital around 11:30 or so and relieved Lee so he could make some more phone calls and run home to pack a few more things. Around noon we were moved to our room and Lee returned around 12:30 pm.
I had kept my feelings to myself this day. I knew that having a baby at 33 weeks was not ideal and that we would probably have a few unexpected issues. I felt in my heart that our baby would not be returning to my room with me. But talking about this would not change the situation so in return I kept quiet and just tried to relax.
Once Lee returned to the room with all our things and the babies things. My emotions started to run wild but I kept as calm as can be. I knew that letting him in on what may happen would only stress him out and I just couldn't handle that. He and his sister began to unpack the baby things we had packed ( the only bag that was packed was the diaper bag), they were so excited to get it all ready for me and I was grateful just very worried that my fears would come true; that I would return to this room with no baby and all the baby things out and ready.
Once 1:30 pm passed and no c-section yet I was starting to get annoyed....my contractions had started and were not too comfortable. This was not part of my birth plan, I had planned to have a c-section no contractions....but of course this couldn't work out for me either.
They started antibiotics on my around 2 pm and we were on the schedule for 4 pm.......It seemed like forever until they came to get me. I was now feeling more worried and stressed; I wanted to keep her inside me. I knew she would be safe as long as she didn't have to come out so early, just a few more weeks and they could have her.

I got my spinal anesthesia and Lee came into the delivery room.  Maelee was born at 4:34 pm! She weighed 5 lbs 1 ounce and 18 3/4 inches long. When they delivered her it took forever for her to cry and I will never forget when they brought her over to me. She was all wrapped up and had bubbles coming out of her mouth. She was beautiful but I knew in my heart something was wrong. The NICU staff took her away and I sent Lee with her.
I laid in that operating room and all I can remember is crying uncontrollably...the next few hours were a blur and thankfully so. Lee brought me pictures....pictures I cherish and love but pictures you never want to see after the birth of your child. So many tubes and wires on her little tiny body.
Our lives had changed in a blink of an eye and now she was fighting for her life. The next time I would see Maelee was at 3 am on September 4th. Almost 12 hours later........