The Day it got real out in these Streets

September 9, 2013 at 5:36 pm, this tiny 1 pound human being forced her way into the world. Apparently she had some things to do and couldn't wait any longer. I guess she got her impatience from her mother.

I don't think I've ever told Dallas' birth story to the masses. It was a scary and almost ER or Grey's Anatomy like experience. I was 24 weeks pregnant, had no complications or concerns throughout my pregnancy. Saturday, September 7th I went out with some of my Zeta faves for some Mexican. Ended up not eating anything because the service was horrendous that night. Made it home around 11ish and turned in for the night or so I thought. Around 3 am I woke up with these crazy pains in my stomach. I didn't think much of it at first then my years of watching medical shows came in handy. I noticed the pains were coming every few minutes so I knew something was wrong. I called my mom and told her what was happening and she said lets get to the hospital. Well, we made it to good old Rowan Regional Medical Center and once we told them what was going on they took me right up. Thankfully they don't play around with pregnant women and people have chest pains. Got upstairs and my OBGYN came in and asked " why didn't you call the office first?" Why? So I could get a message telling me to call somebody else? Anyway, she did her OBGYN thing and checked me out. I wasn't prepared to hear her say "you're dialated 2 centimeters." Immediately I began to panic. It was way too early for this to be happening.

Once that was discovered, they immediately called a Critical Transport team from Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte to have me taken there. Why? "Because we don't handle premature babies"the nurse. In my head I said "but, this is a hospital. shouldn't you be able to handle everything?" Apparently not. But, I was all for sending me somewhere that could take care of me and the little one. About 7am the transport team arrived and we hit the road to Charlotte. As afraid as I was, my mother was right there with me and the paramedics kept me laughing and in good spirits the entire time. That would change once we made it to the hospital.

At this point I was 24 weeks and 6 days. Without sugarcoating in the doctor told me if I had the baby today her chance of survival was low. That's nothing a first time mother or any mother wants to hear. They decided to give me medication to stop the labor and told me to get comfortable because I was going to have to stay in the hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy. Ain't nobody have time for that! Especially not Dallas. Things went well the rest of the day. Although every couple of hours my nurse came in harassing me to make sure I was ok. Monday rolled around and things got a little interesting.

Now this may be a little too much info for some but just cover your ears if you don't want to hear it LOL. All the poking and prodding was starting to annoy me. If you've never had a catheter put in, be thankful. It was one of the most uncomfortable things ever. I suffered through it all day. That afternoon the medication failed. I started having contractions again. I have a high threshold for pain but that was something rough. Even though I was in pain i was still coherent enough to make sure  I didn't cuss in front of my momma. I held on to the bed rails and suffered through it. I was exactly 25 weeks so babies chance of survival had gone up. It still wasn't the ideal situation.

I told the nurse that I had to go to the bathroom. Her response, are you sure?" Ma'am, I'm 29 years old I'm pretty sure I know when I have to go. She finally said "ok but let me check you out first." Apparently she knew something I didn't know.  As quickly and she put her hand where it was going she said"uh oh, we're about to have a baby!" Commence the tv medical drama moment. The nurse told my mom to run out in the hallway and yell that she needed help. Debo opened the door and I heard her yell out "We need help in here." I was a little under the influence of some good pain meds so I was just chilling. Next thing I know. about 5 or 6 other people including the doctor rushed in.

The entire thing lasted about 2 minutes if that. I couldn't feel anything but the moment I realized what had just happened was when the nurse put Dallas' foot in my hand for a microsecond. It became real,she was real, I felt her. I was afraid because I didn't hear her crying. I looked over and saw them working on her, getting her onto a ventilator and fear took over. Before the first tear fell, I heard a faint little cry.

They whisked her away to take her to the NICU. I was a whole emotional roller coaster at that moment. They came in and told me she weighed a whopping 1 pound and 3 ounces. More fear sat it because in my head that was the smallest thing ever. I had so many questions, comments and concerns but, all I wanted to do was go see my daughter. I was a brand new parent, with no clue what to do but whatever it was, I wanted and needed to be doing it. It was at that moment I realized I had to get my Sugar Honey Iced Tea together because it was about to get real out in these streets. I was somebodies momma now!