No days are safe...

**This took place back in 2012. This is our story about getting pregnant with our Olivia...

Slowly but surely we were making it through each day. Dr. Alex gave me weekly milestones to work toward. She would tell me we would have to make it to the following week so the babies lungs were developed, or eyes were developed. It was always week to week goals which helped me focus on remaining calm and helped me get to the next week. It was also a reminder not to push myself. She still had me on full bed rest, but would occasionally allow me to go to someone's house if I promised to stay on the couch, or go to a restaurant if I promised that Don would drop me off and pick me up at the door.

Leaving the house for short periods of time helped my sanity. I found myself getting jealous when I would be laying in bed while hearing kids play outside. Don once asked me what I looked forward to most when the day came that I would no longer be on bed rest- without skipping a beat I said, a walk. I couldn't wait to go take a walk. You take for granted the "little" every day things like taking a walk or going up and down stairs, but the day you're restricted from doing those things is when you fully understand the importance and privilege of every day physical freedom. I missed it all.

Bed rest was strict. Doctors always made it a point to remind me that my pregnancy was high risk. I never challenged their instruction/orders. I always did as I was told. Bed or couch, stairs once a day.

Even after following directions, I still wasn't in the clear. There were countless times where I would be laying in bed and full blown contractions would hit me like a ton of bricks. I would keep track on a piece of paper of how many I had within in the hour. I would hit anywhere between 10-20 contractions and would have to call the doctor. Most times I would be able to control the contractions by laying on my side or downing glasses of water. Not all times was I so lucky...

Dr. Alex told me I could go to dinner for my birthday.

"Dinner and that is it!!"

My family and friends were driving out to my favorite restaurant to meet me for my "big night out". I was excited to put maternity clothes on rather than my husbands t-shirts that I wore to lay in bed. While in the shower I started feeling contractions come on. I hurried back to bed to see if I could get it under control, while watching the clock get closer and closer to dinner time.

As silly as it sounds, I really wanted to go to dinner. I wanted to see my family, I wanted to leave the house and I wanted to celebrate my favorite day of the year, my birthday!

Unfortunately Baby C had other plans. Keep in mind it was March 10 (day before my birthday). My due date was in July. I counted something along lines of 22 contractions within one hour. Each contraction getting a little stronger. Dr. Alex told me it was time to head to the hospital, instead of her office I was to go straight to Labor & Delivery. This surprised me. She usually would always send me to either her office or the Radiologist for an ultrasound.

Dinner was off and I headed into the hospital. I was nervous as hell and made my brother to spread the news that I didn't want any visits or calls. I couldn't work myself up and I was in no mood to tell person after person the play-by-play.

When the nurse walked into our room she asked if I knew the difference between braxton hicks and labor contractions. She also asked me at least 10 times how many I experienced in an hour. I felt like she doubted my intelligence and thought I was being dramatic. After her interrogation she hooked me up to a monitor and left the room. Not even 20 minutes later she would return to tell me that I was having full blown contractions. Yeah, thanks Einstein.

Dr. Alex ordered a medication with hope that it would stop the contractions. They admitted me into a room and told me they would be monitoring me overnight. This upset me. Why was my pregnancy so out of control? Why couldn't my pregnancy be "normal"?

Don went to grab us some dinner and I sat in the room wondering if I would be going into labor that night. There was an empty baby bed that sat dead center from my bed. If I went into labor, what were the chances that a sleepy baby would lay in that bed?

A nurse assigned to my room came in to give my medicine. She told me she talked to Dr. Alex and that she was instructed to give her an update every hour. I knew the situation was serious.

The nurse told me to keep my nerves calm so they didn't bring on anymore contractions. Before leaving the room she said, "Get some rest, Courtney. You can't have this baby tonight!"

I didn't sleep a wink that night. I kept having nightmares that I went into emergency surgery for a c-section and that the outcome wasn't in my favor. They came in every hour to check my vitals and I was hooked up to machines from head to toe.

Once morning came Dr. Alex stopped by for a chat. She told me that the contractions subsided and I would be released to go home. If the situation repeated itself, I would have to come back. She told me our goal was 32 weeks. I sat there and cried. I was emotionally exhausted. She smiled, patted me on the back and said, "we've got this. Keep going."

Later that night my sisters and niece came over. It was my birthday and they made sure to make it special. They ordered my favorite dish from the restaurant we were suppose to go to the night before. Don bought an ice cream cake from my favorite place. The five of us ate pasta and ice cream cake in my bed. It turned out to be a good day. Thank God for family.

A few weeks later Don left town for a family obligation. This was the first time he left my side for a period of time and it was only for three days. It was good for him to get out of the house. I was happy that he was getting away. He deserved a little breather.

I had a doctor appointment. The baby had been quiet which meant she didn't have hiccups in quite some time. The only time I ever knew she was in there was when she had hiccups. She never moved and never kicked, but she always had hiccups.

Dr. Alex hooked me up to an NST to monitor the heartbeat and movement. I was suppose to hit a button every time the baby moved. I wasn't able to hit in once. There was no movement. The nurse walked in and handed me some juice. Still nothing. She walked in and handy me some candy. Nothing. Pop. Nothing. The final attempt was to "zap" the baby. They put a paddle on my belly where it shot out an intense vibration (nothing to hurt the baby). The baby's whole body jumped and her heartbeat picked up quite a bit...but no movement on her own. From there they rushed me into ultrasound.

They monitored the baby for a good half hour. Shaking my belly, putting pressure in areas....nothing. A half hour into it I could tell the tech was getting nervous. Just then a hand raised as if the baby was saying, "Do you mind!? I'm sleeping!"

The tech hurried and snapped a shot. We both looked at one another with our jaws dropped. Jesus...talk about relief.

Baby was good to go and I was released to go home. Not without a few words though. As I was leaving the office the crazy in me started shouting out loud to my belly.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again! Ever!"

I seriously had had it. Every appointment was a new surprise. Every week was a struggle. There were days I would sit and watch each minute pass. No days were safe. We just never knew when we would be hit with another bump in the road. How I or my husband didn't have a heart attack is really beyond me.

I remember sitting in my therapists office once. She said, "You became a mother, the moment you got pregnant."

It's so true. I started losing sleep, the moment I got pregnant.