Well, I think I am finally ready to give you all the details of the past 4 months of my life. They have been something out of a story book, unbelievable for sure.

Let’s start at the beginning. November 15th was my last day with volleyball. We had a meeting, turned in gear, and I went on my way, back to the life of mom, General Manager for Prep2Prep, wrestling wife and pregnant woman. 2 days later I started having contractions that just wouldn’t quit, so we made our first of many (Little did I know) trips to Labor and Delivery here at HaysMed. They checked me for awhile, baby was fine, so I was put on bed rest for the weekend.

2 weeks later, I woke up in excruciating pain on my left side. I have a cyst on my ovary on that side and thought it might be the cause of the problems. I left Chas and Cub to sleep and went to the ER, where they again sent me to Labor and Delivery. I stayed for a few hours, was given pain meds and told that it was round ligament pain. What a wimp I was!! I was so mad at myself, but trust me, the pain was furious.

My mom came in for the weekend and Monday night we went to look at Christmas lights. Cub had a great time, but when we got home, I was having severe contractions, and decided to head to bed in hopes they would calm down.

I woke up early the next day, feeling back to normal and excited for my 30 week ultrasound that morning. Chas, Cub and I loaded up for the hospital. The appointment seemed normal enough, but right at the end, the technician said that she couldn’t get a good measurement of my cervix and needed to try something different. Once she finally got the measurement she told us to go ahead and go upstairs to the doctor’s office because she was a little concerned that I had a short cervix.

After that is sort of a blur. I was told to go to Labor and Delivery again. They determined I was in pre-term labor and decided to give me magnesium to try to stop it. Within a few hours, I was told I was being sent to Wichita, because if the baby was born, HaysMed’s NICU couldn’t handle him that small… little did I know I wasn’t driving to Wichita. I was being taken by helicopter.

The flight lasted 51 minutes, of which I remember very little. I was very uncomfortable and having contractions. Once I got to Wesley, I went through the entire admissions process again, and for the next 6 days, I was stuck. Worst of all, I was told I wasn’t leaving Wichita until we hit 34 weeks, about a month away.

I stayed with my brother and his wife, who coincidentally had just moved to Wichita in September. It was the longest month ever, without my husband and Cub, but I made it somehow. I was given the all clear to head home 1 day early on December 31st to spend New Years Eve with my family.

The morning of the 31st I loaded up the car and off I went, stopping at Starbucks for a breakfast sandwich and a bottle of water. In the drive thru is where I had my first contraction that day. I was having well over 70 a day most days, so I wasn’t concerned but started timing them as I always did. I got about 30 mins down the road, and realized that my contractions were consistently 2:10 apart, and I knew I was in trouble.

After a LONG drive back to Hays, I attempted to get calmed down, but the contractions just kept coming. We went to the hospital at 6:15 that evening, and Oz Henley Thompson was born at 3:16am on January 1, 2018. I missed my tax deduction by 3 hours and 16 minutes.

After 17 days in the NICU, Ozzie came home to live with us, a perfect little ball of baby. He is such a good boy, and I am so excited I get to be his mommy.

After the excitement of the first few days of 2018, I am sure this is going to be a year to remember!