D is for delivery
(aaaand there go the majority of male readers. i tricked 'em with the fancy title so i'd still get the page view. #sneakymom. for anyone still reading, i promise there are no gory details)
60 days ago we had a baby. I say "we" so Husband doesn't feel too left out. Technically I had the baby, but it takes two to tango. Plus he was really good at counter pressure and I couldn't have survived without that. or him.
We took a labor & delivery class which made us total pros. The plan was to head to the hospital at the last possible minute. Read: risk having the baby in the car. Read: newb mistake. Read: most painful car ride ever.
When we got to the hospital we learned that we weren't experts after all. Apparently having had contractions for 24 hours wasn't long enough. Apparently contractions every 3 minutes for over a minute long for the past 3 hours wasn't enough to have started labor.
After painfully walking the halls for two hours and only making 4 pathetic laps and getting through 4 pages of the book we were reading aloud to each other (and the nurses nosy enough to listen in), we were sent home. Labor requires progress and we weren't making any.
After laying in bed pretending to catch a wink between contractions, laying in the tub trying to relax, and laying on the floor trying to die, we headed back to the hospital. Read: more painful than the most painful car ride ever. Maybe the midwives would be back and the one male OB would be gone. No such luck. But hey, at least he admitted us this time!
We had a whole suitcase of items to help us make it through - tennis balls, music, laptop, birthing ball, etc. We didn't even unzip the thing. I did, however, take advantage of everything the nurse offered me. Jacuzzi soak? yes. Ice chips? yes. Popsicle? yes.
At some point it dawned on me that I was having a baby and would therefore never sleep again. And since I hadn't slept for the previous 2 nights, I said "pineapple" (our code word) and got an epidural so I could take a nap. I did have a contraction while he was injecting the magic into my spine, but I managed not to move so as to maintain total leg function. A quick nap later and I was pushing out a baby against my will.
"You could have a baby on this push," said the nurse. And I did. She didn't cry and she was bluer than my mouth had been an hour earlier, but she stuck out a long tongue and flopped around in my arms until the nurse took her away to get her breathing. She was perfect. She still is.
(aaaand there go the majority of male readers. i tricked 'em with the fancy title so i'd still get the page view. #sneakymom. for anyone still reading, i promise there are no gory details)
60 days ago we had a baby. I say "we" so Husband doesn't feel too left out. Technically I had the baby, but it takes two to tango. Plus he was really good at counter pressure and I couldn't have survived without that. or him.
We took a labor & delivery class which made us total pros. The plan was to head to the hospital at the last possible minute. Read: risk having the baby in the car. Read: newb mistake. Read: most painful car ride ever.
When we got to the hospital we learned that we weren't experts after all. Apparently having had contractions for 24 hours wasn't long enough. Apparently contractions every 3 minutes for over a minute long for the past 3 hours wasn't enough to have started labor.
After painfully walking the halls for two hours and only making 4 pathetic laps and getting through 4 pages of the book we were reading aloud to each other (and the nurses nosy enough to listen in), we were sent home. Labor requires progress and we weren't making any.
After laying in bed pretending to catch a wink between contractions, laying in the tub trying to relax, and laying on the floor trying to die, we headed back to the hospital. Read: more painful than the most painful car ride ever. Maybe the midwives would be back and the one male OB would be gone. No such luck. But hey, at least he admitted us this time!
We had a whole suitcase of items to help us make it through - tennis balls, music, laptop, birthing ball, etc. We didn't even unzip the thing. I did, however, take advantage of everything the nurse offered me. Jacuzzi soak? yes. Ice chips? yes. Popsicle? yes.
At some point it dawned on me that I was having a baby and would therefore never sleep again. And since I hadn't slept for the previous 2 nights, I said "pineapple" (our code word) and got an epidural so I could take a nap. I did have a contraction while he was injecting the magic into my spine, but I managed not to move so as to maintain total leg function. A quick nap later and I was pushing out a baby against my will.
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| nap time |
While the doctor was getting his face mask and blue body suit on, Husband was brushing blue popsicle off my teeth and lips. Why I chose the blue one, I will never be able to explain. But thank goodness he got it off before I was portrayed as a smurf in all our "first baby" photos.
"You could have a baby on this push," said the nurse. And I did. She didn't cry and she was bluer than my mouth had been an hour earlier, but she stuck out a long tongue and flopped around in my arms until the nurse took her away to get her breathing. She was perfect. She still is.
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| note the blue hand. |
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| that silly tongue! |
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| proud dad. wouldn't have done it without him. |
Great read, Rachel
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