I loved being pregnant for the last 9 months! I was in no hurry to go into labor, especially with the addition being built. Our house has been dusty, noisy and dusty..oh, did I already say that? Well, it was. I was told that the addition would be done by Thursday, and that is the morning I ended up getting contractions! Knowing the guys would be at my house soon to start work for the day, I jumped in the shower and managed to stall the contractions.
After they left that night, I cleaned for 2 hours, and then took a nap. when I woke up, contractions started, and I had them all night. I didn't trouble my husband about it, I didn't even get up, instead I counted the length of my contractions in my head (in Spanish) and would sleep in between them. I have no idea how close together they were, but I wasn't worried. That Am, when I got up to get some cereal, they petered away again.
I started to clean, this time starting on the kitchen. I have to tell you that while you may be thinking I was "nesting", I'm not sure that was all it was. You see, my kitchen was coated in dust from the work on the addition, and I just wanted to get it clean now that the work was all done! It really needed cleaned and I felt the baby would come at any time.
I ended up calling my doctor, because... (and I hope this isn't TMI)#1. I had been bleeding these last 2 days, but mostly #2. because my friend and husband had begged me to call. I was surprised when they wanted me to come right in. Well, I didn't rush right in, and didn't even call my husband until the last second, telling him to not be concerned and I'd call when I got home. As I was leaving, the office called and told me that they were now taking their lunch, could I come in from 1-1:30? I tried to call my husband, but got a message saying he was out of the office for 2 weeks! Great! Now I figure he is at the doctor's in the parking lot, waiting for me and I had no way to reach him. (He was.) I left and went around the block to drop off some library books, and as I passed my street, I saw his truck park in front of my house! I did a 3 point turn in the middle of the main street and zipped up before he had made it in the house. He wanted to get the overnight bag and take it with us, so..OK, I'd wait in the truck. He can't get in the house. Yep, apparently the deadbolt won't open! Ok, so we head to the doctors without the bag.
At the office, they tell me I am in early stages of labor and to go home and wait for my contractions....you know the drill. They decide to put me on a stress test to check on baby. It's nice to hear the heartbeat and OH! Contractions start again. Right away they are 6-7 minutes apart. (I forgot to mention that I am at 4 cm and 75% effaced.) Well, apparently the baby doesn't like the contractions, it's little heart rate slows to 90 with one and then drops to 80 with the next and the nurse and midwife come rushing in and tickle the baby's head and tell me I should go straight to the hospital.
So, we go home to get my bag and I am having regular contractions. My husband breaks down the door to get my bag, we collect my daughter and MIL, and head to the hospital in after school traffic. I am breathing great through my contractions, with no formal training!!! We get to the hospital between 3:30 and 4, and I walk up to the triage. We go in to fill out paperwork and then they stick us in a room and won't let my daughter in. They say she can come see me once I am settled in my Labor and Delivery room. I have found that I want to sit up during contractions, and breath through them. I tell my husband to hold my hands and to remind me to breathe, and remind me to relax. He was a very effective coach, and reminded me, even when I got snippy with him for doing so!
The baby was still not reacting to the contractions well, and they wanted me to stop sitting up since they couldn't hear the heartbeat when I sat and shifted the monitors. But that was the way I was coping, so I ignored them, instead focusing on the heartbeat of the baby and asking after each one if it was OK. They rushed me to L&D, and the doctor came in fast. They wouldn't let me see my daughter, and that about broke my heart. I cried then. Meanwhile, she was wanting to see me as well. I hadn't even gotten to kiss her and tell her I'd see her later! It was just all happening so fast.
I love how the new nurses would come in as I am having a contraction and introduce themselves to me! I had to ignore them as they would ask me questions and everything! Honestly! I was kinda busy girls! The doctor asked me how bad the contractions were, and I felt I could manage. I have had migraines and pretty horrible cramps in my life, so I felt like I'd had worse pain. They did ask me about every 5 minutes if I wanted an epidural, and that was annoying! Even my dear husband was getting worried that it would be too late for me to get one. They checked me and I was 6 cm dilated and they broke my water which had been bulging since the doctor's office.
OK, now the pain is bad, and to top it off, they will not let me sit up! They will let me get on my hands and knees, but that just won't work for me. I am feeling pressure. I finally agree to an epidural and they have to give me an IV as well, and the epidural takes 3 tries to get it right. This is all while I am having contractions pretty much constantly at this point. As soon as they finish the epidural, the doctor checks me and says it's time to push since I am at 10 cm! Ok, they said the epidural would start working in 10-12 minutes! I pushed the baby out in about that! Oh, and I screamed and was a little grumpy and said, "I can't do it!' more than once. It was painful! But I will always have this mental picture of my son being born. Holding him, I immediately saw perfection. I felt an immediate connection. I felt complete again.
With him, I don't feel any pressure to impress anyone. I don't feel any competition. I don't feel any hurry. He is my baby. I can spend hours sitting on the couch holding him; looking at him. I have a second chance to be a mom, to experience everything new through his eyes. I have my girl, and now I have my boy. This is my life.
He's 3 weeks old now, and I can't always get him to stop crying like I used to. I see him changing right before my eyes. His face is fuller and his feet come down into the footsie area of those tiny sleepers now. When his fists grip my hair, it hurts! It is both a relief and a burden that the place he is most comfortable is in my arms. I am mesmerized by his tiny feet, taking picture upon picture of them in my goal of capturing the smallness. I have pages and pages done in his online album I'm making for him. I'm going to fit as many pages in it as CM will allow me to.
Scrap Happy!
I was contacted by my daughter's instructional supervisor telling me that my daughter was chosen to represent cyber schools in a yearly campaign of some kind. This campaign chooses students that have chosen an nontraditional method of schooling, be it private school, homeschooling or cyber school, and tells their story. So, I felt it was a huge honor for her to be chosen.
They typically send out a photographer to take pictures of the child in their school environment. This year, time was of the essence, so they told me the dates and times which happened to be the week we were already living through! None of the times worked for me, and there was some confusion with them asking us to drive out to Midland , PA (much too far away!). The person putting all of this together asked me if I knew a photographer in the area, and if not, the plan was to send someone from Midland out. The only issue still seemed to be time, as there was just a week left until the deadline. I sent her a few of my recent pictures and offered to take the photos if that would be easiest. So, she agreed, and these are a few of the dozen photos I sent in.
At first, my daughter was disappointed that a photographer wasn't going to be coming out. But I let her choose her own outfit, and I think she had as much fun posing for the pictures as I did taking them. We didn't have any arguments, and the lighting in our new addition was great!
I don't know if you'll see any of these pictures in a newspaper or postcard or anywhere else, but I'm pleased to say that I took them. My daughter is a beautiful girl and one of my 2 favorite people to photograph. She makes my job easy!
