On Saturday January 12th I was supposed to help with officer
transition for Alpha Delta Pi. I was was my last duty as an adviser and
since I had shown little sign of giving birth, I had confirmed my
attendance the night before. I set my alarm to shower and prepare but I
wasn't feeling well when the time came. I sent a message to the group
saying I would be late attending.
By 10am I was pretty sure the
contractions I was feeling had a pattern. They were no longer random in
appearance and so I timed them. Sure enough they were about ten minutes
apart. Nothing to alert the media about, but I was indeed making
progress. I had read enough and talked to my OB enough to know that we
could still be a ways away from going to the hospital- let alone having a
baby. I knew I wouldn't have the quick birth story like Rhonda. Little
did I know Monty wanted his story to be the opposite.
We watched
football during the day and Chris asked me what I thought about grabbing
some food for the Falcon's game on Sunday. Apparently I had not been
clear enough. I was having contractions every eight to ten minutes. We
aren't planning anything for the Falcon's game in 24 hours!
During
the Raven's game my contractions finally started looking about 4-5
minutes apart. I was clear to call the doctor after almost 10 hours of
laboring at home. I had been too excited and nervous all day to rest. I
had spent most of the day doing final clean up around the house (damn
nesting) and watching TV. Now at 8:30 I realized I was tired, nervous,
and headed to the hospital!
The nurse midwife reminded me that my
practice was not on call at Northside Forsyth that evening and that I
would have an associate doctor deliver Monty. I forced Chris out of the
house prior to the overtime field goal kick that sent the Broncos
packing. My contractions were about 3 minutes apart and as much as I
wanted to see the end of that game, I was ready to get some pain relief.
He (we) would have to hear about the end of the game through text
messages and my ESPN app on my cell phone.
We checked into the
hospital with ease. I had already done most of the paperwork online
prior, so I just had to slide them my insurance card and my admissions
letter. We were wisked back to a huge delivery room just like the one we
had seen on the tour. The nurse's desk that we strolled past was full
of staff- all waiting for a patient to roll in. We were waited on by ne
nurse directly, but three more came in to help prepare the room and help
me get strapped onto all of the machines. I was asked a few (read *a
lot*) more medical questions and then waited for the anesthesia to come
around. My contractions slowed down a lot since we left the house. We
were back to 4-6 minutes apart. Apparently that is common when women get
to the hospital?
I was introduced to a midwife that was part of the
support team. She would be delivering Monty and an OB would be joining
at the end (as she was new to that particular practice and her team
still required observations of birth- even though she clearly had
experience). The OB also made a pit stop in the room. Dr. McDonald was
very nice and even though this wasn't the team I had been working with
during the past nine months, I felt very comfortable with the current
situation. I was only 3-4 cm dilated so they didn't anticipate a baby
till at earliest 5 am. At this point it was clear we needed some drugs. I
needed to rest!
Anesthesia was able to come in around 10pm and I
was able to enjoy that wonderful "hospital rest" where someone is coming
in the room to move you or check a vital at least every hour. At one of
these points they did break my water and later (as contractions had
slowed down again) I was put on Pitocin. I was in some pretty
significant discomfort by 5am and our midwife determined it was time to
work on getting that baby out!
I don't have the best awareness of
time during this period which is probably for the best. At some point
Dr. McDonald came back to check our progress and decided to stay and
continue the delivery himself. I would say this was 90 minutes in....It
was a long day but I was glad to have a good delivery team.
Monty
made his appearance at almost 8am on his due date- January 13th. It was a
long birth for sure but hearing his healthy squeals, knowing he had
high APGAR scores (8 and 9), and finally seeing that little face was all
worth it. I'm glad you truly can forget a lot of what leads up to
delivery- otherwise every child would be an only child!
Shortly after
delivery, Chris' parents were able to come in and see Monty. He had his
first bath in that room and the nurses helped me get comfortable in my
personal PJ's. We were packed up and moved to the long term room within
2 hours of his birth.
Northside Forsyth gave us a smaller room to
call our own for the next three nights. It was a simple hospital bed,
rocker, sofa/bed and bathroom. Out of our door was the nursery, where we
could drop Monty off should we need some respite time (otherwise he was
bunking with us!). There was a pantry/kitchen area where they offered
snacks and drinks for us to have- soups, crackers, juices. There was a
fridge that we could store our personal food items in as well.
My
parents joined us that afternoon to meet Mr. Monts. We cleared the room
of visitors in time to watch the Falcon's play the Seahawks (and for
Monty to eat!). I feel as if I spent most of the game in a haze as I
don't remember much of the game but I was watching it. I guess that is
what happens when you are operating on 3 hours of hospital rest! Chris
was able to celebrate the greatest day ever when the Falcon's won the
game with a field goal. He ran out to the parking lot to celebrate
without fear of his noise disturbing other babies or mommies.
Our
routine at the hospital was great. My mom ran errands for me during the
day (just when you think you have everything organized for a baby you
need more medications or clothes to fit the baby that is smaller than he
was supposed to be!), we had family visit us and meet Monty, and had
lots of check ins and check ups by the doctors. Monty stayed with us at
night except for one three hour stretch (so we could ensure rest at that
time). The nurses were found holding him during those times. Can't
blame them- he is a cutie.
We were dismissed from the hospital on
Wednesday evening when they cleared Monty of any infection. He had some
reflux in the hospital they were a little concerned about- but it turned
out to be nothing serious.
My mom and dad stayed with us for a
couple of nights to help get us situated. Oh let's be honest- I needed
my mom to help me! Some of the processes ofh becoming a mother are best
comforted and explained at the hands of your own mother. It was nice to
have someone help with laundry and cooking too. She helped run more
errands- picking up prescriptions for me, vitamin D supplement for
Monty, and ice packs for me. She organized the clothes better (since we
now knew how small he really was we could store everything that didn't
say NEWBORN) and helped set up our diaper stations around the house
(even changed a few herself). I did get to sneak away during the first
48 hours home too- by running a little errand with my parents and having
lunch. Chris used to the time to visit with his parents and let them
have some more time with Monty.
With the help of the book Baby
Wise, I was able to develop a feed-wake-sleep cycle for us. It helped to
keep us organized as well as Monty. He was able to sleep longer through
the night than we initially anticipated (joyous) because he was such a
good eater. He had lost weight in the hospital that dropped him to the
5lb range (not sure the oz) but at his first appointment with the
pediatrician he had gotten back up to 6lbs and they were pleased with
his growth.
I am pleased to report that with the support of my
husband I have been able to get more sleep than I expected, get a shower
at least every other day (to include drying and curling my hair), and
have enjoyed makeup more days than not. I have found comfort in yoga
pants, but I have donned jeans and sweaters as well. Monty has
entertained himself in a bouncy seat or a swing so I could cook a
dinner, unpack my winter clothes/store my summer clothes/pack up
maternity clothes, write thank you notes, etc. He has demonstrated the
ability to catch a nap in the quiet of his room as well as the noise of
the living room. He and daddy have a nice morning routine which has
given daddy the expert level abilities of calming a fussy baby and
getting that tricky burp.
I have lots of pictures to
post, but I need to change the security settings of the blog first. If
you would like to continue to receive notices about his blog and be able
to access it please make sure I have your email address so I can get
you the password :)
