Eleven

Where does the time go? Do you remember what you were doing 11 years ago today? I can give you a run down of how I spent my day.

• 6:30am - wake up with a slightly uncomfortable feeling. Try to go back to sleep.
• 6:45am - still can't get back to sleep really. Reposition and lay there a little longer.
• 7:00am - Well, might as well get up.
• 7:30am - sitting on the sofa trying to decide if the little twinges are the REAL thing.
• 8:00am - Mom is up and in the kitchen making a pot of coffee and talking to me. I decided to fold the load of laundry that was in the dryer.
• 8:15am - Mom wants to know what time we will try to head to go shopping since that was the plan for the day. I need to walk and she wants to shop - a perfect combination. Oh, she's waiting for my answer and I can NOT get a word out of my mouth. I'm hunched over trying to breathe through the pain.
• NOW mom realizes I didn't answer and asks if I'm having contractions. All I can do is shake my head yes at the moment. Then I can talk again. They are still pretty spread apart so I'm not in any hurry. I spent each labor before this in a hospital bed and I'm determined to wait this one out a little longer.
• 9:00am - Feeling better I head to the laptop to check email and post a few messages to friends that it appears today is the day.
• 9:30am - The phone rings and my 8year old answers it. She brings it to me and says "Moma, they need to talk to you" just as a big contraction hits. I basically growl out the words "I can't talk right now, I'm having a contraction!" just as my mom reaches the phone. Surprise! Telemarketer hung up. LOL! Hey, they can't SEE me when they call. Maybe I'll have to remember to use that trick again. Mom decided to jump in the shower.
  
• 10:00am - Contractions are starting to hit with more regularity so I go wake Terry up and tell him that if he really wants to eat that left over steak with some eggs before we go to the hospital he better get crackin'. He looks at me a little bleary eyed and realizes what I mean. I'm not sure I've ever seen him get out of bed so quickly. He jumps in the shower and starts getting ready just in case the next contractions come faster.
• 10:30am - Terry is reheating that fajita steak he brought home from eating out last night. Normally that stuff smells wonderful but today it just makes me want to puke. I'm hungry but I'm not. UGH! And the pains aren't getting closer but they are getting a little more difficult to breathe through.
• 11:00am - I thought it might ease the pain a little if I could sit in the garden tub in some really warm bath water. I ran the tub pretty full and climb in only to climb right back out. WHO USED ALL THE HOT WATER??? Oh yeah, it's Feb and cold outside. Hot water heater is in the garage and 2 people have just recently finished showering. Hmmm...
• 11:30am Dressed and ready to head out. Kiss my girls and mom goodbye. My sister-in-law will make sure they get to the hospital when there won't be such a long wait to see their baby sister. We've done the wait all day in the waiting room thing a few times now. Someone ALWAYS ends up sick so the less time there, the better.
• 12:00 Noon - Can you drive any faster and hit a few less bumps please???? Where did all these red lights come from? I think I need an epidural NOW!
• 12:30pm - checked in through the ER and asking for an epidural NOW. Gotta get upstairs first. In a hospital gown and in a bed. Can I PLEASE have that epidural NOW? Nope. Gotta wait for the nurse to draw blood.
  
• 1:15 - nurse draws blood. MASH is on the tv and Hawkeye is delivering a baby on a bus. The irony is hilarious to me. Okay - blood is drawn. Where is that epidural??? Not yet! Gotta wait on blood test results now. UGH! Why didn't I already know that I should have given myself a couple of extra hours for this? I mean, this IS baby #4!! I'm should know this stuff. Instead, I lay there waiting for test results.
• 1:45pm - nurse is back to check on contractions. Yep, they still hurt!
• 2:15pm - FINALLY! We have blood test results (still don't know what they were testing for or what the results were) so now we are waiting for the Anesthesiologist to come poke me.
• 2:35pm - Anesthesiologist is on the way since she finished up another case.
• 2:40pm - FINALLY. Let's sit up and hunch over so she can get that needle in my epidural space. OOPS! What was that? HA! Water broke. Poor nurse. I think she got her feet soaked since she was standing in front of me helping me hold the proper position for the epidural. The midwife comes in and the Anesthesiologist asked if she wanted her to stop so I could be checked. No - finish with the epidural and then we'll check.
  
• 2:50pm - INSTANT relief. Into the bathroom while they change the bed. Back into the bed so the midwife can check me. Yep... just as she thought. I was at 9cm and if she had let the anesthesiologist stop for a check they wouldn't have completed inserting the epidural. Feeling very little as far as the contractions go now the midwife says I can push anytime.
  

DUH! Why would anyone want to wait about meeting their new baby? Let's get this child here! So I began pushing. WHY didn't anyone tell me the epidural wasn't fully effective yet? It was ONLY relieving contraction pain but I wasn't aware of that until it was too late.


Our two oldest daughters wanted to watch this baby be born so they were in the room. The rule was there had to be an adult present for each one. My sis-in-law, thinking the youngest of the two would chicken out chose to be her adult. She said at one point Savannah turned a bit green so was asked if she was ready to leave. Nope! Said sis-in-law says she knows way more than she ever wanted about birthing babies. LOL! She also told her mom that I had the nerve at one point to scream that it hurt. You think?


So, there is my new little one. She's our 4th precious little girl. She weighed in at 9lbs 3oz and you could barely see her fuzzy hair. WOW! How did the two of us who have really dark hair have such a blond little girl?


Uh oh... they are saying something about her blood sugar is coming up 5. That can't be right - she'd not be alive if it was only 5. Let's check again. Hmm... they repeated this about 4 times and then decide to bring in another machine. Yep - she's good. That first machine needs to be serviced. However, since she tested so low they decide she must have her foot pricked every hour all night long. UGH! My poor baby has bruised heels!! The pediatrician came by the next morning and immediately put a stop to the glucose checks. He even recommended that since the PKU is not accurate until after a particular time frame that we opt out of having that test done at the hospital so she isn't poked again.


That's the basic detailed story.