(Disclaimer: If you don't enjoy reading about labor/delivery and personal details, you might want to skip this post. If, however, you are like me and could sit around all day swapping labor and birth stories with girlfriends......grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair and read on.)
Thursday, January 14th.
Matt and I head to my 39 week checkup hoping to talk to the doctor about induction. I'd been induced with Harrison and it went incredibly well and since all of our family was out of town and we'd need help with the kids we'd decided it might be the best way. Dr. G said everything looked good for induction and he suggested that we aim for the next day. Whoa! We left the officed in a bit of a panic wondering how we'd be ready in time! But, we were still on standby until getting the official word from the nurse that we were on the schedule. By the time she called a few hours later, I was more than relieved to hear that we weren't able to be induced until the following Tuesday -- January 19th.
Monday, January 18th.
My parents had taken the kids to Little Rock for the weekend, so Matt and I could have one last weekend to get everything checked off our list and get some rest. We had a wonderful "last" date of dinner at Abuelos and watched The Blind Side. We slept late and talked and talked about what we'd name the baby -- and made our definite choices. On Monday I also went to the hospital and did all my lab work and filled out all the paperwork so Tuesday would be a breeze. That evening my parents and the kids arrived and we all headed to bed early to try and get one last night of good sleep. :)
Tuesday, January 19th
I got up at 4:30 and got ready to head to the hospital. We'd decided that my mom would come with me that morning while I got checked in and Matt would bring the kids later when they woke up. Madeleine had been pretty emotional about me going to the hospital and we thought it would be best for Matt to be there with her when she woke up and realized I was gone.
Mom and I arrived at the hospital around 5:15. We headed to the nurses station to check in. Then they dropped the BOMB. The nurse told me that we'd been moved to Wednesday and we'd been called the previous afternoon and told that. Ummmm, NO. I double checked my cell -- no call/voicemail. I check the home phone -- nothing. Somehow, I managed to hold it together and be nice to the staff while they checked to see what had happened. Basically, someone there just didn't call us. They were SOOO apologetic and SOOO sorry. But, it was still 5:30am and I was at the hospital (after a night of very little sleep) and I was very uncomfortable pregnancy AND they were telling me that I'd probably be that way for another day! UGGGG.
So, we headed back home. And we waited. I spent most of the day in bed. I couldn't sleep, but there really wasn't anything for me to do. We watched TV and played on the computer. Matt had already taken the day off, my parents were here, Matt's parents were on their way and NO BABY. That day dragged on and on and on. I called that evening just to double check that we were still scheduled for the next day at the hospital. We were and my doctor was on call and would be delivering our baby. Hearing that news made it all better. I have a great doctor and was thrilled to find out he'd be the one to deliver our baby.
Wednesday, January 20th
5:30am: We arrived at the hospital. They were so nice and the head nurse greeted me at the door and escorted me to my room herself. Sometimes it pays to be nice in a bad situation! :)
I changed into my gown and settled in for an exciting day. I remember looking at my belly one last time and thinking that in a few hours I'd be holding that baby! I couldn't wait to find out if it was a boy or girl! One last picture of me before heading out to the hospital.
6:15 am: After finishing even MORE paperwork (which they sent a nurse in to do for me -- nice!) they finally got ready to put in my IV. I told the nurse that I always pass out when that IV goes in. I'm not afraid of needles (have you seen the size of the RhoGam needle???), but for some reason IV's always make me pass out. Sure enough, she gets it in and BAM -- out I go. It's a miserable feeling and for me the worst part of labor. That's not too bad, if the IV is the worst part!6:45am: They come in to give me my epidural. Since I had some trouble with my epidural with Harrison -- my blood pressure dropped very very low and I threw up -- the doctor wanted to give me some anti-nausea meds before he administered it. So, they started those and we waited about 45 minutes for them to take effect and for him to come back for the epidural.
7:40am: Epidural is in and the nurse gets ready to start pitocin. By this time we've been here 2 hours and I'm ready to get things moving! I'd forgotten how long it takes to get an induction going.
8:00am: Pitocin is going and the doctor comes in to check me. I'm at 3-4 cm and 90% effaced with the baby still pretty high up. Let the waiting begin.
8:10am: Dr. G breaks my water. This time I actually felt a POP when it broke. It was also about this time I started wishing I'd had a midnight snack; while I couldn't feel my legs, I sure could feel my tummy growling! Even the nurse heard it! ;)
9:15am: The nurse checks me and I'm at 4 cm. Things are moving. I told her that I went really fast with Harrison after getting to 5 cm. She warns me to let her know if I start to feel shaky because that could mean I'm fully dilated. She also starts me on some fluids. The baby's heartrate seems to drop a little low with each contraction and she thinks the fluids will help. They do almost immediately.
9:30am: Matt, my dad and the kids arrive. Great! Some distractions. They're fascinated by the wires and Madeleine wants to know what everything does. They check out the special hospital bags I'd packed for them filled with coloring books/snacks/goodies and start playing.
10:00am: I'm still on the fluids. They turn me to my side as well. Every time the nurse stops the fluids, the baby's heartrate drops, but as long as I'm on them it's okay. I'm feeling pretty good and getting excited to meet this little one! We talk about what we tthink it will be -- boy or girl???
11:00am: The nurse starts me on some oxygen and ups the pitocin level. She checks me an I'm at 5 cm and 100% effaced. I start getting REALLY excited.....with Harrison I went from 5cm to holding him in less than 1 hour.
About this time, Matt's parents arrive to visit. My parents take the kids to McDonalds for lunch since they are starting to get pretty restless. We settle in for a good chat with Matt's parents (aka Grammy and Pops) to help pass the time. After just a few minutes I start to get really shaky. Whole body shakes. And I can't stop.
11:20am: Matt pages the nurse. I tell her how I'm feeling and ask her to check me again. She doesn't really want to since she'd just checked me, but gives in and does since I'm feeling like I need to push. I was right -- I was at a 10! Matt calls my parents and tells them to head back to the hospital.
11:45: The nurse starts getting the room ready for delivery. The nursery nurse comes down and makes sure everything is in place for the baby. My nurse heads down the hall to find the doctor....
12:00: The nurse comes back and tells us that my doctor is heading into a C-Section. Boo. We'll have to wait a little longer. :( So we wait. And we wait. It seemed like every minute was an hour. We were so close to meeting this little one!
12:35: The nurse checks again and the doctor says he's 4 minutes from being ready. We time him. :) And, 4 minutes later he arrives. They prep me and get me ready to start pushing. My contraction are actually getting weaker-- they never were strong and regular -- and I tell her she's probably going to have to tell me when to push.
12:45: Dr. G reminds everyone that we don't know the sex of the baby and not to say anything until we've had a look. How wonderful is that?? I start pushing. 3 pushes later.....
12:48: He hold up the most perfect little baby! I scream "it's a girl" and start crying. Matt looks at me and says "it's a girl??? are you sure???" I tell him YES! He starts crying and saying over and over that he can't believe it. I think that while a healthy baby was our #1 desire, we both really were secretly hoping for a girl, especially since Madeleine wanted a sister so badly. Dr. G lays her on my chest and she immediately stops crying. She was so alert and looking right up at us. I'll never forget the way she felt in my arms that first time.
The nurse takes her to be weighed and cleaned up. She weighed in at a perfect 7lbs 1oz.
They gave her back to me all bundled up and Matt and I just stared and stared at her. It never ceases to amaze me how you just fall in love with them in an instant. Anyone that doesn't believe in love at first sight has never had a child. The love at that moment is overwhelming. It's like I could feel my heart growing and expanding with love for another child. After a few minutes, we were ready to get the kids. We just couldn't wait to let them see our sweet little Charlotte. We put a pink hat on her and Matt brought them in. Madeleine knew INSTANTLY that it was a girl! She ran right up to the bed and wanted to hold her. Of course at this point I was boo-hooing. She was so proud of her sister! She snuggled up by me on the bed and held Charlotte for the first time. She leaned over to me with big tears in her eyes and said, "mommy, I'm so happy I might cry. is that okay?" Here came even more tears from me. So we cried together. :)
Harrison was a little less interested. He still wanted to hold her, but I think he was more concerned by the hospital "stuff" around us. And, he was pretty tired by that point in the day, too.
Harrison was a little less interested. He still wanted to hold her, but I think he was more concerned by the hospital "stuff" around us. And, he was pretty tired by that point in the day, too.We let the kids tell everyone that they had a sister. They ran down the hall yelling, "we have a sister!!!" Everyone came back to the room to meet miss Charlotte for the first time. Madeleine climbed right back up on the bed next to me while everyone got a good look at Charlotte. She wanted to be right by her the whole time.
We spent the afternoon and early evening in the delivery room since my epidural took FOREVER to wear off. I have to say it was the best one I've had out of the 3 -- just the right strength and took effect really fast. But, it did take a long time before I could walk again. It was actually the next morning before I felt really sturdy on my feet again.
We spent the afternoon and early evening in the delivery room since my epidural took FOREVER to wear off. I have to say it was the best one I've had out of the 3 -- just the right strength and took effect really fast. But, it did take a long time before I could walk again. It was actually the next morning before I felt really sturdy on my feet again. So we had a lovely day of just holding and loving on our new baby. There's nothing like holding a new baby. There's so much innocence about them and they have their entire life ahead. There's nothing like it and the newborn phase passes all too quickly.
Sugar and soon-to-be Uncle Stewart (yeah!) even joined us for the big day!
Poor Harrison just pooped out by late afternoon from all the excitement and we made good use of the cot in my room!
We got moved to a new room, eventually, and everyone headed home. My mom and dad took the kids back to our house and Matt spent the night with me. I didn't sleep much. I was too excited and by 5am it seems as if there's an interruption every 30 minutes. 
We changed Charlotte into her going-home outfit. It was the most gorgeous day! Perfectly sunny and even a little bit warm for January.
By the time we were ready to head home Harrison was getting much more interested in Charlotte.
Charlotte came home in a new little Ralph Lauren one piece flowered outfit. Her white blanket was mine. Underneath it, which you can't see, is a blanket that belonged to my dad as a baby.
It was cold enough that she did have to have a hat though! This was only hat that would fit without swallowing her head! And it was still very big on her.
As soon as we got home, Harrison wanted to read to her. He was so cute sharing his books with her although he didn't have the patience to read, he just wanted to show her the pictures. :)
From the moment we walked into our house, it felt as if Charlotte was always meant to be there.
Sugar and soon-to-be Uncle Stewart (yeah!) even joined us for the big day!
Poor Harrison just pooped out by late afternoon from all the excitement and we made good use of the cot in my room!
We got moved to a new room, eventually, and everyone headed home. My mom and dad took the kids back to our house and Matt spent the night with me. I didn't sleep much. I was too excited and by 5am it seems as if there's an interruption every 30 minutes. We spent day #2 just loving on our sweet girl. I changed her into her first real clothes so she felt a little more like mine. We had some sweet visitors. We took lots of pictures. What a wonderful day!
My parent headed home that afternoon and it was just the 5 of us. I'd planned to stay one more night in the hospital (great decision!) so Matt had the kids by himself. Madeleine had a minor breakdown -- okay a major one -- when it was time to leave me that night. She was so tired and it had been an emotional couple of days for her. That was probably the toughest time for me. I really wanted to be home with them, but I knew that I needed some rest before heading back to real life. :)
After they left -- early in the evening since Madeleine had school the next day -- I had some wonderful alone time with Charlotte. After the exciting couple of days, filled with lots of action, it was so nice to have some time to just be alone with her. I sat and stared at her and talked to her. I rocked her and sang to her and found her song. Those were some of the most precious hours of my life. I'll never forget them.
I sent Charlotte to the nursery that night (except for feedings) and got some good sleep. By the time Matt and Harrison arrived the next day to take us home, I'd had a shower, gotten dressed and was feeling ready to tackle this mom-of-three thing. :)
We changed Charlotte into her going-home outfit. It was the most gorgeous day! Perfectly sunny and even a little bit warm for January.
By the time we were ready to head home Harrison was getting much more interested in Charlotte.
Charlotte came home in a new little Ralph Lauren one piece flowered outfit. Her white blanket was mine. Underneath it, which you can't see, is a blanket that belonged to my dad as a baby.
It was cold enough that she did have to have a hat though! This was only hat that would fit without swallowing her head! And it was still very big on her.
As soon as we got home, Harrison wanted to read to her. He was so cute sharing his books with her although he didn't have the patience to read, he just wanted to show her the pictures. :)
From the moment we walked into our house, it felt as if Charlotte was always meant to be there. And so began our life with three.....
1 comment:
Loved reading all about sweet Charlotte!
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