Its a Girl!

January 20, 2007

It’s a girl!

Tuesday was a big day, as my mom, Aniston and I drove to Las Vegas to take care of some errands for work and we hosted Sonna’s bridal shower at a friend’s house there. I started having a few weird belly pains but I was too busy so I had to ignore them. But, I didn’t feel very good overall so I kind of had an inkling that something was eminent. Luckily, I got my hair cut and styled so that it looked good for a few days afterwards without me doing anything to it. Sonna’s shower ended up being so nice and so many of her friends came and it was so fun to see everyone shower her with so much love. Luckily, we took a picture of her belly next to mine, because that was the very last day I had a big belly.

I got home at about 1:30 am and was having enough back pain that I could only carry sleeping Aniston into the guest room and not downstairs into her own bed. I woke a number of times throughout the night with back pain, and just hoped it was back pain because I had done so much driving the day before. Wednesday morning, I let Aniston sleep in and miss the first part of school. I was having a lot of back pain and was SO mad because I did not want to have the baby yet. I was so mad too because I needed to clean up the house, so I did that quickly and took care of as many loose ends as I could, including packing my hospital bag. Wednesday was my 37 week checkpoint (babies born at or after 37 weeks are considered full-term, even though they are three weeks early), but I still thought it was a HUGE long shot that she would be born that early, especially since my belly was still relatively small compared to my past preganancies. Plus, I hadn’t started feeling swollen or uncomfortable yet, which was a sure sign on my last two. So, I was really MAD because I felt I had been given no warning and because I had all this stuff to do before she came and because the house was such a mess because I had left in such a hurry for Vegas the day before. Anyway, my back pains were about every five minutes, but they didn’t hurt that bad and they got better when I took a hot bath, so I decided to call Tracy (my OB and my mom’s husband) and see if he could tell that it was false labor and to take a Tylenol and it would go away. His comment was “well, I’ve had ladies deliver at home with just back pain”. So, I called Jonah and told him about the back pain for the first time (I didn’t want to get him unnecessarily excited), and we came up with a plan. I was going to drop Camden off at his friend Hadley’s house, take Aniston to school, and run a few errands for the business, then I was as going to go to Tracy’s office and have him check me out to see if I was really in labor. So, at about 1:00 pm, I dropped Aniston off, and by about 1:45 I went to Tracy’s office for the first time (we’d been doing home visits) and he determined I was dialated to 6 cms and fully effaced (there were only 4 cms to go until the baby would come out). Also, the baby was posterior, so that’s why the pains were staying in my back (I’ve always had back labor). He told me to go to the hospital, but my worst fear was having to labor at the hospital for six hours where its super boring and you can’t take a bath or eat or do anything except sit and feel the labor. So, I talked him into saying it was okay that I come back later. So, I went and got a pedicure and those massage chairs they have you sit in were so nice on my back. The pedicurist said she has ladies in labor come in all the time.

After the pedicure, Jonah and I tried to go to our favorite Sushi restaurant, but they close at 2:30 and it was 2:35, so we went and got some California rolls at the grocery store. The labor pains started to move to the front so that I felt like they were doing something finally (back labor feels like a wave of back ache over and over again, whereas uterine contractions are in the front and feel like they are opening up your body). So, Jonah took my car to pick the kids up from school and I drove his car home and got the mail. Then, Aniston helped me take a bath and she sprayed hot water on my back and Jonah went into the garage to fill the car up with vegetable oil because he was running on fumes (our diesel Mercedes runs on used vegetable oil which we keep in the garage). He was gone for what seemed like forever. Meanwhile, in the bath, the contractions started getting really powerful and close together… so much so that I told Aniston it was okay if she cut all the hair off her toy My Little Pony (I would never say that under normal circumstances). I told her we needed Jonah a.s.a.p. and she said, “Okay, I’ll get him…. DADDDDDDY! DADDYYYYY! COME IN HERE!” I said, um, no, I can yell. You need to go out to the garage and tell him to come. She did and about 5 minutes later Jonah came in and I said, “If you are going to take a shower, you need to do it now because we need to go the hospital.” So, he got in the shower and took the longest shower ever and shaved and took his time (he said it was the nicest shower ever). He finally came out and got me out of the bath and offered to put lotion on me and rub my back (he was all excited because I won’t even let him touch my feet when I’m in labor, nevermind actually massaging my back). I said okay, half thinking he would just put lotion on and we could go. But, he got all “licensed massage therapist” on me and I finally had to say, “You are being really nice, but I really just need some lotion, some clothes and then we need to get in the car!”

So, we got in the car… Jonah driving, me in shotgun, and Aniston in the back with the non-strapped down infant car seat. We pulled out of the driveway and couldn’t find the garage door clicker, so I made Jonah get out and manually close the garage. Aniston was chattering away as we were driving down the road. There was so much traffic and it took us a few moments just even to get out of our development (it was about 5 pm, St. George rush hour). Aniston kept asking weird questions, like “Can I get some licorice at the hospital? Can I hold the baby when it comes out” and generally just being excited. But, about three minutes after left the house, I had MAJOR pushing contractions (like, I was trying not to, but my body started pushing the baby out) and that made me scream enough (because I was trying to stop them) that Aniston stopped talking completely. By the time we reached Snow Canyon Pkwy and Bluff, my water broke big time (my water has NEVER broken on its own… it always has to be broken right before the baby’s head emerges) and THAT started freaking Jonah out (I think he thought I was just kidding about the pushing part). It was SUCH a relief to have my water break! I actually had about 15 seconds of relief from the pushing pressure and it felt so good, even though my pants were all wet. About a minute later I wet my pants, which did not feel as good as the water breaking and made me quite mad. Then, more water got released from the amniotic sac, and that felt good again. But, I was pretty much soaked. So, Jonah was going 75 mph on Bluff Street (35 mph speed limit) and pretty much honking the whole time and nearly drove up on the sidewalk, but then he remembered we were in a Mercedes and not a Jeep. He took one curve so fast that Aniston, who was holding on to the door handle with one hand and the unbuckled infant car seat projectile with the other, yelled, “That was AWESOME!” I was pushing my knees together so hard and holding onto door handle with one hand and onto Jonah’s nicely shaven face with the other (he said I was squeezing his face so hard he thought he’d be bruised) and yelling at my body because I wanted it to stop pushing because the baby was going to come out down my pant leg (I should’ve worn a skirt) and onto the leftover sushi box on the floor.

Jonah called my mom, who was luckily already at the hospital with Tracy and told them to get a wheel chair out to the front. I accidentally told Jonah the wrong way, so we went one block further than we needed too, but FINALLY, after being in the car for the longest four minutes ever, we came to the front of the hospital. The nurses were taking their time walking down the ramp with the wheelchair, until they heard my yell, and then they booked it like a pushcar race. They didn’t know quite what to do because I said they could not touch me until my contraction was over, which took another 20 seconds. Then, they somehow lifted me into the wheelchair and RAN me up the ramp and seriously it was the fastest wheelchair ride ever.

Jonah went and parked the car and sprinted back to the entrance, but there was nobody there to let him in. I imagine his panic like he’s come into a peaceful waiting room with “girl from ipanema” elevator music playing and nobody in sight, but in his head the theme music from “psycho” is playing and his eyes are huge in panic. Of course, then the old, bent over security guard comes out of the bathroom, surely zipping his pants up and says, “Sonny, what’s the problem?!” and Jonah yells, “Let me in! My wife is having the baby” and the old man says, “Oh come on now, it takes a LONG time.” and Jonah starts yelling all the reasons why this is like the movies as the security guard opens the doors and gives Jonah three different directions in which I could be. I think Jonah probably heard the commotion of seven nurses trying to get my pants off and found the room quickly.

In the labor and delivery room (or just delivery room in this case), it took a few nurses to get my pants off because I had had my legs clamped so tightly shut for the last 10 minutes that my muscles would not stop contracting them that way. They got my pants off, but it took about five people to pry my legs open. I started yelling, “Get your fingers out of there! That hurts! Get your hands out of there” and Jonah said, “Those aren’t hands, that’s the baby’s head!” I had not myself consciously pushed up to this point… my body had done all that… but at Tracy’s direction, I gave one push and the whole baby came out in one slither. It was 5:09 pm. We had left our house at 4:55 and got to the hospital at about 5:07 pm.

I asked, “Is it a girl?!?” and Tracy said, “Yes, it’s a beautiful girl” as he cleared her nose and mouth and rubbed her up and all that stuff. He moves so fast when he does that. I think he did it right on my bed, because they didn’t even have time to convert the hospital bed to a birthing bed, which they did do later so I could deliver the placenta. I then asked him if I tore, because while everyone was prying my legs open I think I was yelling, “I don’t want to push yet because I don’t want to tear!!!” because I have not torn on my other deliveries and I was so afraid to with this one. But, luckily no tearing or stitches! I was so happy and finally relaxed.

So, they took care of the baby and the nurse came over with the computer and said, “Okay, I need to get some information from you. What’s your name?” It was pretty funny. I gave her all my info and then they checked my vitals and decided I was okay (they are supposed to do all that before delivery). The baby was great and she got an agpar of 8 and then 9 and weighed 7 lbs 13 ounces and was 20.5 inches long, which isn’t so bad for three weeks early.

I finally delivered the placenta about 30 minutes after the birth and man it is a relief when you are done. I think my belly was so small because the placenta was about half the size of my other kids’ (maybe that’s what grows my last month of pregnancy)… Aniston’s placenta was as big as her. The nurses left us alone and I finally got a really good luck at this little girl, who had a perfectly round head because she came through so fast. She was pretty swollen though and exhausted so we just let her be and didn’t try to ask too many questions of her.

Aniston had stayed for the whole thing except the final push. I guess she had gotten a little upset at the last moment and my mom took her out in the hall. But, she came right back in and helped them get the baby cleaned up, weighed, measured and then she finally got to hold her (she’s been waiting since she found out I was pregnant). She went and got a pack of licorice from the vending machine and was nice enough to share a couple pieces with me after the delivery. She and Jonah LOVED the placenta and Tracy told them all about it and showed them lots of stuff on it and I just looked away because I think those placentas are totally nasty looking. Aniston left with my mom at about 6 pm and stayed the night at Saren and Jared’s house (Jonah’s sister who lives next door to us).

Six o’clock is the nursing shift change time, so we got stuck alone in the delivery room from 5:50 to 6:30 pm, and then they finally moved us upstairs to a tiny little private room. I had some Raisin Bran and we made phone calls and all that. My mom brought Camden to visit at about 8:15 pm and he was a little concerned about the whole business. He held the baby for a minute but then just wanted to press the buttons on my hospital bed to make my knees come up to my forehead. Saren also came to visit and brought Jonah some salad because I guess he didn’t want any cereal.

The baby was so peaceful and did a fine job nursing, except that she couldn’t open her mouth very big and I’m still hurting for it. The pediatrician came by and said he wanted to check her in the morning again so Jonah’s hopes of leaving that night were dashed. We finally went to sleep at about midnight, but I woke up every two hours to sooth the baby or to have my blood pressure taken or something crazy like that. Then, at about 5 am, before the shift changes again, EVERYBODY has to come into your room and do this or that, which is not a great time for a late riser like me. Plus, every person felt they had to knock REALLY loud on the door. Tracy came and discharged me at 9 am and the pediatrician at 10 am and after Jonah had a royal argument with the billing department about giving us the 10% discount for paying cash because we were paying cash (it was a really hard concept for them to understand, I guess) we decided to leave. Jonah has spent a lot of time in hospitals and nothing I can do will make him comfortable there. Plus, he promised to take really good care of me at home, so I said okay. And, he’s taken great care of me and it’s the one time I really have been glad to get out of the hospital.

So, after some good sleep (finally) at home, I walked over to Saren’s house for a baby shower in our honor and the guests were a little more than surprised that the baby was in my arms and not in my belly. It was fun to talk to everyone and let them meet this little perfect baby.

We haven’t named this girl yet, though we’ve finally narrowed it down to three names and are trying them out one by one. I have a few days yet to tell the birth certificate people so we’re just trying to make sure that we give her HER name. So, don’t worry, we’ll tell you when we know.

I was SO mad about having the baby so early, but it is SUCH a RELIEF to have the delivery over with. I guess I’ll just have to do my bookkeeping and other business chores this month with a baby on my lap instead. It’s so fun to finally meet her and she’s just the same in her movements and personality outside as she was inside.

The kids have been majorly crazy since we got home, so my mom and sister have been so nice to take them. Camden spent Friday next to me in bed, where we played games on pbskids.org and watched a few movies (this new laptop has been a lifesaver… I can’t imagine I’d want to get up and read email in the office). He’s having a hard time with the adjustment and doesn’t want to eat much or hold the baby. He does like to point out that she can’t “walk or yalk (talk)” like him and that he’s a big boy and she’s just a baby. Aniston likes to hold the baby and kiss her and kiss her. She also wants to change her diapers, hook her up for nursing, and put her to sleep. And she doesn’t need any help, thank you very much.

The recovery on this baby has been totally different. I am not sore at all from pushing and I don’t feel like my uterus is going to fall out every time I stand up. But, the uterine cramps are much more present and not worse but sort of a dull pain all the time instead of in waves. I also still have back pain, I think from have having back labor for about 18 hours on and off instead of the usual six hours straight. And, I have never been this sore from nursing, I think because the baby’s mouth is small and she’s a little tongue tied (the skin under her tongue keeps her from sticking her tongue out much), but it’s getting better. I’m just going to try and take it slow for a few days and just hang out in bed and enjoy this little baby before she starts growing so fast.

Thank you for all your prayers and good hopes. What a crazy week! Bodies are amazing at what they do!