I probably should have changed the title of this since today is most certainly not Eliza's due date - that would be insane! But I did want to put up this post that I started writing on June 20th and apparently just couldn't motivate myself to finish until 4 months later. What is wrong with me?!
Today was Eliza Jean's official due date and I thought I'd celebrate the occasion by jotting down her (very quick!) birth story.
On Thursday night, June 7th, around 10:30 or 11 I started noticing some really mild contractions. They were not painful at all and I could certainly talk through them (although I wasn't talking to anyone because Scott was at work until 1 a.m. and Alexander was sleeping). I jotted down the start times of each contraction on a notepad and used Uncle Ernie's stop watch to time how long they were lasting. They seemed to be coming every 30 minutes or so and lasting anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds. This went on all night. No big deal, they were nothing!
Because my water breaking was the first part of the process that I noticed with Alexander, this was a whole different experience and I wasn't quite sure what to do. I waited until the clock struck 7 a.m. on June 8th before making the call to my personal, always-on-call nurse (Mom!) to seek advice. I was supposed to go in to work at 8, but it didn't seem like it'd be a great idea and she agreed. She told me that she'd call me when she got to the office to let me know what time we could be squeezed in for an appointment to be checked. She called back a little after 8 and said that we could come in whenever we were ready, so we headed out after showers and packing the hospital bag, just about 9:30.
When we got to the doctor's office I was seen by Rita (I believe she's a PA?) because Dr. Berry wasn't there and she said I was about 4 cm dilated at that point. I had one or two actually intense contractions there. Rita called Dr. Berry to confirm that I should head to the hospital and that's where Scott and I went!
(My mom took Alexander to their house so my grandma could watch him until my dad got home and then she was going to come right up to the hospital. I had asked her and my mother-in-law, Roberta, to be in the delivery room with us.)
On the way to the hospital I had another one or two strong contractions that I definitely couldn't talk through. Valet took our car, they brought a wheelchair out for me and I was wheeled up (by a very old, slow walking man) to the delivery floor. Scott and I checked in at the desk, told them we were sent by Dr. Berry and they got us in a room. I don't know how long it was before a nurse came in to check on us, but it seemed like forever. The contractions were incredibly intense at this point and it was just Scott and I in the room, with me writhing in pain on the bed. Poor Scott had no idea what to do. My mom was by my side the whole time when Alexander was born, so the pressure was off of him then. Not so this time. I told him that I felt like I had to push or poop (sorry for saying it, but it's crazy how similar those urges are!!) and that I couldn't control it. He pushed the "nurse" button on the bed, but the response wasn't fast enough, so he went into the hallway, sitcom-style, and yelled "I need a nurse in here! My wife is going to have a baby!"
This is where Scott should add his two cents, but from what I remember, in came a nurse and then at some point an on-call doctor who checked me and found I was 10 cm and going to have a baby right then! They rushed in a whole bunch of equipment, broke down the bed for the delivery, stuck an IV in me, a midwife from Dr. Berry's office came in and took over for the other doctor and then Dr. Berry herself came (thankfully), I yelled "I can't!!" about a million times, I pushed two or three times and at 10:36, an hour after I was I checked at 4 cm, I was told to reach down and grab my baby!!
As crazy as that was, the craziest part of it all was when Scott announced the gender - A GIRL!! I just kept saying over and over that I couldn't believe it, which is so true. Somewhere along life's way I had convinced myself that I wouldn't ever have a biological daughter, so it took me a long time to grasp the idea that she was a girl. I mean, like a really long time.
(End of June 20th post)
Here are a few pictures from the hospital. More (and better ones) to come soon!
I won't write much more today, but I have to tell you that the absence of a blog post about Eliza in no way reflects her importance in our family. She is a treasure. I love her with every bit of me and can't wait to share more about her!
