Thursday, March 15, 2007

It's A Girl - Greta Marie's Arrival (Originally posted March 15, 2007)

Greta Marie is officially one week old today and we’ve had her home since Saturday afternoon.

She was born (for those of you who don’t already know) on Thursday, March 8th, 2007 at 11:19 AM. She tipped the scales at 7lbs, 12oz and measured 20.5 inches long! I hope you’ll forgive me if my typing and/or spelling is atrocious – I’m typing with one hand because I’m using the other to support Greta’s head as she eats. I figured, “Eh, it may be slow, but no time like the present to update my journal.”

On Wednesday night (3/7), we dropped Kiddo off at the sitter’s house for an extended sleep-over. Thank God Kiddo loves them, and that they love him, too, or it might have been a disaster. As it was, he didn’t much seem to care that he wouldn’t see us for at least a day; he was already busy playing almost the second we set foot in the door. I tried very hard not to think about leaving him because, for some reason, I was on the verge of tears every time I thought of it. Yup – those pregnancy hormones certainly worked wonders on my emotions!

After we “abandoned” Kiddo, we went home and finalized a few things and went to bed. Our goal was to be at the hospital at 5:30 AM, so an early wake-up call was on the horizon. I spent another night on the couch – but please notice I did not say “slept”. Sleep was the furthest thing from my mind, which was so active that I couldn’t shut it down enough to even come close to resting. Hubby didn’t get much sleep either, for the same reason.

At 4:30 AM on Thursday, March 8th, I was awake and getting ready. (I think I showered. I hope I showered. I don’t really remember if I showered. I wonder why that bugs me so much?) Our stuff had been packed and placed in the living room the night before, so Hubby spent a few minutes loading it into the trunk of our car. By about 5:00 AM (-ish) we were on our way.

The hospital, thank goodness, is only about 4 miles from our house so we were there in no time. Even though we had pre-registered, we were told (or thought we were told) that we had to go in through the Emergency entrance. When we went in and told the only person there why we were standing in his presence (imagine a totally empty emergency room…yeah – tough, isn’t it?) he said “You need to go to registration.” I thought, “Ok” and we followed his directions to the registration desk.

At registration, we told the lady behind the desk why we were standing in her presence and I mentioned that we’d already “pre-registered” – she said, “You can go straight up to the Family Birthing Center”. I though “Ok,” and we followed her directions to the FBC. Suffice it to say, this was a lot more walking than I was up for when we could have gone straight to the FBC to begin with because we’d pre-registered. I wonder where the communication breakdown took place? Whatever.

We arrived in the FBC and they immediately went to work hooking me up to the appropriate torture devices; IV, contraction monitor, baby’s heart rate monitor etc… The IV was in the back of my left hand, and hurt like the dickens when she put it in, but after a while I forgot about it, except that I was “attached” to something (well, several “somethings”) and couldn’t just get up and move around. I was bothered mostly by having to just lay there and wait. I’m not a patient person.

They started the Pitocin drip right around 6AM. At about 8:30, the doctor came in and broke my water. Immediately thereafter, the contractions began to get stronger. My friend happened to come in about 30 seconds after the doctor broke my water so she sat with me through the first relatively painful contractions I’d felt all morning. (Oh…at this point, Hubby had gone home take the dog over to our friend’s house for a few days; a puppy sleep over.)

Not too long after that, the nurse came in (she was FANTASTIC, by the way – everyone who cared for us in the hospital was absolutely wonderful) and said that the anesthesiologist was on the floor and would be in momentarily to do my epidural. My friend started out being my “partner” as the anesthesiologist began to do his job, but Hubby walked in and they switched places. The most painful thing I felt through the entire day was the needle the anesthesiologist used to inject the local anesthetic prior to doing the epidural. It really hurt. I felt weak and shaky afterwards, almost like I was going to pass out. The epidural worked nicely and very shortly thereafter, I was feeling intense pressure, but no pain. The pressure, it turned out, was little Greta saying, “Hey, guys, I’m ready to get outta here! Let’s go already!”

I pushed for just about an hour and she arrived in the world at 11:19 AM.

There were a few things I could complain about, like the jackhammer (yes, really – a jackhammer) that started in at 7:30 on the day we arrived in the hospital. Hubby and I were just about asleep when it started and scared the living you-know-what out of us. After about an hour of solid noise, Hubby went out in the hall to the nurses’ station and said, “Is that going to go on all day?” I don’t remember when it stopped, except that it did. It was on and off for the rest of the day, and then again on Friday, but after a while it was like a sound you don’t hear anymore because you’ve gotten used to it. It was tough to hold conversations, though, because the thing was literally right above our room. Apparently the hospital is remodeling that floor and the 2 foot thick concrete walls have to come down in order to do whatever it is they want to do.

Oh – and something else I thought I’d share. I was starving after the delivery and Hubby kindly went to get me a pepperoni pizza, bread sticks and a Coke from Pizza Hut. It was the only thing that I wanted and was probably the best meal I’d eaten in a long time.

Anyway – that’s the story of how Greta Marie entered the world. Hopefully I’ll be able to do some more regular updating of this journal while I’m home. I really enjoy doing this, and really missed not doing it so it feels good to return to some sense of normalcy after the craziness of the last week.

TTFN
JMS

PS: No - I didn't type this whole thing with one hand. She fell asleep so I gained the use of my left hand! Two hands certainly make typing easier!

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Wednesday's Update (Originally posted March 7, 2007)

TRANSFERRED FROM LIVEJOURNAL Saw the doctor about an hour and a half ago. I'm being admitted to the hospital tomorrow morning...and I need to be there at 6AM! They'll begin all the appropriate drips and antibiotics etc...and the baby should be here by this time tomorrow! I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, but much relieved - if that's possible! We're bringing Kiddo to his sitter's house tonight around 8:30 and I'm very unhappy that I'll not be able to see him for a couple of days. I'm going to miss him so much! Hubby, in his wisdom, says for me to take it for the blessing that it is; an opportunity to get some rest without worrying about what Kiddo's up to. Anyway - just thought I'd write something quickly. I'm guessing I won't have too much time to post over the next few days. The next post you get will be a quick blurb on the baby's sex, weight at birth, time of birth etc... Hope you all are well! TTFN JMS

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Tuesday's Update (Originally posted March 6, 2007)

TRANSFERRED FROM LIVEJOURNAL No baby, no contractions…no nothing. I have a doctor’s appointment scheduled for 3:40 tomorrow afternoon. I should know something more definitive then. Hubby has been an absolute workhorse today! He’s made our living room look like…well…a living room. You can see the floor! It’s quite exciting to see. I’ve managed to do a few small projects myself – like cleaning out the bottom of my closet, organizing my shoes, putting all my maternity clothes in a box for the Salvation Army (I kept a few things out that I didn’t want to get rid of), and wrapping up all the “stuff” in my curio cabinet so we can put the cabinet in the basement. Kiddo has been mostly good all day and he and Hubby are at Wal-Mart right now getting who-knows-what… That’s all I’ve got. Hope you’re all well! TTFN JMS

Monday, March 05, 2007

Monday's Update (Originally posted March 5, 2007)

TRANSFERRED FROM LIVEJOURNAL Nope…no baby yet. I’m sorry I didn’t update this earlier, but, well…I’m supposed to be resting, ya know? Yeah, right. Today, I got to experience Hubby & Kiddo’s Monday routine for the first time. They get up, have breakfast, watch Curious George and Clifford the Big Red Dog on PBS, then they get dressed and go to Story Time at the local library! Story Time is a big, chaotic mess of kids going in about 50 different directions and one young, Scottish guy who attempts to make order out of the chaos by wrangling the 15+ kids and somehow managing to get most of them to pay attention to 3 or 4 stories. Lots of adult/child interaction throughout the stories. There were arts and crafts (Kiddo made a fish out of a paper plate), a little Bichon Frise named Cosmo who lets the kids do just about anything to him and loves it, and more noise than I have heard in a long time. The whole thing was actually quite enjoyable, despite the fact that I was uncomfortable. Then, we went to Chick-fil-A for lunch. Kiddo ate all of his nuggets, some of mine and Hubby’s fries, and almost all of his fruit. By the time we were finished with lunch, I was pretty wiped out. It was about 1:00 in the afternoon, so Hubby drove me home and dropped me off. I took a much-needed nap while Hubby and Kiddo went out again. At some point, though, they came home and Kiddo took a nap, too, though I don’t know when that was. It’s been a decent day – though one where I’ve been praying all day for some sign of labor. Hubby just made a wonderful dinner (entirely from scratch); meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots & corn, and homemade buckwheat biscuits. I’m stuffed. Kiddo is in the bathtub. Hubby’s cleaning the bathroom. I’m updating my Journal. Hope everyone is well. I’ll keep you all posted. TTFN JMS

Friday, March 02, 2007

Scattered (Originally posted March 2, 2007)

TRANSFERRED FROM LIVEJOURNAL I’ve just eaten an entire sleeve of thin mints (you know, Girl Scout cookies?). I don’t know what possessed me, but I couldn’t quit once I started. I know that in about an hour I’m going to be shaking like a leaf and looking like I’ve just given myself an injection of pure caffeine...but I don’t care. It will have been worth it. The only thing that could have made those thin mints better is if they’d been frozen! Yum! And so the countdown begins... I’ve finally gotten my bag almost completely packed; a few things still to be added at the last minute, like my toothbrush etc...but otherwise, I even managed to stuff my bathrobe in there! Kiddo’s bag is nearly packed as well - thank goodness! I think I actually accomplished something!!! I think tonight after I get home from work I am going to clean out my car. Maybe I can get Kiddo to help me – I know he’d love to feel “useful”. Last night, Hubby spent the better part of an hour trying to find our birth certificates so we can bring them to the hospital with us. I have a picture in my mind of what the folder looks like, but as our files never made it back into the filing cabinet after we moved in ’04, they’re still in boxes and crates – which, needless to say, makes finding anything rather difficult. He did find Kiddo’s file which includes his birth certificate, Social Security card and various other things from the hospital. He also found the file that contains our marriage license – but not our birth certificates. You’d think they’d be all together somewhere, but noooo – that would make things entirely too simple. Anyway – I guess that’s it for today. I’m starting to feel a bit jittery already and my mind is starting to get sidetracked, as it inevitably does when I feel like this. I think I need to bring my blood sugar down; how do I do that? Water. Good idea. TTFN JMS

Thursday, March 01, 2007

News & Other Stuff (Originally posted March 1, 2007)

TRANSFERRED FROM LIVEJOURNAL As uninspired as I was yesterday, I’ve got all kinds of stuff to talk about today! First of all, baby news. I had an appointment with my doctor yesterday and after the exam he said, “Yup...any day now...good thing I’m on call this weekend.” He gave me a note for my office stating, “Maternity Leave, effective 3/5/07” – so Monday of this coming week is the first day of my leave. Basically, the doctor is expecting me to go into labor sometime very soon, but he said that if I haven’t had the baby by Wednesday of next week (3/7/07) that they would induce labor. That would be only 5 days from the actual due date and it’s only because he knows how uncomfortable I am. So, needless to say, I am very excited, and quite relieved. I guess the relief comes from actually knowing something now. Even if I don’t have an exact date, I have a timeline – which helps. Kiddo’s sitter is officially “on call” for the next week. I (er...we) still have to finish packing my bag, pack Kiddo’s bag, clean out my car, clean the kitchen, change the sheets on our bed, put a bunch of stuff in the basement and clear off the dining room table. Once those things are done, we’ll be as ready as we’ll ever be. Last night we spent a couple hours at church for the Wednesday night supper. Usually, we sit with the same people, K&NM and their adorable little girl CG (who Hubby blames for my current condition as I spent a lot of time holding her when she first arrived), and S&CS, our neighbors. Last night, however, K&NM were late and another couple, with 2 young children (6 years & 21 months) asked if they could sit with us. (I know their first names are S&L and their kids are S & S, respectively – but I can’t for the life of me remember their last name!) Since Hubby was the one who initially clued them in to our church, and we like them immensely, we of course said yes. A quick call to K&NM told us that they were on their way (good, ‘cause I was beginning to worry) and Hubby let them know we might need to perform some “creative seating”. It all worked out OK, though – even though K&NM had to sit at an entirely different table all by themselves. I got up and went over to say hello and give them the news about the baby – but Hubby had already done it. (Hmmm...I wonder when he had time to do that? Where was I? Did he tell them when he called them to find out where they were? What did I miss?) Anyway – they’re thrilled, too! I think K&NM are almost as excited as we are! I want to let my loyal fans know that over the past few weeks, we’ve spent a significant amount of time with K&NM (KM, btw, is the Choir Director at our church) – and that due to some crazy oversight on my part, they have not gotten a mention here in these pages. I hope they’ll accept my apology and forgive me for such a horrible mistake. (I’m grinning as I write this because I know KM is blushing and shaking his head as he reads it.) Everyone is convinced that this baby is a girl – everyone. Well friends and family, there is a 50% chance you’re right...and we still don’t know! I think not knowing the sex of the baby has frustrated everyone else except us. It’s actually become a kind of personal amusement to hear people groan, “Oh...how could you not have found out?” or “I could never do that – I need to plan everything!” Wow! It’s amazing how much better I feel just knowing that the end is near. I don’t care about the house, except for the few things I mentioned above – which is another relief. I know who’s going to be watching Kiddo. I know that both my mother and my Mother-in-Law are planning to come for short visits – though hopefully not at the same time because I have no idea where we’ll put them. We may have to borrow rooms from neighbors and friends! Oh – and my Father-in-Law is doing much better! Apparently, his urine was light and clear yesterday, which is very good! The dialysis seems to be doing its job. Thank you for all your prayers. Now if my Sister-in-Law was feeling better...so keep praying for her! Ok...I’m done now. Hope all is well with everyone! TTFN JMS