On the Day You Were Born--The Second Installment

(First installment...if you want to compare and contrast.)

Dear Rosebud/MJR,

On the day you were born...your brother and I took a tour of a fire station with a group of kids and moms. It was positively pouring rain that morning, and I was remembering three years before when he was born in the pouring rain; I wondered if you might make your entrance in this terrible weather. The firefighters and other moms were joking that if I were to go into labor, at least I was in a good place for it ha ha ha!

1:30 pm - SIR and I visit the marvelous Dr. Chen. She reports that I am 2 cm dilated, and performs a membrane sweep to try to speed things along. Since it is still two days before your due date, and because your brother came a week late, I don't have high hopes. I had been having Braxton-Hicks contractions for weeks, and two nighs prior had some that were starting to become painful (real), but seven hours of those yielded nothing.

2:00 pm - I'm on the phone with Dr. Chen, calling to tell her that your dad and I decided NOT to schedule an induction at this time. She says that she respects our decision, but talks me into at least putting one on the calendar for September 2, since that weekend is Labor Day and our next opportunity to induce would be the 6th. This takes several phone calls back and forth.

3:00 pm - I'm on the phone with your Mimi, sobbing over the idea of being overdue, AGAIN. She mentions that she's headed to Toledo for the evening, and wonders if she should pack her suitcase--the one that she's planning to bring when you're born. I say, eh, why not? Better safe than sorry.

4:00-4:30 pm - I'm on the phone with your "Auntie" Alexis, iPhone in hand, timing contractions. Nothing new...I'd been doing this for days. Eventually I said, "Um, you know, I think I'd better get off the phone. These contractions are getting pretty real. FIgures that I might have a baby today, since I haven't washed my hair or finished packing my hospital bag." She said, "Well, why don't you at least get off the phone and take a shower--it'll put your mind at ease." So I did. Timing contractions the whole way.

5:00 pm - I call your dad. "I don't know if this is real or not, but it's rush hour and I'd feel better if you were at least on your way home from work. " He dashes out the door (completely forgetting he's supposed to be giving a ride to a friend--oops).

5:30 pm - I call Dr. Chen. Again. "I've been having contractions 5-6 minutes apart for an hour." "An hour isn't very long, so call me back in another hour if they're still going strong."

Now the timeline gets a little blurry, but by 6:30 pm your dad was home, I had walked the dog, tried to make some dinner (ha), finished packing both myself and your brother, and a set of grandparents had been put on standby to come pick him up for the night. I sent a text to your Mimi, asking her to call me before she leaves Toledo, to see if she should head back to Detroit or come straight to Chicago. Contractions are 2-4 minutes apart.

By 7:45 pm, your brother was on his way to Granny and Grand Dede's house, Mimi was on her way to Chicago....and your dad and I were on our way to the hospital!

8:15 pm - We arrive at the hospital, and your dad takes the worst photo of me in my entire life. I did ask him to snap a photo outside the car, since we hadn't taken a pregnant photo since 36 weeks. Silly me. Check in is quick and easy, and Dr. Chen is there to greet us and show us our room. (Seriously, readers, she is THE BEST OB EVER. She was with me--and I mean, IN THE ROOM--almost every second we were in Labor/Delivery. She coached me through contractions, she joked around with us, she answered all my questions. This is what you get when you choose a one-woman OB show. Oh, also, I used to teach one of her kids. That probably makes a difference.) I am 4 cm and 80% effaced.

The next 75 minutes are pretty rough. By this time in my last labor, I was already epiduraled up, so painful contractions were a thing of the past. Not so this time. We had requested the anesthesiologist to come administer one, but he was stuck in a C-section, so I labored sitting up on the bed. Dad provided a hand to squeeze, and my INCREDIBLE nurse and Dr. Chen helped me breathe out those nasty contractions.

9:15 - Epidural is administered. It was bad. I don't want to talk about it. But when it was over, I felt. so. good. I had talked at length (well, as "at length" as anyone gets to talk to the anesthesiologist...30 seconds?) about not wanting to be completely numb, and he did a great job. New with this delivery was a button I could press to administer more medicine, as needed.

10:00 pm - I am 6 cm and 100% effaced. Dr. Chen breaks my water. We think it doesn't work. But 20 minutes later, I'm having massive contractions that I can actually FEEL (even with the epi). At 10:30 pm, I pushed the magic button.

The doctor and nurse have left the room and I have another one of those crazy contractions. The nurse comes in and I tell her, "I feel like the baby is RIGHT THERE." She says she'll check me to see what's going on. She says, "That's because the baby is RIGHT THERE."

The whole mood of the room changes. Lights come on, nurses come in, the birthing area is prepped, the ceiling opens up, the stirrups are put into place. The staff is joking with me, and I'm laughing with them. My nurse says, "If you guys crack one more joke, she is literally going to LAUGH this baby out!"

Dr. Chen reenters. More friendly banter. She says it's time to push. I push six times (two sets of three).

10:48 pm - You are born! And you look just like your dad...