Birth Story

Wednesday, February 3: We'd had a busy day. My mom and dad were already staying with us in anticipation of the birth of their 9th grandkid. We had bible study that morning and the kids got to sing on stage. The devoted Mr. Garland took my dad and the kids to a college basketball game after dinner, and my mom re-upholstered our kitchen chairs while I relaxed on the couch watching the Biggest Loser. I was huge and exhausted. I'd taken no less than a dozen recent "neighborhood walks" in an attempt to get contractions going. Jeff and I stayed up way too late, because I decided that I needed to do our taxes. That night. Note to self... if you want to get contractions going, just do your taxes. We finally fell into bed at about 11:30pm.

Thursday, February 4: 2:30am, while sleeping, my water broke. Contractions started kicking in about 45 minutes later.

The hospital staff told me to shower, eat something light, and head on in. Jeff always looks forward to running a red light or two on the way to the hospital. I ate a banana which I promptly "gave back" three times while checking into the hospital. Ugh. I was dilated to 1cm the week before at my OB's office visit, and my first check at the hospital I was a mere 3cm! Are you kidding me? That was it? My contractions were certainly intense, especially because my water had already broken.

I was given the amazing and always satisfying epidural, and rested for maybe 1 hour before the midwife came in to tell me that I was 9cm dilated and it was time to start pushing. Holy smokes, that was fast! R was born at 8:30am, just 6 short hours after my water broke. Happy birthday! She was much smaller (7lbs 14oz, 21.5") than our other 3 kids. I had hoped to have an evening baby, but alas I'll take her anytime (of course).

R was our first baby to take us inside the NICU. Shortly after she was delivered, she was growling, which sent up some red flags. Turns out that R's white blood cell count was low, so they sent off some blood for cultures and told us to plan on having her in the NICU until the culture results came back: 72 hours.

The NICU nurses were great and always encouraging. Seeing some of the babies in there was heart-breaking. Some babies had permanent stations set up, because they literally had been there for months. Seeing a 3 pound human born way too early, on a ventilator makes you realize how fragile and precious life truly is.

I was grateful for their service and specialty but we were also anxious to get our daughter home. I really wasn't too worried about her overall health and was sometimes even annoyed at all the fuss: monitors, antibiotics, the horrible IV in her hand, weighing soiled diapers, etc. But it's better to be careful than sorry later. The whole experience was new for us, and we were thankful to be in such good hands.

The hospital kicked me out (as a patient) after 2 nights, but allowed me to stay the third night in a special "parents" room adjacent to the NICU. The blood cultures came back normal. R was diagnosed with hip dysplasia at her discharge exam, so it felt like forever while as we waited for an ortho consultation and brace fitting. We arrived home on Superbowl Sunday with literally minutes to go until kick-off. It was wonderful to be home.

All wired up, and exhausted after delivery.

Oh, and here's a great way for a husband to score big points with his wife:

1. Get her pregnant.

2. Let her do lots of research on what to pack in her hospital bag.

3. Make sure she methodically has her bag packed weeks (even months) in advance.

4. Let her put her own bag by the garage door, while having contractions, to make sure it gets in the trunk.

5. Leave her bag at home.

(and the final kicker...)

6. Bring your bag.

It turned out to not be a big deal at all... I was in hospital garb the first day anyway. The only thing I really missed were my glasses. My eyes were screaming. My bag was delivered the next day. He had the important stuff: cameras. Jeff did such a great job, staying with R non-stop after the delivery as I recovered.

I'm so glad to have four kids with my best friend (who sometimes forgets stuff)!!!