A Sweet Little Present

December 4, 2012

A sweet, early Christmas present arrived today.  Hubsters and I are happy to announce that E. M. Cook (aka Bopper) arrived today.  Here are the stats, because it wouldn't be a birth announcement without the stats:

Born December 4, 2012 at 2:52 PM, weighing 6 pounds and 10 ounces, and measuring 19 inches in length.

E, just a one day old.

I'm a proud momma, so you're just going to have to hang in there with me and all the pictures!

And now, the birth story, edited for length and sparing you some of the more gory details.

E's Birth Story

As told by Mommy

Saturday, December 1, 2012 was Mommy’s birthday.  Daddy took Mommy to lunch at Pork Barrel BBQ in Del Ray, where she had a pulled pork sandwich and baked beans.  After, we celebrated with dessert at Cold Stone Creamery in Crystal City.  Mommy had her favorite, cake batter ice cream with Heath Bar, cookie dough, and chocolate fudge syrup (yum, yum!)!  Then, we went off to Stafford to our Married Small Group for an evening of ginger bread house decorating.

Saturday night brought no sleep, and Mommy woke up in a very cranky mood, and was very tired.  Daddy graciously suggested (well, told) Mommy to stay home from church and sleep, which she did, not waking up until 11.30.  Sunday was a day of feeling sick and tired, and not wanting to do anything.

Monday, Mommy spent the day with her good friend Kim.  We had lunch and gathered up Kim’s three precious kids and went to Walmart to pick up a few items Kim needed for her home school co-op Christmas party.  It was good to do some walking around.  Back at Kim’s house, Mommy noticed that things were happening.  Mommy asked Kim if this was normal, and Kim said yes, and that pregnancy was probably going to be over sooner rather than later.  Mommy kept that in the back of her mind and continued to spend the day with Kim making peppermint bark and assembling gift bags.

 

Around 3.30 PM Mommy needed to leave so that she could get home without being stuck in rush hour traffic.  She went out to the car and before leaving she called the OB who said Mommy could come into the office to be checked before her Friday appointment if she wanted.

Mommy then called Daddy who was at work and told him what had happened.  Daddy didn’t seem to fully grasp the meaning of it all was trying to process it and said he would be home in time for dinner.

Mommy also called Grandpa B because she had a feeling that you might be coming within the week or so.  You see, the original plan was for Mommy to call Grandma and Grandpa B when she went into labor, and they would hop in the car and drive down from Maine to be here in time for your birth.  However, this week, Grandpa B had flown to Oklahoma City for a business trip and Grandma B was in Maine caring for Great-grandma B who that morning had fallen and was in the hospital for surgery on her broken hip.  Mommy told Grandpa that he might want to start making plans for people to care for Great-grandma and Grandma in case Mommy went into labor.

When Mommy got home later that evening she started to freak out (really no other term for it) that she and Daddy were not prepared for the arrival of a baby.  When Daddy got home Mommy was quick to tell Daddy this.

Daddy said, “OK, let’s pretend that you are going to go into labor at 4AM this morning.  I’m not saying you are going to go into labor, but let’s pretend.  What are the things that we absolutely need to do to be prepared?”

“You need to pack a bag,” was the first thing Mommy said.

“OK,” said Daddy, “I’ll pack a bag.”

Mommy helped Daddy pack his bag so that he would be prepared for the hospital.  Mommy and Daddy also finished packing Mommy’s bag, your bag, and gathering all the other birth essentials they thought they would need, such as tennis balls in one of Daddy’s tube socks, Thermacare heat wraps for Mommy’s back, and hard candies to suck on.  Mommy also wanted to finish straightening up the nursery since it was a mess.  Daddy helped clear some of the boxes away and we put some other essentials away so that if indeed Mommy did go into labor you would have a clean crib to come home to.  Mommy and Daddy then lined up all the bags and pillows and other things they planned on taking to the hospital in your room so that they could grab them easily and quickly when Mommy went into labor.  Then at 11PM, Mommy and Daddy crawled into the AeroBed in the living room, which is where Mommy had been sleeping for the last two weeks because of her back pain, and went to bed.

At 2AM, Mommy woke up feeling like she was leaking.  She tried to go back to sleep, but eventually crawled out of the Aerobed and went to the bathroom.  When there, Mommy couldn’t tell if her water had broken or if she was going to the bathroom, so she called loudly for Daddy, who was still sleeping in the living room.

Daddy, bleary-eyed, came into the bathroom, and Mommy told him that she thought her water had broken, but wasn’t sure, and that maybe they should call the OB.  Mommy was pretty scared, because she was only 36 weeks pregnant, and it was still too early.  Daddy was wonderful, and called the OB on call, who talked to Mommy, and after asking some questions determined that Mommy’s water had broken.  Because Mommy was Strep-B Positive, she wasn’t able to labor at home after her water broke because she needed IV antibiotics to help keep you safe.  The OB told Mommy and Daddy that they should get to the hospital within the hour.

Mommy then called Grandpa B in Oklahoma City, and she woke him up.  She told him she was in labor.  Grandpa was a little shocked, but Mommy had warned him earlier in the day that this could happen.  He told Mommy to call Grandma and tell her what was going on.  So Mommy called Grandma who had only gone to bed two hours earlier after getting home from the hospital where Great-Grandma was.  Grandma was a little out of it because she was so tired, but Mommy pleaded with her to come to Virginia.  Mommy told Grandma to please hop on the next flight, and that Mommy and Daddy would pay for the ticket, no matter the cost, because it was important to Mommy that Grandma be here.

Mommy took a shower and braided her hair in pigtails so they would be out of her face while in labor.  She remembered that Julie, her Bradley teacher, had told her to eat something while in early labor, so Mommy made a can of Italian Wedding soup, but was only able to eat half of it  This was especially important because Virginia Hospital Center does not allow laboring moms anything but clear liquids.  Mommy also tried to drink plenty of water because she knew she was going to have to have an IV, which she was no looking forward to, and she packed a cooler of food for Daddy (and some things for her to sneak a snack when the nurses were not looking).

Daddy gathered all the bags and Mommy and they went to the car.  They arrived at Virginia Hospital Center at 4AM and were admitted.  Mommy didn’t have to go to the triage room to be evaluated because the nurses were pretty sure Mommy was in active labor, even though Mommy wasn’t really feeling any contractions yet.  When the nurses checked Mommy, she was already 4cm dilated, and her water had indeed broken.  The nurse started an IV.  Mommy really wanted the IV to be placed in her arm and not her hand, but the nurse couldn’t find a good vein anywhere except her right hand.  Mommy was sad about this, but determined it was a small inconvenience for a big blessing.  The on-call OB also came in and talked with Mommy and Daddy and said that Mommy would start the IV antibiotics and that she needed to be hooked up to the fetal monitor to make sure that you were OK.  Mommy really wanted to walk the halls and be moving, but the OB said she had to stay hooked up to the monitor.  Mommy asked if she could use a birthing ball during this time and the nurses went and found one for Mommy because Mommy purchased the wrong size ball and didn’t have an opportunity to return it to the store and get a different one.

Mommy gave the nurses a copy of her birth plan and was happy that she had brought copies with her because she was scheduled to go over her plan with her OB at her next appointment, which was scheduled for Friday (three days from the day you were born).  The on-call OB was not too keen on some of the things that Mommy wanted to do, like walk the halls and told Mommy to stay in the room hooked up to the monitors.  Because you were early, Mommy’s regular OB had not provided the Labor and Delivery team with a copy of Mommy’s medical records yet, so they had to wait until the OB’s office opened at 7.30AM to request them.  So, Mommy spent the first 3 and a half hours in her room on the birth ball.  Daddy was so supportive, rubbing Mommy’s back, helping her to relax and finding all of her stress points during the contractions. 

At 8 AM, Mommy’s OB, Dr Lashgari, accompanied by Dr Borelli, came and saw Mommy.  They looked over Mommy’s birth plan and told Mommy that it was all OK and that she could walk the halls as she wanted for 40 minute increments and then she needed 20 minutes on the monitor.  Mommy was very happy about this!  Dr. Lashgari knew that Mommy was attempting to have a natural birth and was supportive of this.  Around the same time, Mommy’s nurses changed shifts, and Michele and Ashley came in to meet Mommy.

Mommy and Daddy walked the halls of the Labor and Delivery ward for two hours, taking a few breaks to be hooked up to the monitor to make sure you were OK.  All the time, Daddy walked with Mommy, letting her rest her head on his chest during contractions and being supportive and loving and an all-around great coach!  At 10AM Mommy was checked by the nurses, and she was only 5 cm dilated.  Mommy was upset that there was not much progress.  Mommy continued to walk the halls and pace in her room as sitting on the birth ball because too uncomfortable.  Mommy also became nauseous and Nurse Ashley asked Mommy if she wanted something to take away the nausea.  Mommy thought for a bit, and agreed to take the medicine.  This helped Mommy’s tummy for a while.

At noon, Nurse Michele came in and suggested that Mommy lay on her side in the bed with a peanut ball.  Mommy tried this, and the first contraction as unbearable.  But Michele asked Mommy to give her four contractions in this position, and if they were still unbearable, she could try something else.  Mommy noticed that her contractions became less frequent, but stronger in this position.  It was also about this time that Mommy because nauseous again.  Michele gave Mommy a vomit cup in case Mommy did throw up, and this became one of Mommy’s focal and comfort points.  Mommy started getting the dry heaves, and her contractions became stronger and started to double peak.  Even though Mommy was in a lot of pain, she knew that she was in transition and that the end was near.  She also knew that if she did decide on an Epidural, that she would never be able to sit the twenty minutes needed to administer the drugs.  Mommy also didn’t want to move from where she was lying because changing positions made the contractions stronger.

Then Nurse Michele made Mommy switch sides.  Mommy was not happy and did not want to comply, but Daddy and Michele convinced Mommy that it would help move labor along, so Mommy flipped sides.  At this point, Mommy was concentrating so much on labor and the contractions that she only used single like “no,” “music,” “water,” and “hot,” to communicate with Daddy and the nurses.  Mommy lost all track of time, but was able to take short snoozes between the powerful contractions.  During these brief snoozes, Daddy was able to eat his sandwich (which Mommy could smell on his breath and didn’t like, but she knew Daddy needed to eat).

Mommy’s contractions became so powerful and strong that she felt the urge to push and told this to Daddy, who flew out of the room looking for Nurse Michele.  The next thing Mommy knew, Nurse Michele was checking her again and she was fully dilated.  Nurse Michele called Dr. Lashgari who came in to check Mommy while.  While this was happening, Nurse Michele helped Mommy flip onto her back.  Mommy didn’t want to do this, because changing positions was uncomfortable, but Michele told Mommy that is was time to push.  She also told Daddy how to hold Mommy’s legs to help Mommy push.  Michele told Dr Lashgari that she had about 20 minutes until you were ready to be born, so Dr Lashgari went back to her office.  For the next 20 minutes, Daddy and Michele coached Mommy on how to push and told Mommy that she was doing a great job.  Mommy could feel you moving down the birth canal with each push.  When Dr Lashgari returned 20 minutes after she left, Mommy noticed that she quickly instructed the nurses to help her change the bed into the delivery position and to help her put on her medical delivery scrubs.  After a few more pushes, you were here!

We give praise and thanks to God for preserving your life, E.  While you were being born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around your neck.  And it wasn’t until you were in Mommy’s arms that we knew there was a full knot in your umbilical cord.  Even though you were early, the Lord, in His perfect timing, knew you needed to come, and spared your young life.

Welcome Baby E!  Mommy and Daddy love you!

Thank you Dr. Lashgari!