before
The first part of the
first day
So on Thursday, June
13, (J’s due date)- I took care of stuff at home then stopped at Melissa’s and
said hi to my parents. In the afternoon
I went to Spencer’s work around 1:30 to see him officially receive his Bronze
medal for placing 3rd in the nation in all his CIRA testing.
Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor.
He would have received it at the annual Fraud and Forensic Accounting
Conference in Chicago, but it was just before the baby’s due date, so he opted
out and Tom, his boss’s boss, who is a member of the board at this conference,
presented the award there at the office. We joked about how Jamison was coming
fashionably late, and wanted to make an entrance!
It was a huge honor Spence
received- go SPENCE! His boss, Nick,
was hilarious with the photo shoot he did, taking pictures of Tom and Spencer for
the board newsletter. He tried to be all
professional photography- ish and it was funny because overall the presentation
ended up being love key. You’d have to
meet these guys.
We had martinellis to
celebrate and then I hurried out (late for my appt ) and I walked across the
street to my Doc appt. I had driven Spencer’s car and parked it at his
building my parents were there to meet
me, having taken my car.
DOC APPT
It was really fun to
see my parents at the doctor’s for moral support, and when we were called in
and Dr. Daneshgar saw us, I introduced my parents, mentioning that my dad is a
n anesthesiologist. Dr. Daneshgar then
said that for sure Dad was probably encouraging me to get an epidural. I confirmed this and said I was going to do
that.
He said that my blood
pressure was still really high and that it had been all wekk. I was also
having mild headaches, a sympton of preeclasmpsia (along with high bloo
pressure. Id’ also been watching for
blurred vision) He said that he was sending me to the hospital, with a note for
Dr. Nassir, the Doc on call, that my bloodpressure was high, he feared
preeclampsia or gest. hyperstension, and I should be induced jus to be safe.
I was at 40 weeks. So that was the best option.
I was super excited! The day had
finally arrived!!! He got things started a little by starting to strip my
membranes, and then away I went with the note!!
My parents
drove me over to Spencer’s work- the front driveway type area and I called
Spence. ‘They are sending me to the hospital to be induced. My
blood pressure is high.’ I had veen told earlier – starting week 38, that I
needed to watch this- lower satl, take it easy- rest on Left side half hr inmorning,
half hr evening… id been doing that. My blood pressure had otherwise been
normal thru preg except maybe abut 5-6 monyh mark one time.
I asked Spencer how
much time he needed. I knew that he had
been leaving all his projects this last week in a state where he could take
off… he’d been on call all week to drive
me to the hospital. ’10 min,’ he said. Whee!!
He came down with his
stuff- one more baby gift and his computer, and we headed over to where I’d
parked his car. I explained more about
what the doctor had said and we talked about what we had to do before going to
the hospital. We’d head home, change
clothes and pick up our bags that were already packed and then stop briefly at
Ralphs for a few things.
DRIVE TO AND CHECK IN
AT HOSPITAL
We were on our way to the hospital in
rush hour traffic but luckily we made pretty good time! Spence dropped me off and parked, then came
to meet me so we could go up to labor and delivery together. We got to the desk and there was this man
complaining to the nurse on behalf of his wife who wanted to be admitted but
had been refused. I started breathing
deeper and dramatically… trying to plead my case a litte and hop the line of
one. Spence asked if I was having a contraction and I winked at him.
The nurse wrapped up with the fellow
ahead of us and she took my I.D and insurance cards, filling out the necessary
forms. She then explained that they
had aunique situation at the
moment. They had no beds!! – they were
so busy, everything was full, but we culd wait in the hall. We walked thorugh the doord to the labor
area. The staf were friendly with us
saying hi, but all they could do was pull up a chair and it was me and another
pregnany lady who was at 30 weeks waiting to be able to get a bed and lie
down! The other lady I guess said she had
no cervix left pretty much. She’d need
to have an emergency c section. We
waited a little longe trand everyone in the staff was friendly as theywalked
by, greeting us and applolgising. A
third lady then came in whith her husband to wait. They then said there was a spot that opened
in Labor delivery… they;d skip triage and said I was next… The nurse who
brought us right into Labor Delivery was named Ashley. She was hilarious and fun/ Nurse Ashley. She checked my blood pressure and did a few
tests. She said they;d admit me and sent
my urine to test for protein- if there was then it could mean I had
preeclampsia. She and I chatted a lot
and she shared a few tips and breathing techniques, when to ask for epidural,
and just about herself too when I asked.
She showed
Spence how to unhook the blood pressure cuff and heart monitors so I could use
the restroom when needed easily as my stay progressed.
She tried to reach our doctor but by then it was a little after
6:00 and from 6-7 the doctors are doing their reports of their work for the dya
and cant be reached. So we played a bit of a waiting game. She reported to the
next nurse about what was happening with us.
She Gave her email to me saying she wouldn’t be back for another shift
in a while and was sad she’d miss seeing my baby! She said to send picsJ
Our next nurse,
Genevieve, kept things moving along.
They finally reached the doctor on call- it had taken a little while
because there was some questi as to who WAS the doctor on call- they’d changed
the schedule. It was not actually the
doctore I expected, it was a completely new one in the group tha ti didn’t know
about., He said to first make sure the
baby was not breach. Nurse
found somoen to bring in the equipment for the ultrasoundsand a resident to take care of reading the ultrasound. They took the ultrasound and said he was vertex. I couldn’t really tell much more that tat since he was so squished in there….Yes we could go ahead and induce. Good news!
found somoen to bring in the equipment for the ultrasoundsand a resident to take care of reading the ultrasound. They took the ultrasound and said he was vertex. I couldn’t really tell much more that tat since he was so squished in there….Yes we could go ahead and induce. Good news!
The urine test came
back for protein… none… so it was gestational hypertension I had, not
preeclampsia. Phew! The blood pressure cuff kept checking me
every 15 minutes or so and I had to make sure my arm was straight.144
We were happy we were
admitted and happy that they got a hold of the doctor and were going to start
inducing… but there was a lot more waiting ahead!
The first part of the
inducing procedure was to use something called Cervidil to get thigns moving
along. It’s like a tampon and sits in
there for 12 hours. By now it was 9pm. So we bunked down for the night. I slept fairly well and watched a few movies
in the morning. Our next nurse was
Jocelyn. Genevieve told her proudly that
I was independent and could unhook and rehook myself up to go use the restroom. One time though, when I used the restroom and
brushed my teeth, I guess I pushed my luck, because they came nby to see what
was taking me so long to hook back up, and if everything was ok. Mostly though it was a handy and helpful
thing. Spencer mostly took care of the
unhooking and rehooking, recuffng… but if he was out I was independent.
DAY 2
I watched a few
movies in the am and docs kept coming in and out.
They checked me at
10am or so and the cervidil had moved things along so they gave me an hour
break before the next procedure and I was allowed to have a ‘regular diet’ yum!
Spence brought me an omelet.mmmmm.
My parents came to
see us and it was great to visit with them.
This helped me to keep a positive attitude and hang in there during this
unexpectedly long wiat time. I had hoped
they’d see the baby but they had to fly home that afternnon, so we talked about
when they’d come next.
The doctor’s started
me on Petocin and along we continued…
Early in the afternoon I told Spence how I felt like my body had let me down by not
going into labor naturally and by having high blood pressure - I said if t
weren't for these things we would not have to stay here in limbo!
Everyone said I just had to hang in there.
Nurse Violet was super steady and
awesome. She layed out the facts.
The doc
showed up and said that if things did not progress we would have to do a c
section…( however, that was a long way off.)
If it came to that, he said it would be partly my decision and partly
his.
Soo…
I rally started visualIzing then and
thinking open thoughts. I wanted to meet
my baby!! I was also praying. We were so close!
They Broke
water- again a resident was located and she came and took care of it. It was a satisfying gush.
LABOR
I started feeling the
contractions and when the nurses walke din one time I was laughing. They thought that was pretty crazy that the
contractions made me laugh! It wasn’t
the case, though.,.. hah… Spence had just said something funny;)
The contractions
started coming more often and stronger.
Spence
snuckin jello from the cafeteria when they ran out in the labor delivery area!
At this
point things were feeling uncomfortable and I found comfort in listeneing to Jamison’s
heart beat from the monitor. I asked
them to turn it up and it not only drowned out other beeps, it also gave me a
comforting focus.
Epidural, ‘Epiduaral when 4-5 level pain is what they
recommended.’ So I asked for one… it
took a while getting it all started with me because
there was a patient who had a breakdown in --her epidural medicine had suddenly
stopped working! The doc came tho and
did a fine job!
The pain still got
quite stong though and so I pushed the
button for stronger dose too and then doc came to up it a little more bc pain
was still really relaly bad!!
Artound this
time Violet was one of the nurses who was middle aged and affrican American and
so so sweet… one of my faves! She had
stayed on past her shift bc they were so busy, and was just there present in my
room during this time as things really started happening.
DAY 3
It was the
middle of the night andit was so nice to have my nurse pretty much constantly in
the rrom because Spence was asleep. She
was working from the computer.
They had me
get settled in a side postion with my legs up and said to let me body do its’
thing. Nurse Dawn was the one in charage
and she said to tlel her when the contarctsions started to be to the point
wehere there was a constant pressure.
This was called bearing
down. At one point they also had me with
an oxygen mask. During this whole time we would also hear new
babies being born every 2 hour sor so!! Thered be a cry and it was so cool!
ACTIVE LABOR/
PUSHING
Now I said it was a constant pressure- so
they set things up in the room for delivery.
I was starving as I’d had only broth, jello, ice pops and juice for the
last 14 hours. I kept asking for food
and they kept saying no.
they had me Start pushing, andi did for
a while, Spence and a nurse holding my legs.
It was about 4 am. They said to
push like i was pooping. They said to go
with the contaractions and to breathe.
Iawas really focused and I also knew about those poop muscles because
they are the ones I use when I sing.
They’re low and STRONG. they
called the doc and he came over- lives close by. He ws pretty chill and hands off, and was actually there for longer than
usual. I guess he’s usually just there
the last ten min before delvieery. I was
doing a good job pusning but the length o time it took will be explained
later. He was a little laid back,
letting the resident and med student do a lot of the work.
There was also a baby care lady there
in case of problems, so there seemed to be a lot of people.
After pushing for a while the nurse said she could see the
head! Spence looked and saw it too. So exciting!
I asked for a mirror and then a little while later was able to see the
head myself. It was so incredible! Seeing his dark hair and a fair bit of it
gave me great motivation to keep pushing.
I got a little tired at times, but was mostly focued and totally excited
to see the little one.
I pushed for 45 minutes and they had me
dictate when the contractions were happening because the machine was a little
delayed. The epidural had worn off just
the right amount so I could gfeel them… the timeng worked well/
The doc said- after about 40 min that
they’d need to ge tout the vacuum to suck him out. Just then
I said I felt like throwing up.
Nurse Dawn got a bucket and away I went three times. ‘And that’s why we don’t eat!’ Then they said they didn’t need a vacuum
after all. Puking has the same effect.
I guess it took a little lnger ppusing
because he was posterior. Sunny sifde
up./ they don’t tell people theat in the
moment because it can be discouraging. They let you know after the baby’s in
your arms.
Doc said, in the final stage, I’d tear
for sure and he’d snip me. I shook my
head. One more push, I said. I wanted no delay and I also thought that
maybe I wouldn’t tear.
WELCOMING HIM
4:44 am
Suddenly
there was another little person in the room.
They held him up for a moment, facing me, and he blinked and looked
around, crying softly and just a little. I was amazed at how present and perfect he
was. He was a complete little miniature
person with every part to the finest detalil.
He was so sweet with a whole personality all his own. I was in awe. Spencer cut the umbilical chord
and they rushed him over to me for skin to skin time. We looked at our son for the first time
closely and fell in love. He was so
alert and seemed to appreciate that we were talkin to him because everything
was so new. We talked and told him where
we were and that we were so glad to meet him.. he looked up at us in a friendly
way with his big blue eyes. We cuddled
and talked and Spence and I sang, ‘you are my sunshine.’ We bonded and noticed how his hands were so
big! He was our Liittle Guy fresh from heaven.
I had worried for a moment something was wrong beacseu he had not cried
loudly like I’d expected when he came out, but it was just that he’s so
chill! It was such a beautiful, spcial
time to get to know Jamison. That’s when Spence said, ‘yes, Jamison,’ and we
decided for sure that this was the name that suited him. We smile and talked and got to know each
other. He was so awake and adorable and
little. We examined his perfect fingers,
toes, ears, mouth, nose… laughed at his bundle of hair, smiled, had lot sof eye
contact, and enjoyed every second.
After an
hour that flew by= of our smiles and joy and rapture, they took his weight-
8.64, hright- 21.5 in, and gave him a shot and eye drops. Then tey bundled him up, offered congrats,
and we prepared to head to post partum.
They sewed me up while we were bodngin with Jamison, becayse I’d torn,
but I hardly noticed that they were doing this.,, I was so in love with my
baby! Again there was a change of shift
right as we were changing rooms, but we got everything settled alright.
(mostly)
POSTPARTUM
Nurse dawn
ordedd me a turkey sandwich but it was takng forever! I was STARVING! I also needed ice because I was in pain from
tearing! It took a while to settle in
completely with a new shift right at the moment we moved to postpartum , but
they worked quicklyand did their best.
I ende up waiting 4 hrs for food and
About 1 hr for ice
(some immediate but couldn’t have it on wheelchair so onec in room I had to
wait forever!.)
BUT the food they
brought was my fave! BREAKFAST! French
toast!
This
was a time of incredible excitedment and
wonder as we spent morr time with our baby and leanred how to care for him. I
oculd barely walk, but I didn’t really need ot goa nywere.
They broughy
us a huge gift basket and apologized that we had to wait for a bed when we
first arrived at the hospital!
We called
family and shared the happy news. We
learned so many things and met many more great nurses….
Early that
afternoon Puentes came to meet him and it was so special to introduce him to
some of his family! The boys were not
admitted in as theyw ere under 12 and not siblings, but Spence brought them
candy in the lobby.
Day 4
(Sunday)
At one point
in the night they asked if I wanted them to take him to the nursery so I coud
get some sleep. I finally agreed since I
was super tired. We settled on a time
when they’d bring him back… it was a little past the time and I missed
him! I asked fo them to bring him back….
It was nice but a little funny, They said,’you were fine in there but Mommy
misses you so we are bringing you back.’
Another time
when they took him for his other tests they said to him as they brought him
back, say hi… and he wnet ‘ah!’
ADORABLE…. He was being held up towards us.
Sunday was
really special as we continued to tell family the news AND it was Father’s
day! Our first full day with our little
one.
The previous
day I didn’t really get out of bed but today I took a shower and in the early
evening we took a stroll out of the hospital room. We pushed Jamison in his little bed and
walked along the hall. As we turned a
corner I saw someone who looked vaguely familiar. I suddenly recognized her and said, ‘Sarah!’ She was one of my coworkers and she and I
were 2 of the 5 pregnant ladies at our work- the two with the closest due
dates. I couldn’t believe it! It was wonderful to see a familiar face. As we blathered on about our deliveries and
babies we realized they were born exactly 1hour and 45 min apart from each
other on June 15!! WOW!
Day 5
We again had
to wait around for the pediatrician to come discharge Jamison. But… in due time, we got everything packed
and we were suddenly…
TAKING HIM
HOME!
Finally we
were dischargfe and they took off the enormous ankle bracelet he had on (which
would sound an alarm if he was taken past a certain point in t he hospital) and
we put him in his cut elittle white outgit and got him in his carseat. We had to hustle a little becuas eonece again
it was almost 7 and time for the change in shift.
As we were
wheeld or walked- depending – out the door I saw ashely at the desk chatting
with the receptionist! I said hi to her
and she came down the elevator with us, laughing and talking and sayin how cute
Jamison was.
after
J thanks doctors and nurses ashely genevieve, Jocelyn Joy
Robbim Violet Dawn Jovie Anna Jocelyn
