I can’t believe that the day to return to the office is already here. It seems like years ago that we were at the hospital for Nate’s birth but the calendar brings me back to reality. It has been just over 11 weeks. We have gone from incessantly sleepy Nate to (seemingly) incessantly cranky Nate to where we are now – which is holy-cow-how-is-it-possible-this-cute-smiley-kid-belongs-to-us Nate. Now that I have said that out loud I have probably tempted the Gods to turn Nate back into the incessantly cranky* baby we had about 6 weeks ago.
*Cranky Baby = 3 Modes of Operation: Sleeping, Eating, Fussing
On this eve of returning to the office it seems like an appropriate time to share the story of his arrival. Of course – the truly appropriate time has long passed but what can I say? We have been busy navigating the roads of Parenthood. And we can’t seem to find a map, but thanks to our family and friends we are getting around quite well. So far.
So rewind, if you will, to December 26th. I went to Dr. Kleiss for my weekly check-in and was told that I was at least a week away from going into labor. This was fine with me as we still had a fair amount of preparation to do for the arrival of the Boy. I hadn’t packed a bag for the hospital, the nursery was far from complete, the guest room was trashed (leaving no suitable place for the Moms who would surely be arriving), and we had a few key items to get at Babies R Us. In addition, I was not overly uncomfortable despite being almost 38 weeks along. This surprised me as, earlier on in the pregnancy, I fully anticipated that at 38 weeks I would be chanting “Get this baby out of me!” to anyone who would listen.
The next day at work several people asked me how long I planned on working. Sure that Dr. Kleiss was right about still being a week off, I told them that I would be in at least through the following week. That same day I also had a funny conversation with a coworker/new mom about what contractions felt like. I had no idea because I hadn’t had one yet. Would I know it when it actually happened? Apparently not.
That night I woke up at 3am for my usual middle of the night bathroom visit. Walking through the dark room, a wave of discomfort swept through my abdomen. I think I was so focused on getting back to sleep – after all I was going to work in the morning – that I didn’t really pay attention. Besides, I was very used to random aches and pains at this point. Then 5 minutes later, back in bed, the same sensation washed over me producing an involuntary moan. Randy stirred, asked me if I was OK, and I said that I thought that I was. Five minutes later, the same feeling, the same uncontrollable urge to voice my discomfort. Randy, looking at the clock, realized before I did that these were evenly spaced occurrences. Until this point, I had not even had the thought of contractions let alone labor. After all, I was still a week out right?
With the realization that this could be “it” the panic set in. What if we go to the hospital and get sent home jumping the gun at the first indication of labor? What if we don’t go and this is really happening and I don’t get there in time for the epidural? Being a wuss with next to no tolerance for pain and less desire to go the route of natural childbirth, this worried me more than the first scenario.
Four minutes apart.
Randy disappears from the bedroom and returns with the handbook we were given at the Piedmont Labor and delivery class. We review the signs of possible labor, false labor, and labor.
Three Minutes.
Oh shit! This is really happening. Randy starts fumbling inside the TV cabinet that was recently moved out of the extra bedroom to make way for the Boy. He is intent on something but I don’t know what. The cats are oscillating between curiosity of the open TV cabinet and horror at the unearthly noises coming from my mouth every few minutes.
“What are you doing?” I ask in exasperation.
“We have to watch the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD!” he says.
Mind you, this TV has not been hooked up since leaving Virginia. I convey my disbelief with a few choice words since we clearly missed the window where educational videos would be of any value. We call the doctor’s answering service, Dr. Kleiss returns our call and tells us to come to the Hospital.
Less than 3 minutes.
I throw together a bag pausing every few minutes to bend over and writhe through another contraction. By 4:20am we are ready to go. I step outside and cling to the front porch railing while Randy swaps the cars in the driveway. I wail thorough another contraction worrying that I am waking up the neighbors but am unable to help myself.
We arrive at Piedmont and I am whisked from the car directly to a labor and delivery room. They tell me I am 7cm dilated and the first question I ask: “It’s not too late for the epidural, IS IT?!!”
It has become apparent that I won’t finish this post tonight. Stay tuned for Part II
