P+J+m

Max is almost 7 months old! I’ve been wanting to take the time to write our story, but as any of you who’ve had to take care of a newborn probably know, your time stops becoming yours onc e you take the little one home. But it’s better late than never I guess. So here goes. . .

Our due date was September 7 and since I had GD I was scheduled to be induced on September 9. Our due date came and went (I even went to work that day!) and no signs of labor whatsoever so the 9^th it is. We were packed and ready. I remember just hanging out with my parents at home watching random Netflix movies. Paul got home early so we could all head out to my pre-labor dinner. This was pretty important to me since as anyone who’ve given birth will tell you, once you get to the hospital, it’s all ice chips ‘til the baby comes out. I picked City barbecue for dinner and we split one of their sampler plates most of which I consumed (diet? What diet?). After dinner, I kissed my parents goodbye, packed the car (we had 2 pieces of luggage and an exercise ball. We were prepared) and headed out to our 7:30pm appointment. I remember the exhilarating feeling of anticipation and dread and excitement. I was almost bouncing up and down in the car, as much as my bloated, pregnant self would allow. As we were pulling into the parking garage my phone started ringing. It was a nurse from the labor and delivery unit. She asked if we were on our way. I said we were pulling into the parking garage. She said they were out of delivery rooms at the moment so if we would just come in so I could get checked, but leave our luggage in the car and maybe we’ll get rescheduled for induction on Sunday. Paul and I sat in the car for a bit feeling really disappointed. Although on the upside, I thought, I get to have another pre-labor dinner. Maybe.

So we went in feeling kinda bummed. We got to the elevators and found out that we forgot which floor labor and delivery was at (doh’). I guess it was pretty obvious where we were going that somebody just went and told us what floor it was without asking where we were going. The giant ovum on the floor should have given it away really. We signed up at the waiting room and waited for about 15 minutes to be taken to an L&D triage. The waiting time made me realize how lucky I was that I wasn’t actually in labor yet. This was around 8:00 pm already. The nurse handed me a hospital/origami gown that Paul and I just could not figure out how to put on. We actually had to wait for the nurse to come back which was pretty embarrassing. Although it’s not like we were really in a hurry since we hung out in that room for quite some time. They did routine stuff (took my bp – good, checked my cervix – closed) then hooked me up to a machine that monitored baby’s heartbeat which was strong. Then we proceeded to wait for someone to do an ultrasound.

did not know what he was getting himself into

excited to soon not be pregnant anymore

The resident did not come around until about 2 hours later. She did the usual measurements (head, heart, leg bone, etc., ) and estimated the size of the baby to be around 7 lbs. However, she found that the volume of amniotic fluid was lower than optimal. She called the doctor in charge and they finally decided to let us stay. Yey! We were so relieved.

They finally got us to a delivery room at around 11 pm. Delivery rooms at OSU are so sweet. They are so huge, private and have large windows. We got settled and decided to take advantage of the cable in the room. We were channel surfing and ended up watching the first Men in Black movie. Will Smith at his peak J Do you remember that scene near the end when Tommy Lee Jones gets eaten by the alien/giant cockroach and he shoots his way out of its belly? Yeah, it didn’t occur to me until later that a lady soon to be giving birth probably shouldn’t have been watching that. Anyway, they started the induction at exactly midnight. They used a pill that goes directly on the cervix. Also at that point I was still not dilated. At this point they tell you to go to sleep. Crazy right? However I did ended up sleeping for about four hours. Paul was sleeping in a pull-out sofa bed which from what he said wasn’t very comfy. I think he got less sleep than I did.

At around 4 am they checked my cervix again and put in another pill. At that point I’ve also started bleeding a little (I think my mucus plug came out) and at 5 am I started feeling contractions. They are correct when they tell you that you will know you are having contractions when you feel them. They’re like intense pms pain. It was also sometime around this time when two very scared-looking med school students came into the room and introduced themselves. I was then sitting up on the side of my bed hunched over the machine that shows your contractions and Paul was next to me rubbing my back or something. They then asked if they could do anything to help. For some reason I just thought that was totally hilarious and could barely keep myself from laughing. I did feel bad for them because seriously, who wants to walk in on that?

At around 7 am a resident came to check my cervix again and while she was doing that my water broke. Now that was weird. I remember asking them to clean it up because it seems like such an embarrassing and inconvenient thing to happen. You can’t believe how many silly thoughts you get in the throes of contractions. Anyway, I think I was about 4 cm dilated by then. The contractions started getting pretty intense and we decided it was probably time to get my epidural or what I’d like to call magic meds. Mind you I was seriously considering having an all out natural birth but man, when those contractions started getting longer than the lull between them I was like “Let’s go modern medicine!”. So Kudos to mamas out there who got through without drugs. Of course as I was warned that it takes a little bit of time for the anesthesiologists to come around since unlike the drugs, they are not magical. Once they got that thing in and the pain stopped it was like seeing rainbows and unicorns and bunny rabbits. Amazing. It was so surreal because the monitor still shows the contractions but I did not feel a thing. I could still move my legs and everything too. They gave me the little button that gives you drugs when you start feeling pain. I loved that button. Also at this point they put me on Pitocin to move the labor along. I was so relaxed at this point that Paul was able to go out and get himself breakfast. I of course had to subsist on ice chips so I told him to tell me the food was bad which he did, only to find out a day later that he was actually just telling the truth.

I guess I did not tell you how very well prepared we were for waiting it out at the hospital. We packed things to keep us occupied like my laptop and several DVDs. I wanted to bring my Pride and Prejudice miniseries DVD, much to Paul’s delight. Just in case I did not feel like being charmed by Mr. Darcy while pushing, we also brought other non-Jane Austen DVDs. We actually ended up watching my favorite Arrested Development episode where Tobias dresses up as a mole and George Michael got the jet pack by accident and they proceeded to destroy the mini-town that Gob built to deceive the Japanese investors. Of course, this is all funnier if you actually watch the episode but trust me it is hilarious.

At around noon my OB finally got to see me. She was gone the night before because she had to take her daughter , who slipped and split her lip in the shower, to the ER. I just want to say, I LOVE my OB. She is so high energy and enthusiastic. I was also very concerned about docs being so quick to do C-sections but she was the OB of my lab mate who was in labor for FORTY-EIGHT HOURS and she didn’t push a C-section even then. So I felt really secure that she would do all that she can to let me have a normal birth. She checked my cervix and I was at 7 cm by then which was great. She then had to leave since she had to go to the clinic but said she’ll be back in an hour.

By 1pm I started feeling more and more pain and they had to up my dose of epidural. Soon after they checked my cervix and I was fully dilated. I think it was probably around then when I started shivering uncontrollably. It was the oddest sensation but apparently it’s due to a release of adrenalin that basically prepares the body for childbirth and also signals the beginning of the transition period of the labor. I felt really cold and had a lot of blankets over me. Due to the epidural, this was probably the point during my labor when I felt the worst. The nurse assured me that it would stop once I start pushing. I was instructed to tell them if I feel any sort of pressure because that is the sign that I need to start pushing. It was around 3pm that I sorta, kinda, maybe felt pressure so they called my doctor. Again, due to the epidural, I really didn’t feel much below the waist while I was pushing but my upper back was killing me. I think it was because I was basically lifting myself up over my belly and I somehow strained by back. I kept asking for hot packs and I had Paul help push me forward when I push. Pushing is kind of strange especially since there are somewhat long lulls between them. At that point there was just Paul and I, the nurse and my doctor in the room. It would get so quiet between pushes which would last about a minute or so and then a flurry of noise once the pushing starts (lots of “you’re doing great!” and “you can do it!”s and such). Then in between we all just sat around and waited. I remember my doc and the nurse carrying on a conversation about changes in their practice and other mundane things. It didn’t bother me at all since it kind of assured me that this was as normal a labor as they go if they could talk about things like that. The nurse was supposed to be out by 4pm so that was the goal we were shooting for. I was pushing as hard as I can and was getting really tired but the baby was slow in making his way out. About an hour and a half into pushing the baby’s heartbeat started getting a little bit slower. Dr. Goist got a bit concerned and started explaining how the vacuum works. I was not cool with that and I was also not happy with the sudden appearance of the forceps. She gave me an extra long rest and told me that if he did not come out in this push she’d attach the vacuum to help him along. I remember pushing with all my might and everybody yelling and then, he was out. Dr. Goist exclaimed “He’s a big one!” At first I could not believe it, I asked Paul if he was really out and if she used the vacuum or not (I was probably out of it by then). I did not hear him cry immediately since Dr. Goist was aspirating out fluid from his mouth. Then he cried what sounded like a really big boy cry to me. I think it was just lower than I anticipated. Paul left my side to cut the umbilical cord and then they took the baby away to clean him up.

Max at 8 lbs 4 oz and 21 inches. I think he's saying "It's too bright out here and it smells weird!"

Paul then turned to me and asked what I’d want to name him. I think I was still overwhelmed or something so I told Paul he should decide (we had 2 names to choose from then). He picked Maxwell Dean. I asked if I could kangaroo (skin to skin) him but they said not yet. At that point both of us had a fever over 100F. So they dressed him first and wrapped him up before they brought him to me. I remember looking over at the work table where they had him and they shut off the heating lamp because he had a fever. We got to hold him for about 15 minutes or so before they had to take him to the nursery for observations (since he had a fever). It was amazing how not tired I was then. I remember chatting a lot and being anxious to get out of bed. I guess it’s hard to stay still when you know you have the rest of your now totally changed life ahead of you.

First family portrait. I asked Paul if my hair looked ok and he said yes. Lesson learned: bring a hair brush and mirror next time. Husbands can't be trusted with these sort of things.

Coming next. . . what I learned about giving birth and the first days with a newborn

Before the month of love leaves us I just want to share our first Valentine's day as a family. Since our wedding anniversary falls just a couple days before Feb. 14, Valentine's usually ends up being a more low-key affair for us. This year we just decided to stay at home and cook. We planned on making the meal the day before Valentine's but on Saturday which was when we bought supplies for the meal, we got home to find that what we were planning to make for dinner that night was still pretty frozen. So Pre-Valentine's day dinner became a Pre-pre-Valentine's day dinner. We still pulled out all the stops with wine, candles and lots of food. Who say's having a little one has to cramp your Valentine's day?

This is one of the rare occasions when I actually remembered to take photos of food so here they are:

bacon-stuffed mushrooms

thyme roasted carrots

baked brie mac and cheese

here's a plate :) I didn't take a picture of the main course which was a boneless chicken roast. We bought it ready to bake at a poultry store at North Market. They already brine and flavor it and all you have to do is throw it in the oven. So yummy and so little work!