Announcing...
So, it devolves upon me (PC) to write a blog post every couple of years here, it seems. Or, rather, I ask MC to let me share the story about our child being born. So, here goes!
MC gave birth to our daughter this morning! For the short report, it is as follows: 7 hours of labor later, plus one late epidural, and we have a 7 pound, 4 ounce and 20 inches long daughter who may or may not look like either one of us - mother and baby are well, and will be home soon. For the longer version, keep reading!
I guess the first thing you should know is that Sister appears to have a sense of humor. Given the fact that 3/15 is my birthday, I had become instantly suspicious of this little bundle of joy once I discovered her due date way back when. She had the audacity to be due near my birthday!
Luckily this week is spring break for me - no classes at night. MC had been having braxton hicks contractions for a while, so we were still basically in the dark about when this girl would come. MC had a feeling on Monday that she would go into labor in the next few days...which proved to be definitely within the bounds of what really happened. Since I was home, MC decided to go grocery shopping in the evening with me in charge of K1. Well, 3 stores and an hour and a half later, MC returned home at 10pm with groceries and some strong contractions.Not wanting to act on a false alarm, MC decided to start timing them at 11pm and, figuring that we just might be making a visit to the hospital, decided to finish cleaning the bathroom (I had already cleaned the parts that required somewhat more caustic chemicals), organize the house, and curl her hair. Yes, you heard me, she curled her hair. She was definitely the best looking woman in labor in the whole building - not just on our floor. Once the contractions were regularly 5 minutes apart, we called our great friend, Sharise A. at midnight who had agreed to take K1 at any time when we needed to head to the hospital. What a great help she was. K1 was of course confused and sad when I dropped him off, but we had no time to waste.
Upon arrival, MC had already dilated to 7cm almost 8cm when they checked her in triage and we were admitted. She was able to remain incredibly relaxed during the whole experience, making jokes and the like when not focused on making it through a tough contraction. MC opted for an epidural this time. She felt she wanted an epidural for the pushing part of labor because of how intense/painful it was last time. Not to mention the fact that she was so tired and didn't know how long labor would last and didn't want to be worn out for pushing. They really took their sweet time setting her up for it, though. When they did, the anesthesiologist was impressed with how calm MC was. By 2:45 AM, this kid was about ready to come out. We helped MC get in a good position for delivery, then the doctor went about elsewhere in the room to get things ready for delivery. Well, our daughter must have decided that she was ready to come out, because she just came right out with no pushing from MC. The nurse had to yell for the doctor to come and the doctor only had enough time to put on gloves and kneel on the bed to catch the baby. They didn't have time to set up the bed or the equipment properly before the baby came! They were all caught quite off guard.
It was fun to watch MC during this process. It was so different from last time. I really think she would have been calm along the same order of magnitude had she not received an epidural; the contractions would have been more intense, but she would have remained in control. At any rate, it was fun to watch her sit there, unaware that the baby was coming out. When I told her we could see the head, MC could hardly believe it. Then *voila* the baby was there, all purple and small!
Neither of us were able to get to sleep until about 5 AM. Then some nurses woke us up at 6:30 or something like that to have MC nurse Sister. I was kind of out of it and stumbled out to drive to a doctor's appointment I had scheduled for myself some time before. I had some things I felt I had to take care of at work, so I went to work for about 4 hours - probably a mistake, looking back, but I did what I thought I had to.
It was an honor to witness the birth of another spirit of our Father in Heaven. MC and I are excited to welcome her into our home. We hope that K1 will prove an able older brother - especially in the 'let's not do anything to harm our sister' arena. We also hope that Sister will prove a patient spirit.
And that was the way I have celebrated my birthday this year! I now have a birthday that is not just my own anymore. I am excited to see this day through the eyes of another for the rest of my life.
A big thanks to all of those who have expressed congratulations and remembered us in their prayers - we appreciate each one!
MC gave birth to our daughter this morning! For the short report, it is as follows: 7 hours of labor later, plus one late epidural, and we have a 7 pound, 4 ounce and 20 inches long daughter who may or may not look like either one of us - mother and baby are well, and will be home soon. For the longer version, keep reading!I guess the first thing you should know is that Sister appears to have a sense of humor. Given the fact that 3/15 is my birthday, I had become instantly suspicious of this little bundle of joy once I discovered her due date way back when. She had the audacity to be due near my birthday!
Luckily this week is spring break for me - no classes at night. MC had been having braxton hicks contractions for a while, so we were still basically in the dark about when this girl would come. MC had a feeling on Monday that she would go into labor in the next few days...which proved to be definitely within the bounds of what really happened. Since I was home, MC decided to go grocery shopping in the evening with me in charge of K1. Well, 3 stores and an hour and a half later, MC returned home at 10pm with groceries and some strong contractions.Not wanting to act on a false alarm, MC decided to start timing them at 11pm and, figuring that we just might be making a visit to the hospital, decided to finish cleaning the bathroom (I had already cleaned the parts that required somewhat more caustic chemicals), organize the house, and curl her hair. Yes, you heard me, she curled her hair. She was definitely the best looking woman in labor in the whole building - not just on our floor. Once the contractions were regularly 5 minutes apart, we called our great friend, Sharise A. at midnight who had agreed to take K1 at any time when we needed to head to the hospital. What a great help she was. K1 was of course confused and sad when I dropped him off, but we had no time to waste.
Upon arrival, MC had already dilated to 7cm almost 8cm when they checked her in triage and we were admitted. She was able to remain incredibly relaxed during the whole experience, making jokes and the like when not focused on making it through a tough contraction. MC opted for an epidural this time. She felt she wanted an epidural for the pushing part of labor because of how intense/painful it was last time. Not to mention the fact that she was so tired and didn't know how long labor would last and didn't want to be worn out for pushing. They really took their sweet time setting her up for it, though. When they did, the anesthesiologist was impressed with how calm MC was. By 2:45 AM, this kid was about ready to come out. We helped MC get in a good position for delivery, then the doctor went about elsewhere in the room to get things ready for delivery. Well, our daughter must have decided that she was ready to come out, because she just came right out with no pushing from MC. The nurse had to yell for the doctor to come and the doctor only had enough time to put on gloves and kneel on the bed to catch the baby. They didn't have time to set up the bed or the equipment properly before the baby came! They were all caught quite off guard.
It was fun to watch MC during this process. It was so different from last time. I really think she would have been calm along the same order of magnitude had she not received an epidural; the contractions would have been more intense, but she would have remained in control. At any rate, it was fun to watch her sit there, unaware that the baby was coming out. When I told her we could see the head, MC could hardly believe it. Then *voila* the baby was there, all purple and small!
Neither of us were able to get to sleep until about 5 AM. Then some nurses woke us up at 6:30 or something like that to have MC nurse Sister. I was kind of out of it and stumbled out to drive to a doctor's appointment I had scheduled for myself some time before. I had some things I felt I had to take care of at work, so I went to work for about 4 hours - probably a mistake, looking back, but I did what I thought I had to.
It was an honor to witness the birth of another spirit of our Father in Heaven. MC and I are excited to welcome her into our home. We hope that K1 will prove an able older brother - especially in the 'let's not do anything to harm our sister' arena. We also hope that Sister will prove a patient spirit.
And that was the way I have celebrated my birthday this year! I now have a birthday that is not just my own anymore. I am excited to see this day through the eyes of another for the rest of my life.A big thanks to all of those who have expressed congratulations and remembered us in their prayers - we appreciate each one!
Comments
Happy Birthday!
Congratulations! We could not be happier for your family!
(Good post PC!)
Congratulations to all of you!