My baby can read!

Most of you already know,  but the letter worked and our new daughter arrived on February 14th!  Apparently, all we had to do was threaten her with a plan and she was ready to get the show on the road all by herself.  And once she made up her mind? She was here very very quickly! 

We were talking about dinner on Friday night, and I was feeling a little uncomfortable- just kind of crampy,  but I sent Dude and Attila out for some food and by they the time they came back, I was definitely having contractions.  They were about 7 minutes apart, but they didn't last very long, maybe only 30 seconds or so.  So we ate dinner, and Attila  and I had a shower, and I packed a few last minute things, and we got Attila all settled in her bed.  Still having contractions. More like 3-5 min. apart now, but still short, but they were getting to the point that I didn't want to talk through them anymore.  

By 10:30 pm we called our parents and let them know it would probably be that night sometime. Called the midwife next and she asked if I wanted to go in to the hospital or if I wanted to wait it out some more.  I told her she was supposed to tell ME!  But after my last L&D experience, I thought I could wait it out a bit longer.  By 11:00 I had changed my mind. (I think I told Dude "I want an epidural now")   My contractions were still only about 30 seconds long, but they were getting more painful. We called my parents to come over and called the midwife back and told her we were leaving for the hospital as soon as my parents got there.  

My parents arrived about 11:30, and I snapped at my mom for trying to talk to me during a contraction, and then we left for the hospital.  (I also had a contraction while getting into the car- sort of half-in, half-out of the door in the driveway- not fun!) 

We got to the hospital around 11:45-ish  and walked in and they got me a wheel chair and a room right away. But of course they still had a bajillion annoying questions to ask. I told them before they even checked me that I wanted an epidural (now please!). So the nurse brought in the stuff to start an IV.   I got changed and the nurse checked and said I was dilated to 5- 6 cm. (yay!) and she put in the order for the epidural - my midwife wasn't there yet, they said they had called her and she was on her way.  She kept trying to get the IV started, but had to stop at least twice to wait for a contraction to pass.  Just after midnight,  I looked at the clock and I asked how long until the epidural and they told me 15 - 20 minutes. I thought "Ok, I can handle that."  And the nurse finally got the IV in. 

Right after that, all hell broke loose.  (Or like Ms. H once described it; we went from driving 55 mph to driving 185 mph!)  All of a sudden my contractions were a LOT stronger and I started feeling a lot of pressure.  I told the nurse I was feeling pressure and felt pushy and she said she would check me again. I remember saying something like "No, no, no, I don't want to know!"  I already knew what she was going to say.  Sure enough, she checked and said I was 8-9 cm. Which meant there would be no epidural for me! I did not take the news well.  There were lots of "Oh nos!" and "This is NOT how this is supposed to go!" and "Get the epidural man!" and things of that sort.   Meanwhile the nurses were rapidly setting up the room and introducing me to the on-call Dr. and resident and telling me that things would be fine, I could do this, blah blah blah.  (I remember making crazy eyes at Dude a lot but I don't remember a thing he said.) I was sitting straight up on the bed and the Dr told me I was going to have to lie back and I told her no, I couldn't possibly do that.  (Just because it was the only way I was coping through the contractions)  and the nurse said something like "Hon, that baby can't come out if you are sitting on it and we sure can't deliver her through the bed so you are going to have to lean back" - I just couldn't figure out how I could possibly move.  

They did help me to lean back and 3 pushes later, we had a new baby. It was 12:37 am.  About 45 min. since we had arrived at the hospital. It's a good thing we got there when we did!!!  My midwife got there about 5 min. later. (apparently there was some mix-up when the hospital called her, but I didn't learn about that until the next day).

Once she was born I felt great, but wow, that urge to push thing? INtense. Very Intense. And it's not really so much an "urge" as it is a freight train that will not be stopped. 

This delivery was so different from my first that it's still a little hard to wrap my head around. With Attila, it was long, but by the time we got to the pushing part, things were relatively peaceful- the room was dark, it was just the midwife, a nurse and my husband there,  it was quiet, things were slowly progressing, and it all just kind of unfolded. 

This time was the complete opposite - it was bright, crowded, loud and fast!  I guess I won't ever confuse the two. 

Anyway, it all worked out, baby is perfectly healthy, I am perfectly healthy, and we are all home learning how to be a family of 4. So far Attila has seemed to take it mostly in stride - though of course there are some expected rough patches. For the most part, she takes them out on us, not on her sister. She loves her sister, barely lets anyone else hold her,  and talks to her in the cutest, highest baby voice I have ever heard.  The baby was crying today and she ran over to the bassinet and said "What's wrong with you, you little stinker?"  But when she says things like, "Shh..shh... It's ok, your sister is here."  Heart=puddle.