Monthly Archives: August 2014

Briony Jane

Welcome to the world, Briony Jane.  That’s Brian-ee if you’re not familiar with the name.  It rhymes with Hermione.

Briony arrived after 90 minutes of labor.  My water broke during water aerobics (at the hospital).  Yep, that’s in the pool folks.  The whole thing was crazy fast.  I had to get out of the pool and get dressed and head over to the birth center.  There I eventually got a room and into a gown.  At this point, I was about 50 minutes in, and my doula showed up.  Until then, a woman I’m friendly with from my swim class had stayed with me.  (Thank God for her.  So nice.)  By the time they checked me, I was 8 cm dilated (and in serious pain.)  Jonathan was delayed due to traffic and logistical issues and was still not there.  Somewhere in there, I asked for an epidural, so they started and IV and contacted anesthesia.  I’m sure you can guess where this is going, however.  At about 1 hour 15 minutes in, Jonathan finally got there.  I was cross-eyed with pain and just about fully dilated.  A few minutes later I was having the urge to push and it was clear that no epi was in the works.  Four excruciating pushes later, the baby was out.  Ring of fire?  No frikking joke.  Thank goodness B made it in time!

There’s a lot to be said for a quick labor, but the experience was very overwhelming, though I suppose all births are.  I’m still working through it, mentally and emotionally.

As can be clearly seen, Briony Jane is a little beauty, and we are looking forward to getting to know her.  We are exhausted, but very happy to have the whole family together and home.

 

another bullet

I dodged another bullet today.  I am strep B negative.  Apparently something like one third of women test positive for this.  This results in having to take antibiotics for four hours prior to birth, which is problematic for a number of reasons.  In short, though, I am just happy that it’s not an issue.  Obviously, there are much bigger problems one could have, so I was trying and succeeding in being zen and not worrying about it.  I was less successful in being zen about having to wait a full hour to see the doctor today.  I was about ready to blow my smokestack.  I (very politely) threatened to leave, and they finally saw me.  (I simply said that I had to depart shortly, and if the doctor couldn’t see me soon, I’d need to re-schedule.)  I waited an hour and forty-five minutes for an earlier appointment and decided that I would not do that again.  I think OB’s offices are worse about this since sometimes the doctors have to go deliver babies, but if they are too busy to see me, I wish they’d simply inform me when I arrive so that I can re-schedule.  And obviously, it all comes down to money at the end of the day.  If they scheduled fewer appointments, they’d be more robust to deliveries reducing their staffing levels for regular appointments.

I have been very emotional in recent weeks.  I’ve always been an emotional person, but it’s ridiculously easy to bring me to tears these days.  I am just glad I got through my last day of work without breaking down in front of anyone.  Yes, my last day of work.  No more work for me for a while!

 

two days

I have two days of work left.  Two!  It’s been a long road.  I’ve been thinking for a while that if I can get through the end of work the baby might hang around for quite a while, like until its due date or even later, but that while I’m working, she might come very soon.  They checked me last week at 36 weeks, and I was 3 cm and 50% effaced.  I understand it’s very common for second-time mothers to walk around for weeks at 3, 4, or 5 cm dilated, but still.  It’s an indication that my body is preparing.  Last night, I was having lots and lots of B-H contractions.  I finally took a Unisom and went to bed, and I feel better this morning.  However, I’m really, really looking forward to putting my feet up this weekend.  I am really hoping the baby waits at least another week to come.  We’re really just not ready, though we’re a lot closer than we were.  We have the car seat in my car, and the crib has been put together.  I want to get a changing table for the master bedroom, and I need to wash and pack clothes for the baby, as well as anything else needed for the overnight bag.

The bottom line is that I”m not uncomfortable enough yet to want to get this over with.

Will I ever sleep again?

I love the pope’s <a href = “http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/04/opinion/parini-pope-10-tips-for-happiness/index.html?hpt=hp_t3”>ten tips for happiness</a>.  It’s really hard not to like this pope.  Maybe this is because the media loves him, but I am inspired.  <a href = “http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/08/us/american-archbishops-lavish-homes/?hpt=hp_c2”>This article</a> on CNN is about the excess of bishops and archbishops in particular.  I’m not impressed to see that the ab of Seattle is among the group; he apparently lives in a 4 million dollar house.  Having just been through a housing search, I can definitively state that you can live very well in Seattle in a house worth anywhere between 500K and 1 million, and obviously modestly for a lot less.  Not all bishops live like kings; see the end of the article for others who live more modestly, including of course, the pope himself.

Eight business days of work less.  I had a very stressful workday Saturday, and I feel a weight lifted off my shoulders now that it’s over, but these days I feel like every week is harder than the last.  I am very emotional lately and often find myself in tears in the mornings.  I remember feeling like my emotions were totally out of control in the beginning of pregnancy, and that feeling is returning to an extent.  I cannot remember being this uncomfortable last time, but B assures me that I was – or at least that I complained a lot.

Having a toddler definitely does not make things easier.  I often feel these days like I prefer to spend all my leisure time in bed, but I think it’s somewhat understandable.  After working a 10 hour day Saturday, L woke me up at 6:30 am on Saturday.  I brought her into bed with me, and B went for a run.  She slept fitfully until 8, at which point we got up and had breakfast and the day was underway.  Last time, I likely would have woken around 8 but laid around in bed until 10 or so.  I think those extra hours of sleep make a big difference.  I miss them.   With two children, will I ever sleep again?  I can’t remember the last time I had eight hours of uninterrupted sleep.