Hellobee

Part 2

We moved exactly one week before Emma was born. I remember when we were packing, I would talk to my belly and tell our little girl to give her parents a few days to move and set up her new home. She complied — she gave us seven days! Emma’s due date was February 28, but for some reason, I thought she was going to be a March baby. I assumed since I was a late baby (arriving 2 weeks late) and Papa Marbles was a late baby (arriving 3 weeks late), Emma would be late as well. Even after we moved, I was working under that assumption. I’d start unpacking a box, get tired, stop, and figure… what’s the hurry? We have until March 4. I was set on March 4 for no particular reason and assumed Emma was in agreement too!

At 39 Weeks right before our move.

But Emma was born on Sunday, February 27. On Saturday, I was super antsy and crabby… on the verge of a hormonal emotional breakdown type of tantrum. I woke up cranky and all I had in my mind was that I wanted to go outside. I needed a nice long walk. There was no rationale behind it; I just needed to get out of the house after staying in and unpacking all week. So Papa Marbles and I Googled a park in our new neighborhood. We also had some strange premonition that it would be a good time to install the infant car seat. I mean, we were only two days away from our due date, so perhaps it’d be a good idea to have the car seat ready to go. We drove to a nice park nearby and worked on the car seat for about 30 minutes. Then we walked the perimeter of the park, which was about a quarter of a mile. I was feeling great — refreshed and energized.

After our walk, I begged Papa Marbles to take me to lunch at Ben’s because I was craving deli food. We had a feast of sandwiches and pickles. By the time we got home, it was late afternoon and I was pooped. I lazed on the couch and fell asleep for an hour or two, then decided to unpack the TV room and dining room. I helped push together two leaf pieces of our solid wood dining table. We also unpacked my collection of art books (each weighs about 5 – 10 lbs.), and arranged them all on our TV room shelves. I got on my hands and knees to clean the floors. I really had no idea why I was so motivated to clean at that moment. Then as we were moving the coffee table, our final piece of furniture for the TV room, I felt a strange twinge in my belly. I immediately sat down and Papa Marbles asked what was wrong. “I’m cramping, but it’s not like normal.” Then I saw Papa Marbles’ eyes light up. He told me later on that when I said that, he knew that the baby was coming.

I still believed that she wouldn’t come for another week. I sat down and told him that I needed a minute, but just in case, we should go through our hospital bag. It had been packed for a few weeks. Papa Marbles went to grab it and we reviewed every item in the bag. Meanwhile, I was starting to feel contractions, but I was certain they were Braxton-Hicks. I toddled upstairs to the nursery and selected a few baby items to wash and include in the hospital bag, and made sure to grab our baby book and journal. I also found my iPad. Early in the pregnancy, I downloaded every pregnancy app possible, even a contraction timer. Our doctor and the nurse from our childbirth class told us very specifically to time the contractions and not to call until they were 5 minutes apart. The app was a godsend. It had a “Start” and “Stop” button, which later on would be the only two words I would shout at Papa Marbles as the contractions started getting closer together. Our OB also told us at our last appointment that if I started going into labor late in the evening (we had stopped unpacking around 10PM), that I should try to sleep and call when it got to be unbearable.

Of course I didn’t sleep. I kept getting up because of the contractions, but mostly because I felt like I had indigestion from our heavy lunch and if I could just poop I’d be fine. I was sure it was false labor. Before I went to bed, the contractions were about 15-20 minutes apart. But by the middle of the night and after about the 20th trip to the bathroom and feeling like I had the worst constipation ever, I admitted defeat and got into the mindset that I was surely in labor. The contractions were timing closer and closer together. By about 5AM they were 8 minutes apart. At 6AM after another trip to the bathroom, I noticed what looked like my mucous plug after I wiped. It was indeed time. Papa Marbles and I agreed that we wouldn’t even call the doctor until the contractions were 5 minutes apart, so I stared down at the iPad until the intervals averaged 5 minutes.

At about 7:30 AM I was timing 5 minutes apart and we called the OB’s emergency line. My OB was not available, but another doctor in her practice took our call. He was already at the hospital delivering another baby and told us it was time to come in. We quickly gathered my bag and all our things. Before leaving I called my mom, who lives 5 minutes away, to let her know we were leaving for the hospital. She asked to come with us too so we agreed to go pick her up on the way to the hospital. At the time, Papa Marbles thought it would be a great idea to do a quick video before we left. I remember feeling like I wanted to wring his neck, but now I’m grateful we have a little memento.

Before we left the house, I also grabbed a hand towel so I could bite down and not yelp every time a contraction started. We got into the car, picked up my mom and made our way to the hospital in midtown Manhattan. Luckily it was Sunday and unseasonably warm and sunny. There was no traffic on the highway. I didn’t talk much in the car, but I made a request that Papa Marbles take the Midtown Tunnel (toll required) which is faster and more direct than taking the other free bridges, which he is usually apt to do. He responded with “Don’t worry, honey!!! I’m not going to cheap out today!” We made it to the hospital in under 30 minutes. My mom checked in with me while Papa Marbles went to park the car. I had to stop several times on our way to the Labor and Maternity floor to cringe and bite down on my towel. In retrospect, I should have requested a wheelchair because every step took so much effort.

We finally made it to the Labor and Delivery floor and I was checked into triage. I slowly shuffled my way into the room, changed out of my clothes and into a gown, and climbed into bed. The nurse asked me to lay still for 15 minutes while they hooked me up to the monitors to check my and the baby’s vital signs. It was just about the hardest part of labor– to stay still! The only position that had been remotely comfortable for me the whole night was standing hunched over a piece of furniture and clinging on for dear life. To lay on my back was sheer torture.

I got through the initial review with the nurse and everything looked fine. The OB on-call, Dr. A visited with me and told me that he was unable to reach my OB, Dr. C, but since they share the same practice if I would mind if he delivered the baby. Not the thing I really wanted to hear, but since I had also had experience with Dr. A, I was happy to comply. He then asked me if I wanted an epidural. At this point, I didn’t feel like I was in torturous pain. I asked Dr. A, “Should I?” And he responded, “It’s up to you.” I looked around for help. Papa Marbles and my mom both shrugged. I decided against it. “I’ll try without it and if I need, I’ll get it later.” Famous last words. I never even got another chance to consider an epidural.

to be continued…