Hellobee

Part 1

Two residents stopped by to see how far I was dilated. I was super uncomfortable at this point and was hoping for the best. I was worried about having to get a C-section if I wasn’t dilated far enough, but the resident announced, “You’re 7 cm!” I asked, “Is that good?” She responded, “You’re the envy of every woman in here! It’s usually an hour for every additional centimeter, so you should be fully dilated in about 3 hours. We’ll move you into a labor and delivery room now.” It was only about 10AM. I was wheeled across the hall into a labor and delivery room.

Upon entering the room, I felt the extreme urge to go poop again so I asked to go to the bathroom. After going #1, I noticed a huge bloody mess on the floor. I was put into bed and arranged in the stirrups while the attending checked my lady parts again. “You’re 10 cm. You can start to push.” It had only been 30 minutes! My water hadn’t broken yet, so Dr. A also had to do that for me. I was kind of glad that I didn’t have the experience of wetting myself in public or somewhere uncomfortable, because it was definitely weird to have a sudden gush of warm fluid pass out of me.

I was so overwhelmed, but luckily the attending nurse, Anne, was awesome. She was the most amazing coach ever and gave me a mini pep talk before we started pushing. She set me up in a sitting position with my hands on the handles beside the bed. She told me two big pointers: 1) Push like you’re going to poop. Use the muscles in your behind. Don’t push with your face. 2) Contractions are your body’s way of helping you to get the baby out. Embrace and accept the pain and push with the contraction.

I really didn’t know what to expect at this stage. None of the books or classes could prepare me for this. I was excited by the prospect of finally meeting our little girl, but daunted by the task of getting her out. I don’t remember much about the pushing part except that I was very intensely focused. I was SO lucky to have Anne there. I know this is the part where I should laud my husband for being awesome and he was! He was awesome because he knew to let Anne, a pro, take over and be my coach. I needed Papa Marbles there, but for moral support. I didn’t have the energy to speak or converse with Papa Marbles or my mom, who was also in my room. In fact, any kind of pep talkiness from them would have been almost annoying. At one point during some intense pushing, I asked Anne, “Are we making any progress?” Anne took a look and said, “Yes, we are definitely making progress.” That was all the pep talking I needed.

I pushed for about 40 minutes and then Anne told me to stop. The baby was crowning!!! She went to get the doctor. I felt like I had been pushing a boulder up a giant mountain. My face was hot and I was sweaty. But I was sooooo ready to meet our little girl. The doctor came back in and this is where it gets a little blurry. Anne told me to push one or two more times, and then asked excitedly, “The baby is crowning now, do you want to touch her head?!” We laugh about this now, but Papa Marbles swears I gave her this frantic look like Are you sh*tting me? I vehemently said, “No!” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to experience touching my baby’s head, but I was SO close to being done that I didn’t want to prolong labor any longer. And then it felt like it was seconds and I heard the cry. I could hear Papa Marbles in the background excitedly yelping, “She’s here! She’s here!” I had one last question, “Is it a girl?!” Anne took a quick peek and said, “IT’S A GIRL!!!” And before they even cut her umbilical cord, they wrapped her up and put her against me and I became a mother.

Our Emma was born at 12:01 PM on February 27, at 6lbs. 6oz.

One proud mama. Moments after Emma was born. Notice how my face is all red… apparently, I burst a few blood vessels while pushing!

A closer look at sweet Emma

As I clutched her close to me, I felt her soft and warm skin just melt into my body. I was reminded of the time as a kid visiting a working farm, I got a chance to hold a newborn piglet. Emma was just so cozy in my arms. I felt like I was in a stupor. I watched as she immediately stuck her fingers into her mouth and started sucking furiously. It’s stressful being born! After some skin-to-skin, the nurses pulled her away and announced, “All right daddy! You’re up!”

Success!

It was time for Emma’s first diaper! Papa Marbles looked around with a Who me? expression and then realized yes, he was in fact the “Daddy” now. He approached the bassinet with my mom and they put on Emma’s diaper while the rest of the doctors and nurses finished tidying me up. I didn’t get to witness much, but I got to see Papa Marbles’ triumphant smile after successfully diapering Emma. Not quite sure how Emma felt about it though.

After the diapering escapade, we were waiting for a room assignment. Papa Marbles and I just spent time ogling our new baby. Every little movement was worthy of oohing and aahing. They brought me a hospital lunch, but luckily my mom was nice enough to get me a lunch bento box from a nearby Japanese restaurant. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I started eating and couldn’t stop stuffing my face! My mom left once we were moved into a room. Lucky for us, we got assigned a private room, which meant that Papa Marbles could have a cot instead of a reclining chair to sleep in that night.

One very hungry baby

Once we were settled in our room, a nurse came and gave Emma her first sponge bath. She didn’t like it too much! We spent the rest of the afternoon taking turns holding Emma and feeding her. She was a famished little baby. We also changed a fair share of diapers. It’s comical to think now about how long it took us to change a diaper. We were so very careful and even used latex gloves the hospital provided to apply diaper cream to Emma’s bum! Now it takes about two seconds to quickly whip off and put on a new diaper.

“I am trying to sleep!”

The hospital promoted rooming in and we were happy to have Emma right by us. Emma would snooze too, but she slept fitfully. With every little twitch or murmur, I would jump out of bed and pat her or shush in her ear (thanks Happiest Baby on the Block!). The nurse taught us how to swaddle Emma and that seemed to comfort her for a bit, but the only way she would sleep quietly was in my arms. Poor Emma was also whisked away frequently for checks and shots throughout the night. Once or twice, when she was finally asleep, a nurse would roll in with a scale and make us unswaddle Emma so that should could be weighed and have her temperature taken. Emma was certainly not happy about that. Papa Marbles and I didn’t get much rest either.

Perfectly and professionally swaddled

After a sleepless night rife with interruptions and a morning full of general hustle and bustle around the hospital, we were ready to go home. At our hospital, it was standard to stay 48 hours after a vaginal delivery, but we were hoping to go that day if there were no issues. Despite having a private room, the inter-room intercom used by the nurses to page each other was starting to grate on us and we just wanted the comforts of home.

Emma with her great Aunt, her first visitor. This is one of my favorite early Emma photos

All dressed and ready to go home. The pacifier looks enormous!

That morning, the hospital pediatrician examined Emma. We were told that Emma looked great. Then our regular OB, Dr. C visited and gave us the same good news regarding my condition. We requested an early discharge and went home that evening. We had only spent a total of 36 hours at the hospital! When we finally arrived at my parents’ house (where I planned to sit the month), the realization set in, we’re parents now… and it would be all us from there!

Did you give birth at a hospital? What was your experience like?