Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Birth
The arrival of Lindsay began at around 3 p.m. last Wednesday, Feb. 23, as Nicola was enjoying a hand and foot massage and I was working from home. Nicola came home and told me she had been experiencing contractions throughout her massage. Now, we'd had a few semi false alarms before, but this seemed different. And I must say, we were glad. At the doctor's appointment that morning, we'd set a schedule for inducing labor for a week and a half out...meaning the baby would be born around March 4. Um, that's not going to work for us, we thought.
And so Miss Peanut aka Lindsay began her long journey. Contractions continued throughout dinner and we recorded the frequency and duration. I think it was around 9 p.m. that I actually brought the bags up to the dining room in preparation for our departure. It didn't seem legit...was this really it? Was labor underway. Apparently, yes! 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. was pretty intense with contractions, a shower was taken, the doctor was called, the dog was anxious. We packed up the duffle bag, the backpack and the shopping bag (food, cameras and music). As usual, we terribly overpacked. Even the birth ball made the trip (and never left the back seat of the car, naturally).
I think we were both in shock or denial or disbelief. We had zeroed in on the due date -- maybe even earlier, expecting the baby before the due date -- and when that came and went, there was some letdown. We began thinking about inducing, but wait! Labor! Baby! Coming now! Coming now? Yes, well, then, let's get to it!
We called Tom and Phoenix, who had pledged to speed down from Oregon at first sign of their first granddaughter. Into the car we went, knowing the next time we come back to Alameda, the family will be one bigger. Midnight is a great time to drive in the Bay Area, by the way. Excellent timing, Lindsay.
By 12:15 a.m., we were checked in at Alta Bates. In triage, Nicola was hooked up to a fetal monitor. Lying on her back, she experienced several very painful contractions...and the idea of having an epidural began to seem like a better and better idea. She wanted to go as long as possible without it...but you could sense that it would be an inevitable (and welcomed!) part of this process.
12:40: off we go to Room 17. (John Havlicek. Jake Delhomme? Harold Carmichael? These are guesses, but 17 was a better choice than 18, because who can remember a number 18? Wait, Gabe Kapler? Oh -- 17 is good too because it is the date of Nicola's birthday in May...but you can see where my thoughts went first!). Anyway...(to be continued...time to help out with Lindsay).
And so Miss Peanut aka Lindsay began her long journey. Contractions continued throughout dinner and we recorded the frequency and duration. I think it was around 9 p.m. that I actually brought the bags up to the dining room in preparation for our departure. It didn't seem legit...was this really it? Was labor underway. Apparently, yes! 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. was pretty intense with contractions, a shower was taken, the doctor was called, the dog was anxious. We packed up the duffle bag, the backpack and the shopping bag (food, cameras and music). As usual, we terribly overpacked. Even the birth ball made the trip (and never left the back seat of the car, naturally).
I think we were both in shock or denial or disbelief. We had zeroed in on the due date -- maybe even earlier, expecting the baby before the due date -- and when that came and went, there was some letdown. We began thinking about inducing, but wait! Labor! Baby! Coming now! Coming now? Yes, well, then, let's get to it!
We called Tom and Phoenix, who had pledged to speed down from Oregon at first sign of their first granddaughter. Into the car we went, knowing the next time we come back to Alameda, the family will be one bigger. Midnight is a great time to drive in the Bay Area, by the way. Excellent timing, Lindsay.
By 12:15 a.m., we were checked in at Alta Bates. In triage, Nicola was hooked up to a fetal monitor. Lying on her back, she experienced several very painful contractions...and the idea of having an epidural began to seem like a better and better idea. She wanted to go as long as possible without it...but you could sense that it would be an inevitable (and welcomed!) part of this process.
12:40: off we go to Room 17. (John Havlicek. Jake Delhomme? Harold Carmichael? These are guesses, but 17 was a better choice than 18, because who can remember a number 18? Wait, Gabe Kapler? Oh -- 17 is good too because it is the date of Nicola's birthday in May...but you can see where my thoughts went first!). Anyway...(to be continued...time to help out with Lindsay).
(I'm not going to finish tonight. Bed time calls.)
// posted by Bill @ 8:28 PM 
