Push it Good, Push it REAL Good
The fans have spoken...so here is the post. ;-) (Yes Tulip Girl, this is for you)
It's finally happened. I missed a birth. I walked into the LDR toting my birth bag, birth ball, and camcorder, WAY more awake than someone my age should be at 3 a.m.
The nurse greeted me with a cheery "you're late."
Huh?
With a smile she said "The baby has already been born...she is in room 306."
What???? First time mom...she called me in the early the previous evening to let me know that she'd starting having contractions in the morning 30 minutes apart. They were mild. They were 15 minutes apart when she called me, and still mild. She was 1 day past her due date and had visited her OB that day. He told her not to expect the birth that day. I figured he was right--sounded like a gentle and slow labor building up. Maybe a birth by breakfast the next day...
She called again at 10:30 p.m. Said the contractions had been 10 minutes apart for an hour, and her OB wanted her to go into the hospital. But she didn't think labor was really serious. She expected to go in, get checked, but then leave and go stay at a friend's house close to the hospital (she lives 45 minutes from the hospital). She told me that they needed to take their dogs to the kennel, which was in the opposite direction from the hospital. I expected that she would get to the hospital around midnight at the latest, and would give me a call around then to let me know what was up. I was still predicting breakfast.
Midnight came and she didn't call. I had all my stuff ready to go, and went to bed, hoping to catch a bit of sleep. 1:45 the phone rang. It was her husband calling to let me know they were on their way to the hospital, contractions were now 4 minutes apart. He didn't indicate any real urgency, but we agreed that I would meet them at the hospital. Breakfast still seemed like a good bet for birth time. I called my husband, who said he would be home in 10-15 minutes (he works until 2:30 a.m. usually). He was home by 2. I left by 2:15, but stopped in at Wegmans for some pastries for the nurses--bribes will get a doula very far. ;-) I was in the hospital parking lot by 2:50, but then the long walk to LDR for my greeting...
Sigh. Even if I had walked out the door right when I got the call, leaving the kids home unattended and not stopping for the bribe, I still would have missed the birth. She was 5 cms dialated when she was initially checked at 2 a.m., but then some 20 minutes later they were getting visual confirmation of the ultrasound prediction of a girl.
So yes, I guess she pushed it good, real good.
The smile on her face was just SO beautiful.
It's finally happened. I missed a birth. I walked into the LDR toting my birth bag, birth ball, and camcorder, WAY more awake than someone my age should be at 3 a.m.
The nurse greeted me with a cheery "you're late."
Huh?
With a smile she said "The baby has already been born...she is in room 306."
What???? First time mom...she called me in the early the previous evening to let me know that she'd starting having contractions in the morning 30 minutes apart. They were mild. They were 15 minutes apart when she called me, and still mild. She was 1 day past her due date and had visited her OB that day. He told her not to expect the birth that day. I figured he was right--sounded like a gentle and slow labor building up. Maybe a birth by breakfast the next day...
She called again at 10:30 p.m. Said the contractions had been 10 minutes apart for an hour, and her OB wanted her to go into the hospital. But she didn't think labor was really serious. She expected to go in, get checked, but then leave and go stay at a friend's house close to the hospital (she lives 45 minutes from the hospital). She told me that they needed to take their dogs to the kennel, which was in the opposite direction from the hospital. I expected that she would get to the hospital around midnight at the latest, and would give me a call around then to let me know what was up. I was still predicting breakfast.
Midnight came and she didn't call. I had all my stuff ready to go, and went to bed, hoping to catch a bit of sleep. 1:45 the phone rang. It was her husband calling to let me know they were on their way to the hospital, contractions were now 4 minutes apart. He didn't indicate any real urgency, but we agreed that I would meet them at the hospital. Breakfast still seemed like a good bet for birth time. I called my husband, who said he would be home in 10-15 minutes (he works until 2:30 a.m. usually). He was home by 2. I left by 2:15, but stopped in at Wegmans for some pastries for the nurses--bribes will get a doula very far. ;-) I was in the hospital parking lot by 2:50, but then the long walk to LDR for my greeting...
Sigh. Even if I had walked out the door right when I got the call, leaving the kids home unattended and not stopping for the bribe, I still would have missed the birth. She was 5 cms dialated when she was initially checked at 2 a.m., but then some 20 minutes later they were getting visual confirmation of the ultrasound prediction of a girl.
So yes, I guess she pushed it good, real good.
The smile on her face was just SO beautiful.
posted by Jenn | 5/12/2005 10:31:00 PM
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