Aidan's Arrival, Part 1

I'll admit up front, I don't remember a lot of the details of Aidan's arrival.  I had an epidural and eventually a C-section, so I was pretty drugged up.  Not to mention the several hours of labor pain that I went through before the epidural.  And the really long recovery period from the C-section. You get the picture.  So a lot of what I remember comes back in waves, and some of it is just what other people have told me since.  But I digress.

My third trimester was pretty uneventful.  I was getting pretty big, but I felt great so I didn't think much of it.  I was happy...until about week 32 and then I was ready to have that baby already.  So fast forward to week 40 and the doctor is telling me that I'm about 20% effaced (meaning the plug that's holding the kid in has only 20% disintegrated, which means I'm nowhere near going into labor)...well, you can imagine my slight disappointment.

Going into week 41 the doc scheduled an inducement date.  For some reason this scared me-I had no good reason to be against an inducement, I have no problem with drugs and pregnancy (I was ALL FOR the epidural), but something in me just did not want to have the Pitocin (which is what they use to start labor).  Fortunately, the night before my last doc appointment, I went into labor.

Everyone told me that when I went into labor, I would know.  Including my doctor.  "Trust me," he said, "you'll KNOW."  So for the last 8 weeks of my pregnancy I was walking around feeling every twinge in my abdomen going, "Wait, was that it?  Am I in labor?!"  Trust me.  When you go into labor, YOU KNOW.

Mr. Wonderful packed our bags into the car and off we went to the OB/GYN, who confirmed that I was in the very early stages of labor (again, NOT WHAT I WANT TO HEAR) and that unfortunately Labor & Delivery was all booked up at the moment, but if I came back in about 2 hours they would have a room ready for me.  What does a pregnant mama with no L&D room do with 2 hours to kill?  Go to Target, obviously.  Blake and I trotted off to the Target across the street and roamed the aisles while I stopped every 10 feet to breathe through a contraction.

After 90 minutes of waddling through DVDs, home decor, and baby clothes, we headed back to the hospital where we were immediately sent to our room.  I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the labor room was HUGE, with a nice big bathroom, seating, a tv, and huge windows overlooking all of Grapevine (I delivered at Grapevine Baylor).  Once the epidural kicked in (God bless modern medicine) things were pretty uneventful, and there was a whole lot of hurry up and wait.  It was evident early on that this baby was going to take after his dramatic mama-first he kept kicking the monitor off my belly, then his heart rate dropped to next to nothing when they gave me Pitocin to help things along (I knew I didn't want that drug!).  As the afternoon wore on, a huge storm rolled in.  We had a great view thanks to those giant windows...and the view was even more impressive when all the electricity (including the hospital's) went out over the entire city.  Twice.

Blake spent most of the day amusing himself by watching the monitor showing my contractions and saying, "That was a REALLY BIG ONE!  And you felt NOTHING?!  WOW!"  Lucky for him I did, actually, feel nothing.  Early in the evening he was showing a couple of family members (my L&D room was party central) where Aidan's heartbeat was and what my contractions were doing when he suddenly said, "Uh oh, that doesn't look good."  Aidan's heartbeat had dropped dramatically again, and this time the nurse actually looked concerned.  I knew things were serious when the doctor came in, nicely but firmly broke up the party, and said to me, "I think it's time we get this baby out of there.  We're going to do a C-section and IT'S NOT AN EMERGENCY."

Which immediately made me think, "This is an emergency."

Within minutes I was being introduced to a new anesthesiologist, a new nurse, and a host of people I can't remember.  Blake was changed into scrubs and a new medication was pumped into my spine and my bed was wheeled down the hall to an operating room.  And a whole new adventure started.

Our New Normal

You'll forgive me for failing to write up any of our little adventures for the last...well, almost year.  The arrival of Aidan has thrown our world into a whirlwind of diaper changes, bottle feedings, grandparent visits, and general happy chaos.  It's only taken six months for us to get into somewhat of a routine, and I'm now finding myself with a few free spare moments...at least until the next phase of whatever.

It's not that I'm at a loss for things to write about.  There's Aidan's birth, for starters.  My 10 pound bowling ball took after his mama and made a dramatic entrance...which you will be able to read about soon.  Then there's motherhood itself...all it's cracked up to be and then some.  There's my marriage, my in-laws, and my crazy awesome supportive parents who just happen to live on what I lovingly refer to as the funny farm.  My life is a plethora of stories just waiting to be told.

And here it is, a Thursday night at 9:00 and I have a glass of wine in hand, the baby in bed, and the dog sleeping on the couch (my wonderful husband is at work, which is a story in itself...).  And I have some free time.  So let's get started...