Here's the Story of a Lovely Lady

We welcomed our daughter to the world on Saturday, January 3. This is the story of her arrival.

The last two weeks of December were crazy with Christmas preparations (or lack thereof), house renovations (floor installations, plastering, and painting) and final wrap-ups at the office. We skipped our annual New Year's Eve party for the first time in five years. I felt good except for excessively swollen feet and a need to pee every 45 minutes. Hubby will tell you that my patience was shorter than usual (is that possible?) and I was constantly on edge.

On Friday, I had my weekly check at the OB. I was two days shy of my due date, so they did an exam and hooked me up to the fetal monitors. Baby hadn't been moving as much that last week so they wanted to get her heart rate and test her movements (everything was fine and normal.) During my exam, the doctor said I was 3 cm dilated and having small contractions that I couldn't feel, but the baby hadn't dropped. We made plans for future appointments and joked about meeting at the hospital during the OB's next on-call day.

From the doctor's office, I went to the mall to do some shopping, then went to the rental house to get supplies and such. Upon our arrival (hubby joined me for the trip to Plum Island) we found that all the drains in the house had frozen (not the pipes, the DRAINS) including the toilet. That last one was a bad bad discovery b/c it happened AFTER it had been used. All I'll say is "Gross." That led to a series of yells and screams, slamming of drawers, and rapid packing. Needless to say, we need to get out of that house as soon as possible. January 30 won't come soon enough. To ease our stress, we met friends for dinner. I still felt good, except for pain in my hip due to excessive walking at the mall.

We spent that night in our house, amongst the construction. The master bedroom was (and still is) a sort of safe zone. We went to be early, but every time I got up to use the bathroom, I had to let out Azure. She'd had a serious case of doggy diarrhea for two days. We think she knew something was going on.

At 6am, I got up, again, for the bathroom and felt a gush. I thought, I can't believe I just peed on myself. (Again, "Gross.") But then I thought "Wait a minute..." and googled how to know if your water broke. Yup. I called the doctor and was told that I should head to the hospital, but not to break and land speed records. So, I woke hubby, showered, dressed and we got in the car. On the way, I called family about what was happening. At 7:15, they all got the general idea. :-) I also started feeling contractions lasting about 30 seconds every 5 minutes or so.

We spent about an hour in the exam room with our delivery nurse Katie. She checked the baby on the fetal monitors and all was good. Katie also told me that the contractions I felt weren't likely strong labor contractions. Hubby joked "She's basically saying 'You don't know what labor contractions feel like yet.'" My only response "If these aren't real contractions, give me the drugs now."

At 8:30, we moved into the labor and delivery room. We ordered breakfast, talked a bit, watched TV. Hubby was settling in for a long day. By 9:30, the contractions were getting pretty intense. At Katie's suggestion, I got into the bathtub to help ease the pain. It was nice to feel weightless for a little while. The whirlpool jets were wonderful! About an hour later, I decided that I needed a change because the bath just wasn't doing it any more. I asked about the feasibility of an epidural at this stage, but had to wait for the doctor to check me. Dr. Hamlin walked in about 2 minutes after I made it to the bed. I was in the middle of a contraction. It passed just long enough for the quick exam. (Don't let them fool you, these exams HURT! A hand, a cervix, a contracting muscle - you do the math.) Well, I was 10 cm dilated and ready for active labor. It was only 10:45-ish. They rolled me on my back and Dr. Hamlin said the infamous words "You're going to have a baby any time now." The doctor and nurses set me up to push, Eric holding one leg, Katie holding the other. Dr. Hamlin turned around to get on her robe and gloves, but baby didn't want to wait. After five pushes, it arrived. The quickly put the baby on my chest, all squirmy and squishy. The doctor asked if it was a boy or girl. Hubby checked and it was a girl. Welcome Alexandra Grace! I needed to be stitched up, which hurt more than delivery itself. While I was otherwise occupied, the nurses cleaned Alexandra and hubby watched. Her stats were 6 lbs 15.5 oz and 18 3/4 inches long.

Phone calls were made, text messages sent. Everyone was very excited. The only unfortunate event was that hubby remembered the nice camera and lenses, but forgot the memory card. The best we could do were random shots with cell phone cameras and some slightly better ones with the point-and-shoot I care with me everywhere. Those pictures still need to be uploaded to our photosharing site and will be posted here shortly.

Later that day, we got a call from our dog-care provider who took Azure and Indigo for the day. Azure's stomach troubles had gotten worse. Hubby headed home to take care of her while Alexandra and I bonded. Poor Azure required a visit to the hospital herself. A case of gastroenteritis (fancy name for upset stomach) requiring bland food and lots of TLC. See, she knew something was happening!

We've been home now for over a week. Alexandra is getting along very well with everyone. She feeds constantly (45 minutes on average every 2 1/2 - 3 hours, often with a small snack in between.) The dogs are still unsure about her. Azure is a little mother and looks over her. Indigo wants to be the soother, but his licks are a bit much for the wee lass.

Our house is almost finished. The contractors are installing trim as I type. (Alexandra has learned to sleep through sawing, hammering, and other assorted construction noise.) We are about 2 weeks from getting our official Certificate of Occupancy. Ready or not, we will be here full time starting January 30.

Here's to hoping that infancy goes as well as the pregnancy. If the first two weeks are any indication, we might be that lucky.

Two weeks to go

Last night I lost it. It's all finally gotten to me.

There are two weeks left until baby's due date. I should be resting, reading, not stressing out. Fat chance of that. Hubby has a goal of finishing the renovations as quickly as possible. For his week off, he is assembling and installing kitchen cabinets, then installing the new floors. He is quite intent on meeting these goals.

But then... we got hit with two storms. I can't shovel and the snowblower broke. Hubby had to shovel the driveway himself. The best I could do was clean off the cars and keep the dogs occupied.

I'm frustrated that I can't help more. I can't lift cabinets, I can't bend down to install floors. I can't (well, I can, but shouldn't) shovel. I want to sit on the couch and watch TV or nap or do nothing at all. We have been staying on our neighbors' pull-out couch because of the storms. J&J are accommodating, but it's not the same as having one's own space. We haven't been back to the rental house since Thursday. I had only packed for two days. I'm on Day 4 of living out of my suitcase. It's not cool. I need to do laundry-for everyone's sake. There's also several loads waiting for me at the rental house and a driveway's worth of shoveling 12" of crusty snow for hubby.

I'm tired and cranky and short tempered. I want my routine back, even if that routine means traveling to/from Newburyport every day.

On the bright side... I feel amazingly well for being 14 days from my due date. Baby continues to grow (about 6.5 lbs right now) making it harder and harder to bend over (snow boots are a PITA.) S/he is active and kicking. I don't think Baby has dropped as I still have a foot jabbing my rib. Ready or not, Baby is coming.

A Tale of Two Additions

To paraphrase Dickens, it is the best of times and it is the worse of times. Well, not really.

Hubby and I are expecting our first baby, due in early/mid-January 2009. This is something we've wanted for a while and our wish was granted. We are very excited as are our friends and extended families. This is the first grandchild on my side and the fifth on hubby's. We are choosing to keep the gender unknown until the birth. How many real surprises can you have in life? I'll fill you in on the pregnancy itself in other posts.

At this same time, we are about to undergo a huge home renovation and addition. We've been planning this since January and due to various setbacks, we're finally breaking ground at the end of August. The goal is to have the foundation dug, addition framed and "buttoned" by mid-October, then finish all the interior work finished by year's end. Family and friends: consider this the official notice that we will be calling upon you frequently in the coming months to help with demolition, floor installation, cabinet hanging, nailing trim, and painting. The original plan was that Hubby and I would do most of the work, but I'm now out of commission for a very good reason.

Somehow, it will all get done. Wish us luck!