The Birth Story, in Gory Detail (though not too gory I hope)

Notice what I say in the title of this post about gory detail. I would hide the rest of the article for those who do not wish to read it, but I don't know how to do that.

Saturday morning Michael and I moved quantities of frozen food from a deep freeze out in Coaling to one at another friend's house less than a mile away. Saturday evening Michael picked up the crib that John and Linda are loaning us to use with Isaac.

Anna Grace went shopping with me earlier on Saturday afternoon. It was the first chance we'd had to do anything together in a while besides cookie making at Cori's house the Tuesday before. At one point I told her I thought I might be having a contraction, but it's always been hard for me to tell throughout this pregnancy because not only have the been painless, but they've been few and far between.

That evening I noticed a hemorrhoid had developed, and I thought, "Damn that Starbucks. Every time I go there with Anna this happens."

Someone from Michael's office had given us a gift certificate to Longhorn Steakhouse on Friday. It was a long shot, but I asked Anna Grace before church Sunday morning whether she and Ben would be willing to sit with Parker for us so that Michael and I could go out. Typically when family lunch at the Bishop's has been canceled, Ben and Anna will try to have lunch with members of the youth group or their shepherding group, but this day they set aside their normal plans to let us go out. It was so nice for the two of us to be out alone together, even if only for a little while. Rarely do we have the opportunity for a date.

Damon came over to watch Hancock Sunday afternoon and he and Michael put the crib together that evening. I had gotten the mattress from Cori just that Tuesday.

Sunday evening Michael asked me if I could read to Parker and put him to bed. He could tell by looking at me, however, that I was tired and didn't feel up to it, so offered to go ahead and do it instead. Parker then requested that mommy read to him, something he never does, so I got to read to my darling in the evening before going into labor that night.

Normally I cannot sleep until Michael comes to bed, which he often doesn't do until 10:30 or 11:00. This evening he came to bed at 11:00 after checking in on Parker, and that's when it started. Literally. Michael got into bed, and I hopped out, thinking that I had just experienced the final indignity of pregnancy, a total loss of bladder control.

Beware gory details: I seriously thought that I had lost bladder control. It didn't matter that there seemed to be much more fluid involved than this could explain. I didn't bother to turn on the light in the bathroom, because at night I rarely do. I grabbed a sanitary napkin and tried to go back to bed. When I returned to the bathroom only moments later I noticed the napkin had turned pink, but I thought that was what it did when it got wet, having never used this particular brand before.

Then I became aware of the contractions. They were close, and they hurt, but I wanted to time them to be sure. I didn't want to be one of those women who goes into the hospital on a false alarm. We waited probably 45 minutes before even calling the hospital.

When Dr. Emig asked me if I'd had any unusual discharge I said I didn't think so. I didn't realize that what I was experiencing had anything to do with amniotic fluid.

Dr. Edwards had checked me the Wednesday before, and there had been no activity. He had told me Isaac probably wasn't going to be a Christmas baby, and to try to wait to have him until he was back in the office the following week. So far Dr. Edwards hasn't gotten to deliver either of my babies, but I think he's a great doctor anyway.

Dr. Emig told me she didn't usually have mother's come in unless they were in pain, and I assured her that I was. She told me to come on.

We arrived at the hospital at 1:3o Monday morning. I wanted an epidural. I didn't get one. Isaac was born at 2:58 a.m. Labor took a total of four hours.

When the nurse checked me I was three or four centimeters dilated. When the doctor admitted me I was five. They had trouble getting my blood sample, because veins that are usually easy to tap wouldn't bleed. The IV was difficult to establish. There was some other problem with one of the machines. The anesthesiologist didn't have time to get there.

I didn't call Jill because at first I didn't want to wake her up if this were nothing, and later because I didn't want to insult the nurses in attendance. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, because labor was so fast she probably wouldn't have been able to get there in time. I got to spend some time with her in the hospital anyway.

Delivery was hard, and it was painful, but it was fast, and the recovery was wonderful. I was able to walk around within hours, and the pain has been entirely manageable, apart from the headaches that recur from lack of sleep. I have stitches, but they have caused me fairly little discomfort.

Isaac is perfect, although his feet and hands remind me of a little bird's, long and often flexed at odd angles. He has very little body fat, and his knees stay bent much of the time. They tell me this is because he had very little room to move around prior to birth, although he was always a kicker from early on. The most uncomfortable aspect of pregnancy was how often he would catch me in the ribs.

We're still getting used to each other, but he seems to get a little cuter everyday. Even though he doesn't look a lot like Parker to me, there are things about him that remind me of Parker when he was that small. At some point I'd like to post pictures of both of them.