I decided this would be my last day at work. All week long, I made sure I had notes written out for a sub and things in order in case I didn't make it in the next day. It was starting to get annoying to go through the work, only to not need my notes day after day. It felt good to have an official stopping spot for myself and a starting place for my sub. I felt grateful that I was able to work up until this point, though there were definitely some difficult and uncomfortable days.
Friday, October 2
The kids and I slept in a little, and then I took them to Patty's. I went to my 40 week doctor's appointment in the morning. Dr. Buddhadev did a non-stress test again, and everything looked normal and healthy. He said I was dilated 3cm. I asked who was on call over the weekend, and he said he'd be in Boston for a conference and Dr. Bolinjkar was taking call. I was disappointed to hear he'd be gone, but felt relieved that he'd be back on Monday in case I was overdue and needed an induction.
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| September 30 39 weeks 3 days |
Saturday, October 3
The weather was pretty miserable. It was really chilly, overcast, and rainy. We were super-lazy all day. I felt pretty uncomfortable and lousy all day, and I could tell it wasn't going to be much longer. I remember at one point feeling kind of depressed and discouraged. I didn't have many clothes that fit comfortably anymore, and I had no desire to dig out warmer maternity clothes even though I needed them. As I sat and folded laundry, I wondered if this would be my last day pregnant. I finished packing my bag and the kids' bags and advised Adam to do the same. I took 2 naps that day, as did Adam and the kids. Adam went to Greenville to get Pizza Hut for supper and fill the car up with gas. In the evening, Mike & Rosie stopped by for a visit. Not long after they left, I went to bed. I felt terrible as I laid in bed and noticed some contractions. I didn't get too concerned though, and really just wanted to get some rest. After about an hour, I decided to time the contractions. I only timed them for about 15-20 minutes when I decided to get up. I was so worried that I would progress quickly like I did with Vince, and I didn't want to stay at home too long. Plus, I was Group B+ this time, so I had to get the hospital in enough time to get my antibiotics. I did not want a miserable ride to the hospital, and I knew that if my membranes ruptured, the baby would come quickly!
Adam was asleep on the couch downstairs; it was about 11:30. I woke him and told him what was going on. He agreed that we needed to get going. We decided to call his mom to come over and stay with the kids because my mom was busy watching other grand kids and we knew it'd be at least 30 minutes until she could come over. The plan was for Rosie to stay with Vera and Vince until morning. I took a quick shower and grabbed a few last minute things. Adam moved swiftly in packing up the car and getting ready to go. We left our house at midnight. The ride to the hospital was pretty uneventful. It was rainy. I remember telling Adam that I had a terrible headache and I had flu-like body aches. My contractions were definitely progressing, but I wasn't in a ton of pain yet. I called the hospital on our way so they would be expecting us. I didn't want the disorganization that we had the last time.
We arrived at the hospital at 12:30 and the triage nurse was waiting for us at the door. She took us to a small room and started to check me in. There were tons of questions, etc. etc. I was hooked up to the monitor and waited patiently as they went through the protocol. Finally, I was admitted and they phoned Dr. Bolinjkar. Around 3am, I got my penicillin IV started, and I was worried that I wouldn't have enough time for 2 rounds. Adam and I were both disappointed that the IV wasn't started sooner. I decided to get the epidural sooner than I was ready; I knew it'd take forever for the anesthesiologist to arrive. By the time he came, I was so ready for relief. The back labor had started, which was just as terrible as it was with the other two kids. When he arrived, he looked very familiar; the same anesthesiologist that I (sort of) had with Vince.
My epidural was much stronger than the one I had with Vera. I had absolutely no feeling in my legs. I felt like a beached whale--totally dead weight. I didn't like it at all. It was sort of a helpless feeling to not know the position of my legs and not be able to move my toes. I was also shaking uncontrollably. I was cold because they were pumping me full of fluids, but the epidural was also making me shake so badly. Around 4:30, Dr. Bolinjkar came to the hospital. They sat me up in bed so that the baby could labor down. My blood pressure took a total dive and Adam said I had no color in my face. I felt pretty terrible while this was going on. They laid me down in bed, and that helped a lot. I rested fairly comfortably for about an hour. As I laid there, my mind raced. I was so worried about how I would be able to push without any feeling below my waist. I felt some pressure, but no pain or urge to push. Dr. Bolinjkar broke my water and soon after, the nurses came to sit me up in bed. As soon as they did that, I felt tons of pressure.
My nurses were great. Natalie was my primary nurse, and she shared she was from Coldwater. Another nurse, though I can't remember her name, was from Greenville. Both were very sweet and did a great job.
And then, like the flip of a switch, everyone decided it was time to have a baby. Adam helped get me into position and several nurses arrived. Dr. Bolinjkar told me to push, and I did so for about 8 seconds when she told me to stop. I laid back, and about 3 seconds later she was holding a baby! I was shocked!! Immediately I heard the gurgly cry and someone said it was a girl. I remember saying, "Oh my gosh!" over and over as Adam and I both had tears of joy running down our cheeks. I just couldn't believe that was it, and she was here that quickly and easily. Adam said later that one of the nurses grabbed him and moved him so he could see the birth. He too, did not think it'd be that fast. Baby girl was laid on my chest, was a healthy shade of pink and cried her first breaths of life. Dr. Bolinjkar finished her work and said I had a few abrasions but no lesions. Hooray!
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| Happy Birth Day, Anne Marie! You're the perfect addition to our family! |
The nurses kept asking what her name would be. Adam and I hadn't had a chance to get a good look at her and decide. I knew it would either be Melanie or Anne. In my mind, I didn't think she looked like Melanie, and Adam said he was ok with either name. We took our time naming her and didn't commit to Anne Marie until later that morning.
It took a while for the nurses to do their work, clean things up, weigh baby Annie, and then clean her up. I think that was mostly due to shift change. I still hadn't taken a good look at Anne. I was afraid to move around in bed while holding her. I had IV tubing, epidural tubing, and no feeling in my legs. I wasn't able to move very easily. But, I was relieved that I had sensation returning to my legs and feet. And I was so, so happy our baby was finally here safely and easily. Adam did not get to cut the umbilical cord, but later on he was able to shorten it as they started to clean baby Anne up.
I remember telling Adam once everything was over that I was so tired. I just wanted to be left alone and rest, but I knew that wouldn't happen. For one thing, I wouldn't be able to turn my mind off and actually sleep. Secondly, the room was much too busy for any resting at this point.
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| Welcome, Anne Marie! October 4, 2015 @ 5:53am 8 lbs. 13 oz. 20.5" |
We decided to Facetime Vera and tell her that the newest member of our family arrived. We had some trouble getting connected, but it finally worked out. Right away we showed Vera the baby and asked her if she thought it was a brother or sister. Immediately she said, "It's a girl! She has a pink hat on!" The truth is, the hat was pink and blue, but Vera was right and she was so thrilled to have a sister. We chatted briefly and told Vera that Adam would come and pick them up in a short while and bring them to the hospital to see their baby sister. Vera was plenty excited!
Unfortunately, I did not receive the two rounds of Penicillin for the Group B Strep; therefore, the baby and I had to stay in the hospital for 48 hours for monitoring. I wasn't overly sad to have to stay an extra day. The nurses told me that these days, if you're not a first-time mom, you can go home after 24 hours of delivery. Crazy!
Before Adam left, I was moved to the postpartum room. It turned out that we were in the same room that we had when Vince was born, so it looked quite familiar. Adam took off for home, I ate some lunch, rested, and held baby Anne.
Later that afternoon, Adam arrived with Vera and Vince. Vinners didn't know what was going on too much, but Vera Lou was so excited. She sat with me in bed, held her new sister and smiled the whole time. We checked out baby Anne's hands, toes and hair just like we did when she held Vince for the first time.
Grammie and Papa showed up shortly after, brought some cute outfits for Anne and took lots of pictures. Vince ran around the hospital room from one thing to the next, ate snacks, and smacked Miss Anne's toes playfully when we showed her to him. Karen and Riley also paid us a visit as did my parents later in the evening. We were so, so tired by the end of the day. Neither of us had slept much in 36 hours, and it was catching up with us.
The pediatrician, Dr. Sullivan, stopped by to check on Anne around mid-day. We mentioned right away to check for a tongue tie. Dr. Sullivan was fairly confident that Anne had a tight tongue tie and recommended that it be clipped. She shared that one of her partners in the practice, Dr. Taylor, has done the procedure before and would likely be willing to clip it for us right at the hospital. Adam and I were really happy to hear that a doc at the hospital would take care of the problem for us. We've been around the block with tongue ties.
I was so disappointed when the night nurses told me that they no longer have a "nursery" that cares for babies so mom and dad can rest. We had to keep Anne in our room 100% of the time, unless she was needed for testing, assessments, etc. Though I don't want to shove my child off on the nursing staff, we were in desperate need of rest. Luckily, Anne was pretty good through the night. Between the two of us, we held her, rocked, swaddled, and managed to get about 4 hours of quality sleep.
I remember telling Adam at the end of Sunday that I was looking forward to Monday because it'd be quiet and restful. That was far from the truth, and I should've known better. Our room was a revolving door. Literally. One person would walk out and the next would walk in. It was nonstop all day--doctor rounds, nurse rounds, meal deliveries, social worker, photographer, insurance case manager, hearing screen, shift change, lactation consultant, tongue clip, and on and on and on. It was exhausting. But, all were important parts of good care while in the hospital. Amid this busyness, I started to experience some major pain as my uterus contracted back to normal. The nurses warned me that it'd be worse this time than with my other kids. I was taking Motrin to maintain the pain, but at this point I was curled up in bed in extreme pain. I couldn't move or think about doing anything. The nurses advised Percocet. Initially I was leery about stronger narcotics; I was afraid it'd make me nauseous or super sleepy. But at this point, I had no choice. I took the stronger pain meds and started to feel better within an hour. After that, I was sure to be taking Motrin and Percocet around the clock. No reason to be in tons of pain!
Annie had her tongue clipped by Dr. Taylor around midday, and I could tell a difference immediately. She was able to latch on right away when I fed her. I'd never had a baby that nursed well while in the hospital and the first days at home. I was so, so happy to be off to a good start with Annie.
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| Caught ya! Anne is sucking on her fingers. Her dad said we'd let it go this time. :) |
We went home on Tuesday around mid afternoon. Like with my other kids, I was emotional about going home. In the hospital, I had unlimited resources and care whenever I needed it. At home, we'd be on our own. Though we're so fortunate to have a great support system, it's still scary to bring a newborn home. The ride home was hard for me. I was still experiencing some pain, and the bumps in the road as we drove heightened the pain. But, I was also looking forward to heading home to my own bed, couch and shower.
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| All dressed and ready to head for home! |
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| Welcome home, Anne Marie! |
The first night at home was not as bad as I'd thought. It turned out to be a great idea to have the kids out of the house. I was able to feed and change Anne upstairs and not have to worry about waking anyone. It was also good because I didn't have to go up and down the steps. I did put her in her seat to sleep for one stretch of the night because I knew she would like the closeness and upright feeling in a seat. Fortunately, it worked and she slept for a few hours.
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| Message from Adam on our first day @ home. |
When Vera & Vince came home later that afternoon, Vera couldn't wait to see Annie. Vince also marched right up to her as she sat peacefully in her bouncy seat. He rocked her, checked her out, and then moved on. Vera was sweet enough to share her new Tinkerbell with her little sister. Anne also had a surprise for her siblings. She brought everyone Browns clothes to wear on Sundays! Cool!
Adam was home on Friday of that week. He was a huge help; he successfully took the older two to Greenville for lunch, errands and groceries. They also came home with a special surprise for me--a Fitbit! I am looking forward to using it more in the coming weeks as I recuperate!
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| Dad helped the kids make a "rocket ship" on Friday when he was off. |
The kids have gone to the babysitter/preschool everyday since we've been home. The quiet days at home alone with Annie have been so, so special. When everyone comes home later in the day, it is all but quiet. We are very busy here, and everyone is adjusting to our new normal. Vera and Vince have done well. And Miss Annie fits right in. She is so very loved!
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