Vivienne's Birth Story

I went to bed on Thursday, December 19 knowing that I would be having a baby the next morning.  This was a big change from the surprise of Madeline's birth, but being induced helped simplify the logistics of what to do with our toddler during the whole process.  We also successfully avoided a Christmas spent gathered around my sitz bath.  I think that was in everyone's best interests.

Knowing what was about to come made me anxious.  Madeline's birth had been so easy that I was sure I was in for a difficult labor this time.   Eric and I both slept terribly on Thursday night despite knowing it would be our last chance for a peaceful slumber for quite some time.  

We woke up very early on Friday morning and drove Madeline to daycare in the dark.  Her eyes brimmed over with quiet tears when we dropped her off, and she gave us a nervous wave.  I resisted the urge to sob into her red curls, and instead smiled widely at her as we left.    

At first, getting ready to be induced felt very much like any ordinary appointment.  I undressed, they started the fetal monitors, nurses came and went, Eric and I watched the morning news.   

About twenty minutes after arriving, the doctor broke my water, and the nurse began administering the drugs to make my contractions start.  My body didn't take long to take the hint.  The contractions began to intensify quickly.  Eric offered his hand.  I squeezed it tightly, and I breathed deeply.

Our nurse joked about how quickly I was progressing, and called the anesthesiologist to administer my epidural.  People squirm over the thought of needles entering one's spine.  In fact, Eric took a walk so he wouldn't have to witness what they were doing to me.  However, I must say that while the procedure isn't exactly pleasant, it was a lot more enjoyable than the contractions I was trying to breath through at the same time.  I was eager for the relief.  

I could feel the cold flowing down my back, and my legs began to tingle slightly, but ten minutes later, I could still feel my contractions.  The epidural was not working as well as I remembered it with Madeline.  We waited a bit longer for the drugs to take affect, and eventually they did, except for one section of my abdomen.  In my lower right side I could still feel everything, and the contractions were certainly getting worse.

I continued to try to breath through each contraction, determined to not moo like a cow, but I now squeezed my bed rails until my knuckles were white.  I greatly admire women who give birth without any drugs.  I don't know how they do it.

The nurse turned me on my side to let gravity help the drugs flow through my body.  A second anesthesiologist arrived to give me an extra boost of the good stuff.  He told me that if that didn't work, they'd have to start a new epidural.  The nurse told me that we wouldn't have time for a second one as I was progressing too quickly.  I rolled my eyes and hoped the drugs would kick in.

They did.  I could still feel the contractions, but the drugs took enough of the edge off that I could relax and start to smile and joke with Eric again.

At that point, the nurse checked my progress.  "Keep your legs closed, or you're going to have the baby," she laughed as she went to find the doctor.

The doctor came in shortly after 11 am and told me to push through the next contraction.  Two big pushes and several minutes later, Vivienne was born at 11:10 am.  She was 7 lbs 11 oz. and 20.5 inches long.  

She came into this world wailing loudly, and she didn't stop crying for the next hour.  Madeline was silent and wide-eyed when she was born, but Vivienne's eyes remained squeezed shut as she voiced her displeasure.

I marvelled at how tiny she was.  We cooed and talked to her gently.  We checked her hair color.  It was brown.  Eric got his way after all.

After the initial shock of birth, she grew calm.  She wiggled and squirmed on my chest and began to nurse as if she'd done it already 100 times.  Eric and I laughed in surprise.  It had taken us days to get Madeline to latch.   Our girls may be from the same stock, but from the very beginning, they appear to be two completely different people.

Vivienne stayed with us for about an hour before they brought her to the nursery to be cleaned up and checked out.  My parents came in to visit while she was gone.  Eric and I ordered lunch.

By 2 pm, the drugs had worn off enough to move me to maternity.  All the L&D nurses laughed about our brief stay as they wheeled me past.  Our nurse told us that most inductions take a full day at least, so getting us out before her lunch break was pretty unusual.

We settled in to our new room, and they brought Vivienne back shortly thereafter.  She was wearing a handmade knit cap that looked like a Christmas tree.  We kissed her chubby cheeks, pet her soft hair, and giggled over her lack of a chin.

Madeline came to visit her baby sister for the first time with my parents.  She wasn't at all impressed or interested in the baby.  Eric's parents arrived with a present for Madeline.  She was impressed and interested in that.

Vivienne continued to nurse easily.  She made soft growling sounds as she slept, and although she came into the world loudly, she didn't cry the rest of the night.  We watched It's a Wonderful Life and tried to squeeze in as much sleep as we could between pokings and proddings from well-meaning medical professionals.  

In spite of the free desserts the hospital kept offering me, and the wonder of my perineal ice pack, by the second day, I was missing Madeline and ready to go home with our new bundle of joy.

I've been lucky to have two easy labors.  And I'm lucky to have two beautiful, sweet, healthy girls.  And Vivienne really is a bundle of pure joy.

Madeline's Birth Story

(Warning: This post is extremely long.  I tried to edit as much as I could, but there's just soooooo much to say about Madeline's big debut.)

I headed to work with a positive attitude last Tuesday morning.  I had felt terrible all day Monday and had been nervous about the possibility of an induction.  However, after finding out that everything looked absolutely fine at the doctor's, I was mentally preparing myself for three more weeks of pregnancy.  I decided to put on my game face for the remaining time instead of whining about being fat and miserable.  That's why on Tuesday I actually put on a cute outfit instead of just throwing on the first thing I saw that would fit me.  I spent time blow drying my hair, I put on some makeup, and headed to work.

As it turns out, Madeline had plans of her own, and they didn't involve waiting three more weeks.  You can imagine my shock and utter embarrassment, when I walked into Dunkin Donuts only to have my water break in front of God and everybody.   That's right.  I'm one of those women.  I had one of those embarrassing water-breaking moments that all the baby books tell you only happen in Hollywood.  How appropriate for a fat pregnant lady like me to have it happen in Dunkin Donuts of all places...

After I started to realize what was happening, I made a mad dash for the bathroom, but a regular customer called to me that I needed a key.  I made a mad dash for the key, but in my desperation, it took me a few seconds to get the key to work.  By the time I actually made it into the bathroom, it was too late, and I left a giant puddle on the floor.

I considered asking a woman in scrubs sipping her coffee for help, but I guess my fight or flight response took over because I decided to flee out of there faster than any pregnant lady has fled before.  I don't know what the other customers thought, and I hope someone behind the counter decided to clean that mess up.  Needless to say, I will not be going to that Dunkin Donuts ever again.  

At this point, I wasn't having any cramps or contractions so I called Eric and calmly drove myself home.

It was around 7 am when I walked into our apartment, and the doctor's office doesn't open until 8.  Much to Eric's chagrin, I told him we were waiting until the office opened to call.  I wrapped myself in a towel and sat on the bathroom floor.  That was not okay with Eric.  He was ready to get to the hospital NOW.  To make him feel better, I called the doctor.  Eric was right.  The doctor told me to get into the car and get to the hospital because traffic is heavy at that time in the morning.

The contractions started in the car.  They came on quickly and intensely.  I had been against the idea of creating a birth plan on the grounds that I wouldn't know what I wanted to do until I was actually in the moment.  Well, on the way to the hospital I knew what I wanted.  I wanted drugs, and planned on letting the nurses know that as soon as we walked in the door.

Due to traffic, it took us about 40 minutes to get to the hospital.  I timed my contractions, listened to my Birthin Baby playlist, and tried to focus on the beautiful, sunny fall day we were having.

Our nurse was waiting for us at the door when we got there.  (P.S. I'm pretty sure I went to high school with said nurse, but I thought it would be really awkward to say anything to her about it.  I'm assuming she either didn't recognize me, or had the same attitude as I did.  She was great either way.)

Moments Before Madeline's Arrival.
I think the expression in my
eyes is best described as, "Yikes!"

She put me to bed and got me ready for the epidural.  Eric did exactly what the lady in our birthing class told us every man does (and should not do)...he watched the monitor and announced the size and length of the contractions just in case I was curious.  I told him I didn't need to watch the monitor since, you know, I was the one feeling them.

Still, Eric was great.  After all the fear and worries he had in the months leading up to labor, he was a brick during the actual process.  He held my hand, rubbed my neck, and offered words of encouragement.

I'd also like to proudly state that I did not once moo like a cow.  I may have whimpered here and there, but I got through each contraction by breathing deep and focusing on the fact that they wouldn't last forever.  All the positive visualization stuff we had learned about in the birthing class?  It all went out the window.  I didn't even occur to me to try visualizing myself on a beach.  I knew damn well where I was.  

Once I got the epidural, things were pretty uneventful.  I felt better after a few minutes, and it amused Eric that now I was interested in the monitor since I no longer knew when I was having a contraction.  Eric went to get some food while I took a nap.  My parents arrived.  Eric's parents arrived from New York in record speed.  And before I knew it, the nurse was telling me that I was just about ready to have the baby.

The actual pushing part was very quick...only about forty minutes.  The nurse and Eric got me started, and when it was time, the doctor came in to finish the job.  I couldn't feel anything except for a lot of pressure.  I was worried my eyeballs were going to come out of my sockets.  A week later my tailbone is still making it impossible for me to sit on hard surfaces.  

One of our first glimpses of Madeline

Then, there she was.  Little Madeline was thrust on my stomach where she lay very still for a moment before suddenly letting out a weak cry.  Eric was also crying.  I was smiling in disbelief.  (Did we really just have a baby?  We've been waiting for over two years for this! Is this really happening?)

Madeline was crying when they placed her in my arms, but as soon as she heard my voice she stopped, opened her eyes very wide and looked straight at me.  Then she looked at Eric.  After months of hearing us, she was seeing us for the first time.  And after months of feeling her bopping around in there, we were really seeing her for the first time.  There are no words....it's surreal.  

The nurses cleaned her up and oooed and ahhhed over how pretty she is.  One of the nurses commented on her red hair.  "Her hair is red?!" I asked.  When I had been holding her, I thought it was brown.  "Oh yes, it sure is red," the nurse replied.

Because she was three weeks early and her cry was a little weak, the nurses let us know that they would be taking her to the nursery to get her lungs checked out.  They cleaned her up, and handed her to me for a quick cuddle before taking her away.

Eric went with her while I finally got to eat some peanut butter toast. (After all, I never did get my breakfast that morning.)   Luckily, Madeline was fine, and she was returned to me about an hour later where she was greeted by many kisses and cuddles by her mommy, daddy, and grandparents.

Our new little family

Madeline was born in the course of a work day.  My labor started at 7 am when I'm usually arriving at work.  She was born at 1:58 pm.  We get out of school at 2.  She also chose a day when my favorite doctor was working so he was able to deliver her.  We also were in room 6, which is my lucky number.  All good signs that Madeline is going to be a very easy, punctual, obedient child...with a slight flair for the dramatic.  Sure, Dunkin Donuts wasn't great...but if she had waited another hour, it could have happened at work in front of many teenagers, which would have been waaay worse.

Now it's been a whole week since she was born already.  I still feel like I'm living in a surreal fog.  Wow, we're really parents now.  Wow, we're responsible for this little being.  Wow, she's absolutely everything I ever dreamed about.  And I know that we'll tell the story of Dunkin Donuts and Madeline's birth for years and years to come.