I'm going to pick this story up right where I left off... Also a warning - this post is probably going to be heavy on words and short on pictures.
I went to the doctor's on October 26th, the day before the baby's due date. I measured 2 cm dilated and about 80% effaced. That sounds pretty promising, but that was where I'd been at the previous week's appointment. I was pretty frustrated that there had been no progress. I had been having a lot of pelvic pain and was sure that things had progressed. The doctor scheduled a non-stress test and ultrasound for Friday the 28th, assuming I wouldn't have the baby by then. She was right. She also mentioned scheduling an induction, which was something I hoped to avoid.
On the 27th, the official due date, I walked around the neighborhood with Butters quite a lot and ate spicy food, trying to get things started. Nothing happened. Meanwhile, the weather forecasters were going crazy about a freak Nor'easter that was approaching and scheduled to hit over the weekend. Not great timing!
On the 28th, I went for the non-stress test and ultrasound and that went well. The baby and I were both doing fine and the fluid level was good. My doctor also swept my membranes in an effort to bring on labor (sorry if that's TMI). So, I returned home and did some more walking and ate more spicy food. Nothing happened.
On Saturday, October 29th, it wasn't supposed to start snowing until later in the afternoon. However, the snow actually started before noon, I think. By midafternoon, the trees and bushes were drooping under the heavy snow.
We lost electricity around 3:45pm. I don't remember how we spent the rest of the afternoon. Maybe just reading or playing board games. I do know that while I had spent the previous days trying to bring on labor, I spent Saturday trying to do the exact opposite. We did not want to have to go out in the storm! As darkness fell, we pulled out all of our candles and did our best to light up the house. It continued to snow heavily.
We spent Saturday night playing board games by candlelight. I can't recall what we had for dinner, obviously something that didn't require heating! Our house was getting colder as the night wore on. We bundled up in sweaters and sweatshirts. I wanted a cup of tea, so Justin rigged up a wire rack over some candles and warmed some water for me (we have an electric stove). It ruined a mug, but I got a up of tea.
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| Playing board games by candlelight |
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| One of our front trees, crushed by the weight of the snow |
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| Another of our trees |
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| Making a cup of tea! |
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| Picture taken at 11:00 PM on 10/29/11. Still snowing... |
What I'll never forget about Saturday night is how eerie it was sitting in a darkened house and hearing all the trees snapping and cracking outside. Every once in awhile we'd hear a very loud crack and thud and go to the window with our flashlight, to try to see what fell. Usually we couldn't see anything.
We went to bed that night all bundled up. When we woke on Sunday morning, it was pretty shocking. Trees and branches were down everywhere. Our neighborhood was completely cut off by downed trees across the streets.
Justin went outside and shoveled the driveway. I stayed inside and took it easy. Definitely was not a good day to have a baby! Justin walked around the neighborhood and took some pictures of the aftermath for me to see. He also ran into our neighbor Miro, who so generously invited us over. He had a generator running and a wood burning stove, so we could get some food and warmth, charge our phones and even watch the Giants game.
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| Broken limb |
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| Poor crushed tree |
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Just before we headed over to Miro and Maria's, I went to the bathroom. I won't say what happened, but let's just say it was a sign of labor. We were nervous. Justin drove me over to their house, even though it was just around the corner. We weren't taking any chances!
We spent the afternoon over at Miro and Maria's and enjoyed some banana pancakes and the Giants game. I was kind of out of it and afraid to move too much. We went home late in the afternoon to check on the pets. Our house was really cold now, so we bundled up even more. Justin boiled some water out on the grill, which was much more effective than the method he used the night before. I can't remember what else we did that evening. I know when we went to bed, I was extremely bundled up in a shirt, sweatshirt, sweater, thick socks and a snow hat, plus our thick blankets on the bed.
On Monday, October 31, 2011, I woke up to my first major contraction at about 7:30 am. I "leapt" out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. I was sweating like crazy and tore my hat off. I tried to get my sweater off, but it was difficult to move and the contraction was over before I could. I went out and told Justin that it looked like "today might be the day."
Justin went to work that morning because ESPN was up and running with generators. I kept him in the loop via text message. I spent my morning in our cold living room with Butters. He did not know what was going on and was right by my side during every contraction. I was timing the contractions and they came about once every hour for the first two hours and then they started coming much closer together. Some were even just a couple minutes apart.
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| The temperature in our living room that morning. |
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| Poor Butters, wondering what is wrong with me. |
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| Hobbes looked cold, so I bundled him up. |
At around 11:00 AM I told Justin that he'd better come home. He stopped and picked me up some chicken soup on his way home. I could only get a little bit down. It was kind of hard to eat when the contractions were coming so quickly! We called the doctor and let them know we were on our way.
We packed up the car, said good-bye to Butters and headed to the hospital. We each called our families on our way there. The roads were cleared of snow, but some were still blocked with trees, and there was still no electricty, so getting through intersections was a bit of a mess.
We arrived at the hospital at about 1:00 PM and left the car with the valet. I walked in on my own and we went the route they showed us during the maternity tour we had attended earlier in the month. I had to stop a couple of times and crouch against the wall as each contraction passed. We made it to the desk and I had to fill out some paperwork, which I recall having a lot of trouble doing because of the darn contractions. I ended up handing it off to Justin to finish.
All the triage rooms were full, so we got to go straight to the labor and delivery room. That was perfect. Those rooms are much nicer!
Things get a little more blurry for me during this time frame. I know they checked and I was almost 6 cm dilated. They declared that I'd definitely be staying. I had to get an IV hooked up and that was just awful. The nurse had some issues getting it inserted in my arm because my vein "rolled." I felt like I was going to pass out after that (I'm not very good with needles), so she called in reinforcements. They ended up putting the IV in my hand which wasn't ideal, but it was the best they could do with my veins and dislike of needles.
I had arrived at the hospital determined to have a medication free birth for whatever reason. I think I mostly just wanted to prove that I could. Well, that did not happen. After getting the IV hooked up, I found it really hard to get into positions that helped me feel better during the contractions. So I got the epidural, probably at 3:30 or 4:00 PM. Best decision ever. I spent the next couple of hours comfortably watching shows on TBS and playing on the iPad.
Poor Justin had a full stomach, but he was a good sport and grabbed my left leg as Dr. Hartnett instructed. Pushing wasn't pleasant feeling, but because of the epidural, it didn't really hurt. At 6:35 PM on October 31, 2011, I gave birth. Justin was supposed to call the sex, but I could see everything on my own and knew before he could say "It's a boy!!!"
Jay Robert Clarke
8 pounds 3 ounces
20.5 inches
He was perfect. Still is.
In one of my next posts I'll go into a little detail about our first couple of weeks. Having no electricity in the region really threw a wrench into things!
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