Birth Story - Sport

 Drum roll please...

Here we have it! Finally, the last birth story and it belongs to Sport. The year was 2003. Bossy was just finishing up her Associates degree at Snow College. The other kids were scattered throughout the various schools in our district. The Dog Walker was 9 years old and after three sisters, he was just dying for a baby brother. He was so convinced he was right that I even took him with me to the ultrasound. I figured he might believe the doctor more than me. Thankfully, it didn't have to be a big deal. All pictures properly indicated "boy," although the Dog Walker thought he looked more like a monkey.

I was SOOO uncomfortable with this pregnancy! It was the first time I had experienced sciatica and that along with the bursitis in my hip made it almost impossible to sleep. I tried everything to get comfortable. The thing that worked best was building a little "house" of pillows with two behind my head and on on each side. Then I would slip one between my knees. That almost worked...

Dog Walker and Sport

 
As with the previous three sisters, the doctor scheduled an induction about a week early. It was June and the weather had been unseasonably hot. It was surprising to wake up to cool and rainy., but we reported at the hospital just before 7:30 a.m. as instructed. Unfortunately, when we got there, they had no room for us, so we sat in the waiting room for about an hour.

After that we got started and the nurses were pleased to find that I was already dilated to 3 cm. Sometimes I've been asked why in the world I am at the hospital...come back next week, so that was good news. The anesthesiologist arrived just in time to keep me from feeling even one real labor pain.

In fact, things were going so well they actually had to turn the Pitocin DOWN to keep me from delivering before I had finished the required doses of antibiotics. When the final drops pumped their way in from the second bag, they upped the Pitocin again and my little Sport came really fast. Thankfully, this was NOT one of the times the nurses refused to get the doctor there on time. He halted things for only a moment as he unwrapped the cord from Sport's neck (that was a little scary!) and one push later was all it took. I didn't even have to push a second time since he slipped out all by himself.

The nurses all ooo'd and aah'd over his beautiful blond hair. It was quite long for such a little guy. We spent the next couple of weeks listening to people gush about how beautiful Sport was. He'd probably be a little embarrassed to know about that now.

We had our typical jaundice scare and he had to visit the doctor every day for the first three days. Fortunately, he didn't have to go under the lights. We were so glad to finally have him home!

Birth Story: Drama Queen

Such a beautiful baby!

I've told you before that I found out I was pregnant with the Drama Queen just a few days before Christmas in 1988. You really should read that story before this one if you haven't read it before.

We were living in Provo and I was commuting to work every day in Tooele. It was a LONG drive! I left our apartment about 5:30 AM and drove about 25 minutes to catch the carpool van. I didn't get home until after 6:00 each evening. That left me very little time to spend with my sweetie and my two little ones. I hated the hours and I hated the job. I'll give you a little more insight later in the week on that, but for now, just know that I was anxious to find a new job. My sweetie was also commuting to Salt Lake, so we were both driving way too much and spending precious little time together.

I was finally offered a new job when I was about 5 months pregnant. I felt so guilty after the offer was made that I called them and told them about the baby. I didn't want them to think I was just going to quit months after I started. Thankfully, they were still interested and I started work two weeks later. I stayed with this company for 10 years, but that's another story too.

I have not typically had tons of cravings with my babies, but this little one loved Magelby's Carrot Cake muffins! I had to have at least one a week. The baby was due the end of July and the summer was long and hot! I was having trouble finding daycare for Bossy and the Gym Rat and my new job was insane from day one. We moved into the Salt Lake Valley and tried to get our bearings. We had lived in the area before, but only on the University campus. That was much different from the suburbs.

Bossy and baby Drama Queen

Thankfully, I wasn't very sick with this baby. My first two had both come early, so naturally I assumed the same thing would happen with this one. We made several (my sweetie would say a dozen!) trips downtown to the hospital with false labor because I really wanted to be done. We would drop Bossy and Gym Rat off at the Montessori school I finally found for them and then rather than show up at work, we would leisurely make our way to the avenues. About the time we pulled up in front of the hospital, the pains had generally evened out and we never got out of the car.

Finally, when we were 10 days past our due date, the doctor decided he was tired of hearing me complain and he would induce labor. Since we had no one in the valley to help with the kids, we dropped them at the Montessori. I had learned my lesson about food after my first one, so we headed to MacDonald's for a quick breakfast. I was nervous and excited all at once. People had told us over and over that the third child was the hardest.

After breakfast, we drove the 20 minutes to the hospital. We checked in and settled in to wait. The Drama Queen was never in much of a hurry to do anything then and she managed to hold off until about 9:00 that night. At ten days late we were expecting her to be huge, but she just had an over-sized water bed (no wonder she didn't want to come out) and she tipped the scales at 8 lbs 3 1/2 oz.

All was well and uneventful. We even went home the following day since there were incentives for a 24-hour stay. She never had jaundice or medical problems. In fact, despite what everyone said, other than the late thing, I think the third child was the easiest...at least when she was born. Now after that, it might be another story...

Birth Story: Prima Donna

 It was late June 1998, and I was immensely pregnant with our seventh child. The days were long and hot and I was more than ready to be delivered. Since my two “big” babies, the doctor had decided that inducing about ten days early was perfect for me. The baby was due about the fourth of July, but our ultrasound had not revealed for certain the gender since the babe was sitting with legs tightly crossed. So we scheduled the induction for June 27.

As usual, I could barely sleep the night before. The doctor had promised us that the nursing staff would call between 5:00 and 6:00 AM and tell us what time to be at the hospital, but we had better be ready to leave immediately if that is what they wanted. When the call finally came through, they told us to sit tight, that they were busier than expected and to wait for another call. We went back to bed and tried to sleep again, but it was nearly impossible.

Prima Donna!

The second call came in just after noon and they told us to come down. Finally! We gathered our things and headed to the hospital. It was so nice to have kids old enough to mostly take care of things at home. It took us about 30 minutes to make the drive downtown, but by the time we got there, beds had filled up again and they turned us away at the front desk. I was so disappointed that I was in tears. The frazzled nurse kindly suggested that we go somewhere and get a good lunch and then come back. My sweetie steered me toward the elevator and we headed back to the street. It’s a good thing he had it all together, because I was falling apart.

Normally we would be pinching pennies, especially with the pending birth and associated expenses, but I think my sweetie knew that this day needed to be special. He took me to a restaurant called Windows on the Square (I think, it doesn’t exist anymore and I didn’t write the name in the baby book). It was high above Temple Square and the view was amazing! So was the food, but it should have been for the price. We took our time and talked and lingered until the appointed hour and then we headed back to the hospital.

Prima Donna and Princess

It was nearing 5:00 when we again approached the front desk. This time they were ready for us! We checked in and got the induction started. I felt my first pains around 7:00 PM. As the evening dragged on, I wasn’t progressing much and they kept turning the Pitocin higher and higher. My sweetie sacked out on the sofa and I was having trouble keeping my own eyes open. The nurse kept coming in and making me turn this way and that, trying to get the baby and me into more active labor.

About 4:30 AM, we decided my sleeping wasn’t helping the baby any, so I sat up on the bed as best I could and tried to stay alert. That’s all it took. Within about 15 minutes the baby had crowned and was on her way out. She was born just after 5:00 AM. We got to keep her with us extra long because the nurses were changing shifts. She was so beautiful with long straight black hair and dark blue eyes. Right from the beginning she was playful and happy. She was and is a bright spot of sunshine on a warm summer morning. And I was so grateful to finally get a chance to sleep!

A Birth Story - Princess

It was January 1996, and a cold miserable winter day. Except for one bright spot…that pregnancy stick had a plus sign! We weren’t sure if it was a good idea to get pregnant or not. I was still recovering from my knee surgery in November. At 31, I wasn’t bouncing back nearly as quickly as I wanted to. Our fears were eased when my surgeon assured us that the best thing we could do was get pregnant. He said a child growing inside me would stimulate growth and healing to my recently replaced ACL.

All in all the pregnancy was an easy one, one of those tender mercies for which I am so grateful. The Dog Walker was barely 2 and we were clueless about the whole autism thing. At that point he was pretty normal except that he didn’t really speak or play with others. We just assumed he was anti-social like his daddy.

Spring turned into summer and slowly and steadily my knee improved. My doctor reminded me that walking normally could take up to a year or more. September rolled around and we scheduled an induction ten days before my due date. I always knew Princess would be induced. If you remember, Teach was over 10 pounds and when the Dog Walker weighed in at 9 lbs 2 oz, the doc said we would induce from now on.

We arrived at the hospital at the crack of dawn but it took them a while to get things going. By the time we had the epidural and things were really moving along, it was getting close to midnight. I was so tired! My sweetie slept for a while. It had been a long day and he would still have to drive home in the middle of the night. When the nurse said seven, I knew it wouldn’t be long. She called the doctor and I woke up my sweetie. It was approaching 2:00 in the morning.

One of my biggest worries (other than a healthy baby, of course) is that because of the epidural I wouldn’t feel any pain in my knee and I would do something that would cause me much trouble during recovery. When the doc got there, I reminded him of my concerns and he told my sweetie that he was in charge of taking care of my leg and if anything happened it was his fault. My sweetie took this charge very seriously and he held my leg steady the entire time. (And he did a great job of it because I didn’t have any additional pain in my leg when the epidural wore off.) My tiny beautiful Princess was born at 2:36 AM.

And now it’s 2011 and she is nearly grown up. I don’t usually end a birth story this way, but she is so excited! A couple of weeks ago she auditioned for the Sleeping Beauty ballet. Her greatest wish was to earn the part of Carabosse (or if you are a hick Disney fan like me…Maleficent). The cast was announced today and that is exactly what she got! Such a long stretch from the tiny sweet girl born 15 years ago. Congrats Princess. You will be amazing!

Birth Story - Teach

Teach

I guess it’s time for another birth story. Imagine if you will that the year was 1991. School was out for the summer, but that didn’t make a difference to me and mine. I had three little ones and two of them attended a Montessori school that was year-round. My littlest one was in residential daycare near my work. I was fortunate to be able to leave work a couple of times every day to nurse her that is until I got pregnant with number four.

Usually nursing had kept my babies spaced about two years apart. Not that time. It was the first of June and the Drama Queen wouldn’t be 2 until mid-August. We had moved into our first home in February and we finally felt like a real family. Teach was due on June 1, but we had never had a baby arrive when it was supposed to, so we decided to attend the wedding one of my sweetie’s best high school buddies in Utah County. It was only an hour from the hospital and my doctor and I have never been known to have quick deliveries.



The wedding was at the Bride’s residence up in the foothills of Provo. I remember lots of bumps and quite a few hills and plenty of discomfort. I didn’t mention any of this to my sweetie since I knew he was anxious to reconnect with his friend. The reception was beautiful and any other time it would have been fun, but not in my current state.

slightly scandalous...

As we were walking back to the car, I casually mentioned to my sweetie that maybe we should just drive straight to the hospital. He looked alarmed and I reassured him that the pains were regular but still quite a ways apart. I was sure we had plenty of time.

We climbed in the car and made the trip back to the Salt Lake valley in record time. We got off the freeway on 8th South and headed east. That’s when I remembered that we didn’t have my bag with us. That meant no reading material or food. I don’t know if all hospitals are like this, but in Utah, it was strictly forbidden to feed a mom in labor. With my first I was SOOO hungry by the time she was born. I had fasted for almost 24 hours by then. After that I got smart, I tried to eat before I arrived at the hospital.

We pulled into a Smith’s parking lot and hurried inside. The pains were coming closer now and even though I was pretty sure I still had hours to go, I was becoming rather uncomfortable and the thoughts of walking the aisles of a grocery store were not making me happy. We quickly grabbed some snacks and my sweetie chose a random novel off the book-rack and we headed for the checkout. Five minutes later we were back in the car and on our way to the hospital.

This was the first time I was asked about students in my hospital room and being the kind and generous person I try to be, I decided that I could put up with one more person crashing our little party in the name of education. So our nurse was accompanied by a student nurse, but both of them proved to be rather incompetent.

I’ve always been a monitor-watcher and the peaks and valleys in my baby’s heartbeat were making me awfully nervous. They kept assuring me all was well, but they finally called the doctor. When he arrived he took one look and called for the tray to do a c-section. Boy did those nurses move then!


Fortunately, Teach chose just that moment to make her presence known and she forced her way into the world. And I do mean forced! She was my biggest baby at 10 pounds 1 ½ ounces. We totally missed the newborn stage. I had to put her in 3-month clothes from the very first day. She had beautiful silver hair and my doc called her a Silver Fox. That was the first and last time I allowed students in my delivery room. Oh, and Teach missed her due date by a few hours…she was born on June 2.