Maeve- 2 weeks old
Maeve was a welcomed surprise. But again with all my children, the fear I wouldn't be able to carry them was always in the back of my mind. Maeve stuck with us(yah)! Which brings me to April 15, 2010. I was on modified best rest. My mom happened to be in town. I didn't feel bad, I just didn't feel right either. Around 2pm, I decided maybe I should call my doctor. She said probably I should come in to the office. I step out of my mothers huge SUV and boom...my water breaks. I am the kind of person that when your water breaks, its it a little like Niagara Falls. I am waddling, but not too much (I was only 34 weeks along), and wet. Every move I make (haha), its excruciatingly uncomfortable. For those of you to have your water break, you hear me, RIGHT?!?!?!?
I take the elevator to the 2nd floor, I walk into the office. I tell them my water broke. The receptionist looks at me, and I kid you not, says, "are you sure you didn't pee yourself?" I stare blankly.
ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME????
I called Greg. He was out on recess duty and asked me the same thing. If there was ever a time that I could magically reach through a phone this would have been the time.
My doctor checks me. Confirms that, indeed my water did break. DUH! I am 2cm dilated. She sends me to the Chambersburg hospital in order to be taken to Harrisburg Hospital. I had ALL my children here and I love it. I love their NICU too...
My second time in an ambulance. The nurse tries to have a conversation with me. I laugh (hysterically) in my head. Little known fact: you can't hear anything inside an ambulance.
Soooo....I am wheeled into Labor & Delivery around 4:30pm and in walks my nurse. I can tell I am going to LOVE her. I am now close to 4cm dilated. No seriously, I did LOVE her for the 35 minutes she was there. SHIFT CHANGE. In walks Nurse Ratchet. You laugh now but I am telling you this woman was in her late 70's and a scowl on her face that looked like maybe she was born with it. She was old school. I immediately asked for an epidural. The one I had gotten with Rowen had failed hours before she was born so they took it out and for all you woman who do it "naturally" more than once, BLESS you.
Once was enough for me.
GIVE ME THE EPIDURAL before I feel the pain. PLEASE.
Two hours later, around 6:30pm I got an epidural. No worries, there was no pain. My best friend, Eva (who happened to be there for ALL my babies births) was waiting with Greg and I and for some reason were were watching CNN. Yes, CNN. I am now 7cm dilated.
You'll get a kick out of this, my doctors' name was Dr. Plummer. NO JOKE!
Nurse Ratchet was terrible. She was not attentive to the laboring (not really) girl. Ok, I was 30 or going to be 30. I have a hard time remembering my age. Either way this nurse hated me from the beginning. She even forgot ice chips. Eh, I wasn't too upset except for when I watched Greg eating his dinner in front of me. She forgot (oopps!) to put in a catheter which stopped my progress with Maeve. Jerk.
8:30....9:30....10:30.........8cm dilated. FINALLY, my doctor puts in the catheter around 11. THANK YOU, JESUS! I received my first ever and last ever shot of pitocin around 11:30. Boom! Call my parents who were staying with my aunt in Harrisburg and say Hey! I might have that baby soon. The NICU doc comes in and she chats with us. She says, "this is going to be a cake walk compared to Rowen's stay at the NICU. There will be nothing to worry about. She is 34 weeks." Sometimes I still cry when I replay those words in my head.
12:15am April 16th....time to push. Honestly, it was harder to push with an epidural. But at 12:56am, miss Maevey (doodlebug) came out. Screaming. Crying. and 6 pounds 2 ounces. HOLY CRAP! Imagine I had gone full term....I would have been the one crying.
It was beautiful. And scary ALL at the same time. I didn't hold her, I have never held any of my children after birth. But this one...she was NOT going to be a cake walk. We got a call in the morning that she had a bad night and had to be intubated. She wasn't breathing on her own yet. WAIT, WHAT? I thought this was going to be a "cake walk"? I won't go into all of the scary weeks in the NICU with Maeve. Although, she was the shortest stay she had some serious issues in the beginning and still to this day struggles with mild neutropenia.
She came home on May 3rd, 2010. And she has shocked the #$#()@ out of us ever since.
We love you, doodlebug. Happy Happy Birthday to my green-eyed giggly monkey!
Happy Birthday Photo Shoot- 4/15/14
