Sunday April 10, we went to church at Asbury UMC in Madison. She was a bit swollen and we laughed b/c she had a hard time getting up from the altar rail after Holy Communion but she finally did! After church we went and had Pizza and went back to their apt and changed clothes and Katie and I decided to skip the advice to stay on bed rest and instead, GO WALKING! BAHAHAHA! So, we did! We went to Bridge Street and walked and walked! She was getting tired (and looking like a GOOSE waddling) and so I suggested some ice cream. We walked into the ice cream place and as we were walking in she turned to me and whispered, "OH MY GOSH! THere's my OB doctor!!!!!" I mean, WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF THAT?!?! HAHAHAHAHA There he was, with his wife and children and she grinned and said, "BUSTED!" He seemed puzzled b/c he didn't even know she had BEEN at the hospital b/c he had been off (and there are so many in the group). He asked her, "WHY DIDN"T THEY KEEP YOU?!" We looked at each other and grinned knowing , running into him was the best! HA! HE told her , since she was going in on Monday anyway, that she could go on and deliver on Monday if all went well. YAY! So that was soooooo exciting. We left then and there and went home. Almost as soon as she got home, she started contracting. But not regular contractions. We went to bed, all of us tired, and I remember seeing her getting up a lot and I asked her if she was ok and she would say , "yeah, but lots of pressure,e tc".Around midnight, I heard her talking to Jon and she said, "Mom, I think we're heading to the hospital". I almost flipped OUT! It was like "I love Lucy" segment. We were all 3 going in different directions in a small apartment! me looking for my contacts/Jon looking for his suitcase and hers/Katie trying to keep it all together! LOL! FInally we got into the car, we 3 like thieves in the night, and headed to the hospital. I texted my sister, hoping it wasn't too late, but she responded and it was so funny, I was texting, "that's a big one" (contraction! LOL), etc.
We got to the hosptial and the night watchman was so sweet---by this time it was, like, 1:00 A.M. It was weird going thro the halls the back way in the night and no one around. We get to the Maternity floor, it was silent, and there we stood. I remember thinking, THIS IS IT. IN A FEW HOURS WE WILL BE HAVING A NEW BABY!!!!!!!! Such a surreal feeling! We were ushered into the Labor/Delivery suite and she got settled in . Because there were only 2 in labor, and because it is a small hospital, we got sooo much WONDERFUL attention. It was the most FUN time. yeah, reread that! FUN! The nurses were so attentive, sweet and FUN. Since her contractions weren't painful (or TOO painful) at that time, it was more of a "let's get to know each other since we're going to deliver your baby" kind of time. We chatted and talked and over and over they kept asking her, "WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE THE BEST?" OMG! Were we a part of a T.V. documentary? I mean, who says that? THEY MEANT IT! They went OVER AND BEYOND to make Katie/Jon's delivery one of joy and ease! And they accomplished that !!!!!!!!!!!!
Fast forward........Katie wasn't in pain for 12 hours. Not at all. They do more of a SLOW LABOR these days. They don't come in and POP the water bag and want you to deliver for the sake of the doctor to get back on the golf course. (like mine did! LOL). NO, indeedy. These days, they take their time. They don't rush the process. They don't give the "pit drip" until towards the end. They want the baby (and mommy) to be un-stressed and calm. Things are so different at this hospital. Had the doctor come in and say, "let's have a baby", she could have. He would've broken her water (in the old days) and POOF! Carter would've arrived pronto. Instead, they do things the OLD OLD way. Like the days of my grandmother, most likely. Instead, they do this "WEDGING" thing now at Crestview. What they did was put pillows strategically placed all around Katie and rotated the pillows every 30 minutes and turn her from side to side. It was fascinating. SHe looked like a big ole burrito! She looked , and felt, great. We laughed (and man, did we laugh!) at one of our funny nurses, BETH, (whose shift changed, sadly, around 7)but she was replaced with the SWEETEST and most caring of nurses. OMG, God certainly had the team of nurses in place for this birth!!!!!!!!
As the morning went on things were progressing more rapidly but not too fast. I would guess around 10 I knew that things were getting further along b/c Katie was more FOCUSED and less chatty and giggly. She was getting her pregnant brain ready to become a baby brain! A "lets get the baby out" brain set! Natalie and Terry were on their way. I was getting nervous that Natalie was going to miss it! Katie wanted Natalie in there and I knew they had a 2 hour drive!!! But, God worked it out (of course) and soon sissy was there to brush Katie's hair in labor and make her look pretty when she met her son. Soon it was DELIVERY TIME! The doctor still wasn't to be found. The nurses were getting nervous and Katie was puffing and asking, "where is the doctor???" WHERE WAS HE?!?! I was getting nervous, too. I saw , from MY vantage point (haha) that if the ole Doc wasn't coming soon, GranJan was going to have to catch her grandson! (which, I wouldn't have minded, too much! LOL). I loved watching Natalie's face during delivery. SHe was so excited and so emotional, as we all were. All the "he has hair!" and "hold on for just a minute" encouragements. And JON?!?!? OMG, I knew that he was going to be the best daddy in the world anyway, but I couldn't have asked for a better coach during delivery. Hugs/smiles/"you're beautiful/"You are doing great" and on and on made Katie feel so safe and calm. FINALLY the doctor walked in. (*not Dr. Wheeler, sadly, he still wasn't on call, remember? We had seen him earlier that day! ) but the doctor was very sweet. "DON'T PUSH YET, let me get on my gloves and clothes!" HAHA! HE got dressed and POOF!!!!!!!!!!!!! THERE OUR BEAUTIFUL BABY WAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All 6 tiny pounds of him. With. all. that. hair. AND>>>>>>>>BONUS: dimples ! Just like his mama!!!!! A beautiful gift from God. So much more to write . SO many emotions. So much love from all the family. But I will write more later. The tears are still coming and the praise to God continues.....
1 comment:
Oh how sweet!!!!!! He IS beautiful! I've checked daily.....thanks for sharing:) And tell Katie she sure looked beautiful to have gone in during the night! Mine were all like that but I looked not too pretty....no makeup!! AND....tell her that ponytail is the perfect style with babies:) And you can see her beautiful face! CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One more to go!!!!!:):):)
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