Wednesday July 20th 2011 started out like any other day. However, ended in a very special way.
Daniel and I woke up Wednesday feeling ready for our pregnancy to be induced Friday the 22nd. The day, before Daniel cleaned and put back together the stroller, and car seats for the baby. Something I completely forgot about. I am so glad he nested too! Daniel had both sets of tires rotated on the cars and we had a healthy lunch at McDonalds.
Daniel went in to Salem for a union meeting (the weird thing I did for the first time was ask him if his phone was going to stay on….) so Abby and I took a rest. We read books and snuggled in my bed. Our rest did not last long because apparently Abby was “starving”. So I got up and made us both a snack. This was around 3pm. As I am sitting on the couch watching TV my stomach starts to feel funny. Kind of gassy, but bloated at the same time. I thought…maybe I should go to the bathroom. For some reason I was a little scared to stand up. When I did stand up a dam broke. That is to say, my water poured out of me and on to the living room floor. I have never in my life seen this before. My water broke with Abby, but in trickles. This was a large quantity of water. I wish someone besides myself, and of course Abby could have witnessed it just so we could talk about it.
As I am watching this happen to me, I am slowly realizing I am going to have a baby in a short time. Abby comes in to the room and I ask her to grab the phone for me. She looks me up and down and asks, “Why? You peed your pants?” I laughed and said, “No, Baby Ruby is coming.” I found it is really hard to sound reassuring and excited as water is gushing out of you. She could not reach the phone so I had her grab towels instead. She noticed the blood but I quickly reassured her that everything was good and normal.
As I am trying to clean up with towels I am wondering how I am going to move to get anything done because water keeps coming out of me. Finally it came to a point where I could move to the bathroom quickly. Abby was able to get my cell phone so I could call Daniel. He answered and I said those two scary words…. “it’s time.” “What?” Once I told him about my water he was here in no time flat. He made it to Silverton from South Salem in 17 minutes! Thanks to all police officers for not being around that day! After Daniel I called my mom, then my mother in law and sister in law. I needed someone to come help me pack bags and distract Abby.
So we arrive at the hospital, and right away see two very familiar faces, the nurses who delivered Abby. We loved them and were blessed with one of them that night. To make a long story short we checked in and pretty much hung out until my OB was able to come and check my progress. We took long walks down the halls trying to get contractions started. I can only imagine how funny we must have all looked, his family, my family all walking around the halls. I love how supportive and fun they all are.
At around 9:30 PM my OB came to check how far along in labor I was. When she checked she said I was not dilated very far and it felt weird. She brought in the ultra sound machine and discovered she was breech…. again! Now this is when I knew I had good mothers intuition. For about a week I kept saying she felt weird. We discovered she was breech at 32 weeks, then she flipped to the right position at 35 weeks. We did not think she would move again. But for some reason she felt so different inside me. I was going to request an ultra sound before we were induced.
Anyway, needless to say C-section was in order. We immediately got ready for surgery. I was so nervous, I kept shaking. It took about 6 tries to get my IV started and then about 4 times to get the spinal done. It was pretty rough, but once it was in and I was numb it was so worth it. I can’t tell you how I felt when my baby was out. Little Ruby's heels were in my cervix. Daniel was able to cut the cord and hold her first. He brought her over to me and I saw the most beautiful baby. We had a great moment all together and I kissed her chubby cheeks until she had to go to the nursery. She was 7 lbs, 11oz and 19 inches long. Not as big as we all thought she was going to be.
Daniel had the nurses close the curtains to the nursery so Abby could be the first one to see her. Once I was in our recovery room he brought the baby in and then Abby. It was so sweet to see our BIG sister lay eyes on Ruby Mae for the first time.
I always hear how horrible a C-section is. Of course it was no picnic, but it was necessary, and now I know what both birthing methods are like. I am so grateful for the experiences I have had with each baby, and so glad we have such a wonderful little family now. I know we are most likely done having kids, but it is so hard to make that decision when I am looking into my 1 week olds precious face.
Just got to hospital. Lets get this labor started!
I can hear her!
Off to surgery
Ready to meet my baby
Daddy cutting the cord
First one to hold her!
Mommy loves you so much
One happy Family!!
Daniel Turned the big 30 on July 27th. This is our favorite picture. Its not the best quality, but we love all of the little monkey's on the swing set.
Daniel got some great gifts for his birthday. Two of them were manly wine glasses, and some great beer mugs. Speaking of beer, he got a huge keg for his big day. He was in hog heaven.....so were his buddies.
His friends Tim and Becky got him two great T-shirts that depict his personality.
Abby has been a little trooper since Ruby was born. I have felt bad as a mom because Ruby has taken a lot of my attention. I wanted to do something special Abby would enjoy this weekend. So we went to Toys R Us and saw two of her favorite characters from Yo Gabba Gabba. She was so excited to see them, and hug them, but once it was her turn she got nervous and shy. She didn't want to touch them. It was pretty funny. It was fun though!
