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Penn
State Medical Center
Photo by Hillary Muelleck Photography |
Sorry this is a long post, it was split into two posts on our blog but I thought I would post it for all to see who hadn't already.
Many of you know that
Chris's birthday was on November 6th. We had some fun things planned for his
birthday. However, as with everything in our life, nothing went as planned. It
was better!
At 3:00am on November
6th I woke up feeling a little crampy. My stomach hurt, but it didn't feel like
any contractions I had felt before. I just thought I had eaten something weird.
So I did what my dad always says to do when you have a stomach ache - go to the
bathroom! TMI alert - I spent the next hour trying to go to the bathroom with
moderate success. But I still didn't feel any better!
At this point in time I
started to realize that my "cramps" were coming in regular intervals.
I woke up Chris so he could share in my pain. I started timing my
"cramps" and how far apart they were. I started to think that
something else might be going on. So I called the triage nurse to explain my
symptoms and see if I should go to the hospital. But of course, since it was
the middle of the night I was routed to some obscure call center in Alabama or
somewhere. It took over half an hour to get through all the bureaucratic red
tape. When I finally talked to a nurse I was in a lot of pain and getting
frustrated with all of the talking and waiting. She confirmed that we should go
to the hospital but didn't say anything about labor or what was possibly going
on. So Chris and I piled into the car, still not certain of what to think. I
think we were in denial that I was in labor because my due date still seemed
far away. I mean, I hadn't even packed my hospital bag, made freezer meals, or
deep cleaned the house yet!
Driving to the hospital
I was in a lot of pain. But when Chris offered me a wheel chair I adamantly
declined. No way was I going to be caught in a wheel chair - I mean I was just
pregnant! (More on the irony of this later.) We made it to the third floor
where I collapsed into a chair in the waiting room because there wasn't anyone
at the desk to greet us. When Chris finally got someone's attention they began
to admit me into the hospital.
I remember feeling
surprised that everyone was so calm. I mean, I was definitely freaking out
inside. Here I was, going into what I thought was preterm labor, and everyone
was treating it as though this was a routine thing. Which for them, I guess it
was. But this was all new to me. I had never felt anything like this before.
(Remember, with Olivia I was in blissful ignorance due to an epidural.)
Chris left me at this
point to drive back home and give instructions to our friend who had so graciously
come over to watch Liv. I still was in denial that I was in labor so I told
Chris I would call him if anything important was going on.
And it turned out that
something very important was going on! I was laid on a temporary bed, asked a
few questions about my medical history, and checked for dilation. Turns out
that I was 100% effaced and dilated to a 9! So they moved me into an official
labor and delivery room and prepped for the little guy to come.
But Chris wasn't here! I
had tried to text him and call him but he wasn't answering. Finally, the nurse
called him on the hospital phone and was able to reach him. I was in a lot of
pain and felt a little out of it. But I remember hearing the nurse telling
Chris that I was in labor and that he better get to the hospital PRONTO! She
told him that the baby might be born before he got here.
I couldn't believe this
was really happening. I was gripping the sides of my hospital bed and trying
not to move as they put the IV into my arm. The doctor was going to break my
water when one of the nurses asked if we should wait for the husband. I asked
them how long we would have after they broke my water before the baby was born.
The answer - this baby is ready to come out right now. As soon as we break your
water, you'll be ready to start pushing.
So I said we should
wait...
And then I had another very painful
contraction...
...and I told them to break my water!
Chris had better hurry
because this baby and I weren't waiting any longer!
After a very hectic and confusing morning, the big moment had
arrived!
But Chris hadn't yet.
There was no going back. I had told the resident doctor to break
my water and she didn't waste a second.
It was at this opportune moment that the attending decided to
introduce herself to me. You know, just to reassure me that she was around. But
unless she was going to help get this baby out of me, I really didn't care. I'm
pretty sure I had a "that's nice, but get out of the way" look on my
face.
And right after that, Chris ran into the room. Now there was a
face that I was glad to see.
Apparently Chris got to live out the epic pregnancy scene you see
in all the chick flicks. He screeched up to the valet in front of the hospital
and threw his keys at the young employee. "You need to fill out some
paperwork," the employee shouted after him. "My wife is having a baby
RIGHT NOW," Chris shouted back! After a second hesitation the valet told
him to go. Chris ran to the elevators (then had to wait because there are no
stairs to the labor and delivery unit) and then sprinted to my room.
And he made it. He made it for everything that mattered. He made it
to hold my hand as I screamed like a wild animal. He made it to tell me I could
do it even though I kept saying I couldn't. And he made it to offer his dose of
comedic relief by making fun of me and the poor medical student who was being
scarred by watching me give birth. He made it to see his son born and he made
it to cut the umbilical cord.
The nurses told me that we checked into the hospital at 5:30am and
Calvin was born at 5:57. Everything went by so fast. I was pushing and
screaming and then they were laying this beautiful, messy baby on my chest.
When they took him away to be weighed and measured I was feeling so
overwhelmed. I was so amazed and happy to have baby boy with us. But I was also
simply shocked. I don't think I was mentally prepared to have a baby yet. Chris
and I sat in awe at this totally unexpected birthday gift.
I got over the shock very quickly when they gave me my clean baby
for some skin to skin time. He was perfect! 7 lbs even and 21 inches long. He
nursed right away and you could tell he was ready to be here. 
After running all of the usual tests, the nurses left us alone to
enjoy these precious first moments of life with our baby. That is always a
special time that I cherish with Chris. After about an hour I was transferred
to my recovery room and it was time for Chris to go class. Lucky for us Chris
now goes to school at a hospital and so he wasn’t too far away, just down a
floor from my delivery room. Calvin was so thoughtful to come before
Christopher's class started. :)
Since I didn't have an epidural and I didn't tear, I was feeling pretty good after delivery. Chris was in class and we don't have family out here so my room was pretty quiet. But I have to say that I enjoyed that. It was so relaxing to just sit and cuddle baby boy. Another benefit - lots of time to think about what to name this baby! We had a few ideas but we hadn't decided on a name yet. Our choices: Calvin Scott, James Tanner, and Jakub Scott. Each of them had specific meaning to us. So while Chris was in class I had time to think. I decided that I wanted the middle name to be Scott, after Chris's middle name. So that narrowed it down to Calvin or Jakub. And since Chris and the baby shared birthdays why not make them share initials as well? Besides as I held baby boy, the name Calvin seemed to suit him more than Jakub. Plus, I knew that Calvin was Chris's favorite. He grew up reading Calvin and Hobbes (and owns multiple comic books). So Calvin it was! We filled out the birth certificate forms right before it was time to leave.
You know, I always said the only way I wouldn't have an epidural
when I gave birth was if it happened so fast that there was no time for it. I
just didn't think it would ever actually happen. But after the fact I can say
that I was really glad I had the experience. Our bodies are amazing things that
have ways of coping with pain and making us forget it almost the very next day.
:) I'd like to say I would do it again. But let's face it, I'd probably need to
have another crazy surprise for that to happen.
But any way they get here, we are just so happy to have two
beautiful, healthy children. Each one has brought a fun dynamic to our home and
we love them and all their craziness!
Professional photos taken by Hillary
Muelleck Photography
