The Story

Update: Day 6 and we're already back to birth weight! I'm thrilled.

We're still doing great--I’m pinching myself. After our rough first months with Cakes, I’ve always felt cheated on the early motherhood experience, particularly not being able to nurse. Sherwood and I had a couple of difficult nights (first waiting for milk to come in, then battling terrible engorgement) but now nursing is going really well. I’m still awkward as hell, but it gets better each day and I’m thrilled with the connection I feel to my son.

Now, to the promised birth story:

1030 Finish watching two episodes of Nurse Jackie (so good!) and contractions start.
1130 Contractions 15 minutes apart. Been down this path the week before, so resist urge to get overly excited, and try to sleep (has anyone actually been able to sleep in early labour?)
1200 Give up on trying to sleep and goof off on Facebook and Twitter in bed. Try to resist urge to tweet about contractions in case it’s another false alarm.
0200 For fucks sakes, contractions still 15 minutes apart.
0330 Still 15 minutes dammit, but give in and tweet. Call McHotty at the hall and ask him to come home.
0400 Get in the Jacuzzi. Within minutes contractions 12 minutes apart. Then 10. Then 6.
0500 Call midwife. Contractions 6 minutes apart, but only a minute long and I can talk through them. Decide to wait.
0515 Ow, ow, ow, ow.
0600 Howling. McHotty calls midwife. Says we’ll be at the hospital in 15 minutes, meet us there.
0620 Takes me 20 minutes to get down all the stairs to the car. Hazard lights blinking, race to the hospital passing cars, running lights.
0630 Arrive at hospital entrance and stagger into lobber while McHotty parks. Start wailing in lobby, and coffee lady gets me into wheelchair. McHotty finds me and starts sprinting.
0635 Go up wrong elevator and get lost. Ear-splitting howls alert nurses who direct us to the right wing.
0638 Find midwife and sprint to delivery room. Push, push. OMFG. Beg for pain relief and they look at me like I’m crazy. Baby’s heart rate drops, so the doctor comes in and yells at me to push properly.
0650 Get into some kind of crazy determination zone and push for all I am worth. Everything falls away, pain disappears, and out he comes.

Under the wonderful ministrations of my midwives (I really can’t speak highly enough about them) I was feeling good by 10 am and they sent us home. Wild, no? After spending so many days in the hospital when Cakes was born, it is so lovely to recover at home this time. Sherwood and I are set up on our third floor with our own bathroom and deck. McHotty is keeping me set up with great food and lots of TLC. The midwives have been here almost every day. It really, really couldn’t be better. Here’s hoping we stay the course.