This is where I mention how nervous I'd been about this baby arriving early. My dr. was on vacation the week prior to the scheduled arrival, so although I would still have a C-section if the baby came early, it would be with whoever was on call that day. Fortunately there is only one dr in my practice who I did not want to have there - my odds were pretty good that even if the baby came early, I'd at least have seen the dr. once before sometime. So, my dr.'s vacation pushed the scheduled C-section back a few more days than when they normally would have done it, and I had several friends and co-workers who had had their babies earlier than expected in the previous months (and one just a week earlier).
So, of course all of this leads up to the baby coming early. I'd had some contractions on and off for the previous week or two, but when I went to bed or laid down, they would go away. Thursday, my first day of PTO, I was feeling great. Had lunch with some friends, ran some errands, and hung out with Odin before he went to bed. Chad went out to play poker, I put the dishes away then went up to bed and read for a bit. I turned the light out at 10 and by 10:05 had my first big contraction. After 3 or 4 big contractions about 5 minutes apart, I figured I better call Chad to make sure he is on his way home from poker. The drs. and hospital had said to go straight to the hospital if I thought I was in labor, so this seemed like the time to head out.
Chad was still playing poker, but left his winning hand on the table to come home and called our friend Dennis to come stay with Odin while he slept. Chad got home shortly before 11, Dennis got over about 11:15 and we headed to the hospital. Since the contractions weren't letting up, this still looked like the thing to do. We checked in at the Maternal Assessment Center, were sent to a room where I'd be monitored to confirm that I was in labor, and then we waited. And waited.
Chad went into the hall to find out when someone would be coming in to hook up the monitors. Apparently the nurse was busy completing paperwork and no one else could do it, so it was back to waiting. I was wondering if the nurse understood that even if I was a little bit in labor (and it felt like more than a little bit) that she needed to get the anesthesiologist and my dr in there right away. Finally just after midnight, the nurse came back and hooked me up to the monitors. After less than 5 minutes on the monitor, she finally set things in motion. By 12:20 my dr was in the room confirming the C-Section (lucky for me it was the dr who had assisted with Odin's delivery, so she knew all about me), and we had the surgical nurse in prepping me, the nurse anesthetist and anesthesiologist talking to me, and everybody ready to go.
They did my blood draw, hooked up my IV, and we walked over to the OR at about 1am. Jasper Morgan Foote was born at 1:35am. A healthy baby boy at 8lbs 4oz and 20.75 inches.
I finally got out of the recovery room and into my room around 4am and Chad went home to be there when Odin woke up. The nurses stopped poking and prodding me around 5am, but my face was too itchy from the morphine to really sleep. Got some benedryl to help with the itching around 7am and was able to sleep for about 2 hrs before Chad and visitors started coming by.
Unfortunately, Odin was sent home with a fever on Friday, so he wasn't able to come visit us at the hospital until Sunday, after he'd been fever free for 24 hrs. Fortunately, our regular pediatrician was rounding while we were in the hospital, so he got to see Jasper right away and Odin, too. We really like our pediatrician, so I was thrilled when he came in to check on Jasper Saturday morning.
On Sunday, the hospital photographer came in to take photos of Jasper. Odin was there, too, and we were lucky enough to get some wonderful family photos and photos of the new brothers.
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