Little Helpers

11/29/2009

A baby story

My third baby's birth comes with a story, unlike the first two which were routine and uneventful. On Tuesday, December 1st I had my 38 week OB appointment scheduled, and our family had planned to all go to the valley together to do some shopping and see Santa at the mall while we were there. But I was awoken at 6:30 with contractions that were 5 minutes apart, so Chad and I left the kids with a sitter and headed to the hospital in Gilbert. We had packed all the bags ahead of time, and consulted my list to make sure we had everything we needed. On the drive there, my contractions slowed down, and by the time I got into triage, they were 10 minutes apart, and I was only dilated to a three. So they sent me away, and told me not to come back until the contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and I was "huffing and puffing." Is it weird that I felt really embarrassed? I felt pretty dumb that I went to the hospital when it wasn't time yet.

So, anyway, since my mom was watching the kids, we had the day to ourselves, and I figured that by doing some shopping and errands around town I could get those contractions going again, and the long drive to the valley wouldn't have been wasted. So Chad and I went to breakfast, Walmart, Kohl's, Best Buy, Bed Bath and Beyond, Hobby Lobby, and the mall. We got some Christmas shopping done, Chad bought me some beautiful sapphire and diamond earrings in honor of our soon-to-be son's birthday, and I got some more yarn to crochet some hats that I sold at the Christmas Boutique at Country Kitchen. We ran out of things to do around 4:30, and my contractions, though still going, weren't getting any closer together. So we drove home.

Well, what do you thing happened once we were at home over an hour later? My contractions sped right up. Literally the minute we pulled into the driveway they sped up to five minutes apart again. I wasn't going to get over-excited this time. So I took a shower, and Chad and I went to the church building so he could play basketball with his buddies as planned, and I walked in the halls to make sure my labor continued progressing. By the time we left the church at 8:00 pm, the contractions were coming less than five minutes apart, and I was huffing and puffing. I was confident that it was time to go, and sure that triage wouldn't send me away this time. Well, as we were driving to the hospital, it quickly became apparent that we should have left earlier. My contractions quickly became long, frequent, and unbearable. My pain level surpassed the point where I had gotten epidurals with Bree and Mason, and I started to worry. I really wanted to make it to the hospital in time for an epidural. Then when we still had 10 minutes of driving ahead of us, I was fighting the urge to push, and I started worrying that we'd make it to the hospital at all. By the time we got the ER entrance, the contractions were so close together I couldn't even walk the 20 feet to get in the front door. The details are hazy, but I vaguely remember yelling in pain as I was quickly wheeled to a labor room, and I almost started crying when the nurse said I was completely dilated and there was no time for an epidural. But by this time I could barely fight the urge to push, and thankfully the doctor was there in a few minutes, and the baby was born a couple contractions later. I have never felt such pain in my life. Having a baby is always messy, but I at least felt like I maintained my dignity when I had the epidural drugs on my side. That was not the case this time. I screamed my head off, and it took all the nurses' coaching and everything I had to keep from freaking out, and focusing enough to push through the pain. I am so grateful that Riley came out quickly and easily, and it was over and I was recovering nicely before I knew it. So, now that I've experienced both, which do I think is better: epidural or natural?

Well, there are many pros with going natural:

1. No scary big needle in my spine,
2. No catheter,
3. I could walk right away and didn't have to wait for the numbness to wear off,
4. No nausea/vomiting from the drugs,
5. No excessive IV fluids to cause extra swelling,
6. No lower back pain that lingers for weeks.

Cons:

1. Insanely unbearable pain.

In summary, the pros of a natural childbirth easily outnumber the cons. But I'd choose an epidural every time.

The hospital stay at Mercy Gilbert was comfortable, and the nurses were very good. Sleep was hard to come by because I don't do well in a bed that isn't my own, let alone one that's lined in plastic. But the on-demand movies were awesome, and we watched a few while I either fed the baby or crocheted. I've been thankful that the recovery pain this time around has been minimal, and I'm feeling really well. And from the moment he was born, Riley has been a champion breastfeeder. Riley was circumcised yesterday, and then we were really ready to come home. My parents brought Bree and Mason to visit and to meet their new baby brother. They were so excited, and Bree was especially smitten. It's still surreal to have a third little baby. I have a family of five now, and I am loving being a mom to such beautiful kids.

Welcome Riley!

Riley Gray Wallace

born December 1st, 2009 at 9:41 pm

7 lbs. 2 oz.

20 1/2 inches

Let's go to the movies!

After four years of waiting, my town finally has a movie theater again! The original Globe Theater downtown was built in 1917, but burned down in 2005. Ever since we moved here in April of 2006, we've felt the deep deprivation of not being close to a cinema. Chad and I love watching movies, and although our home DVD collection is quite impressive, there's nothing like watching films on the big screen (not to mention that I crave that movie-theater popcorn). Hollis Cinema 4 (with the restored original marquee) opened last Friday night, and I got in line on Saturday to buy my ticket to see New Moon ($8.50, which is at least a dollar cheaper than in the valley). Unfortunately, it was sold out, so I had to wait until yesterday to see it.

I cannot express my excitement! Yes, I was excited to see the second Twilight film installment, which was much better than the first (a fact I attribute to Robert Pattison's absence for half the movie; sorry, but he bugs me). But the anticipation for New Moon's release paled in comparison to the thrill I felt at being able to drive two minutes to the our new theater only 10 blocks from my house. I parked on our main downtown street, took a few steps to the front door, and went inside to find a seat. The inside of the building was clean and new-smelling (not a common phenomenon in this town). The seats were pristine, the floors not sticky, and the arm rests were stiff as I moved them into place. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the movie all by myself, even if the other patrons in Theater #2 were a little more comment-happy than I would have liked. I almost forgot I was in Globe, and when I stepped out onto the dark sidewalk to get in my car, the thrill washed over me again and I couldn't help but grin as I drove the two minutes back home. I love our theater.

False Alarms

Yes, I did have a false alarm Tuesday morning. I was awake half the night timing contractions, unable to sleep because they were painful, but perplexed because they weren't increasing in intensity even though they were five minutes apart the whole time! So I got out of bed, grateful that I had started packing my hospital bag that very day. And we had dragged the car seat out from under our house and washed the fabric cushions but not the actual car seat, which had all kinds of funky mold all over it from not being washed properly before storage. So there I was at 3:00am, spraying the whole thing down with 409. Then I had a little snack, and got back in bed to time contractions some more. They must have stopped/slowed around 5:00, because I fell back asleep, and awoke to the alarm with a quiet uterus.

I had my OB appointment that day, and Chad and I dropped the kids with a sitter so we could spend a fun day in town for our birthdays. Needless to say I was groggy and exhausted after being up half the night. My doctor said I'm two centimeters dilated, but that could mean anything. I am having intermittent contractions every day, so things could be moving along down there. It's frustrating. I know women go through this all the time, but my last two labors had obvious/abrupt beginnings when there was no question that it was time to go to the hospital (and when the hospital is over an hour away, you REALLY don't want to drive all the way there only to be sent home again!). Anyway, we're prepared for anything, but we'd really prefer the baby to wait at least another week. Preferably until after Thanksgiving. But saying that will probably jinx us and guarantee that he'll come tomorrow!

Incidentally, we still haven't decided on a name. I'm pretty stressed about it. We might be deciding in the hospital after we meet him. Our list includes: Riley, Preston, Grady, Ryder, and Grander. But we're open to anything if something else strikes us. We want something more unique than the top 20, but nothing super-weird. Why does naming a kid have to be so hard?

She's alive!

I think I'm almost 100% better. I had a nasty cold that knocked me out for a good week and a half. I'm just glad it wasn't the swine flu. But I'm finally feeling up to doing stuff again. Of course, the fact that I'm 36 weeks pregnant hinders my energy and mobility. I don't remember being this uncomfortable with Bree or Mason. I just feel huge. By the end of the day the skin on my belly aches constantly from the strain of supporting this baby when I'm in the vertical position. (I've almost gotten to the point where I'm ready to go into labor, except my parents are in London, so we'd have to make other arrangements for the kids, and I wouldn't want Chad, me, and the new baby to all have birthdays in the same week. So I guess I'll wait another week or two.)

But I have re-entered the land of the living: hosting preschool, attending voice lessons, and trying a couple new dinner recipes. And tomorrow Chad and I are spending the day in town without the kids to celebrate our birthdays this week (and go to my weekly OB appointment). We're going to do some shopping with the birthday money from our parents, and see the new Christmas Carol movie.

And speaking of movies...the Cinema here in Globe is opening this Friday!!! I am super-excited to have a theater that doesn't take over an hour to get to--this one's so close I could walk there! (Not that I would; see paragraph one.) Chad said I could go see New Moon on Saturday for my birthday. So now I get to treat myself to a solo-movie viewing (love going to the theater by myself!), AND my first-ever professional massage this Friday. It's a great year to be turning 28.

Loving Cook's Country

I've gotten hooked on my new magazine subscription to Cook's Country (from America's Test Kitchen). I've heard great things about it from different people, and have had a chance to try several recipes. Chad's very supportive, and although he doesn't like everything I make, he will always give me his honest opinion. And if the meal doesn't turn out perfectly he'll say, "I'm just grateful that you cook for me. I'd rather have you try new things and have them be a little different, than have you not cook at all." So, what have we tried? In order as shown above: Southern-Style Skillet Cornbread (loved the texture and full cornmeal flavor, but unlike Southerners, I like my cornbread to have SOME sugar in it!), Tangy Apple-Cabbage Slaw (sweet, tangy, spicy, and no mayo), Texas Chili Con Carne (I actually added beans to this no-bean chili; amazing flavor), Cider-Braised Pork Chops (I loved this one; great apple flavor, and perfect texture: tender without being too soft), Creole Fried Chicken (reduced the spices by half for the kids and regretted it; fried chicken was a first for me--splattered oil everywhere!), Crispy Parmesan-Pepper Pork Cutlets (really yummy, and the kids gobbled these up, pepper and all!).
It's been really fun trying one or two new recipes a week. I think the best thing about this magazine is that (aside from being ad-free, and featuring"normal" food with accessible ingredients) it teaches you the reasoning behind the recipes' steps/ingredients. And I'm learning a lot about technique, and the purpose of different ingredients, plus there are a lot of neat product reviews in there too (I just stocked up on 99-cent Ghirardelli Chocolate Syrup Brownie Mixes because they got the best rating...you know, if you don't want to make brownies from scratch).
I'm really looking forward to trying a couple new twists on our Thanksgiving dinner. And maybe I'll have to try that Hot Fudge Pudding Cake...