Ok, so on Friday, 9 February, I was going to stop by my doctor for a weekly check. Then I was going to get through an uneventful work day and in the evening - kick back, order some pizza (we still don't have a kitchen), and watch a movie with Chris.
Instead, at 9:30 am my doctor sent me straight to the birthing center at Rex Hospital. I was going to have labor induced after all. Both Chris and I were in shock, to say the least. After all, I was so confident that it wasn't time yet, that I didn't even bother taking my cell phone with me or eating breakfast for that matter. While I was checking in, Chris rushed home to pick up my hospital bag, call my parents, and do all the last-minute stuff. In the mean time, I realized that I might be going without any food for as long as 24 hours (and I was starving already!). My pizza night was cancelled! Mercifully, my doctor thought that it was a bit unfair for me to go through the whole day without any food. So she allowed me to order a small breakfast from the hospital's cafeteria.
Right after I was done with scrambled eggs and turkey sausage, nurse Rachel hooked me up to an IV and to all sorts of monitors. It was all rather exciting, to be hooked up to all sorts of machines. But the novelty wore off and I decided to catch up on TV viewing. Chris got back and we just spent time in the birthing room chatting, flipping through magazines and watching Discovery Channel.
I'm not going to talk about my labor in all the details. Let's just say that it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be. The hours went by very quickly and next thing I knew, it was already dark outside. The pain grew steadily and at some point got pretty bad. But epidural solved this problem and once again I simply laid there and watched TV. The whole thing seemed kinda unreal. I still couldn't believe that I was about to have a baby. Even when I had to start pushing, it still seemed like just some odd procedure completely unrelated to having a baby. (By the way, I was asked if I wanted a mirror in the room so I could watch the delivery. NO, THANK YOU!)
Chris was with me the whole time and it really helped me a lot. He didn't faint or any such thing and he got to see the baby before I did and cut the umbilical cord. Little Mark was born at 11:01pm on 9 February 2007. He was 5lb 15oz and 19.5in - a perfect size little baby-boy as far as I was concerned. Immediately, he proved that he's got a great pair of lungs and that he could kick real well. Just as I was ready to be moved to the recovery room, my parents showed up (I think they set a new record driving from New York to Raleigh). Mark was taken to the nursery for some tests while I was transfered to the recovery room (in a wheelchair too!) flanked by my parents and Chris.
Instead, at 9:30 am my doctor sent me straight to the birthing center at Rex Hospital. I was going to have labor induced after all. Both Chris and I were in shock, to say the least. After all, I was so confident that it wasn't time yet, that I didn't even bother taking my cell phone with me or eating breakfast for that matter. While I was checking in, Chris rushed home to pick up my hospital bag, call my parents, and do all the last-minute stuff. In the mean time, I realized that I might be going without any food for as long as 24 hours (and I was starving already!). My pizza night was cancelled! Mercifully, my doctor thought that it was a bit unfair for me to go through the whole day without any food. So she allowed me to order a small breakfast from the hospital's cafeteria.
Right after I was done with scrambled eggs and turkey sausage, nurse Rachel hooked me up to an IV and to all sorts of monitors. It was all rather exciting, to be hooked up to all sorts of machines. But the novelty wore off and I decided to catch up on TV viewing. Chris got back and we just spent time in the birthing room chatting, flipping through magazines and watching Discovery Channel.
I'm not going to talk about my labor in all the details. Let's just say that it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be. The hours went by very quickly and next thing I knew, it was already dark outside. The pain grew steadily and at some point got pretty bad. But epidural solved this problem and once again I simply laid there and watched TV. The whole thing seemed kinda unreal. I still couldn't believe that I was about to have a baby. Even when I had to start pushing, it still seemed like just some odd procedure completely unrelated to having a baby. (By the way, I was asked if I wanted a mirror in the room so I could watch the delivery. NO, THANK YOU!)Chris was with me the whole time and it really helped me a lot. He didn't faint or any such thing and he got to see the baby before I did and cut the umbilical cord. Little Mark was born at 11:01pm on 9 February 2007. He was 5lb 15oz and 19.5in - a perfect size little baby-boy as far as I was concerned. Immediately, he proved that he's got a great pair of lungs and that he could kick real well. Just as I was ready to be moved to the recovery room, my parents showed up (I think they set a new record driving from New York to Raleigh). Mark was taken to the nursery for some tests while I was transfered to the recovery room (in a wheelchair too!) flanked by my parents and Chris.
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