And Then There Were Four

It’s 4:30 AM and I should be sleeping.

However, everyone else in my family is asleep and I’ve been trying to post a blog since Julien was born 6 weeks ago. Turns out, newborns and toddlers aren’t big on giving you free time to pursue your personal creative endeavors, and I need to take advantage of this rare moment.

The last month and a half has flown by in a mixture of amazing, stressful, beautiful, crazy moments of time.  

In the afternoon on the day of my last blog post, I suspected that my amniotic fluids were leaking.  I casually mentioned it to Jeff and he made me call my OB.  I called reluctantly and just as I knew she would, told me head to the hospital to ensure everything was okay.  I didn’t want to go.  I just wanted to sit at home and wait for my induction appointment the following day.  Jeff said I was being stupid, I believe my Mom said something similar.  My Mom and Dad were already en route to Brooklyn to watch Colette. I think my parents had been waiting in their car, ready to jump into action, since my due date the week prior.  I had been so worried about them not being able to get to Brooklyn in a timely manner, but my fears were quickly quelled because they seemed to make 3 hour drive in 15 minutes, or at least it felt that fast to me.

While Colette was being watched by our interim babysitter/friend extraordinaire, Danielle, Jeff calmly drove me to the hospital around 5PM on a Tuesday night. Oddly, there was hardly any traffic from Brooklyn to the Upper West Side.  And even more oddly, there was no patient traffic in labor & delivery triage and I was seen almost immediately.   That never happens! In New York City there is a line/waitlist/lottery for everything…especially for having babies!

Hot Mess in Triage Room 1. Admit ASAP.

Almost as soon as I was hooked up to the fetal monitor in triage, the mild contractions I had been having for over a week, got a little stronger.  The resident checked me, and given the fact that my fluids were low, I was past due, and was in the early stages of labor made a case for me to be admitted, even though I wasn’t more than a few centimeters dilated.  We were all for it, since we didn’t want to head home without a baby at this point. 

Much better feeling,
looking and ready to push!

Once we were settled in a labor and delivery room, my contractions kicked into high gear and Jeff kicked into low gear.  Jeff fell asleep so hard and so soundly in the guest recliner, that I was tempted to page the nurse to wake him, since I was hooked up to monitors in bed and he wouldn’t respond to me calling his name.  I would have thrown ice chips at him, had he been awake to refill my cup.  To be fair, once we were admitted, the stress and anxiety we had both been supressing for weeks dissipated.  Jeff knew that Colette and I were in good hands, and he finally felt at ease.  I have no doubts that once I was in the comfort of medical professionals, my body relinquished control and finally went into labor.  Miraculously, my contractions regulated and intensified, without the help of drugs, through the night.  Even more miraculously, the pain of my contractions vanished with the help of drugs.

By 11:30 AM the next morning Jeff was well rested and I was ready to push, which I did for about 25 minutes.   Delivery was a little harder than what I experienced with Colette, but the second I saw Julien’s little penis (and giant baby balls), the pain subsided.  Julien James was born at 12:08PM on September 25^th and weighed 9lbs 1oz and was 20 inches long.  We were thrilled to welcome him into this world and our family.

Our big baby boy!

Our hospital recovery experience was lovely and my favorite part.  We upgraded to the private suite and it was worth every extra penny we paid.  Colette and my parents visited us and Colette was more into the baby supplies in Julien’s bassinette than him, but she took the whole experience in stride and has been very sweet to him since the day we brought him home.  

Tired, Happy, Hungry (the both of us...he's sucking my pinky)

I hear a baby rustling, which means I need to end this aruptly. I’ll fill you in on what it’s been like having two little ones at home and maternity leave next time I see a window of free time, which means I’ll probably be back at work by then.

First family of four picture...hopefully, not the best.