first, a moment of silence to mark the passing of my favorite author. thank you.
on to happier things, the 3rd anniversary of the pulling out of my second child. and, yes, he was pulled out via c-section. apparently they really had to yank him. i was busy in la-la land, so i can’t really comment.
i went into labor with him after months of bed rest, trying to prevent the too-early timing of his sister’s birth. i had just walked home from the diner on the corner, and i felt a little gross, i thought because of the giant burger and fries i had wolfed down (which i regretted later). but, no, it was labor, beginning with contractions a couple minutes apart. my friend rachel had walked me home, and took sage upstairs for her nap. by the time she came back, i could no longer carry on normal conversation, and i beckoned for the phone and my suitcase, and asked her if she could stay until my mom drove down to mind sage. erich ran every light to get home in record time (15 minutes), flung open the door, grabbed my bag and took off again, going faster in tune with the volume of my moaning. i remember wanting to push as we drove up into the circle drive of the hospital. of course, the problem was that i couldn’t push, as he was breech. so, much moaning continued as i dropped out of the car onto the sidewalk on all fours, and the startled valet asked if i needed a wheelchair. we left the car and raced up to the labor and delivery floor, where we were met by a nice nurse who handed me a clipboard full of papers. i literally grabbed her collar and brought her up to speed in between moans- “breech baby, coming, c-section prep, NOW.” she got it (love those nurses!), got my onto a table to do an exam, and indeed, i was 6 centimeters dilated, and his little behind was crowning as much as a rear end can crown.
now, those of you who have babies can maybe get with me on this- when you are in labor, and your body wants you to push, nothing, NOTHING feels right except pushing. so, in the few mintues (maybe 20?) that followed, the sounds coming from me were the only way i could vent that pent up pushing energy. i remember being whisked past a couple of slow-laboring moms in the hallway and asking if the nurse could go explain to them why the crazy lady on the gurney was making so very much noise. i was worried they would think i was in pain, and i didn’t want them to be scared if they were first timers. the nurse said, “sweetie, that’s the least of your worries right now- you make all the noise you need to”, and i did.
finally, we were in the OR, and it was time for the spinal. in order to get this procedure, you have to curve your body over your belly and remain perfectly still , so the doctor can get the needle in between your vertabrae. again, ladies with babies, can you imagine being in transition and having back-to-back contractions while doing this? i think it’s up there with one of the hardest things i’ve ever done. i did it, though, and moments later, a wonderful calm swept over my belly and legs, and i could stop moaning and ask for some lip balm.
it seemed like one minute later when he was born. i was totally out of it, but he looked like a newborn, so i was happy. after they whisked him and his dad away was when the burger and fries made their re-appearance. it was not pretty.
the coolest thing was that, after they had cleaned him up, and me, i got to nurse him and hold him without any tubes or wires or anything. i had never done that before, and it was the best thing.
happy 3rd birthday, snuggleman, i sure do love you.
ask the sky 