Birth of C4 - long version
I've been writing this in pieces for weeks, so if it seems disjointed I apologize. It's one of those things I can't really work on when I'm typing one-handed. :)
The main details have already been posted, so unless you're just fascinated by my prose, don't feel obligated to click. :)
I spent the last couple days of pregnancy wondering when I was going to get that burst of energy that signifies the "nesting" stage has begun, and labor is not far behind. There were things I wanted to do, and I was looking forward to the energy to do them. Unlike what I hear about a lot of people, I was not suffering from insomnia or anything - I was actually really tired a lot of the time. My schedule had also gone completely weird, and I was staying up until 3 or 4 am each night (playing WoW with Charles and shofixti) and then sleeping until 11 am if no one bothered me to get up. At the time, I felt guilty about all the sleeping I was doing. The nursery needed work, and there's always sewing to do, etc. etc. Trust me, now, I feel grateful for every bit of sleep I got! :)
In any case, the nesting never happened. I really missed out on a lot of the "here comes labor" stuff. No belly-button popping, no nesting, no water breaking... I had noticed that the Braxton-Hicks contractions were happening more often, but that was pretty much it. Late Monday night/early Tuesday morning I thought at first that it was just more of the same, until I realized that the contractions had actually become regular. 2:08 am, 2:19 am, 2:28 am... by 2:47 am I actually bothered to say something to Charles (we were sitting side-by-side on the couch playing WoW), and he took it pretty well. No leaping up to call the paramedics or anything, just a statement that if it kept up, maybe we should call the nurse line. So we kept playing for another hour or so, and then I decided that I should probably try to sleep while it was still possible.
At 6 am I woke up and found that now the contractions were 5 minutes apart. Still not painful, just sort of "there." My doctor had told me before that with as low as the baby was positioned that the 5-minute mark was when I should go to the hospital, but I just didn't feel like I was anywhere near that close yet. Called the Labor and Delivery nurses and they said that if I was still able to ignore the contractions, despite the timing, I'd probably be more comfortable at home. Called my sister and let her know what was happening, fussed around for awhile, talked to shofixti so he would stay home from work, and then went back to bed at 10 am or so to see if I could sleep through some more of it. Woke up at 2:30 pm because the contractions were getting stronger (though still not what I'd call painful) and I couldn't really sleep anymore. Now that it was "regular business hours" I called my doctor's office and spoke to her nurse, who suggested that we come in and see what was going on. Charles had been napping with me, so I had to get him up and we both took showers before we left. Arrived at the office around 3:30 and she confirmed that indeed, labor had begun. Whoo! Bad news: I was only 2 - 3 centimeters dilated. After all that time! I was pretty discouraged by that. She predicted that at the rate I was going, I could easily stay home for another 12 hours or so before coming back to the hospital, and only then because I would be really tired and might need a painkiller to get some sleep. Blech.
So we went back home. Charles made some pancakes so that I could eat something solid before it was a really bad idea to do so, did dishes, took out trash, stuff that needed to happen before we were not home for a couple of days. He then went to get some more sleep (while he could) and I just kind of sat around in the living room. I was starting to lose focus and couldn't really concentrate enough to watch a movie or knit or play WoW anymore. I chatted with people online, cuddled with the cat, and the time passed. By around 9 pm I started to feel a bit nauseous which was not helping with the contractions. I tried very slowly drinking a small glass of juice, and when that didn't help much, I let shofixti know that we were probably going to be heading out soon. I was really dreading the car ride. It might only be 15 minutes, but that was three contractions and a lot of feeling like I was going to throw up. Not fun. It took another hour or so to actually get out the door, though, because that "feeling like" I was going to be sick turned into "huddled on the bathroom floor unable to get up" for awhile. Poor Charles had no clue what to do with me at that point - Childbirth Prep class didn't really cover what to do when your wife is clutching the toilet, crying, and refusing to leave despite the fact that she said 15 minutes ago that it was time to go. I eventually managed to find enough time between throwing up and a contraction to stand back up again, and off we went.
I guess my body noticed when we were in the car, because almost immediately the contractions went to two minutes apart, and much stronger. Charles noticed this time difference and altered his driving speed accordingly. This was the one time I did NOT yell at him for going too fast. :) Jen showed up at the hospital exactly when we did, so we all walked in together. There were plenty of women in delivery, but none at the nurses station, so I didn't have to wait my turn or anything. The nurse behind the desk was a bit annoying; she kept wanting me to answer questions or do paperwork. I was at the point where I had to stop whatever I was doing if a contraction hit, so I wasn't really on top of my game when it came to remembering what random pediatrician I had chosen or signing things. Looking at it afterwards, my signature on those documents is pretty screwball. Anyway, we got past the desk nurse and met our labor and delivery nurse, and she was fantastic. Got us to our room, Jen helped me change, and I think the nurse (her name was Song, and I'll just go with that from now on) was just getting the baby monitoring stuff in place as shofixti showed up. It had to be around midnight by then. I got all situated in the bed and Song did the status check... I'd made it to 6 or 7 centimeters. I was really disappointed to hear that. The contractions were so strong, they'd been going all day, and I was only just past halfway there. It was kind of demoralizing, really, to be told that I probably had another 5 hours to go.
My ability to clearly remember much gets fuzzy here. I know that I was getting worn down by the contractions; "breathing through" them wasn't helping much anymore. Song asked if I wanted something to take the edge off, and I was pretty okay with that. So she started setting up an IV and stuff, but that wasn't going so well... my veins were hiding. The good part is that I was already in so much pain that I really didn't much care that she was playing "poke and hope" with my hand. Two needles and a forgotten number of stabs later, I had an IV, and I was NOT doing well. Everything was either being in pain, or waiting to be in pain again. I don't even know that I was opening my eyes much between them anymore; I certainly don't have a lot of visual memories. I know that Jen and TC were standing by my feet, looking sympathetic, and Charles was by my shoulders trying to convince me to relax, or asking if I wanted water, or attempting to get me to remember anything we'd actually learned in class (I was utterly uninterested). I know that I wasn't staying quiet during contractions anymore either, though I have a feeling I'm not really aware of how loud I got. Jen apparently told my mother later that she hadn't realized I could even make noises like that. ;) In any case, probably around 12:30, I declared as a contraction ended that I didn't want to be in pain anymore, and when Song suggested that maybe I did want an epidural after all I agreed quite emphatically. Part of me still feels bad about that, especially given that the estimate of how long it was going to take was off by hours, but there was no way for me to know that at the time. As I said, I was feeling pretty distressed by my lack of progress.
The nice thing, I suppose, is that I was tired and distracted by pain and therefore totally forgot that the process of having a needle and then a cord in my spine freaked me out. I so utterly did not care anymore. Song dealt with me howling in her ear while she propped me up to get ready for the doctor to do his thing (he had to wait until between contractions), and the actual process was quick and relatively painless. He said I'd feel the needle that was going to numb the area before the other needle, but I really didn't. Did not care, bring on drugs!! The results were pretty amazing, too. Within probably four or five contractions, I was totally fine again. I could talk and think and focus on people. That right there was pretty worth it - being able to be a part of the group instead of the mindless focus of it was a shift I enjoyed. There was one not-quite-scary moment when Song and another nurse came in and talked to me just a little too calmly about shifting how I was laying and hovering over the heart monitor for the baby, and then deciding that it would be best if I had an oxygen mask for the rest of my labor. They never said so, of course, but I'm certain that his heartbeat dipped and they didn't like it. It obviously went back to where they were happy since there was no mention of changing the plan from vaginal delivery to surgical methods.
From there on, things went pretty fast. Either I relaxed because I wasn't worried about the pain anymore, or that was how things were going to go anyway (I suppose I'll never know) but the next "status check" showed I was at a full 10 centimeters. Right there, I had a little flash of "what if?" wondering if I should have asked Song to check before the epidural was placed, but there wasn't much time to ponder the possibilities. Now was the time for the fun pushing game. Jen and TC each took a leg, Charles stayed in the "talking in the ear" position, and we got started. There had been some confusion earlier as to when/if my water had broken which was now cleared up, because once his head was visible Song could see that he was still surrounded by the amniotic sac. I think she broke it, or encouraged it to break, at that point. I hear it drastically changed the appearance of the baby's head. :)
I don't remember exactly how many bouts of pushing there were... 7? 8? It wasn't more than 10, I'm pretty sure about that. The epidural both helped and hindered at this point. I couldn't feel when I was having a contraction anymore and for some reason the monitoring equipment was having trouble finding them, so it was a bit of an issue to figure out when I should be pushing. It probably would have gone twice as fast if we'd been able to "find" every contraction. As it was I'm sure we were only hitting one of every three. But since they didn't hurt anymore, it's not like it was extra suckful for me that it was taking longer, or that once the baby got to a certain point (crowning, I think, but TC could probably confirm) we all just sat there and waited for my actual doctor to show up. That was a bit comical, really. Push push PUSH! Now wait. :)
I will take a moment here to marvel at how well these nurses know how to do their jobs, and at the tools they have at their disposal. If you've never seen a labor and delivery bed, it's quite a nifty toy. Parts move all over the place, it's like a Transformer. And having heard afterwards how much blood there was, I'm amazed that I never saw a drop. Not one. Not on me, not on the bed, not on the floor, nothing. Of course, when the baby showed up he was all gooey, but I expected nothing less. My concept of my labor is that it was a long, painful, sometimes loud process, but not at all a visually disturbing one. I believe TC has a different story to tell, but he'd have to tell it. ;)
Okay, back to the action. My doctor showed up, confirmed that I'd decided to go with the epidural, and got into all of her sterile scrubs and stuff. It was a pretty impressive process to watch, they take that stuff really seriously. Once she was all set it was back to pushing. I think I may have gone once or twice, and then she got impatient with waiting for a contraction and just decided I should go ahead and push anyway. So I did, and suddenly there was this weird almost slippery-whooshy feeling, and there he was. I remember looking at him, all slimy with his arms and legs flailing around, and then looking at Jen and saying something like "It's a real baby." That really was my first thought. Nothing about toes or fingers or any of it, just this stunning realization that even though I'd known in concept that he was in there, now it was real. That's a person. A new, very small, covered in goo person.
The next 20 minutes were pretty much exactly what you would expect them to be. Gooey baby placed on my stomach while the cord is cut (Charles didn't want to do it, so the doctor did), baby hollers and everyone says it's a good thing because it's clearing crud from his lungs, they move him over to a table with a warming lamp to get all the initial numbers, etc. Meanwhile my doctor is busy with the placenta (one more push and that sucker was out) and then stitching me up, because I tore a bit. Not that I noticed at all... thank you modern medicine! scottish_jessi had been patiently waiting in the lobby for at least an hour at this point, so she finally got to come in and join the party. We got to keep the baby for maybe another half an hour while we all checked him out and I tried nursing (he gave it a go, but was kind of distracted by the enormity of it all, so it didn't last), and then he and Charles headed off to the nursery for his bath and stuff. Jen, Jess and TC all waited with me while arrangements were made to get me moved to a Maternity room. The epidural was wearing off and I was feeling tingling in my legs, which was fine, but I was also experiencing something like really strong shivering over my whole body, which sucked. It was exhausting to have all of your muscles make strong tiny spasms like that and have no control over it at all. I was in a good mood, though, and made sure to ask Song to weigh the placenta before they got rid of it (I was curious as to how much weight I'd just lost in such as short span of time). All told, between the baby, the placenta, and the fluid, my guess is that I lost between 10 and 12 pounds right there. Since I'd only gained 18, I was doing fantastically on my post-pregnancy weight loss. ;)
The orderly in charge of bed movement finally showed up, and he "drove" me to my room. It was a shared room, but I was the only one in it at the time. And now... the Pit Crew. This is the most amusing and at the same time disturbing part of the story. Jess, Jen and TC had followed along to help carry my stuff, and they waited outside the door while I got settled. In past them streamed something like four nurses, who all gave them a very practiced "Congratulations!" as they scurried past. In they came and swarmed me like I was an Indy car. It was the weirdest thing, I swear. I know they do this all the time, and they're supposed to be efficient and all, but seriously... I won't get into too much detail, because that would be some serious TMI (if I'm worried about it now, you know that it's bad, after everything else I've documented here!) but realizing that I had one woman stuffing a thermometer in my mouth to check for a fever while at the same time another woman was poking at me to see if I'd developed hemorrhoids during delivery was just bizarre. (I hadn't, in case you were curious. ;) )
So the Pit Crew finished changing my tires and checking my fluids, and then left. Jess, Jen and TC all came in and kept me company for a bit since Charles wasn't back from the nursery yet, which was really nice of them. It was getting seriously late/early, though, and they wanted to go get something to eat before they crashed, so I think they left around 5:30 am. Charles managed to show up shortly after (which was good - that period of time when it was just me and my teddy bear was really lonely) with our beautiful new little boy all bundled up and sleeping in his little cradle-on-wheels. Since it was a shared room, even with no one else in it, Charles wasn't allowed to stay the night, so when he had to return the baby to the nursery at 7 am he went home to get some sleep.
I don't really think the rest of my stay needs to be that thoroughly documented. I was only there until Thursday evening, because it was just so hard to get any rest. I know, I had nurses there to take the baby, and that was nice and all, but there were other nurses who were always bugging me. Every 4 hours someone would come to check my temperature. Never coinciding with that, there would be other people who wanted me to sign something, or the baby's nurse would show up to take *his* temperature, or food delivery, or food clean up, etc. etc. I never got more than a couple hours of sleep, and it got worse once I did have a roommate Wednesday night. Not having Charles around didn't help. I was painfully lonely. Midnight on Wednesday had me wandering around the halls of the Maternity ward in my bathrobe, wishing the baby wasn't sleeping just so I'd have something to do. Probably the last time in my entire life I'll wish for that. :P
So, there it is. The epic length version of the 36 hours surrounding cwsmithiv's birth. I can't imagine I left much out, but I suppose I'll leave it to shofixti to correct me if I did. :)
The main details have already been posted, so unless you're just fascinated by my prose, don't feel obligated to click. :)
I spent the last couple days of pregnancy wondering when I was going to get that burst of energy that signifies the "nesting" stage has begun, and labor is not far behind. There were things I wanted to do, and I was looking forward to the energy to do them. Unlike what I hear about a lot of people, I was not suffering from insomnia or anything - I was actually really tired a lot of the time. My schedule had also gone completely weird, and I was staying up until 3 or 4 am each night (playing WoW with Charles and shofixti) and then sleeping until 11 am if no one bothered me to get up. At the time, I felt guilty about all the sleeping I was doing. The nursery needed work, and there's always sewing to do, etc. etc. Trust me, now, I feel grateful for every bit of sleep I got! :)
In any case, the nesting never happened. I really missed out on a lot of the "here comes labor" stuff. No belly-button popping, no nesting, no water breaking... I had noticed that the Braxton-Hicks contractions were happening more often, but that was pretty much it. Late Monday night/early Tuesday morning I thought at first that it was just more of the same, until I realized that the contractions had actually become regular. 2:08 am, 2:19 am, 2:28 am... by 2:47 am I actually bothered to say something to Charles (we were sitting side-by-side on the couch playing WoW), and he took it pretty well. No leaping up to call the paramedics or anything, just a statement that if it kept up, maybe we should call the nurse line. So we kept playing for another hour or so, and then I decided that I should probably try to sleep while it was still possible.
At 6 am I woke up and found that now the contractions were 5 minutes apart. Still not painful, just sort of "there." My doctor had told me before that with as low as the baby was positioned that the 5-minute mark was when I should go to the hospital, but I just didn't feel like I was anywhere near that close yet. Called the Labor and Delivery nurses and they said that if I was still able to ignore the contractions, despite the timing, I'd probably be more comfortable at home. Called my sister and let her know what was happening, fussed around for awhile, talked to shofixti so he would stay home from work, and then went back to bed at 10 am or so to see if I could sleep through some more of it. Woke up at 2:30 pm because the contractions were getting stronger (though still not what I'd call painful) and I couldn't really sleep anymore. Now that it was "regular business hours" I called my doctor's office and spoke to her nurse, who suggested that we come in and see what was going on. Charles had been napping with me, so I had to get him up and we both took showers before we left. Arrived at the office around 3:30 and she confirmed that indeed, labor had begun. Whoo! Bad news: I was only 2 - 3 centimeters dilated. After all that time! I was pretty discouraged by that. She predicted that at the rate I was going, I could easily stay home for another 12 hours or so before coming back to the hospital, and only then because I would be really tired and might need a painkiller to get some sleep. Blech.
So we went back home. Charles made some pancakes so that I could eat something solid before it was a really bad idea to do so, did dishes, took out trash, stuff that needed to happen before we were not home for a couple of days. He then went to get some more sleep (while he could) and I just kind of sat around in the living room. I was starting to lose focus and couldn't really concentrate enough to watch a movie or knit or play WoW anymore. I chatted with people online, cuddled with the cat, and the time passed. By around 9 pm I started to feel a bit nauseous which was not helping with the contractions. I tried very slowly drinking a small glass of juice, and when that didn't help much, I let shofixti know that we were probably going to be heading out soon. I was really dreading the car ride. It might only be 15 minutes, but that was three contractions and a lot of feeling like I was going to throw up. Not fun. It took another hour or so to actually get out the door, though, because that "feeling like" I was going to be sick turned into "huddled on the bathroom floor unable to get up" for awhile. Poor Charles had no clue what to do with me at that point - Childbirth Prep class didn't really cover what to do when your wife is clutching the toilet, crying, and refusing to leave despite the fact that she said 15 minutes ago that it was time to go. I eventually managed to find enough time between throwing up and a contraction to stand back up again, and off we went.
I guess my body noticed when we were in the car, because almost immediately the contractions went to two minutes apart, and much stronger. Charles noticed this time difference and altered his driving speed accordingly. This was the one time I did NOT yell at him for going too fast. :) Jen showed up at the hospital exactly when we did, so we all walked in together. There were plenty of women in delivery, but none at the nurses station, so I didn't have to wait my turn or anything. The nurse behind the desk was a bit annoying; she kept wanting me to answer questions or do paperwork. I was at the point where I had to stop whatever I was doing if a contraction hit, so I wasn't really on top of my game when it came to remembering what random pediatrician I had chosen or signing things. Looking at it afterwards, my signature on those documents is pretty screwball. Anyway, we got past the desk nurse and met our labor and delivery nurse, and she was fantastic. Got us to our room, Jen helped me change, and I think the nurse (her name was Song, and I'll just go with that from now on) was just getting the baby monitoring stuff in place as shofixti showed up. It had to be around midnight by then. I got all situated in the bed and Song did the status check... I'd made it to 6 or 7 centimeters. I was really disappointed to hear that. The contractions were so strong, they'd been going all day, and I was only just past halfway there. It was kind of demoralizing, really, to be told that I probably had another 5 hours to go.
My ability to clearly remember much gets fuzzy here. I know that I was getting worn down by the contractions; "breathing through" them wasn't helping much anymore. Song asked if I wanted something to take the edge off, and I was pretty okay with that. So she started setting up an IV and stuff, but that wasn't going so well... my veins were hiding. The good part is that I was already in so much pain that I really didn't much care that she was playing "poke and hope" with my hand. Two needles and a forgotten number of stabs later, I had an IV, and I was NOT doing well. Everything was either being in pain, or waiting to be in pain again. I don't even know that I was opening my eyes much between them anymore; I certainly don't have a lot of visual memories. I know that Jen and TC were standing by my feet, looking sympathetic, and Charles was by my shoulders trying to convince me to relax, or asking if I wanted water, or attempting to get me to remember anything we'd actually learned in class (I was utterly uninterested). I know that I wasn't staying quiet during contractions anymore either, though I have a feeling I'm not really aware of how loud I got. Jen apparently told my mother later that she hadn't realized I could even make noises like that. ;) In any case, probably around 12:30, I declared as a contraction ended that I didn't want to be in pain anymore, and when Song suggested that maybe I did want an epidural after all I agreed quite emphatically. Part of me still feels bad about that, especially given that the estimate of how long it was going to take was off by hours, but there was no way for me to know that at the time. As I said, I was feeling pretty distressed by my lack of progress.
The nice thing, I suppose, is that I was tired and distracted by pain and therefore totally forgot that the process of having a needle and then a cord in my spine freaked me out. I so utterly did not care anymore. Song dealt with me howling in her ear while she propped me up to get ready for the doctor to do his thing (he had to wait until between contractions), and the actual process was quick and relatively painless. He said I'd feel the needle that was going to numb the area before the other needle, but I really didn't. Did not care, bring on drugs!! The results were pretty amazing, too. Within probably four or five contractions, I was totally fine again. I could talk and think and focus on people. That right there was pretty worth it - being able to be a part of the group instead of the mindless focus of it was a shift I enjoyed. There was one not-quite-scary moment when Song and another nurse came in and talked to me just a little too calmly about shifting how I was laying and hovering over the heart monitor for the baby, and then deciding that it would be best if I had an oxygen mask for the rest of my labor. They never said so, of course, but I'm certain that his heartbeat dipped and they didn't like it. It obviously went back to where they were happy since there was no mention of changing the plan from vaginal delivery to surgical methods.
From there on, things went pretty fast. Either I relaxed because I wasn't worried about the pain anymore, or that was how things were going to go anyway (I suppose I'll never know) but the next "status check" showed I was at a full 10 centimeters. Right there, I had a little flash of "what if?" wondering if I should have asked Song to check before the epidural was placed, but there wasn't much time to ponder the possibilities. Now was the time for the fun pushing game. Jen and TC each took a leg, Charles stayed in the "talking in the ear" position, and we got started. There had been some confusion earlier as to when/if my water had broken which was now cleared up, because once his head was visible Song could see that he was still surrounded by the amniotic sac. I think she broke it, or encouraged it to break, at that point. I hear it drastically changed the appearance of the baby's head. :)
I don't remember exactly how many bouts of pushing there were... 7? 8? It wasn't more than 10, I'm pretty sure about that. The epidural both helped and hindered at this point. I couldn't feel when I was having a contraction anymore and for some reason the monitoring equipment was having trouble finding them, so it was a bit of an issue to figure out when I should be pushing. It probably would have gone twice as fast if we'd been able to "find" every contraction. As it was I'm sure we were only hitting one of every three. But since they didn't hurt anymore, it's not like it was extra suckful for me that it was taking longer, or that once the baby got to a certain point (crowning, I think, but TC could probably confirm) we all just sat there and waited for my actual doctor to show up. That was a bit comical, really. Push push PUSH! Now wait. :)
I will take a moment here to marvel at how well these nurses know how to do their jobs, and at the tools they have at their disposal. If you've never seen a labor and delivery bed, it's quite a nifty toy. Parts move all over the place, it's like a Transformer. And having heard afterwards how much blood there was, I'm amazed that I never saw a drop. Not one. Not on me, not on the bed, not on the floor, nothing. Of course, when the baby showed up he was all gooey, but I expected nothing less. My concept of my labor is that it was a long, painful, sometimes loud process, but not at all a visually disturbing one. I believe TC has a different story to tell, but he'd have to tell it. ;)
Okay, back to the action. My doctor showed up, confirmed that I'd decided to go with the epidural, and got into all of her sterile scrubs and stuff. It was a pretty impressive process to watch, they take that stuff really seriously. Once she was all set it was back to pushing. I think I may have gone once or twice, and then she got impatient with waiting for a contraction and just decided I should go ahead and push anyway. So I did, and suddenly there was this weird almost slippery-whooshy feeling, and there he was. I remember looking at him, all slimy with his arms and legs flailing around, and then looking at Jen and saying something like "It's a real baby." That really was my first thought. Nothing about toes or fingers or any of it, just this stunning realization that even though I'd known in concept that he was in there, now it was real. That's a person. A new, very small, covered in goo person.
The next 20 minutes were pretty much exactly what you would expect them to be. Gooey baby placed on my stomach while the cord is cut (Charles didn't want to do it, so the doctor did), baby hollers and everyone says it's a good thing because it's clearing crud from his lungs, they move him over to a table with a warming lamp to get all the initial numbers, etc. Meanwhile my doctor is busy with the placenta (one more push and that sucker was out) and then stitching me up, because I tore a bit. Not that I noticed at all... thank you modern medicine! scottish_jessi had been patiently waiting in the lobby for at least an hour at this point, so she finally got to come in and join the party. We got to keep the baby for maybe another half an hour while we all checked him out and I tried nursing (he gave it a go, but was kind of distracted by the enormity of it all, so it didn't last), and then he and Charles headed off to the nursery for his bath and stuff. Jen, Jess and TC all waited with me while arrangements were made to get me moved to a Maternity room. The epidural was wearing off and I was feeling tingling in my legs, which was fine, but I was also experiencing something like really strong shivering over my whole body, which sucked. It was exhausting to have all of your muscles make strong tiny spasms like that and have no control over it at all. I was in a good mood, though, and made sure to ask Song to weigh the placenta before they got rid of it (I was curious as to how much weight I'd just lost in such as short span of time). All told, between the baby, the placenta, and the fluid, my guess is that I lost between 10 and 12 pounds right there. Since I'd only gained 18, I was doing fantastically on my post-pregnancy weight loss. ;)
The orderly in charge of bed movement finally showed up, and he "drove" me to my room. It was a shared room, but I was the only one in it at the time. And now... the Pit Crew. This is the most amusing and at the same time disturbing part of the story. Jess, Jen and TC had followed along to help carry my stuff, and they waited outside the door while I got settled. In past them streamed something like four nurses, who all gave them a very practiced "Congratulations!" as they scurried past. In they came and swarmed me like I was an Indy car. It was the weirdest thing, I swear. I know they do this all the time, and they're supposed to be efficient and all, but seriously... I won't get into too much detail, because that would be some serious TMI (if I'm worried about it now, you know that it's bad, after everything else I've documented here!) but realizing that I had one woman stuffing a thermometer in my mouth to check for a fever while at the same time another woman was poking at me to see if I'd developed hemorrhoids during delivery was just bizarre. (I hadn't, in case you were curious. ;) )
So the Pit Crew finished changing my tires and checking my fluids, and then left. Jess, Jen and TC all came in and kept me company for a bit since Charles wasn't back from the nursery yet, which was really nice of them. It was getting seriously late/early, though, and they wanted to go get something to eat before they crashed, so I think they left around 5:30 am. Charles managed to show up shortly after (which was good - that period of time when it was just me and my teddy bear was really lonely) with our beautiful new little boy all bundled up and sleeping in his little cradle-on-wheels. Since it was a shared room, even with no one else in it, Charles wasn't allowed to stay the night, so when he had to return the baby to the nursery at 7 am he went home to get some sleep.
I don't really think the rest of my stay needs to be that thoroughly documented. I was only there until Thursday evening, because it was just so hard to get any rest. I know, I had nurses there to take the baby, and that was nice and all, but there were other nurses who were always bugging me. Every 4 hours someone would come to check my temperature. Never coinciding with that, there would be other people who wanted me to sign something, or the baby's nurse would show up to take *his* temperature, or food delivery, or food clean up, etc. etc. I never got more than a couple hours of sleep, and it got worse once I did have a roommate Wednesday night. Not having Charles around didn't help. I was painfully lonely. Midnight on Wednesday had me wandering around the halls of the Maternity ward in my bathrobe, wishing the baby wasn't sleeping just so I'd have something to do. Probably the last time in my entire life I'll wish for that. :P
So, there it is. The epic length version of the 36 hours surrounding cwsmithiv's birth. I can't imagine I left much out, but I suppose I'll leave it to shofixti to correct me if I did. :)