TWO MONTHS LATER...
SO, HERE I AM BACK ON THE COMPUTER. SORT OF. STILL HAVEN’T CHECKED MY EMAIL, I’M USING CHUCK’S LAPTOP WHILE WATCHING OVER BABY.
SO I GUESS I’M OVERDUE TO ANNOUNCE THE ARRIVAL OF CHARLES EDWARD DROST IV! WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2005, 9:58 pm - 7 LBS 11 OZ. & 19 ¾ INCHES LONG. AND I DID IT SANS EPIDURAL!
AFTER I FOUND OUT AT MY LAST OB DR. APPT. THAT I HADN’T PROGRESSED ANY, I WAS PRETTY DEPRESSED. SO MY MOM TOOK ME AND CHUCK OUT TO EAT AT AN ADORABLE RESTAURANT I HAD NEVER BEEN TO. ABOUT 2:30 pm I HAD JUST FINISHED MY SPINACH-ARTICHOKE QUICHE AND FELT LIKE I PEED IN MY PANTS. I MADE A WEIRD FACE AND MY MOM WAS LIKE “ANOTHER CONTRACTION?” AND I SAID “NO, I THINK MY WATER JUST BROKE”. MOM AND CHUCK ORDERED DESSERT, I GOT MINE TO GO AND I HEADED TO THE BATHROOM TO CHANGE PANTS (MOM WAS SMART ENOUGH TO MAKE ME BRING AN EXTRA PAIR!). I HAVE KEGELS OF STEEL AND AMAZINGLY WHEN I STOOD UP, MY CHAIR WAS DRY AND I HELD IN THE LIQUID TIL I GOT TO THE TOILET. BOY, IS THAT A LOT MORE LIQUID THAN I EXPECTED! GROSS. AND GROSSER, MINE WAS GREEN. BAD BABY - POOING IN THE WOMB.
WE GET TO THE CAR AND I CALL MY DR. WE ARE STILL 45 MINUTES OUT OF TOWN AND SHE SAYS “COME STRAIGHT TO THE HOSPITAL!” WE DO. THE CONTRACTIONS WERE ABOUT 3 OR 4 MINUTES APART FROM THE TIME MY WATER BROKE BUT THEY DIDN’T HURT. 2 HOURS LATER I WAS TELLING A DIFFERENT STORY. I HIGHLY UNDERESTIMATED HOW MUCH REAL CONTRACTIONS WOULD SUCK. BY 7 pm I WAS ASKING FOR DRUGS. LUCKILY CHUCK AND MY SISTER WERE LIKE “NO! YOU CAN DO IT!” I DISAGREED BUT LISTENED TO THEM. BY THE TIME “LOST” WAS STARTING AT 8, I WAS AT 5 CENTIMETERS, NAUSEATED, INTERMITTENTLY CRYING, AND COULD NOT GET AT ALL COMFORTABLE ANYMORE. THE NURSE GAVE ME A SMALL SHOT OF STADOL. SUPPOSEDLY I SEEMED MORE RELAXED BUT I FELT MORE FRUSTRATED BECAUSE IT MADE ME UNABLE TO FOCUS ON MY BREATHING OR ANY DISTRACTIONS.
AN HOUR LATER, AS “ALIAS” WAS STARTING, MY MOM THOUGHT I LOOKED ESPECIALLY UNCOMFORTABLE AND ASKED IF I FELT LIKE I NEEDED TO PUSH. I THOUGHT ABOUT IT BRIEFLY AND WHIMPERED “YES”. SHE GOT THE NURSE AND SURE ENOUGH, I WAS AT 10 CM (IN ONE HOUR!!!). MOM AND JULIE CLEARED THE ROOM & THEY CALLED THE DR. SADLY, MY REGULAR DR. WAS IN ST. LOUIS AND WOULD NOT MAKE IT THERE IN TIME, SO I GOT THE NEW GUY. (TURNS OUT IT WAS HIS FIRST DELIVERY AT THIS HOSPITAL, KINDA COOL) HE DIDN’T BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAID I WANTED TO SQUAT THE BABY OUT & I WAS TOO DELIRIOUS TO ARGUE. I PUSHED THROUGHOUT THE NEW EPISODE OF “ALIAS” AND BY THE TIME IT FINISHED I HAD A BABY! LET ME TELL YOU - IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE IT BEFORE, PUSHING A BABY OUT IS A VERY WEIRD SENSTION. I WANTED TO HIT SOMEBODY BECAUSE THEY KEPT TELLING ME “JUST ONE MORE GOOD PUSH, JUST ONE MORE” ABOUT 11 TIMES. FINALLY, I COULD SEE IT IN CHUCK’S FACE WHEN THE BABY REALLY WAS ABOUT TO COME OUT AND IT RENEWED MY FERVER. IT REALLY DIDN’T HURT THAT MUCH DURING THE PUSHING. I THINK MY ADRENALINE TOOK CARE OF THAT. IT WAS AFTERWARDS, WHEN I COULD FEEL EVERYTHIG AGAIN, THAT I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE. AND ACTUALLY, ACCORDING TO THE DR., I HEMORRHAGED SO MUCH AFTER BABY CAME OUT THAT IF I WERE IN A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY, I WOULD HAVE DIED. ANYWAY, BACK TO THE CUTE STUFF -
BABY CAME OUT AND HE DIDN’T CRY, HIS EYES WERE WIDE OPEN AND HE JUST KIND OF LOOKED AROUND AND MADE PURRING SOUNDS. SO CUTE!
ME- I WAS GETTING 2 OF MY PERRINEAL TEARS STITCHED UP AND HAD TO BE TAKEN INTO A MINI-EMERGENCY SURGERY TO REPAIR A URETHRAL TEAR. YUCK.
THE NEXT DAY, AS THE NURSES TRIED TO HELP ME GET UP TO BRUSH MY TEETH, WASH MY FACE, ETC., WE REALIZED NOT ONLY WAS IT EXCRUTIATING FOR ME TO ROLL OVER IN BED, BUT ONCE THEY STOOD ME UP, I COULD NOT WALK. COULDN’T EVEN FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE MY LEGS. I COULD FEEL THEM, BUT COULDN’T MOVE THEM. HMMM. A PHYSICAL THERAPIST CAME TO EVALUATE ME AND, ALONG WITH SOME X-RAYS, CONCLUDED THAT I HAD DISLOCATED BOTH MY SACRO-ILIAC JOINTS, OVER-ROTATED BOTH MY HIP-JOINTS AND TORE MY PUBIC SYMPHOSIS. I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW WHAT A PUBIC SYMPHOSIS WAS, AND NOW I HAVE TO REGROW THE CARTILAGE THERE. YUCK AGAIN.
SO I WAS STUCK IN THE HOSPITAL FOR ANOTHER 5 DAYS. ONCE I WAS ABLE TO WALK (WITH SOME HELP) I GOT TO GO HOME. FORTUNATELY FOR ME, CHUCK HAD TAKEN OFF WORK AND WAS ABLE TO HELP OUT A LOT. HE HAD TO BRING BABY TO ME TO FEED, AND HE HAD TO DO ALL THE CHANGING. WHAT A GOOD HUSBAND!
NOW BABY IS 2 MONTHS OLD AND A HEALTHY 12.2 LBS AND 23 ½ INCHES LONG. HE’S GROWING SOME FUZZY HAIR WHERE HE USED TO BE BALD AND MAKING ALL KINDS OF NEW SOUNDS. YESTERDAY HE SAID “LANDLINE”, BUT I’M PRETTY SURE IT DOESN’T COUNT IF HE DIDN’T MEAN TO. I’LL POST A LINK TO PICS SOON. HE’S VERY HANDSOME! J AND ME, I CAN GO UPSTAIRS AGAIN! DOING PHYSICAL THERAPY AND FEELING BETTER ALL THE TIME.
-I WAS ALWAYS KIND OF FREAKED OUT AT THE IDEA OF BREASTFEEDING, BUT THAT FIRST NIGHT I DECIDED THAT WHATEVER MY FAVORITE THING WAS BEFORE, THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE THING. ALTHOUGH IT CAN BE PAINFUL AT TIMES, IT IS THE MOST PRECIOUS TIME I SPEND WITH BABY CHARLES. I LOVE IT!!
-WHO KNEW PROJECTILE POO WOULD BE SO HUMOROUS? IT’S FUNNIER WHEN CHUCK IS CHANGING HIM, BUT IS ALMOST ALWAYS ENTERTAINING.
-I SHOULD BE NICER TO MY FRIENDS WITH BABIES. IT IS EMOTIONALLY AND PHYSICALLY EXHAUSTING! I FEEL VERY ANTI-SOCIAL. FORTUNATELY, AS OF THIS WEEKEND, C-4 SEEMS TO BE SLEEPING LONGER HOURS AT NIGHT. (LONGER = 4)
-I HAVEN’T SEEN HARDLY ANY OSCAR MOVIES THIS YEAR. THE LAST MOVIE I SAW IN THE THEATRE WAS “HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE”.
I THINK THIS EMAIL IS LONG ENOUGH FOR NOW. HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GREAT NEW YEAR! HOPEFULLY I WON’T BE LJ ABSENT FOR SO LONG NEXT TIME. YAY BABY!