Birth Day
The day a baby is born represents more than a "birth" day for the little one. That day is a "re"birth day for the new Mommy as well. All of the cliches you hear during your pregnancy become true, and you realize that you are walking in a different pair of shoes, even if they are still high-heels ;-).
"Sleep now because you won't get any sleep when the baby comes." "Enjoy being able to jump in the car and go now while you have a built-in babysitter."
And the best one, "You'll be amazed at how much you can love something so quickly." But, I am getting ahead of myself...
Many of you followed this blog during my pregnancy. If you were keeping up with us, you know that , "It's a Girl."
Not just any girl though. Emerson Avery Piering, in all her little baby glory, turned 9 months this week. I'll catch you up with this entry and then future entries at www.mommypiering.blogspot.com will serve as my, "Mommy Tales."
This blog ends with Sunday, July 16…when I was getting dressed to go to Whitney's birthday dinner. I had been feeling weird all day, and I found the tiny trickle of water, that ran down my leg while getting dressed, a bit peculiar. I told Jason that we should put my bags in the car before we left, just in case. But dinner came and went with no drama or run to the hospital.
Back at home, I was still feeling funny and when I went to the restroom around 8:00 p.m. saw what I was sure was my mucus plug. I wasn't positive though, so when Jason and I went to bed, I got my pregnancy book out, so I could learn more. While reading, I noticed that I was having some minor, menstrual-like cramps. They felt similar to the Braxton Hicks contractions that I had earlier in the month, so I dismissed them. When they did not subside, I started timing them. It was 9:53 p.m., and by my clock, these cramps were coming three minutes apart. At this point, I looked at Jason, and I asked him to help me time them, as I thought maybe I was loosing track of the minutes. I had read previously that if you change positions, and the cramps stop, then you are not in true labor.
After 45 minutes of moving this way and that, the cramps were still three minutes apart. "Ok...maybe I am in labor," I thought. "Although don't contractions begin like 15-20 minutes apart and make their way to five minutes apart? How is it that I am beginning labor with contractions only three minutes apart? Perhaps, I am not in labor." But, then the gush of water came, and pretty much sealed the deal, or rather unsealed it.
I ran to the bathroom, sat on the toilet, and was laughing because Jason ran after me, and was standing over me. "I'm pretty sure that I am not urinating," I kept saying to him. Time to call the doctor. Time to go to the hospital.
Wow. My contractions got INTENSE very quickly after my water broke. On the way to the hospital, I was watching the clock and breathing through contractions while gripping the side of the car door. When we entered the hospital, the nurse was waiting for us and took us straight to our Labor, Delivery and Recovery Room. From this point forward, time flew by. It was about 11:00 p.m. Jason and the nurse helped me change, and then she checked me to see how far I had progressed. I was between 4 and 5 cm. I was given an IV, and signed my life away to the hospital. The contractions were hard and fast. The nurse called for the epidural. She checked me again; I was between a 6 and 7. I received the epidural...ahhh... Time to call the family. It was about 12:30 a.m. Now, Jason and I just relaxed for a little while until the family arrived around 1:45 a.m. Our families kept us company for a couple of hours, which flew by like they were a couple of minutes. By 4:30 a.m., the nurse declared that I was ready to start pushing. I kept thinking to myself, "Ok. Now I have a job to do." Jason was by my side the entire time and received "Labor Coach of the Year." He developed a pushing technique for me to use that essentially helped me to pop Emerson right out! The nurse said she was going to name it the "Piering Push." Anyhoo...50 minutes after I started pushing, Emerson shot out at the doctor.
6 lbs. and 4 oz., 18.5 inches with blonde hair and blue eyes
All in all, I feel truly blessed to have had such an enjoyable labor. Even the pain is what I call, “satisfying” pain. Like I said, all of the clichés are true.
Now, I am a Mommy and doing really well. It’s a brave new world here on the mommy side…read on…www.mommypiering.blogspot.com.
"Sleep now because you won't get any sleep when the baby comes." "Enjoy being able to jump in the car and go now while you have a built-in babysitter."
And the best one, "You'll be amazed at how much you can love something so quickly." But, I am getting ahead of myself...
Many of you followed this blog during my pregnancy. If you were keeping up with us, you know that , "It's a Girl."
Not just any girl though. Emerson Avery Piering, in all her little baby glory, turned 9 months this week. I'll catch you up with this entry and then future entries at www.mommypiering.blogspot.com will serve as my, "Mommy Tales."
This blog ends with Sunday, July 16…when I was getting dressed to go to Whitney's birthday dinner. I had been feeling weird all day, and I found the tiny trickle of water, that ran down my leg while getting dressed, a bit peculiar. I told Jason that we should put my bags in the car before we left, just in case. But dinner came and went with no drama or run to the hospital.
Back at home, I was still feeling funny and when I went to the restroom around 8:00 p.m. saw what I was sure was my mucus plug. I wasn't positive though, so when Jason and I went to bed, I got my pregnancy book out, so I could learn more. While reading, I noticed that I was having some minor, menstrual-like cramps. They felt similar to the Braxton Hicks contractions that I had earlier in the month, so I dismissed them. When they did not subside, I started timing them. It was 9:53 p.m., and by my clock, these cramps were coming three minutes apart. At this point, I looked at Jason, and I asked him to help me time them, as I thought maybe I was loosing track of the minutes. I had read previously that if you change positions, and the cramps stop, then you are not in true labor.
After 45 minutes of moving this way and that, the cramps were still three minutes apart. "Ok...maybe I am in labor," I thought. "Although don't contractions begin like 15-20 minutes apart and make their way to five minutes apart? How is it that I am beginning labor with contractions only three minutes apart? Perhaps, I am not in labor." But, then the gush of water came, and pretty much sealed the deal, or rather unsealed it.
I ran to the bathroom, sat on the toilet, and was laughing because Jason ran after me, and was standing over me. "I'm pretty sure that I am not urinating," I kept saying to him. Time to call the doctor. Time to go to the hospital.
Wow. My contractions got INTENSE very quickly after my water broke. On the way to the hospital, I was watching the clock and breathing through contractions while gripping the side of the car door. When we entered the hospital, the nurse was waiting for us and took us straight to our Labor, Delivery and Recovery Room. From this point forward, time flew by. It was about 11:00 p.m. Jason and the nurse helped me change, and then she checked me to see how far I had progressed. I was between 4 and 5 cm. I was given an IV, and signed my life away to the hospital. The contractions were hard and fast. The nurse called for the epidural. She checked me again; I was between a 6 and 7. I received the epidural...ahhh... Time to call the family. It was about 12:30 a.m. Now, Jason and I just relaxed for a little while until the family arrived around 1:45 a.m. Our families kept us company for a couple of hours, which flew by like they were a couple of minutes. By 4:30 a.m., the nurse declared that I was ready to start pushing. I kept thinking to myself, "Ok. Now I have a job to do." Jason was by my side the entire time and received "Labor Coach of the Year." He developed a pushing technique for me to use that essentially helped me to pop Emerson right out! The nurse said she was going to name it the "Piering Push." Anyhoo...50 minutes after I started pushing, Emerson shot out at the doctor.
6 lbs. and 4 oz., 18.5 inches with blonde hair and blue eyes
All in all, I feel truly blessed to have had such an enjoyable labor. Even the pain is what I call, “satisfying” pain. Like I said, all of the clichés are true.
Now, I am a Mommy and doing really well. It’s a brave new world here on the mommy side…read on…www.mommypiering.blogspot.com.
posted by Carol Piering at 2:40 PM
