Kristy elevated the alert status from Yellow to Red, so we drove to the hospital and I dropped her off at the entrance and parked. It was around 2:30-ish PM and I found a parking spot fairly close and grabbed the bare essentials, our cameras and headed inside.
By the time I got in she was already in a Triage room getting checked out. I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to just go into Triage and start looking around until I found her, so I asked they told me to just head straight back. She was in room five, except that she wasn’t in room five, her coat was, she was in the bathroom. After she got out they outfitted her with the baby heart rate monitor and the contraction monitor. She was having some pretty serious contractions; they looked like mountains on the graph print out. The nurse came in looked at the graph and said they were pretty regular, spaced apart by about two and a half minutes in time. Then they checked her and she was 7cm dilated and they seemed to move a little quicker after that.
Since Joy was galavanting around Bend, we had Caroline the midwife on duty taking care of us. Cheryl was the nurse that took care of us. Cheryl had actually just worked her shift but they asked if anyone could stay and help out and since she overheard that Kristy was 7cm dilated she said she would stay but only if she was assigned to Kristy. She had already delivered a baby earlier in the day and I think she really wanted to deliver one more the same day.
Cheryl asked Kristy if she could walk to her room or if she needed a wheel chair. Kristy said no, she could walk and joked with me about needing a wheel chair, why would she need one, she had been doing everything else normal the past two weeks at around 5cm, what is 7cm. So we made our way into room 137 and I stayed with her until her mother and Nana (Grandma from Florida) arrived. After they got there I ran out and pack muled in all our stuff. Let’s see, there were gift baskets from her Aunt in Florida, our main camera bag, a portable HP photosmart printer, Kristy’s laptop bag, my laptop bag, my work backpack, her overnight bag, a blanket for me and a bag with croissants, oranges and my pajamas.
Then we just had to sit and wait. Eventually her contractions started getting harder and harder, she was doing great, just breathing right through them. Kristy’s Mom was really helpful too; she was rubbing pressure points on Kristy’s hands and feet to help reduce the pain. She was also helping coach, reminding Kristy to breath and letting me focus on being near Kristy which I think really helps Kristy emotionally and psychologically. The expression on her face was similar to the one she has when she is thinking really hard, like when we are playing scrabble and she is about to throw down some serious points with a triple word score, a double letter score and the use of the letters “Q” and “Z” (For example Quizzers with the second “Z” as a blank) and she gets the super Scrabble bonus for using all eight of her letters. Kristy was hardly breaking a sweat and then Caroline, Cheryl, Her Nana, Her Mom and I all convinced her to break her water.
Now theoretically, breaking her water should have acted like a suction cup, pulling the baby’s head straight down into position and she should have given birth shortly after. This is what happened with Carter so the logic was sound and previously proven, but every baby is different. It seems that this baby was turned so that her head was sideways, 90 degrees from where it should have been and this slowed things down. After Caroline broke Kristy’s water Kristy handle the first contraction with ease, then the second and the third she started to notice something. The fourth was a little harder and the fifth described in her own words “Frack!”. Now for those of you who aren’t dorks and don’t watch Battlestar Galatica, Frack is the made up word used on the show to replace a more common profane word commonly used in English that also has four letters and begins with “F” and ends with “K”. I keyed in on her using this word because we use it with some friends that watch the show and not too long ago I saw a bunch of people talking about this word on the VH1 show best week ever. This was followed by another show I saw with a bunch of famous celebrities talking about how this relatively new remake show of the original 1970’s show already has a huge fan base and is affecting pop culture. So with all these stars and planets aligned, as soon as she muttered the word I knew it had to find its way into the blog. Okay, that’s taken care of.
Now the pain was cranking up and Kristy couldn’t bear it any longer, she wanted an epidural and since I’m not that one who has to pass something the size of a bowling ball out of something the size of straw, I fully supported her decision and request. It seemed like everyone else really wanted her to not have it and I understand because there is a lot of risks. I kind of had some second thoughts when they started reading them to her. Like possible headaches for a week afterwards, possible permanent paralysis and permanent nerve damage just to name a few. Brian, the anesthesiologist had to read her all of these risks and he had to be sure she was listening so he paused during a contraction and Kristy was getting mad, she said “I can hear you, keep going!”. Later she told me that made her mad that he paused because it was one more contraction that she had to suffer through. Evidently you need to be well hydrated before having an epidural so they required an entire bag via Intravenous Therapy (IV) be in Kristy before they gave her the goods. This seemed like a stall tactic that was being employed to postpone the epidural in the hopes that Kristy would give birth before she got it.
Eventually Brian placed the epidural, at which time Kristy had to remain completely still on the edge of the bed while contracting and nearly fully dilated. Cheryl asked Kristy how she felt and Kristy said that her legs felt warm, to which Cheryl replied, that is the correct answer. Kristy kept saying how weird it was that she couldn’t feel her legs, then she said that there was still pain in her left leg in a small area. Cheryl said that it was called a “window” and sometimes you get a window for various reasons, but she would call Brian back in. Brian came in and gave Kristy a second dose and rolled her over so she was leaning on her left side, right side up in the air. This would help the gravity force the dose into her left side where the window was. It started getting better but still wasn’t working completely, so Brian gave her one more dose and hooked her up to the little plastic box that is all locked up and has a timer and a mechanism to release a set dose of the pain killer every so often. Brian mentioned that he thought he had hit a blood vessel on the way in, which is one of the risks from the sheet he had to read off, so he pulled the line back a bit. He said that it was so close that he thought it would work, but you never know with these things. Then he was all frustrated and pulled it out and waited to bit while we discussed putting in another line, then Kristy said it worked, she didn’t feel a thing anymore. Brian said, okay, well we can’t put another one in now, so you probably have about 30 minutes or so before the medication wears off and you start feeling again.
At this point Kristy didn’t even know when she was having a contraction, we had to tell her and she didn’t really feel a need to push, so Cheryl had to check her and when she was fully dilated and ready to go, we started forecasting contractions and when she should push. It turns out Kristy was too good at pushing and she had to stop and wait out a couple of contractions while I ran outside our room and called her Dad so her Nana could make it back for the birth. Her Dad, Nana and Sister had gone to get something to eat in the hospital cafeteria. And she also had to stop so Cheryl could go find our midwife to deliver the baby. Of course no experience is complete without something like, our midwife was already in another room delivering another baby at the same time, that’s right, simultaneous deliveries. So we had another doctor come in and she spent about thirty seconds getting acquainted with us and getting dressed and off she went to delivering. I missed her name, but she was really nice and she seemed familiar, she even asked if we had met before, but then Kristy, the doctor and I all said “I don’t think so” at the same time.
A few pushes later our baby girl was here! Now I had to act kind of quickly because I was videoing and then I had to also take still pictures with our other camera and I had to also maneuver around so I could get into position to cut the cord. Kennedy was a little bit different than Carter, she wasn’t crying right out of the gate, she needed some suction from her nostrils and mouth and then she introduced us to her crying / lung capacity that is every bit as capable as Carter’s was. And when I cut the cord with Carter it was quick and clean, but when I cut the Kennedy’s cord I got sprayed with blood, like when someone across the table bites into a piece of citrus, maybe a juicy orange and then you get sprayed with all the juices and it’s burning in one of your eyes and on your nose and forehead. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, your day is coming because this has happened to me more than once in my short lifetime. Kennedy scored an 8 on her APGAR and she had her bath later when I actually ran to get some food. This time instead of Kristy’s mom dialing like thirty people in thirty seconds she just she got right next to Kristy and her Nana was right behind her and I got some sweet pictures of four generations of a family of strong women. I even got some synchronized tear wiping by Kristy’s mom and Nana, they are totally ready for the 2008 Emotion Olympics.
The best part was out in the hall Carter could hear Kennedy’s heart beat on the monitor and when she started crying inside the room with us, Carter heard her outside the door and he starting yelling “Baby Sissy, Baby Sissy!”. And ever since that moment he always needs to know where she is in whatever room we are all in. He is always gentle and he only says goodbye and goodnight to “Baby Kenndy” now, Mommy and Daddy are old news. Now we have two kids, let the fun begin!
Friday, April 11, 2008
March 28th 2008
Driving down the hill (Brady Road) to get to the 192nd street exit on highway 14 we were following a really slow truck that was annoying me. They had their breaks on the entire way down the hill and I was thinking, you need to apply them every so often, not constantly or you’ll warp your rotors. I noticed that he also had a busted passenger side mirror and told Kristy to look and I was just about to call him an idiot out loud when Kristy said “Maybe he hit a bridge too!” and totally humbled me. It humbled me because a few weeks back I gently tapped Kristy’s Volvo XC 90 on the side of a bridge breaking the turn signal lens. So I didn’t call him an idiot.
Collette was working the desk as usual. “Hello, how are you? Oh, about ready to be done! Do you want the big receipt or the small receipt?” Then she got on the phone, “I thought I was getting Arthritis, okay, send me the info on the one that is just like mine, not some other one, the one that is just like mine.” And I figured out that she was talking about her chair and so she must have been having some ergonomic issues. Waiting for appointments goes by so much quicker when Collette is the administrative assistant checking you in, too bad she couldn’t check you in for every appointment that required you to wait to be seen, like the dentist and getting your tires changed, et cetera.
Well it’s the middle of Oregon State’s Spring Break and one of my co-workers Bryan and his family is in Hawaii. It is snowing here in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area. Bryan should be jet setting around Maui with a personalized google map we made for him, complete with beach reviews, number of parking spaces and best times of day to visit, but he forgot to print it out and hasn’t been able to download it yet to his laptop. If only he had an iphone, then he could bring it up anyplace, anytime. How did we ever live without those things. Well, hope he is enjoying Hawaii, Kristy and I really miss Hawaii. We are still trying to figure out a way to go back to Maui for two or three days in May and catch a Jason Mraz concert while we are there.
I was suddenly snapped out of these thoughts by Collette’s voice. “Thank You! I appreciate you and have a blessed day!” I had forgotten that she said that to folks, but then I started thinking about how much more pleasant things might be if we all had a similar attitude towards other people, including strangers.
The nurse called Kristy’s name so we went back to weigh in. Kristy and I both noticed Collette walking around the nurses’ stations collecting two dollars from different nurses here and there. So was saying “Jeans on Friday, if you were up pay up!” We asked our nurse about it when she brought us to our room and she said that if they want they can wear Jeans on Fridays but they have to pay two dollars to the social committee to support social stuff like Jeans on Fridays. Our nurse was wearing scrubs, not because she didn’t want to pay the two dollars, but because she said that scrubs are like pajamas, they are way more comfortable to work in than Jeans, which is exactly what Kristy said she was thinking.
Well, Joy didn’t think we would make it this far but she said she’d check Kristy’s Cervix again (Ladies remember the leg lift fist under back/butt trick). This time she was 4-5cm dilated, so a little progress and also a little more effaced. The head position was at minus two and if you don’t know what that means than google and Wikipedia are great tools and since you are reading this blog you have access to them and I suggest you try them out.
The baby’s heart rate was in the 140’s as it should be. Joy asked who had Carter and we told her she was visiting with Kristy’s parents. Then we started going over Joy’s schedule to see if we could plan around it, like if we walked a few miles maybe we could induce labor on the days that she worked. Let’s see, on tomorrow night (Saturday), on Monday, on call Wednesday and maybe Thursday, but in Bend, Oregon next weekend for a big conference. She also told Kristy that as soon as she was 39 weeks, which was next Thursday, we could call her and schedule an induction, but Joy didn’t think we’d make it that long.
As we were leaving she said “Think Saturday and Think Monday”. So we are still on Yellow Alert. Who knows, maybe the next blog will be the hospital blog?
Collette was working the desk as usual. “Hello, how are you? Oh, about ready to be done! Do you want the big receipt or the small receipt?” Then she got on the phone, “I thought I was getting Arthritis, okay, send me the info on the one that is just like mine, not some other one, the one that is just like mine.” And I figured out that she was talking about her chair and so she must have been having some ergonomic issues. Waiting for appointments goes by so much quicker when Collette is the administrative assistant checking you in, too bad she couldn’t check you in for every appointment that required you to wait to be seen, like the dentist and getting your tires changed, et cetera.
Well it’s the middle of Oregon State’s Spring Break and one of my co-workers Bryan and his family is in Hawaii. It is snowing here in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area. Bryan should be jet setting around Maui with a personalized google map we made for him, complete with beach reviews, number of parking spaces and best times of day to visit, but he forgot to print it out and hasn’t been able to download it yet to his laptop. If only he had an iphone, then he could bring it up anyplace, anytime. How did we ever live without those things. Well, hope he is enjoying Hawaii, Kristy and I really miss Hawaii. We are still trying to figure out a way to go back to Maui for two or three days in May and catch a Jason Mraz concert while we are there.
I was suddenly snapped out of these thoughts by Collette’s voice. “Thank You! I appreciate you and have a blessed day!” I had forgotten that she said that to folks, but then I started thinking about how much more pleasant things might be if we all had a similar attitude towards other people, including strangers.
The nurse called Kristy’s name so we went back to weigh in. Kristy and I both noticed Collette walking around the nurses’ stations collecting two dollars from different nurses here and there. So was saying “Jeans on Friday, if you were up pay up!” We asked our nurse about it when she brought us to our room and she said that if they want they can wear Jeans on Fridays but they have to pay two dollars to the social committee to support social stuff like Jeans on Fridays. Our nurse was wearing scrubs, not because she didn’t want to pay the two dollars, but because she said that scrubs are like pajamas, they are way more comfortable to work in than Jeans, which is exactly what Kristy said she was thinking.
Well, Joy didn’t think we would make it this far but she said she’d check Kristy’s Cervix again (Ladies remember the leg lift fist under back/butt trick). This time she was 4-5cm dilated, so a little progress and also a little more effaced. The head position was at minus two and if you don’t know what that means than google and Wikipedia are great tools and since you are reading this blog you have access to them and I suggest you try them out.
The baby’s heart rate was in the 140’s as it should be. Joy asked who had Carter and we told her she was visiting with Kristy’s parents. Then we started going over Joy’s schedule to see if we could plan around it, like if we walked a few miles maybe we could induce labor on the days that she worked. Let’s see, on tomorrow night (Saturday), on Monday, on call Wednesday and maybe Thursday, but in Bend, Oregon next weekend for a big conference. She also told Kristy that as soon as she was 39 weeks, which was next Thursday, we could call her and schedule an induction, but Joy didn’t think we’d make it that long.
As we were leaving she said “Think Saturday and Think Monday”. So we are still on Yellow Alert. Who knows, maybe the next blog will be the hospital blog?
March 19th 2008
The morning didn’t start off well for us in terms of going to another appointment. Carter needed to go to the bathroom but he was all stopped up and so “Tummy, Hurts!” was how he put it. His stomach ache set his mood and so it set the tone for what we were expecting at the Doctor’s office.
The plan was the same as the previous appointment, I would drive my car to work and Kristy would follow me and we’d drop my car off and go from work. The only problem was that my car battery was dead. So the plan was modified to go to the appointment and then go to get a new battery right after the appointment, then go home and install the new battery and then go to work. The dead car battery was just another small, unplanned inconvenience to add to the morning’s already rocky start.
We arrived at the Doctor’s office with no additional incidents and went straight in to see our favorite personality in the office, Collette. She checked Kristy in and reminder her to get her brown paper bag. Then she was talking to someone on the phone and said “You are now free to fly”. I didn’t get to listen to her always entertaining words after that because I was distracted by Carter.
Carter wanted to get in and out of the “Hooge (Huge) Chairs” and whenever he got up in the chairs facing the east windows he would point out the window and say “See the cars go Bye Bye? Hi Cars!”. Then he put his John Deere wheel loader in my pocket, his backhoe in his pocket and he kept playing with his Dig Dig (Excavator) on the chairs.
My mind was also preoccupied with thoughts about a sign I had read on the way into the building. The sign said that as of some date that I don’t recall, no smoking would be allowed on the campus to comply with a new Washington law that prohibited smoking on medical campuses.
Kristy noticed that Collette had a new iphone, which awe struck both of us. Then I heard her mumbling “I’ll have a fit” while looking at a small device in the palm of her hand with a frustrating glare. Then before we knew it a nurse was calling out Kristy’s name.
We went back and weighed in and then went to our room. Kristy had her blood pressure taken and Carter started chomping on “Fish Mama!” which is gold fish crackers for those of you who don’t have small children and aren’t familiar with this standard issue weapon in child soothing and containment. The goldfish cracker in all its various forms, baby goldfish, regular goldfish and colored goldfish, made by Pepperidge Farm is like the AK-47 assault rifle that every bad guy has in every action movie, it’s standard issue and you see these crackers in the seats of friends mini vans and left behind in shopping carts in every store. And I myself can eat a few hundred in one sitting if I’m not careful, so these little bite size crackers are powerful tools to parents with young children. Sorry for the digression but I felt it important for any potential future parents that might be reading this blog to commit this point to memory.
This was the first of our all booked out appointments and this time we were given the rest of our remaining pamphlets telling us all about our pregnancy. This was looking to be another quick in and out appointment. Kristy just needed to have her Cervix checked and we’d be done. A note for any ladies that are reading, when you have your Cervix checked, you should take your hands and put them on your low back, right near your butt and make them into fists, the same way you would if you were at the gym and going to do a leg lift. This gets you into better position for being checked and helps make it a less painful experience. Joy taught Kristy this trick and judging from the expressions on Kristy’s face and amount of discussion around how painful the checks were afterwards, I have to say this works. If you don’t believe me, just lean back and get checked and then try it the next time and then don’t try it the next time and eventually you’ll figure out if I’m crazy or if I’ve passed on valuable information to you.
Anyways, back to our appointment. So Kristy got checked and she was 3-4cm dilated, yes, 3-4cm! She was also about 50% effaced (thinned out for those of you that didn’t read my Carter blogs). Joy thinks our baby girl will be making her debut into the world sometime next week.
This means that I’ll be on “Yellow Alert”. According to Star Trek terminology a yellow alert is a Star Fleet vessel with a ship wide state of increased preparedness for possible crisis situations. Shields and deflectors are brought to full power but the weapon systems remain off until a “Red Alert” is issued. What can I say; one of my fondest memories of being a kid is discovering Star Trek re-runs when I was six and watching them on TV every night at 6:30pm.
We did get an Ultrasound on one of the small portable office units. We had never had one of these done before and the machine was really pretty cool. It was a small laptop looking device and it actually had decent resolution. We could see the fluid sacks and a full bladder and everything looked good. So, we were basically done with this appointment. I made a comment about how it would be cool to have one of those little laptop units and Kristy called me Tom Cruise which really hurt my feelings. Will the next blog be a hospital blog?
The plan was the same as the previous appointment, I would drive my car to work and Kristy would follow me and we’d drop my car off and go from work. The only problem was that my car battery was dead. So the plan was modified to go to the appointment and then go to get a new battery right after the appointment, then go home and install the new battery and then go to work. The dead car battery was just another small, unplanned inconvenience to add to the morning’s already rocky start.
We arrived at the Doctor’s office with no additional incidents and went straight in to see our favorite personality in the office, Collette. She checked Kristy in and reminder her to get her brown paper bag. Then she was talking to someone on the phone and said “You are now free to fly”. I didn’t get to listen to her always entertaining words after that because I was distracted by Carter.
Carter wanted to get in and out of the “Hooge (Huge) Chairs” and whenever he got up in the chairs facing the east windows he would point out the window and say “See the cars go Bye Bye? Hi Cars!”. Then he put his John Deere wheel loader in my pocket, his backhoe in his pocket and he kept playing with his Dig Dig (Excavator) on the chairs.
My mind was also preoccupied with thoughts about a sign I had read on the way into the building. The sign said that as of some date that I don’t recall, no smoking would be allowed on the campus to comply with a new Washington law that prohibited smoking on medical campuses.
Kristy noticed that Collette had a new iphone, which awe struck both of us. Then I heard her mumbling “I’ll have a fit” while looking at a small device in the palm of her hand with a frustrating glare. Then before we knew it a nurse was calling out Kristy’s name.
We went back and weighed in and then went to our room. Kristy had her blood pressure taken and Carter started chomping on “Fish Mama!” which is gold fish crackers for those of you who don’t have small children and aren’t familiar with this standard issue weapon in child soothing and containment. The goldfish cracker in all its various forms, baby goldfish, regular goldfish and colored goldfish, made by Pepperidge Farm is like the AK-47 assault rifle that every bad guy has in every action movie, it’s standard issue and you see these crackers in the seats of friends mini vans and left behind in shopping carts in every store. And I myself can eat a few hundred in one sitting if I’m not careful, so these little bite size crackers are powerful tools to parents with young children. Sorry for the digression but I felt it important for any potential future parents that might be reading this blog to commit this point to memory.
This was the first of our all booked out appointments and this time we were given the rest of our remaining pamphlets telling us all about our pregnancy. This was looking to be another quick in and out appointment. Kristy just needed to have her Cervix checked and we’d be done. A note for any ladies that are reading, when you have your Cervix checked, you should take your hands and put them on your low back, right near your butt and make them into fists, the same way you would if you were at the gym and going to do a leg lift. This gets you into better position for being checked and helps make it a less painful experience. Joy taught Kristy this trick and judging from the expressions on Kristy’s face and amount of discussion around how painful the checks were afterwards, I have to say this works. If you don’t believe me, just lean back and get checked and then try it the next time and then don’t try it the next time and eventually you’ll figure out if I’m crazy or if I’ve passed on valuable information to you.
Anyways, back to our appointment. So Kristy got checked and she was 3-4cm dilated, yes, 3-4cm! She was also about 50% effaced (thinned out for those of you that didn’t read my Carter blogs). Joy thinks our baby girl will be making her debut into the world sometime next week.
This means that I’ll be on “Yellow Alert”. According to Star Trek terminology a yellow alert is a Star Fleet vessel with a ship wide state of increased preparedness for possible crisis situations. Shields and deflectors are brought to full power but the weapon systems remain off until a “Red Alert” is issued. What can I say; one of my fondest memories of being a kid is discovering Star Trek re-runs when I was six and watching them on TV every night at 6:30pm.
We did get an Ultrasound on one of the small portable office units. We had never had one of these done before and the machine was really pretty cool. It was a small laptop looking device and it actually had decent resolution. We could see the fluid sacks and a full bladder and everything looked good. So, we were basically done with this appointment. I made a comment about how it would be cool to have one of those little laptop units and Kristy called me Tom Cruise which really hurt my feelings. Will the next blog be a hospital blog?
March 15th 2008
It was exciting that we would get to see our baby girl again. I was excited; I cleared my calendar and made sure I could attend. We brought my car to my work and dropped it off and then I grabbed my backpack and laptop because Kristy would have to bring me straight back and drop me off at work.
So we headed north on I-205 towards Salmon Creek. We were a bit early so we stopped so I could get a tall white chocolate mocha, 1% and no whip crème from Starbucks because I was a little tired, probably from my late night video gaming habit.
Then we zipped over and Kristy went in ahead of us because she needed to go to the rest room. And if you remember from previous blog entries when Kristy was carrying Carter, this place has a fountain out front that really does wonders for pregnant ladies with full bladders and small babies pushing on them from the inside.
Carter and I trailed behind and a big truck pulled in behind us and Carter stopped “You Heared It? Hooge Truck!”. Carter really likes any type of large vehicle or machinery. As soon as we got inside Carter started acting up a bit and right on cue, he just turned 2 years old 26 days ago (not 25 because this was a leap year) and the Terrible Twos are definitely here now.
He wanted to walk because he saw an older boy walking around another fountain structure inside the main lobby. I tried using the iphone and “Cars” and that was old news, I tried the YouTube “Excavator vs House” videos that he likes and those didn’t work. Usually he says “Dig Dig, Broke, House” or “Digger, Broke, House”.
Kristy came back out and tried to help calm him down, but he just arched his back in my arms, I think that he would make a fine wrestler and be able to bridge his way out of a number of potential pins, but I hope he plays basketball instead, then I can teach him some moves and he won’t have cauliflower ear from the wrestling mats and head gear. Right when it seemed like things were going to get out of hand the ultrasound technician came out and called Kristy’s name.
We went back and I sat in the chair with Carter and Kristy got up on the table and got ready for the ultrasound. This was the first time she didn’t have to undress and get in a gown because it was just for dating and the measurements didn’t require a lot of different positioning of the ultrasound device.
I told Carter to watch for his baby sister on the black and white monitor they have setup for guests, partners and husbands. Carter looked at it and said “Oh, Chomp, Chomp” which translates to Alligator or Crocodile in Carter’s language. Kristy and I said “No, I don’t think there are any Chomp, Chomps there”.
And then the measurements began. I could see some fingers here, some toes there, the head being measured, the bladder, the abdomen. All the while Carter was screaming like a Banshee and arching his back and clenching his fits and biting down hard on his teeth. I was working very hard to restrain him.
And then it was over, I guess I missed a lot dealing with Carter. We got a side profile print out, I heard the mention of a side profile but I didn’t see it on the screen. It was hard to make out in the picture because she is so big in there now that the whole profile doesn’t actually fit on the screen.
Carter just kept screaming, “I want to walk, I want to walk”. Another ultrasound technician came in and gave Carter a sticker, but all he wanted to do was walk. Kristy cleaned the ultrasound gel off, took the side profile print out and we left, letting Carter walk of course. He was sniffling heavily.
He walked all the way out to the Car. We stopped, looked both ways and crossed the street. He would tell you “No, no, cars, street, bonk! No cars, quick” Which translates to, “freeze your body, don’t run out in the street or the cars might hit you, stop and look both ways, okay there are no cars lets hurry across the street.”
We tried to explain to him that it was not okay to scream like that inside and that we needed to use or inside voices. I’m sure it will take some more time for him to understand but eventually he’ll get it.
So we headed north on I-205 towards Salmon Creek. We were a bit early so we stopped so I could get a tall white chocolate mocha, 1% and no whip crème from Starbucks because I was a little tired, probably from my late night video gaming habit.
Then we zipped over and Kristy went in ahead of us because she needed to go to the rest room. And if you remember from previous blog entries when Kristy was carrying Carter, this place has a fountain out front that really does wonders for pregnant ladies with full bladders and small babies pushing on them from the inside.
Carter and I trailed behind and a big truck pulled in behind us and Carter stopped “You Heared It? Hooge Truck!”. Carter really likes any type of large vehicle or machinery. As soon as we got inside Carter started acting up a bit and right on cue, he just turned 2 years old 26 days ago (not 25 because this was a leap year) and the Terrible Twos are definitely here now.
He wanted to walk because he saw an older boy walking around another fountain structure inside the main lobby. I tried using the iphone and “Cars” and that was old news, I tried the YouTube “Excavator vs House” videos that he likes and those didn’t work. Usually he says “Dig Dig, Broke, House” or “Digger, Broke, House”.
Kristy came back out and tried to help calm him down, but he just arched his back in my arms, I think that he would make a fine wrestler and be able to bridge his way out of a number of potential pins, but I hope he plays basketball instead, then I can teach him some moves and he won’t have cauliflower ear from the wrestling mats and head gear. Right when it seemed like things were going to get out of hand the ultrasound technician came out and called Kristy’s name.
We went back and I sat in the chair with Carter and Kristy got up on the table and got ready for the ultrasound. This was the first time she didn’t have to undress and get in a gown because it was just for dating and the measurements didn’t require a lot of different positioning of the ultrasound device.
I told Carter to watch for his baby sister on the black and white monitor they have setup for guests, partners and husbands. Carter looked at it and said “Oh, Chomp, Chomp” which translates to Alligator or Crocodile in Carter’s language. Kristy and I said “No, I don’t think there are any Chomp, Chomps there”.
And then the measurements began. I could see some fingers here, some toes there, the head being measured, the bladder, the abdomen. All the while Carter was screaming like a Banshee and arching his back and clenching his fits and biting down hard on his teeth. I was working very hard to restrain him.
And then it was over, I guess I missed a lot dealing with Carter. We got a side profile print out, I heard the mention of a side profile but I didn’t see it on the screen. It was hard to make out in the picture because she is so big in there now that the whole profile doesn’t actually fit on the screen.
Carter just kept screaming, “I want to walk, I want to walk”. Another ultrasound technician came in and gave Carter a sticker, but all he wanted to do was walk. Kristy cleaned the ultrasound gel off, took the side profile print out and we left, letting Carter walk of course. He was sniffling heavily.
He walked all the way out to the Car. We stopped, looked both ways and crossed the street. He would tell you “No, no, cars, street, bonk! No cars, quick” Which translates to, “freeze your body, don’t run out in the street or the cars might hit you, stop and look both ways, okay there are no cars lets hurry across the street.”
We tried to explain to him that it was not okay to scream like that inside and that we needed to use or inside voices. I’m sure it will take some more time for him to understand but eventually he’ll get it.
February 15th 2008
This appointment we really didn’t wait long, it was like “Kristy Ray, Come On Down!” right as we entered through the doors. So Kristy took her brown bag and went and did her duty and then she came out and we went straight to the scale for the “weigh in”.
After the “weigh in”, we went to the room which was very close to the scale and Kristy had her blood pressure taken while I struggled with Carter on my lap as at sat in the chair next to the door.
Carter was upset because he thought that we were there for him and the doctor’s office isn’t his favorite place to go because he’s always getting shots. He was basically freaking out. We got him calmed down a bit by giving him a snack, a granola bar and then we brought out the new weapon in the war on Toddler entertainment, the iphone loaded with his favorite movie (this week) “Cars”.
When Joy came in the room he lost interest in the movie and wanted to see what she was doing. She gave a listen on the Doppler and then did the first Fundal Height Measurement of this pregnancy for us and Kristy was measuring small, just like with Carter. So Joy said we would be having another ultrasound (Yessss! Said like Napoleon Dynamite) just to make sure our due date was still April 10th – 12th.
Kristy asked if Joy could feel the belly and see if she could tell what position the baby was in, but Joy said that it was tough for her to feel and so she really didn’t know. We got the latest Kaiser “This is your pregnancy handout” and then Joy said to schedule out the rest of our appointments if we could along with the Ultrasound for the due date verification.
And that’s it, we were done. It was 8, maybe 9 minutes total from when we entered the room until when it was time to go and make the appointments. Then we went and schedule with the nurse, not Toni this time, a new nurse.
She seemed a little more rigid and less flexible when it came to schedule, so instead of fitting us in on Fridays when I’m off work, we will be going on Wednesdays and I’ll be ducking out of the office for a bit. But everything is scheduled out, even the later weeks which may not be needed, based on history and Carter’s 10 day early arrival last time.
After the “weigh in”, we went to the room which was very close to the scale and Kristy had her blood pressure taken while I struggled with Carter on my lap as at sat in the chair next to the door.
Carter was upset because he thought that we were there for him and the doctor’s office isn’t his favorite place to go because he’s always getting shots. He was basically freaking out. We got him calmed down a bit by giving him a snack, a granola bar and then we brought out the new weapon in the war on Toddler entertainment, the iphone loaded with his favorite movie (this week) “Cars”.
When Joy came in the room he lost interest in the movie and wanted to see what she was doing. She gave a listen on the Doppler and then did the first Fundal Height Measurement of this pregnancy for us and Kristy was measuring small, just like with Carter. So Joy said we would be having another ultrasound (Yessss! Said like Napoleon Dynamite) just to make sure our due date was still April 10th – 12th.
Kristy asked if Joy could feel the belly and see if she could tell what position the baby was in, but Joy said that it was tough for her to feel and so she really didn’t know. We got the latest Kaiser “This is your pregnancy handout” and then Joy said to schedule out the rest of our appointments if we could along with the Ultrasound for the due date verification.
And that’s it, we were done. It was 8, maybe 9 minutes total from when we entered the room until when it was time to go and make the appointments. Then we went and schedule with the nurse, not Toni this time, a new nurse.
She seemed a little more rigid and less flexible when it came to schedule, so instead of fitting us in on Fridays when I’m off work, we will be going on Wednesdays and I’ll be ducking out of the office for a bit. But everything is scheduled out, even the later weeks which may not be needed, based on history and Carter’s 10 day early arrival last time.
January 18th 2008
Today Kristy had her appointment and because it was supposed to be a long one due to the cocktail she had to drink and then wait 45 minutes and have the glucose test done to see if she had developed diabetes, so we decided I would stay home with Carter.
She also had to have blood drawn and have a number of other tests run at this appointment. It's like the midterm design review for any design engineers that might be reading this.
The day started with the usual, wake up, have some milk, some oat meal, watch my friends tiger and pooh and then we ran around the house. It went pretty well, but that wasn't the case for Kristy.
When she got there they couldn't find her appointment in the computer, even though we had the print out from when they put her in the computer at our last appointment. So she called me all flustered and said maybe they could fit her in, but it wouldn't be for like 20 minutes, but she had to wait 40 minutes for the lab to complete her diabetes testing, so what should she do? I told her to get in if she could, but she wasn't sure she wanted to do that because it wouldn't be with our regular doctor, it would be with whoever was available.
Eventually she got in with some other doctor and she got her labs done. The doctor said if there were any concerns they would call her.
So this is the first appointment that I didn't make it to and it didn't go very smoothly, coincidence? I think not, this only goes to show that husbands do play an important role all through pregnancy, not just by running out at all hours to satisfy cravings, but by acting as the stabilizing force that makes appointments run smoothly.
The lab results came via email to Kristy & she didn't have diabetes but she was concerned because her white blood cell count was high. Usually this can indicate that the body has some type of infection, like a bladder infection or something like that and it can also indicate a blood disorder and in the worst cases it can indicate Leukemia. Kristy went upstairs to lay in bed worried and nervous because the doctor hadn’t called yet and she didn’t know what to make of the white blood cell count.
So I did some research online and found that it is common for women to have high blood counts during pregnancy, especially as the pregnancy progresses. Normally you have blood cells that are floating around in your blood, but there is some number that sticks to the insides of your blood vessels and they exit through pores in the walls of the vessels to reach tissues that need them. So when you draw blood for a normal white blood cell count, you get the cells floating around in the blood but you don't get a large percentage of the white blood cells that are stuck inside the blood vessels.
In Pregnancy "Demargination" can occur where some of the white blood cells that are usually sticking inside the blood vessels actually detach and start floating around in the blood, which leads to the higher white blood cell count for pregnant women. I told Kristy all of this later and she said "Yeah, I read that too, so I am less worried than when I read the Leukemia stuff, but I'm still worried".
Eventually the results came in the mail or the doctor called and everything was fine but it took a few days. And the next time we saw Joy, she also went over the lab results again and said everything looked good and there were no concerns.
She also had to have blood drawn and have a number of other tests run at this appointment. It's like the midterm design review for any design engineers that might be reading this.
The day started with the usual, wake up, have some milk, some oat meal, watch my friends tiger and pooh and then we ran around the house. It went pretty well, but that wasn't the case for Kristy.
When she got there they couldn't find her appointment in the computer, even though we had the print out from when they put her in the computer at our last appointment. So she called me all flustered and said maybe they could fit her in, but it wouldn't be for like 20 minutes, but she had to wait 40 minutes for the lab to complete her diabetes testing, so what should she do? I told her to get in if she could, but she wasn't sure she wanted to do that because it wouldn't be with our regular doctor, it would be with whoever was available.
Eventually she got in with some other doctor and she got her labs done. The doctor said if there were any concerns they would call her.
So this is the first appointment that I didn't make it to and it didn't go very smoothly, coincidence? I think not, this only goes to show that husbands do play an important role all through pregnancy, not just by running out at all hours to satisfy cravings, but by acting as the stabilizing force that makes appointments run smoothly.
The lab results came via email to Kristy & she didn't have diabetes but she was concerned because her white blood cell count was high. Usually this can indicate that the body has some type of infection, like a bladder infection or something like that and it can also indicate a blood disorder and in the worst cases it can indicate Leukemia. Kristy went upstairs to lay in bed worried and nervous because the doctor hadn’t called yet and she didn’t know what to make of the white blood cell count.
So I did some research online and found that it is common for women to have high blood counts during pregnancy, especially as the pregnancy progresses. Normally you have blood cells that are floating around in your blood, but there is some number that sticks to the insides of your blood vessels and they exit through pores in the walls of the vessels to reach tissues that need them. So when you draw blood for a normal white blood cell count, you get the cells floating around in the blood but you don't get a large percentage of the white blood cells that are stuck inside the blood vessels.
In Pregnancy "Demargination" can occur where some of the white blood cells that are usually sticking inside the blood vessels actually detach and start floating around in the blood, which leads to the higher white blood cell count for pregnant women. I told Kristy all of this later and she said "Yeah, I read that too, so I am less worried than when I read the Leukemia stuff, but I'm still worried".
Eventually the results came in the mail or the doctor called and everything was fine but it took a few days. And the next time we saw Joy, she also went over the lab results again and said everything looked good and there were no concerns.
December 11th 2007
This appointment we brought Carter with us again. No Collette today. We didn't wait long and we were lead back, by Toni again and the weight was checked then the blood pressure.
We waited by ourselves for a little bit, Carter started to get a little wrestless. Joy came in and this was another really quick appointment. She gave Carter some of those Popsicle sticks you use to check your tongue and throat and then asked if we had any questions. She gave us our hand out, Kristy asked what she could take for her severe heart burn and joy said she'd prescribe some extra strength Pepcid to handle that. Kristy also asked about the kick count and was worried because she kicks less than carter did. Then we had a listen via the BSG doppler listening device and then we were done (BSG is explained in the October 2nd 2007 post).
It took a couple minutes to get the prescription for the Pepcid, and then it took a long time to actually get to a counter in the pharmacy and get the Pepcid. we were only like 8 or 9 numbers down on the now serving number blank list but it was taking forever.
Kristy wanted to just leave but I made her stay because she is so miserable every night and if we left early she would continue to be miserable every night, she'll thank me for this later.
So carter and i walked up and down the hall of the cascade park office from module A to module C, stopping in the middle every time to look at the metal sculpture of wild stallions in an enclosed courtyard. Carter would stop and say “Horse, neigh, neigh”. Occasionally he would see a baby or another kid and veer their direction to look at them and maybe try and say hi.
We looked at the fish in the pharmacy a couple of times, but Carter was actually more interested in the older 4 year old girl that was naming each fish in the tank. All the way down the hall by module C there is a water fountain and paper cups and Carter wanted to walk down there, climb into a chair, order me to get him a cup of water and then he would drink it, climb out of the chair, throw the cup away and run back down to module A area where Kristy was impatiently sitting, then we would say hi to some people, this older couple next to Kristy for example and head back down for a drink again, repeating the routine about 6 or 7 times, then we finally had the Pepcid and we were out of there.
Our next appointment was set and it's the drink 10 gallons and take a bunch of tests appointment. It will be the first appointment I miss but I have to watch Carter and he just won't last 45 minutes in a doctor’s office with hardly anything there to keep him entertained.
We waited by ourselves for a little bit, Carter started to get a little wrestless. Joy came in and this was another really quick appointment. She gave Carter some of those Popsicle sticks you use to check your tongue and throat and then asked if we had any questions. She gave us our hand out, Kristy asked what she could take for her severe heart burn and joy said she'd prescribe some extra strength Pepcid to handle that. Kristy also asked about the kick count and was worried because she kicks less than carter did. Then we had a listen via the BSG doppler listening device and then we were done (BSG is explained in the October 2nd 2007 post).
It took a couple minutes to get the prescription for the Pepcid, and then it took a long time to actually get to a counter in the pharmacy and get the Pepcid. we were only like 8 or 9 numbers down on the now serving number blank list but it was taking forever.
Kristy wanted to just leave but I made her stay because she is so miserable every night and if we left early she would continue to be miserable every night, she'll thank me for this later.
So carter and i walked up and down the hall of the cascade park office from module A to module C, stopping in the middle every time to look at the metal sculpture of wild stallions in an enclosed courtyard. Carter would stop and say “Horse, neigh, neigh”. Occasionally he would see a baby or another kid and veer their direction to look at them and maybe try and say hi.
We looked at the fish in the pharmacy a couple of times, but Carter was actually more interested in the older 4 year old girl that was naming each fish in the tank. All the way down the hall by module C there is a water fountain and paper cups and Carter wanted to walk down there, climb into a chair, order me to get him a cup of water and then he would drink it, climb out of the chair, throw the cup away and run back down to module A area where Kristy was impatiently sitting, then we would say hi to some people, this older couple next to Kristy for example and head back down for a drink again, repeating the routine about 6 or 7 times, then we finally had the Pepcid and we were out of there.
Our next appointment was set and it's the drink 10 gallons and take a bunch of tests appointment. It will be the first appointment I miss but I have to watch Carter and he just won't last 45 minutes in a doctor’s office with hardly anything there to keep him entertained.
November 14th 2007
When we made the appointment it seemed like the appointment was a thousand years away, but now it's here upon us before we could blink.
Today is a big day because it is our first ultrasound of this pregnancy and we find out the sex of the baby today. The Salmon Creek office hasn't changed much in two years. We showed up 15 minutes early and we only waited maybe 5 minutes and we were brought back. Kristy had to change from her clothes into her gown and then we were in the first room on the right.
The machine looks the same, but it seems like it has better resolution and I noticed that GE has made a lot of improvements around user interface and usability for the operators. So our ultrasound technician was great, she took all her measurements and walked us through each one again, measuring the arms, legs, head, kidney, spine, back, everything. Then she went back and worked pretty hard to get us a lot of good pictures of hands and feet and face.
The baby was kind of hiding from her a bit but she did eventually get to the part we are all waiting for, the sex, she walked us through what we are looking for and that info combined with what we saw on the screen revealed.........
....you'll have to wait because!
Now Kristy and I know, but we don't know how we want to tell all of you family and friends out there, so stayed tuned, something will happen soon but I don't know what yet so expect anything!
Update See our Blog Entry at www.casadelray.blogspot.com
Today is a big day because it is our first ultrasound of this pregnancy and we find out the sex of the baby today. The Salmon Creek office hasn't changed much in two years. We showed up 15 minutes early and we only waited maybe 5 minutes and we were brought back. Kristy had to change from her clothes into her gown and then we were in the first room on the right.
The machine looks the same, but it seems like it has better resolution and I noticed that GE has made a lot of improvements around user interface and usability for the operators. So our ultrasound technician was great, she took all her measurements and walked us through each one again, measuring the arms, legs, head, kidney, spine, back, everything. Then she went back and worked pretty hard to get us a lot of good pictures of hands and feet and face.
The baby was kind of hiding from her a bit but she did eventually get to the part we are all waiting for, the sex, she walked us through what we are looking for and that info combined with what we saw on the screen revealed.........
....you'll have to wait because!
Now Kristy and I know, but we don't know how we want to tell all of you family and friends out there, so stayed tuned, something will happen soon but I don't know what yet so expect anything!
Update See our Blog Entry at www.casadelray.blogspot.com
November 6th 2007
This appointment we didn’t have to wait too long to get in. Collette was there but she was a bit quieter than normal. She was talking to another nurse, something about not being able to talk to Husbands, they can handle it…. Transitioning right to Kristy, “How are you, go do your little gift bag”. Kristy totally left me with her very large and noticeable purse so I was totally the cliché husband holding the purse, waiting for the wife.
While she was doing that, Carter and I were looking at magazines. We started looking at a travel magazine Carter was interested in. There was some good stuff in it, especially if you are looking at going south of the border, just check out www.bahiadelaluna.com, www.mexicoboutiquehotels.com/azucar, www.posadacarmina.com and www.lazebra.com.mx, potentially future trips for us. Maybe family trips or maybe a wedding anniversary or two?
Then Collette was complaining about some program and how she didn’t understand it and didn’t want it and how come there was no more “Lotus Notes” where did it go and she liked that program. I happened to forget my all-knowing book this time so I didn’t have time to prep on what to expect at this appointment, but it ended up being fast like all of the appointments have been this pregnancy.
I was also tired because Kristy hasn’t been able to fall asleep when I go to bed at the same time as she does. Normally she wants me to go to bed the same time she does because she feels safer and more secure, but due to the pregnancy it takes her awhile to fall asleep, where as I fall asleep instantly, sometimes while she is talking to me and then she just gets angry with me and she says she lightly nudges me to stop me from snoring but I think she may be abusing me while asleep.
So because of all this she prefers that if I can a stay up a little longer and then come to bed after she has fallen asleep. Easy enough, now I play my Xbox 360 and hook up with my friends online on Xbox Live and I go to bed at around 2:00 AM every night. The only problem is that I have to get up and go to work and Carter also wakes up at 7:00 – 7:30 AM everyday and expects me to get him up because that is the regular routine he has grown accustomed to. And after doing this for a couple of weeks straight, I’m starting to get a little worn out. This pregnancy has caused me to fall right off the wagon, the coffee wagon that is.
Kristy came back and sat with us for a minute or two before Toni came out and called her name. Then we went back to the scale for the “weigh in”. It’s funny because Kristy doesn’t really dread the “weigh in” but she does prepare for it. To illustrate this point, part of the preparation the night before had a time slot dedicated to trying on different outfits and then weighing in on our bathroom scale to see how much each outfit or outfit combination added to the scale. I guess after 17 weeks and 5 days you begin to pay attention to the weight of each individual article of clothing because it gets hard to handle the ever increasing weight gain numbers.
I totally understand; I’m eating more often because Kristy is eating more often, only I don’t have a person growing inside me. Instead I have a life preserver growing around me. She also gets full sooner, probably has something to do with the person growing inside her taking up extra space and squishing her stomach. So I finish a lot of her snacks. I have to break this habit or she’ll have the baby and return to normal, but I’ll be pregnant looking!
We passed on the genetic testing (Quad Screen or Multiple Marker, See my August 19th 2005 Posting if you want to know what we did the first time around.)
Joy asked if we had any questions and we didn’t have any prepared. She said Kristy was still too small for Fundal Height Measurement so maybe next time. Then Joy told us to go with Toni and schedule out our next appointment and our ultrasound.
She also asked if we were going to find out the sex and we said “Heck Yes!” She asked if we had a name and we said we did, but we weren’t sharing that, we have to keep some things a surprise.
While she was doing that, Carter and I were looking at magazines. We started looking at a travel magazine Carter was interested in. There was some good stuff in it, especially if you are looking at going south of the border, just check out www.bahiadelaluna.com, www.mexicoboutiquehotels.com/azucar, www.posadacarmina.com and www.lazebra.com.mx, potentially future trips for us. Maybe family trips or maybe a wedding anniversary or two?
Then Collette was complaining about some program and how she didn’t understand it and didn’t want it and how come there was no more “Lotus Notes” where did it go and she liked that program. I happened to forget my all-knowing book this time so I didn’t have time to prep on what to expect at this appointment, but it ended up being fast like all of the appointments have been this pregnancy.
I was also tired because Kristy hasn’t been able to fall asleep when I go to bed at the same time as she does. Normally she wants me to go to bed the same time she does because she feels safer and more secure, but due to the pregnancy it takes her awhile to fall asleep, where as I fall asleep instantly, sometimes while she is talking to me and then she just gets angry with me and she says she lightly nudges me to stop me from snoring but I think she may be abusing me while asleep.
So because of all this she prefers that if I can a stay up a little longer and then come to bed after she has fallen asleep. Easy enough, now I play my Xbox 360 and hook up with my friends online on Xbox Live and I go to bed at around 2:00 AM every night. The only problem is that I have to get up and go to work and Carter also wakes up at 7:00 – 7:30 AM everyday and expects me to get him up because that is the regular routine he has grown accustomed to. And after doing this for a couple of weeks straight, I’m starting to get a little worn out. This pregnancy has caused me to fall right off the wagon, the coffee wagon that is.
Kristy came back and sat with us for a minute or two before Toni came out and called her name. Then we went back to the scale for the “weigh in”. It’s funny because Kristy doesn’t really dread the “weigh in” but she does prepare for it. To illustrate this point, part of the preparation the night before had a time slot dedicated to trying on different outfits and then weighing in on our bathroom scale to see how much each outfit or outfit combination added to the scale. I guess after 17 weeks and 5 days you begin to pay attention to the weight of each individual article of clothing because it gets hard to handle the ever increasing weight gain numbers.
I totally understand; I’m eating more often because Kristy is eating more often, only I don’t have a person growing inside me. Instead I have a life preserver growing around me. She also gets full sooner, probably has something to do with the person growing inside her taking up extra space and squishing her stomach. So I finish a lot of her snacks. I have to break this habit or she’ll have the baby and return to normal, but I’ll be pregnant looking!
We passed on the genetic testing (Quad Screen or Multiple Marker, See my August 19th 2005 Posting if you want to know what we did the first time around.)
Joy asked if we had any questions and we didn’t have any prepared. She said Kristy was still too small for Fundal Height Measurement so maybe next time. Then Joy told us to go with Toni and schedule out our next appointment and our ultrasound.
She also asked if we were going to find out the sex and we said “Heck Yes!” She asked if we had a name and we said we did, but we weren’t sharing that, we have to keep some things a surprise.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
October 2nd 2007
10:47 AM and I’m waiting with my phone in my hand in the back of the conference room at work. You see, I’m in a class learning all kinds of fascinating things about plastics and how to use them affectively in designs for high volume mass produced consumer electronics products. Kristy is supposed to pick me up at work so I sat in the back of the room near the door and I put my cell phone on vibrate and made sure I kept it in my hand so I wouldn’t miss her call letting me know that she was right out front waiting for me. I was actually expecting the call like 10 minutes ago, but evidently she is running a bit behind the schedule I created in my mind and didn’t tell her about.
Flash forward a bit and now we are in the car. Carter is not joining us today; he is playing with his buddy across the street, Matthew. I’m excited, this time we are meeting with Joy, who delivered Carter and who will be replacing Jill this time around.
Ladies and Gentlemen… The return of Collete. That’s right, she’s back in my blogs. She was there this week and this time she had a name tag. I sat down, scanned the magazines and then got my pen and paper ready to take blog notes like I always do. Collette let out a big Yawn and said “Oh, excuse me, I just keep doing it!” She seemed a little more subdued that usual and she had a little bit more grey in the hair. Kristy double checked, “bag’s are in the bathroom, right?” and Collette said yes. Kristy went to the bathroom because she was about to explode (her words).
There was a gentlemen waiting across from me and he was watching the jungle book on the TV in the kid’s book area, then Collette started fast forwarding it for some reason. I think the guy wanted to finish watching it but just sat there and started looking for something to read. I sat there too, waiting for Kristy and the nurse to call her name before she got back. Then a few seconds later the nurse called for Kristy and just like I thought; Kristy still wasn’t back. So I told the nurse she was in the bathroom and she said okay.
Then the nurse (Toni) went over to Collette and they started talking about Collette’s flowers. Toni said that she tried to clip them the other day and Collette said they were Irish Bells. She also said that they pricked her, so she got “ticked off” and she threw them out, that’s were the yellow ones went. Then she showed Toni the scripture she sent out via email and then Kristy came walking out. I said Kristy Ray is right there and pointed and Toni said, oh, she brought me a present (brown bag present).
We went back to the scale for Kristy’s weigh in and I noticed that there used to be a little seat that I would sit in right next to the scale, but it was gone. It was replaced by a small cart with a TV/VCR combo and some women’s health video tapes. Kristy weighed in at 136 pounds this time and her blood pressure was 104/62. Then Toni led us back to our room and gave Kristy the third installment of our Kaiser “What to Expect/You Are Going Through” pregnancy hand out.
Once in the room I got to practice some Spanish by reading the flyer across from me but now I think I regret it? The NovaSure brochure in the holder read “Controle El Sangrado, Recobre El Control De Su Vida”, it was a women’s health thing and I’ll just leave it a that.
Joy came in shortly after and started talking and then I think she recognized us and asked if we had met before and Kristy told her that she delivered our son about a year and a half ago. Then she looked at my little paper and my tiny writing and asked what I was doing. We told her about the blog and she expressed interest in reading it. I was going to tell her that when Kristy delivered she was sideways on the bed, to help spark her memory of us and that she was in love with Carter’s lips, but I didn’t say anything. I thought I would save it for this blog and if she reads it then maybe it will spark a memory.
Joy said I needed short hand, what she didn’t realize is that I was using my own form of shorthand that helps me capture a ton of detail. I right town key words or phrases and they trigger precise memories and then I write about them. Kristy studied this in one of her psychology classes I think.
Everything went by really quick, she told us some stuff, asked us some stuff and then said it’s time to listen to the hear beat. She busted out the Doppler listening device; put some nice cold gel on Kristy’s belly and right away we heard it. Of course we could all identify that first sound we heard as the heart beat because of our veteran skills, Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Joy has heard thousands of these before and I was surprised how acutely my ear was tuned and remembered the sound quickly and I could tell by Kristy’s face it was the same for her. It was about 150 beats per second, nice and fast like it should be.
It sounded like something from Battlestar Galatica, if you happen to watch that TV show. On the show they are all advanced with all this advanced equipment and then when they talk over wireless communications it sounds like they are talking with two tin cans connected by a string. That is the one thing on that show that bugs me a bit, when we talk on our RAZRs or iPhones it usually sounds pretty good, not like shouting to each other from opposite ends of a tunnel. Returning from my great divergence, it sounded very hallow and somewhat faint but it is a very unique sound none the less and one that brings great joy to your heart.
There was no belly measurement for Kristy today because she is still too small and we wouldn’t get any usable info from it other than she is a fit trim mama. The next visit we could have the optional Quad Screen (we knew it as the Multiple Marker) if we wanted it. She reminded us to call and setup the ultra sound appointment again and then turned us loose with Toni to setup or next appointment.
We went back to the nurse’s station and we noticed Toni still had some 4th of July decorations that were in a basket she said she was getting ready to finally take to her car. That made me think of these people in our neighborhood that had their Christmas tree up until like May and they just moved it to the garage, it’s still decorated and I see it every time their garage is open. It’s fake of course! I also noticed there was a ton of Dell stuff at the nurses station, I’m sure their jobs would be much easier if they were outfitted with HP stuff!
So we setup our next appointment for November 6th at 12:15 PM. Kristy also asked about her due date, which I thought was confirmed for April 12th 2008. Toni consulted the magic paper wheel it said April 12th or 13th and Kristy was not reassured because the precision of the date still isn’t good enough for her. She wanted an early ultra sound to get a more precise date, she is annoyed that she has to live with a +/- 5 day window. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, Ingrid measured her and by that measurement her due date was April 11th, but by the info from Toni (which is only 1 day off mind you) her date is in the range of the 11th or 12th, but that is too much unknown for Kristy because she likes to countdown the weeks and she needs a the exact day to roll the week over. And all of this folks means a ton because she’ll probably deliver a week, maybe more earlier and we have no idea when that actually is. Oh what to do!
Flash forward a bit and now we are in the car. Carter is not joining us today; he is playing with his buddy across the street, Matthew. I’m excited, this time we are meeting with Joy, who delivered Carter and who will be replacing Jill this time around.
Ladies and Gentlemen… The return of Collete. That’s right, she’s back in my blogs. She was there this week and this time she had a name tag. I sat down, scanned the magazines and then got my pen and paper ready to take blog notes like I always do. Collette let out a big Yawn and said “Oh, excuse me, I just keep doing it!” She seemed a little more subdued that usual and she had a little bit more grey in the hair. Kristy double checked, “bag’s are in the bathroom, right?” and Collette said yes. Kristy went to the bathroom because she was about to explode (her words).
There was a gentlemen waiting across from me and he was watching the jungle book on the TV in the kid’s book area, then Collette started fast forwarding it for some reason. I think the guy wanted to finish watching it but just sat there and started looking for something to read. I sat there too, waiting for Kristy and the nurse to call her name before she got back. Then a few seconds later the nurse called for Kristy and just like I thought; Kristy still wasn’t back. So I told the nurse she was in the bathroom and she said okay.
Then the nurse (Toni) went over to Collette and they started talking about Collette’s flowers. Toni said that she tried to clip them the other day and Collette said they were Irish Bells. She also said that they pricked her, so she got “ticked off” and she threw them out, that’s were the yellow ones went. Then she showed Toni the scripture she sent out via email and then Kristy came walking out. I said Kristy Ray is right there and pointed and Toni said, oh, she brought me a present (brown bag present).
We went back to the scale for Kristy’s weigh in and I noticed that there used to be a little seat that I would sit in right next to the scale, but it was gone. It was replaced by a small cart with a TV/VCR combo and some women’s health video tapes. Kristy weighed in at 136 pounds this time and her blood pressure was 104/62. Then Toni led us back to our room and gave Kristy the third installment of our Kaiser “What to Expect/You Are Going Through” pregnancy hand out.
Once in the room I got to practice some Spanish by reading the flyer across from me but now I think I regret it? The NovaSure brochure in the holder read “Controle El Sangrado, Recobre El Control De Su Vida”, it was a women’s health thing and I’ll just leave it a that.
Joy came in shortly after and started talking and then I think she recognized us and asked if we had met before and Kristy told her that she delivered our son about a year and a half ago. Then she looked at my little paper and my tiny writing and asked what I was doing. We told her about the blog and she expressed interest in reading it. I was going to tell her that when Kristy delivered she was sideways on the bed, to help spark her memory of us and that she was in love with Carter’s lips, but I didn’t say anything. I thought I would save it for this blog and if she reads it then maybe it will spark a memory.
Joy said I needed short hand, what she didn’t realize is that I was using my own form of shorthand that helps me capture a ton of detail. I right town key words or phrases and they trigger precise memories and then I write about them. Kristy studied this in one of her psychology classes I think.
Everything went by really quick, she told us some stuff, asked us some stuff and then said it’s time to listen to the hear beat. She busted out the Doppler listening device; put some nice cold gel on Kristy’s belly and right away we heard it. Of course we could all identify that first sound we heard as the heart beat because of our veteran skills, Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Joy has heard thousands of these before and I was surprised how acutely my ear was tuned and remembered the sound quickly and I could tell by Kristy’s face it was the same for her. It was about 150 beats per second, nice and fast like it should be.
It sounded like something from Battlestar Galatica, if you happen to watch that TV show. On the show they are all advanced with all this advanced equipment and then when they talk over wireless communications it sounds like they are talking with two tin cans connected by a string. That is the one thing on that show that bugs me a bit, when we talk on our RAZRs or iPhones it usually sounds pretty good, not like shouting to each other from opposite ends of a tunnel. Returning from my great divergence, it sounded very hallow and somewhat faint but it is a very unique sound none the less and one that brings great joy to your heart.
There was no belly measurement for Kristy today because she is still too small and we wouldn’t get any usable info from it other than she is a fit trim mama. The next visit we could have the optional Quad Screen (we knew it as the Multiple Marker) if we wanted it. She reminded us to call and setup the ultra sound appointment again and then turned us loose with Toni to setup or next appointment.
We went back to the nurse’s station and we noticed Toni still had some 4th of July decorations that were in a basket she said she was getting ready to finally take to her car. That made me think of these people in our neighborhood that had their Christmas tree up until like May and they just moved it to the garage, it’s still decorated and I see it every time their garage is open. It’s fake of course! I also noticed there was a ton of Dell stuff at the nurses station, I’m sure their jobs would be much easier if they were outfitted with HP stuff!
So we setup our next appointment for November 6th at 12:15 PM. Kristy also asked about her due date, which I thought was confirmed for April 12th 2008. Toni consulted the magic paper wheel it said April 12th or 13th and Kristy was not reassured because the precision of the date still isn’t good enough for her. She wanted an early ultra sound to get a more precise date, she is annoyed that she has to live with a +/- 5 day window. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, Ingrid measured her and by that measurement her due date was April 11th, but by the info from Toni (which is only 1 day off mind you) her date is in the range of the 11th or 12th, but that is too much unknown for Kristy because she likes to countdown the weeks and she needs a the exact day to roll the week over. And all of this folks means a ton because she’ll probably deliver a week, maybe more earlier and we have no idea when that actually is. Oh what to do!
August 30th 2007
Here we go again on our own, going down the only road we've ever known, like drifters!... That is the Whitesnake lyrics that played in my head this morning. So, here we go again, only this time things are starting out a bit different. For example, last time before the first appointment we just got up and went. This time we got up early, something we have grown accustomed to the last year and a half and we made a full breakfast and watched the Wiggles. Funny how life changes after you have your first kid! And on this morning Carter was really using the new word he had recently learned, pronouncing it flawlessly: “No, NO, No, NO, No, NO!” Timing is another aspect of life that changes after kids, as many can attest to, it’s much harder to get to places on time, so we left in a rush and I forgot to brush my hair and Carter’s and Carter has some wild morning hair.
En route to the doctor’s office we passed a construction site with a bunch of diggers, scrapers and road builders and Carter was in awe. I think he demanded for us to stop and watch but we had to keep going to make up time. A few minutes later we arrived and there were a bunch of parking spaces, big ones too which is good because we upgraded to a larger Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) since we had Carter. No more Subaru Outback Wagon, we traded Northwest cool for European safety.
Once inside I was immediately busied with entertaining Carter over in the corner with the children’s books. Collete wasn’t at the desk and now I was thinking, does she still work here? What else has changed? Kristy checked in. We didn’t get to meet with Jill today because you guessed it. Change! Jill now only works at the hospital and not in the doctors’ office so we had to find a new doctor or midwife for our visits. Now I don’t even know what’s going on. The brown bag presents that used to be out front in the giant basket with the sign that said “Take One” was gone. Now the presents are already waiting in the bathrooms, totally different from before. For those of you that don’t know what the brown bag presents are or want to know what it was like in the olden days, please read my blog from August 19th 2005 documenting our rookie year experiences.
We went over and Kristy weight in at 134Lbs and her blood pressure was 102/64, at least this was similar. Then we were taken back to the room where Kristy and I waited. She made a comment about her belly and the possibility that it might be “pooching out” a bit early. I gave her a hard time about having twins, explaining any early “pooching” and she made me take it back. Yes, with force if you were wondering!
Today we met with Ingrid. We had met with her before as a couple back in January 2006 and Kristy had seen her a month or two before for her final post natal checkup, where she got a clean bill of health, which we obviously took advantage of to make another little Ray!
She basically said that today was the big “take a lot of blood” and “do a bunch of testing for common diseases” day and if something is wrong we’ll call you. If not we’ll send the results to you in the mail for your reference. She asked if this was a planned pregnancy or a surprise and we said “planned” (Kristy has been running calculators and crunching numbers for dates for awhile). Ingrid said it was really great to hear that, which makes me wonder what the percentage of planned versus surprise pregnancies actually is?
We went over our hand out that tells us what to expect, our first ultra sound would be planned for sometime in the 18-20 week of pregnancy range, which is a lot later than our first ultra sound with Carter. At that time we would be able to find out the gender of the baby if we wanted to. We told Ingrid that we would be finding out the sex and gave her the reader’s digest version of my October 7th 2006 blog.
Kristy asked for suggestions on what she could eat to get more protein in her diet and Ingrid suggested hard boiled eggs and peanut butter, both of which Kristy has already introduced into her diet. Then Ingrid left the room and came back wheeling a portable ultrasound machine. We had seen one last time in one of the rooms but we never used it. Ingrid said it isn’t very good compared to the regular ones and she was right, it was like a 12 inch black and white cathode ray tube TV with dials compared to a new 42 inch High Definition LCD TV. We had to use it though, because it was too early to locate and hear the babies fluttering heart beat with the Doppler listening device. It was much easier to make sense of the blobs of stuff on the screen, even with the lower resolution, veteran skill. We got to see the amniotic sack and it’s associated fluid and a little flutter that was the baby’s little tiny heart. The baby was like the size of a standard lightly salted peanut shell with both nuts in place.
Kristy had to have a pelvic exam and one funny thing that I noted was Ingrid had car washing mitts on the stirrups to protect women from the icy cold supports that obviously were designed by men who had never been required to use one before and have that icy cold steel touch their bare skin. Kristy also asked about her moles since some got bigger during her last pregnancy with Carter and she also acquired a large number of new moles during that pregnancy as well. Ingrid measured a couple of the larger ones, said we’d watch them and if any became concerning Kristy would get a referral to a dermatologist.
And that was about it for our first appointment, the second time around.
En route to the doctor’s office we passed a construction site with a bunch of diggers, scrapers and road builders and Carter was in awe. I think he demanded for us to stop and watch but we had to keep going to make up time. A few minutes later we arrived and there were a bunch of parking spaces, big ones too which is good because we upgraded to a larger Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) since we had Carter. No more Subaru Outback Wagon, we traded Northwest cool for European safety.
Once inside I was immediately busied with entertaining Carter over in the corner with the children’s books. Collete wasn’t at the desk and now I was thinking, does she still work here? What else has changed? Kristy checked in. We didn’t get to meet with Jill today because you guessed it. Change! Jill now only works at the hospital and not in the doctors’ office so we had to find a new doctor or midwife for our visits. Now I don’t even know what’s going on. The brown bag presents that used to be out front in the giant basket with the sign that said “Take One” was gone. Now the presents are already waiting in the bathrooms, totally different from before. For those of you that don’t know what the brown bag presents are or want to know what it was like in the olden days, please read my blog from August 19th 2005 documenting our rookie year experiences.
We went over and Kristy weight in at 134Lbs and her blood pressure was 102/64, at least this was similar. Then we were taken back to the room where Kristy and I waited. She made a comment about her belly and the possibility that it might be “pooching out” a bit early. I gave her a hard time about having twins, explaining any early “pooching” and she made me take it back. Yes, with force if you were wondering!
Today we met with Ingrid. We had met with her before as a couple back in January 2006 and Kristy had seen her a month or two before for her final post natal checkup, where she got a clean bill of health, which we obviously took advantage of to make another little Ray!
She basically said that today was the big “take a lot of blood” and “do a bunch of testing for common diseases” day and if something is wrong we’ll call you. If not we’ll send the results to you in the mail for your reference. She asked if this was a planned pregnancy or a surprise and we said “planned” (Kristy has been running calculators and crunching numbers for dates for awhile). Ingrid said it was really great to hear that, which makes me wonder what the percentage of planned versus surprise pregnancies actually is?
We went over our hand out that tells us what to expect, our first ultra sound would be planned for sometime in the 18-20 week of pregnancy range, which is a lot later than our first ultra sound with Carter. At that time we would be able to find out the gender of the baby if we wanted to. We told Ingrid that we would be finding out the sex and gave her the reader’s digest version of my October 7th 2006 blog.
Kristy asked for suggestions on what she could eat to get more protein in her diet and Ingrid suggested hard boiled eggs and peanut butter, both of which Kristy has already introduced into her diet. Then Ingrid left the room and came back wheeling a portable ultrasound machine. We had seen one last time in one of the rooms but we never used it. Ingrid said it isn’t very good compared to the regular ones and she was right, it was like a 12 inch black and white cathode ray tube TV with dials compared to a new 42 inch High Definition LCD TV. We had to use it though, because it was too early to locate and hear the babies fluttering heart beat with the Doppler listening device. It was much easier to make sense of the blobs of stuff on the screen, even with the lower resolution, veteran skill. We got to see the amniotic sack and it’s associated fluid and a little flutter that was the baby’s little tiny heart. The baby was like the size of a standard lightly salted peanut shell with both nuts in place.
Kristy had to have a pelvic exam and one funny thing that I noted was Ingrid had car washing mitts on the stirrups to protect women from the icy cold supports that obviously were designed by men who had never been required to use one before and have that icy cold steel touch their bare skin. Kristy also asked about her moles since some got bigger during her last pregnancy with Carter and she also acquired a large number of new moles during that pregnancy as well. Ingrid measured a couple of the larger ones, said we’d watch them and if any became concerning Kristy would get a referral to a dermatologist.
And that was about it for our first appointment, the second time around.
February 18th 2006
It was a damp morning, but sunny with a briskness in the air. After waiting all night for something to happen we were kind of impatient, like kids waiting for presents to appear under the tree on Christmas day, you know the waking up at 3 in the morning and laying there wondering what might be awaiting you until 5 in the morning and then sneaking out and asking if your parents are awake yet and then they say no, go back to bed for a little while longer. And then around 6:54am your parents give in and let you get into your stocking, to buy them a little bit more shut eye.
So we decided to go for a walk because sometimes that gets things going. So we walked around the neighborhood for about an hour and then Kristy said stuff was happening, but wasn’t sure if this was it. So we went home and I got my Personal Data Assistant (PDA) and started up the contractions timer program I had download because I read that it was good to keep track of those type of things and they would ask us about it at the hospital (which they totally did). They started out about 4 minutes apart but after about five minutes they sped up to 2 minutes or less apart and this went on for about 6 or 7 minutes so we decided it mosey on over to the hospital.
We got a parking place near the birthing center so that was pretty nice. We went inside and got all checked in and went to the waiting and verification area. It’s this closed off place with a bunch of curtains and monitoring equipment sectioning off very small areas. They basically monitor the mom for a bit and make sure she is really in labor before assigning an actual birthing room. After what seemed like forever but probably about 20 minutes they confirmed that Kristy was in labor for real and they started getting our room ready. Maybe 10 minutes later we were in the room.
Kristy’s parents had arrived while we were in the waiting and verification area. So they stayed with Kristy while I brought in all our supplies that had been packed for about a week and a half. Kristy’s pillows and extra clothes, my laptop, my portable HP photo printer, our camera stuff, my North Face hydration pack with the double pack of beef jerky from Costco, our ipod mini and Altec Lansing InMotion (mobile speakers), my book of course and my sleeping bag, all the essentials for having a baby or going camping.
Kristy’s sister came to the hospital too and that about rounds out the family delivery team and of course the excellent hospital staff. Jill wasn’t working today though so we didn’t know who we would get, basically whoever was around when the baby decided to come out, that’s who we got. Kristy’s smooth sailing kind of stalled out a bit and her water had to be broken with a medical instrument that looked suspiciously like a crochet needle. After that, things really started moving; literally the baby was on his way out.
Now at this point something changed, Kristy went from just the tough breathing like athletes do when they tear apart their ACL, to pain with a lot of yelling, screaming and crying. This was “The” toughest part of the day and the whole delivery experience. This may not be true for all men, but it was for me. Why? Because here is my wife who I love dearly and do everything I can every day to keep her out of harms way and far from pain and here I was helpless and I just had to watch her endure this immense pain. It was really a painful time for me, but I knew that it was unavoidable and had to be done. I held her hands, kissed her forehead, kept eye contact and let her know that I was right there with her and hopefully that all did something, but she was still in pain, how do I know this? Because Kristy was gripping my hand so hard that you would have thought if she were to let go that she would fly off the face of the earth or something. Her dad and sister were brining her water, you know, like people do for marathon runners and cold wash clothes to cool her down. Her mom was right there too, massaging and helping reposition her when she needed to stay comfortable. It was a lot of activity for a person lying in bed.
There was a shift change for the medical staff and it turned out that the doctor that would be delivering the baby would actually be the doctor that we had picked like 9 months ago (Joy) but was completely booked and not taking on any additional clientele, which lead to us continuing to look and finally giving the nod to Jill.
Pretty much one hour after the water breaking event, it was finally time. Joy had been in and out checking on Kristy and monitoring progress. Now she was in the room with us and Kristy was all turned sideways in the bed. Joy asked if she wanted to straighten out and Kristy said no way, don’t move me. Joy said “Well, I have never delivered sideways before, but there’s always a first time for everything” and after a few pushes (if you ask Kristy she’ll say a few hundred pushes) our first son was born. It was amazing, he was crying right away so we all new his lung capacity was good. He was put right up on Mom, well after Joy was like, “Where is Dad to cut the cord?” and at that moment I already knew I was busted, I put down the cameras and ran around the bed and then I cut the cord. During all this time Kristy’s Mom was able to call like 30 people or something to announce the successful delivery. I just watched Carter and Mommy and try to savor the moment and take it all in. All the nurses and Joy were all in love with Carter’s lips. Kristy and I were pretty much in love with all of him! Carter passed APGAR and then took a bath in the sink and then went back to Mom (Kristy).
Eventually it got late and Kristy’s parents and Sister went home for the night. And for the first time our new family was all alone with each other. That first night Carter didn’t sleep much in the unfriendly looking hospital crib, we all slept together in Kristy’s bed, well I kind of slept half on the bed and half floating in space. We did use the heater box for warm diapers and clothes and I even got to change a tar diaper, for those of you Dads-to-be reading this, I’ll save that description and let you experience that little joyous and memorable moment for yourself.
The next day Jill was on duty at the hospital and she stopped in to see us and meet carter. We gave her a same day picture printed on that portable HP printer I mentioned earlier. Actually we gave all our visitors same day pictures of our brand spanking new baby. We were also allowed to go home the next day and it was funny, I drove like the back of the Subaru wagon was filled with eggs free to roll around without any protective cartons. I don’t think I have ever driven so carefully before in my life. And so ends this fantastic experience that has led me to write these blogs and I have had a great time writing each and every one. Hopefully it will help out some future Dads and maybe provide a laugh or two for those who have been patient enough to read them all.
So we decided to go for a walk because sometimes that gets things going. So we walked around the neighborhood for about an hour and then Kristy said stuff was happening, but wasn’t sure if this was it. So we went home and I got my Personal Data Assistant (PDA) and started up the contractions timer program I had download because I read that it was good to keep track of those type of things and they would ask us about it at the hospital (which they totally did). They started out about 4 minutes apart but after about five minutes they sped up to 2 minutes or less apart and this went on for about 6 or 7 minutes so we decided it mosey on over to the hospital.
We got a parking place near the birthing center so that was pretty nice. We went inside and got all checked in and went to the waiting and verification area. It’s this closed off place with a bunch of curtains and monitoring equipment sectioning off very small areas. They basically monitor the mom for a bit and make sure she is really in labor before assigning an actual birthing room. After what seemed like forever but probably about 20 minutes they confirmed that Kristy was in labor for real and they started getting our room ready. Maybe 10 minutes later we were in the room.
Kristy’s parents had arrived while we were in the waiting and verification area. So they stayed with Kristy while I brought in all our supplies that had been packed for about a week and a half. Kristy’s pillows and extra clothes, my laptop, my portable HP photo printer, our camera stuff, my North Face hydration pack with the double pack of beef jerky from Costco, our ipod mini and Altec Lansing InMotion (mobile speakers), my book of course and my sleeping bag, all the essentials for having a baby or going camping.
Kristy’s sister came to the hospital too and that about rounds out the family delivery team and of course the excellent hospital staff. Jill wasn’t working today though so we didn’t know who we would get, basically whoever was around when the baby decided to come out, that’s who we got. Kristy’s smooth sailing kind of stalled out a bit and her water had to be broken with a medical instrument that looked suspiciously like a crochet needle. After that, things really started moving; literally the baby was on his way out.
Now at this point something changed, Kristy went from just the tough breathing like athletes do when they tear apart their ACL, to pain with a lot of yelling, screaming and crying. This was “The” toughest part of the day and the whole delivery experience. This may not be true for all men, but it was for me. Why? Because here is my wife who I love dearly and do everything I can every day to keep her out of harms way and far from pain and here I was helpless and I just had to watch her endure this immense pain. It was really a painful time for me, but I knew that it was unavoidable and had to be done. I held her hands, kissed her forehead, kept eye contact and let her know that I was right there with her and hopefully that all did something, but she was still in pain, how do I know this? Because Kristy was gripping my hand so hard that you would have thought if she were to let go that she would fly off the face of the earth or something. Her dad and sister were brining her water, you know, like people do for marathon runners and cold wash clothes to cool her down. Her mom was right there too, massaging and helping reposition her when she needed to stay comfortable. It was a lot of activity for a person lying in bed.
There was a shift change for the medical staff and it turned out that the doctor that would be delivering the baby would actually be the doctor that we had picked like 9 months ago (Joy) but was completely booked and not taking on any additional clientele, which lead to us continuing to look and finally giving the nod to Jill.
Pretty much one hour after the water breaking event, it was finally time. Joy had been in and out checking on Kristy and monitoring progress. Now she was in the room with us and Kristy was all turned sideways in the bed. Joy asked if she wanted to straighten out and Kristy said no way, don’t move me. Joy said “Well, I have never delivered sideways before, but there’s always a first time for everything” and after a few pushes (if you ask Kristy she’ll say a few hundred pushes) our first son was born. It was amazing, he was crying right away so we all new his lung capacity was good. He was put right up on Mom, well after Joy was like, “Where is Dad to cut the cord?” and at that moment I already knew I was busted, I put down the cameras and ran around the bed and then I cut the cord. During all this time Kristy’s Mom was able to call like 30 people or something to announce the successful delivery. I just watched Carter and Mommy and try to savor the moment and take it all in. All the nurses and Joy were all in love with Carter’s lips. Kristy and I were pretty much in love with all of him! Carter passed APGAR and then took a bath in the sink and then went back to Mom (Kristy).
Eventually it got late and Kristy’s parents and Sister went home for the night. And for the first time our new family was all alone with each other. That first night Carter didn’t sleep much in the unfriendly looking hospital crib, we all slept together in Kristy’s bed, well I kind of slept half on the bed and half floating in space. We did use the heater box for warm diapers and clothes and I even got to change a tar diaper, for those of you Dads-to-be reading this, I’ll save that description and let you experience that little joyous and memorable moment for yourself.
The next day Jill was on duty at the hospital and she stopped in to see us and meet carter. We gave her a same day picture printed on that portable HP printer I mentioned earlier. Actually we gave all our visitors same day pictures of our brand spanking new baby. We were also allowed to go home the next day and it was funny, I drove like the back of the Subaru wagon was filled with eggs free to roll around without any protective cartons. I don’t think I have ever driven so carefully before in my life. And so ends this fantastic experience that has led me to write these blogs and I have had a great time writing each and every one. Hopefully it will help out some future Dads and maybe provide a laugh or two for those who have been patient enough to read them all.
February 17th 2006
Today the parking lot was pretty empty so I didn't need to use any of my hunting skills. So we parked and headed on in, blasted by the bitterly cold winds that the news has been billing as "artic cold", but they are just standard Columbia gorge east winds that we get during each and every winter.
We walked in with a lot of anticipation; Kristy and I were both hoping that we would get some news that labor was imminent and we would be meeting our new son very soon. I had no idea that she was actually thinking the same thing as me, but after the appointment she told me and I let her in on my thoughts.
Collette was chitchatting with a friend when we entered the waiting room. "Come on Down" she said in a low voice. Kristy handed Collette her insurance card and checked in. Then Kristy went to the restroom, collecting her brown bag along the way.
Collette and her friend were talking about what he had sung in Church on Sunday. Collette asked about different songs and he recounted them and teased "It doesn't matter; we can't get your blessing anyways!" Collette said she liked the old songs with a meaningful message, like "It's Been A Good Day". She said she likes the oldies that are "extremely soulful because they come from where you have been." She also noted that "Churches don't even have Hymn books anymore and contemporary is that what they call it? Contemporary is fine but if we stop singing the Hymns we lose a lot of who we are, it's not the same." Her friend nodded in agreement and recalled that there is a hymnal book that he wants to get. Then Collette starting talking about some awards show and how Steve Harvey put Kirk Franklin in his place buy calling him out on the show. Harvey said if you are going to sing the Gospel you should mention Jesus some place in the song. Collette's take on Steve's comments: "But that's what you get when you're just making money!"
After a minute or two the nurse came out and called for Kristy, but she was still in the bathroom, so I said "She's still in the bathroom" and the nurse said okay. Then Kristy finally returned from the bathroom and I told her that they already called her name. We started to head back but the nurse was helping another couple that was leaving, maybe arranging their next appointment or something, so we waited a few more minutes and then she called for Kristy again.
We arrived at the scale to check the damage again, 157 pounds brining the total weight gain during pregnancy to 30 pounds. Next we checked her blood pressure and it was 126/69.
While we were waiting we could hear the Doppler going in the next room, someone else was getting a listen to their baby. Then Kristy had to go to the bathroom again, so she ran to the bathroom real quick, but it was being used up. Luckily a nurse was near by and showed her to a secondary bathroom.
Finally she came back and shortly after Jill came in. Jill said that we would take a quick measurement, a quick listen to the baby's heart beat and then she would check Kristy's cervix and we would be on our way.
Kristy asked about water breaking and the signs to look for. Jill said that it won't be a small leak. She said it will be either a large gush soaking everything or a persistent leak down the side of the leg that will still soak her pants.
Kristy measured 37cm which according to Jill was perfect; Kristy said that she is 38 weeks and the measurement in cm was supposed to be the same as the number of weeks of pregnancy. Jill said that in the later part of the pregnancy the numbers won't match because the baby drops, so the cm number becomes smaller then the number of weeks pregnant. Next we listened to the baby's heart beat and it was 150 beats per minute exactly.
Finally Jill checked Kristy. The baby's head was really, really low and Jill had to move it a little to check Kristy's cervix. Jill's eyes got real big and she was really surprised to find that Kristy was 4cm dilated and 90 percent effaced or in layman’s terms 90 percent thinned out. Jill asked how far we lived from the hospital because we won't have much time when he decides to come out. She said she will be working at the hospital on Monday and she thinks she'll see us that day one way or another. She was so excited that she was turning on the Doppler while she was talking to us. And that was it; we were excitedly on our way.
We walked in with a lot of anticipation; Kristy and I were both hoping that we would get some news that labor was imminent and we would be meeting our new son very soon. I had no idea that she was actually thinking the same thing as me, but after the appointment she told me and I let her in on my thoughts.
Collette was chitchatting with a friend when we entered the waiting room. "Come on Down" she said in a low voice. Kristy handed Collette her insurance card and checked in. Then Kristy went to the restroom, collecting her brown bag along the way.
Collette and her friend were talking about what he had sung in Church on Sunday. Collette asked about different songs and he recounted them and teased "It doesn't matter; we can't get your blessing anyways!" Collette said she liked the old songs with a meaningful message, like "It's Been A Good Day". She said she likes the oldies that are "extremely soulful because they come from where you have been." She also noted that "Churches don't even have Hymn books anymore and contemporary is that what they call it? Contemporary is fine but if we stop singing the Hymns we lose a lot of who we are, it's not the same." Her friend nodded in agreement and recalled that there is a hymnal book that he wants to get. Then Collette starting talking about some awards show and how Steve Harvey put Kirk Franklin in his place buy calling him out on the show. Harvey said if you are going to sing the Gospel you should mention Jesus some place in the song. Collette's take on Steve's comments: "But that's what you get when you're just making money!"
After a minute or two the nurse came out and called for Kristy, but she was still in the bathroom, so I said "She's still in the bathroom" and the nurse said okay. Then Kristy finally returned from the bathroom and I told her that they already called her name. We started to head back but the nurse was helping another couple that was leaving, maybe arranging their next appointment or something, so we waited a few more minutes and then she called for Kristy again.
We arrived at the scale to check the damage again, 157 pounds brining the total weight gain during pregnancy to 30 pounds. Next we checked her blood pressure and it was 126/69.
While we were waiting we could hear the Doppler going in the next room, someone else was getting a listen to their baby. Then Kristy had to go to the bathroom again, so she ran to the bathroom real quick, but it was being used up. Luckily a nurse was near by and showed her to a secondary bathroom.
Finally she came back and shortly after Jill came in. Jill said that we would take a quick measurement, a quick listen to the baby's heart beat and then she would check Kristy's cervix and we would be on our way.
Kristy asked about water breaking and the signs to look for. Jill said that it won't be a small leak. She said it will be either a large gush soaking everything or a persistent leak down the side of the leg that will still soak her pants.
Kristy measured 37cm which according to Jill was perfect; Kristy said that she is 38 weeks and the measurement in cm was supposed to be the same as the number of weeks of pregnancy. Jill said that in the later part of the pregnancy the numbers won't match because the baby drops, so the cm number becomes smaller then the number of weeks pregnant. Next we listened to the baby's heart beat and it was 150 beats per minute exactly.
Finally Jill checked Kristy. The baby's head was really, really low and Jill had to move it a little to check Kristy's cervix. Jill's eyes got real big and she was really surprised to find that Kristy was 4cm dilated and 90 percent effaced or in layman’s terms 90 percent thinned out. Jill asked how far we lived from the hospital because we won't have much time when he decides to come out. She said she will be working at the hospital on Monday and she thinks she'll see us that day one way or another. She was so excited that she was turning on the Doppler while she was talking to us. And that was it; we were excitedly on our way.
February 3rd 2006
This time it wasn’t raining, but had recently rained. The west parking lot was full, but I decided to pull into the first turn in and the same exact spot I had so skillfully acquired during our last visit was wide open, so stealthily maneuvered the car into the space. I noticed other hunters looking for open parking spaces were starting to head our direction and perceived the urgency at hand.
Collette was busy intently looking at her computer screen, when Kristy approached she said “Can you take her?” to Jane the other front desk worker on duty. This was immediately followed by a very loud “Wow? I don’t know what I just did, but that’s not what I wanted to do” from Collette, now with her face even closer to her computer screen.
Kristy did her duty and fulfilled the brown bag requirement. While I was waiting a doctor came out and he used “Come on down” on a patient, I think the Price is Right fever is spreading throughout the office there.
Kristy came back and we waited a second and then she was called. She looked at me and said, “Let’s see the damage for this week”, referring to the weigh in at the scale. As Kristy was taking off her shoes the nurse was analyzing the brown bag sample Kristy provided and asked if she had a lot of sugar this morning. Kristy said she ate some frosted shredded wheat about fifteen minutes ago, that was it. The nurse just noted that it showed up this morning in the sample.
Her blood pressure was still very good, 126/71. With shoes off and me holding her purse and coat she weighed in at 155 pounds, that’s an increase of 4 and ½ pounds in about a month, I think Kristy was expecting something like eight to ten pounds weight gain.
Kristy measured a perfect 36cm matching her 36 weeks right on the money. The mucus plug has come loose and worked its way out and he has squirmed his way very low, getting into the engaged position. The engaged positions is when the baby works its way down into the hips and pelvic region in preparation for birth and causes mom lot of pain in her hips and lower back, in case you were wondering. Her cervix is fifty percent thinned and all his moving helps to stretch it out further and keep the process moving along. The cervix wasn’t opened yet, but his head was right there, she had to reach around his head to check for dilation. She said that he is very close and could come at any time and when he does come he is in such good position that he will probably come very quickly, which means I need to run some hi-speed time trials from our house to the hospital.
We took a quick listen to the baby’s heart beat, it was a strong 148 beats per minute with excellent acceleration when he moved or responded to her external poking and prodding. He is still in the optimal birthing position, head down, back and butt on Kristy’s left side and feet poking out on her right side, basically the position he has been in since he really started growing.
Next Jill took a sample to test Kristy for Strep Group B. If the mom is carrying then they will give her antibiotics during labor so she can’t pass it to the baby because the baby’s immune system is fully functioning yet and the baby is more susceptible at this time. She said the results would be in the computer by mid next week, so if she went in to labor this weekend they would just giver her the antibiotics.
We went over our birth plan and everything looked good. Jill asked what an Inmotion was; Kristy explained it was our ipod speaker doc with remote control that can also run off of batteries (The hospital said that battery power was preferred for music playing devices). I don’t think Jill is an ipod person so I don’t know if she put it all together but she seemed happy so that was good enough.
She told us that if we had him early, she is working on the third weekend in February and I said that would work for me so she said “We’ll just pencil it in then” laughing. This time Kristy and I both sensed a little more excitement out of her, probably because we are getting so close now. Kristy and I both think Jill has done a great job and we hope that she gets to be the one that delivers our baby, so hopefully he got the memo about the date we penciled in.
She asked if we had any last questions. She said that we should head to the hospital if contractions are five minutes apart, lasting about a minute and have been steady for 2 hours or a big bag of water breaks and fluids come gushing out. Since we scheduled another appointment today a week past the due date in case he is over due, I asked if we have to call and cancel the remaining appointments if he comes early. Jill said no, they will know when he is born and they will cancel the remaining appointments.
That was it! Kristy stayed behind to make the appointment for a week after the due date. I sat in the waiting room and listened to Collette talk about how they pull people over for everything in Washington, especially tags because Vancouver, WA is a border town with Portland, OR. She said in California they hardly ever pull you over, you have to be doing something really bad. Then she had a big story about how they sold a car to a dealership, but the dealership didn’t file for change of ownership on the title, so after a year or two she started getting tickets. She finally had to go to the dealership to find out who they sold it to, found them and they had sold to someone else, track down the someone else and sign the title over and put and end to it all.
Then we started to leave, but Kristy had to use the bathroom one more time on the way out, then we left.
Collette was busy intently looking at her computer screen, when Kristy approached she said “Can you take her?” to Jane the other front desk worker on duty. This was immediately followed by a very loud “Wow? I don’t know what I just did, but that’s not what I wanted to do” from Collette, now with her face even closer to her computer screen.
Kristy did her duty and fulfilled the brown bag requirement. While I was waiting a doctor came out and he used “Come on down” on a patient, I think the Price is Right fever is spreading throughout the office there.
Kristy came back and we waited a second and then she was called. She looked at me and said, “Let’s see the damage for this week”, referring to the weigh in at the scale. As Kristy was taking off her shoes the nurse was analyzing the brown bag sample Kristy provided and asked if she had a lot of sugar this morning. Kristy said she ate some frosted shredded wheat about fifteen minutes ago, that was it. The nurse just noted that it showed up this morning in the sample.
Her blood pressure was still very good, 126/71. With shoes off and me holding her purse and coat she weighed in at 155 pounds, that’s an increase of 4 and ½ pounds in about a month, I think Kristy was expecting something like eight to ten pounds weight gain.
Kristy measured a perfect 36cm matching her 36 weeks right on the money. The mucus plug has come loose and worked its way out and he has squirmed his way very low, getting into the engaged position. The engaged positions is when the baby works its way down into the hips and pelvic region in preparation for birth and causes mom lot of pain in her hips and lower back, in case you were wondering. Her cervix is fifty percent thinned and all his moving helps to stretch it out further and keep the process moving along. The cervix wasn’t opened yet, but his head was right there, she had to reach around his head to check for dilation. She said that he is very close and could come at any time and when he does come he is in such good position that he will probably come very quickly, which means I need to run some hi-speed time trials from our house to the hospital.
We took a quick listen to the baby’s heart beat, it was a strong 148 beats per minute with excellent acceleration when he moved or responded to her external poking and prodding. He is still in the optimal birthing position, head down, back and butt on Kristy’s left side and feet poking out on her right side, basically the position he has been in since he really started growing.
Next Jill took a sample to test Kristy for Strep Group B. If the mom is carrying then they will give her antibiotics during labor so she can’t pass it to the baby because the baby’s immune system is fully functioning yet and the baby is more susceptible at this time. She said the results would be in the computer by mid next week, so if she went in to labor this weekend they would just giver her the antibiotics.
We went over our birth plan and everything looked good. Jill asked what an Inmotion was; Kristy explained it was our ipod speaker doc with remote control that can also run off of batteries (The hospital said that battery power was preferred for music playing devices). I don’t think Jill is an ipod person so I don’t know if she put it all together but she seemed happy so that was good enough.
She told us that if we had him early, she is working on the third weekend in February and I said that would work for me so she said “We’ll just pencil it in then” laughing. This time Kristy and I both sensed a little more excitement out of her, probably because we are getting so close now. Kristy and I both think Jill has done a great job and we hope that she gets to be the one that delivers our baby, so hopefully he got the memo about the date we penciled in.
She asked if we had any last questions. She said that we should head to the hospital if contractions are five minutes apart, lasting about a minute and have been steady for 2 hours or a big bag of water breaks and fluids come gushing out. Since we scheduled another appointment today a week past the due date in case he is over due, I asked if we have to call and cancel the remaining appointments if he comes early. Jill said no, they will know when he is born and they will cancel the remaining appointments.
That was it! Kristy stayed behind to make the appointment for a week after the due date. I sat in the waiting room and listened to Collette talk about how they pull people over for everything in Washington, especially tags because Vancouver, WA is a border town with Portland, OR. She said in California they hardly ever pull you over, you have to be doing something really bad. Then she had a big story about how they sold a car to a dealership, but the dealership didn’t file for change of ownership on the title, so after a year or two she started getting tickets. She finally had to go to the dealership to find out who they sold it to, found them and they had sold to someone else, track down the someone else and sign the title over and put and end to it all.
Then we started to leave, but Kristy had to use the bathroom one more time on the way out, then we left.
January 6th 2006
It was raining, imagine that! And we were cutting it pretty close so I dropped Kristy off at the west entrance which is right next to module E which is where all the appointments are. I then began the circling game, watching other cars circle as well, like sharks looking for their next meal, except instead of meals we are looking for parking spots. I was driving nice and slow; my head looking here, then there like a playful dog, then right in front of me this nice elderly couple decided to leave. I had seen them on the three previous passes, and now skillful timing paid off. I got a spot right in front next to the west entrance doors, I could see into the module E waiting room.
When I was getting out of my car I noticed an old black Ford with its lights on. I recited the license plate three times in my head, like I usually do when I notice some forgetful person has left their lights on. I went in and Collette was busy so the other lady helped me, I don’t know her name, she is usually very quite. I was looking around for Kristy hoping she didn’t start the appointment without me, and then I had to talk, “Hi, first a car left its lights on over there”. The lady said “in the west parking lot” I thought about where I was for a second, got my internal compass synchronized to magnetic north and then said “yes, the west parking lot”. That’s the very first time I realized that parking lot was the west parking lot, I always thought of it as the physical therapy and prenatal appointment parking lot, because I parked in it for my physical therapy and Kristy’s prenatal appointments.
I gave the license plate number 355 LHA, black Ford. “Award” Collette exclaimed! And I was like no, not “Award”, I said “Ford” and she was like, oh, I thought you said award. The person she was helping just kind of stood there looking at us, and we turned and went back to our separate business. I didn’t mention the Alaskan Girls Rock bumper sticker, but I did take note of it when I was memorizing the license plate. The lady helping me said she would tell the information booth and they would send out a page. Just then Kristy came out from the bathroom carrying the infamous brown bag. I didn’t remember that she had to do the brown bag ritual, I was very happy to see the appointment had not started without me.
We sat down for a second; a nurse said she would be right with Kristy. While we were sitting there I heard the page for the black Ford with its lights on. The intercom in that place kind of sucks though and if you weren’t listening for it, you would probably not have heard it.
After awhile the nurse finally came and got Kristy and I followed behind with my notebook. We went to weigh in, Kristy took her shoes off and hopped on the scale and the nurse dialed in to…. Drum roll please…. 150 and ½ pounds. The nurses reaction was, “wow, I never would have guessed that weight for you, you hide it really well, it’s all baby.” The nurse also asked if Kristy had begun to swell because she saw Kristy’s rings around her neck on a chain. Next was the blood pressure, which is still fantastic, 121/60. In case you are wondering I had mine checked sometime later and Dad is around 122/66 which is pretty good. If you don’t know or can’t remember what the numbers mean check out this Link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_pressure).
Instead of going to the second hall on the left we went to the first and instead of going into the first room on the right we went into the first room on the left. This was probably because we were seeing Ingrid today instead of Jill because Jill was out sick and had to cancel our original appointment we had scheduled earlier in the day.
We could hear Collette in the hall outside our room and then going back to the front. Kristy says Collette reminds her of a busy bee, buzzing around every place all the time.
Kristy had to go to the bathroom again, even though she just went like eight minutes ago max, so she made a run for it. I was sitting behind the door, wondering when Ingrid would show up and what I would do if Ingrid showed up and Kristy wasn’t here. I would have to explain right away, “my wife is in the bathroom, she’ll be right back, I’m not some weirdo guy just waiting in here”. Or since I was sitting behind the door I was worried that Ingrid might peek in and not see Kristy and I would be hidden behind the door and before I could say anything she could leave and then Kristy would come back and we would be waiting even longer because the staff didn’t know where we were. Finally I saw Kristy in the hall so she would be back by the time Ingrid came, but she looked in the room, didn’t see me behind the door and took off down the hall. I was saying “Hey you” through the crack in the door at the hinges but she didn’t hear me and kept on walking. Then when she came back down the hall I yelled at her again through the crack in the door at the hinges and she heard me and came in. Glad that was over!
Eventually Ingrid came in and asked how Kristy was doing and gave me a strange look like, “What are you doing here”. Then we continued with the rest of the appointment normally.
Ingrid went over pre-term labor signs and the kick count rule, anything less then 5 kicks in an hour and we should be concerned. She asked about classes and we said yes, we’ll be taking classes next weekend at the hospital. She said Kristy’s weight gain has been very good, although Kristy is definitely a bit alarmed by the overall number she has gained to date.
She asked Kristy about birth control and what she was taking before the pregnancy and what she could take after. She said that while she is breast feeding her options would be limited. She said that a non-estrogen mini pill is available but it is very unforgiving if you mess up the timing when you take it. You cannot miss a pill and you must take it the same time every day within a three hour window. Ingrid also mentioned that Depo provera shots taken once a month are an option, but a woman’s cycle and fertility are slower to return when you stop getting the shots, something to consider in family planning and when we want to have another kid. Also something Kristy doesn’t want to even think about until she gets this one out of her. Finally there was IUDs with a quick return to fertility, but are only recommended if you are not going to try to have another kid for three years or longer, because the IUD lasts about that long.
Next she measured Kristy’s belly and it measured 32cm, perfect. Then we listened to the baby’s heart rate which was 145 bpm. We asked what the results were from Kristy’s diabetes test and Ingrid said they were great. The glucose should be 140 or less and Kristy’s was 89. He is still head down in the same position he has been in for probably the last four months.
Ingrid also touched on circumcision, when they will perform the procedure, which is now viewed as a cosmetic procedure these days because there is not significant medical benefit associated with it and that because it is sometimes considered cosmetic some insurances cover it while others do not.
Kristy told Ingrid that she was supposed to schedule the rest of her appointments since we were getting closer to the due date, so Ingrid wrote out a week by week schedule to give to the nurses when we left.
Then the appointment ended and I was back in the waiting room waiting for Kristy to schedule her appointments. Collette used “Come on down” again on poor old Joe who forgot his insurance card.
Next Collette started talking about the light outside and when it gets dark. She said she’s not mad at it (the light) for going away so soon, she can already tell that it’s staying light a little bit longer. She raised her hand and said “I can tell it’s staying light a little longer, that’s why I’m not mad at it at all”. Then she got onto another topic really fast and said “Oh my Lord!, my grandma would say that was a sin of a shame!” I didn’t have a chance to figure out exactly what was going on because Kristy was done and ready to go. She went to the bathroom again as we were leaving the building. We then went out into the rain, but only had to go a few steps to the car since it was right up front thanks to my great parking skills and instincts.
When I was getting out of my car I noticed an old black Ford with its lights on. I recited the license plate three times in my head, like I usually do when I notice some forgetful person has left their lights on. I went in and Collette was busy so the other lady helped me, I don’t know her name, she is usually very quite. I was looking around for Kristy hoping she didn’t start the appointment without me, and then I had to talk, “Hi, first a car left its lights on over there”. The lady said “in the west parking lot” I thought about where I was for a second, got my internal compass synchronized to magnetic north and then said “yes, the west parking lot”. That’s the very first time I realized that parking lot was the west parking lot, I always thought of it as the physical therapy and prenatal appointment parking lot, because I parked in it for my physical therapy and Kristy’s prenatal appointments.
I gave the license plate number 355 LHA, black Ford. “Award” Collette exclaimed! And I was like no, not “Award”, I said “Ford” and she was like, oh, I thought you said award. The person she was helping just kind of stood there looking at us, and we turned and went back to our separate business. I didn’t mention the Alaskan Girls Rock bumper sticker, but I did take note of it when I was memorizing the license plate. The lady helping me said she would tell the information booth and they would send out a page. Just then Kristy came out from the bathroom carrying the infamous brown bag. I didn’t remember that she had to do the brown bag ritual, I was very happy to see the appointment had not started without me.
We sat down for a second; a nurse said she would be right with Kristy. While we were sitting there I heard the page for the black Ford with its lights on. The intercom in that place kind of sucks though and if you weren’t listening for it, you would probably not have heard it.
After awhile the nurse finally came and got Kristy and I followed behind with my notebook. We went to weigh in, Kristy took her shoes off and hopped on the scale and the nurse dialed in to…. Drum roll please…. 150 and ½ pounds. The nurses reaction was, “wow, I never would have guessed that weight for you, you hide it really well, it’s all baby.” The nurse also asked if Kristy had begun to swell because she saw Kristy’s rings around her neck on a chain. Next was the blood pressure, which is still fantastic, 121/60. In case you are wondering I had mine checked sometime later and Dad is around 122/66 which is pretty good. If you don’t know or can’t remember what the numbers mean check out this Link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_pressure).
Instead of going to the second hall on the left we went to the first and instead of going into the first room on the right we went into the first room on the left. This was probably because we were seeing Ingrid today instead of Jill because Jill was out sick and had to cancel our original appointment we had scheduled earlier in the day.
We could hear Collette in the hall outside our room and then going back to the front. Kristy says Collette reminds her of a busy bee, buzzing around every place all the time.
Kristy had to go to the bathroom again, even though she just went like eight minutes ago max, so she made a run for it. I was sitting behind the door, wondering when Ingrid would show up and what I would do if Ingrid showed up and Kristy wasn’t here. I would have to explain right away, “my wife is in the bathroom, she’ll be right back, I’m not some weirdo guy just waiting in here”. Or since I was sitting behind the door I was worried that Ingrid might peek in and not see Kristy and I would be hidden behind the door and before I could say anything she could leave and then Kristy would come back and we would be waiting even longer because the staff didn’t know where we were. Finally I saw Kristy in the hall so she would be back by the time Ingrid came, but she looked in the room, didn’t see me behind the door and took off down the hall. I was saying “Hey you” through the crack in the door at the hinges but she didn’t hear me and kept on walking. Then when she came back down the hall I yelled at her again through the crack in the door at the hinges and she heard me and came in. Glad that was over!
Eventually Ingrid came in and asked how Kristy was doing and gave me a strange look like, “What are you doing here”. Then we continued with the rest of the appointment normally.
Ingrid went over pre-term labor signs and the kick count rule, anything less then 5 kicks in an hour and we should be concerned. She asked about classes and we said yes, we’ll be taking classes next weekend at the hospital. She said Kristy’s weight gain has been very good, although Kristy is definitely a bit alarmed by the overall number she has gained to date.
She asked Kristy about birth control and what she was taking before the pregnancy and what she could take after. She said that while she is breast feeding her options would be limited. She said that a non-estrogen mini pill is available but it is very unforgiving if you mess up the timing when you take it. You cannot miss a pill and you must take it the same time every day within a three hour window. Ingrid also mentioned that Depo provera shots taken once a month are an option, but a woman’s cycle and fertility are slower to return when you stop getting the shots, something to consider in family planning and when we want to have another kid. Also something Kristy doesn’t want to even think about until she gets this one out of her. Finally there was IUDs with a quick return to fertility, but are only recommended if you are not going to try to have another kid for three years or longer, because the IUD lasts about that long.
Next she measured Kristy’s belly and it measured 32cm, perfect. Then we listened to the baby’s heart rate which was 145 bpm. We asked what the results were from Kristy’s diabetes test and Ingrid said they were great. The glucose should be 140 or less and Kristy’s was 89. He is still head down in the same position he has been in for probably the last four months.
Ingrid also touched on circumcision, when they will perform the procedure, which is now viewed as a cosmetic procedure these days because there is not significant medical benefit associated with it and that because it is sometimes considered cosmetic some insurances cover it while others do not.
Kristy told Ingrid that she was supposed to schedule the rest of her appointments since we were getting closer to the due date, so Ingrid wrote out a week by week schedule to give to the nurses when we left.
Then the appointment ended and I was back in the waiting room waiting for Kristy to schedule her appointments. Collette used “Come on down” again on poor old Joe who forgot his insurance card.
Next Collette started talking about the light outside and when it gets dark. She said she’s not mad at it (the light) for going away so soon, she can already tell that it’s staying light a little bit longer. She raised her hand and said “I can tell it’s staying light a little longer, that’s why I’m not mad at it at all”. Then she got onto another topic really fast and said “Oh my Lord!, my grandma would say that was a sin of a shame!” I didn’t have a chance to figure out exactly what was going on because Kristy was done and ready to go. She went to the bathroom again as we were leaving the building. We then went out into the rain, but only had to go a few steps to the car since it was right up front thanks to my great parking skills and instincts.
December 9th 2005
I dropped Kristy off at the entrance to the building because it was really cold and she had to go to the lab before her appointment so she could drink her orange crush drink for her diabetes test. Then I searched for a parking spot, we didn’t see any on the way in, but I got lucky, there was one left and it was pretty close to the door, I could have just parked there and we could have walked in together, but I didn’t see it at the time and I didn’t want to have Kristy walking a long ways in the cold.
“I forgot my book, oh well, no big deal, I’ll make do”, that is what I was thinking as I got out of my car. Now I know, some of you are thinking, man he’s been reading this book for months, but that is how it was meant to be read, month by month through the pregnancy. I think it works best if you are a month ahead because then you get all the valuable tips ahead of time, but I’m actually at the end, I just have to read the info about Cesarean sections and some advise on bringing home baby and then I’m finished. I’ve already started a list of essential items for our pre-packed birth and hospital stay bags, lord of the rings extended version DVDs (all of them), In-motion ipod speaker dock with remote control, ipod mini, video camera, digital cameras, hydration pack that I hope I get for Christmas (so I stay hydrated through the delivery process, it’s important dad is on the ball), clothes, toiletries, beef jerky for nourishment (need to go to Costco and get the big bag), hp 375 4x6 photo printer (it’s one of those small ones, so our visitors can have a little something as a parting gift), the list goes on and on with things that I have deemed absolutely necessary for a successful birthing experience.
Inside I found that Collette was not manning her station? To my surprise a new receptionist was there, her name was Sharon and she was totally boring. I miss Collette.
Kristy grabbed a brown bag and headed towards the restrooms but was greeted by a nurse who told her she didn’t have to do this now, she had to go to the lab and do it there. Kristy was like, “are you sure”, because she really had to go right then and there. So, we ended up hurry down to the lab and she checked in and they let her go to the bathroom. Then we waited for fifteen minutes and then Kristy went back up and asked how much longer the wait was going to be, because we were already late for our checkup with Jill. The lady apologized and found that it had been ready for around ten minutes but no one called Kristy.
Then we were back to the waiting room for our appointment with Jill. Since I forgot my book I had to read about: The new war in space - hypersonic bombers - space mines and killer satellites, the 4000 mega pixel hand build camera and tomorrows robots invading Japan (latest issue of Popular Science if you are interested). Then we were called back in for Kristy’s weigh in. Wow, 143 pounds, at the time is sounded like an enormous number, mostly because Kristy really doesn’t look all that big. Her jaw was dropping and her eyes were really wide, “Where is it all going?” She was really worried about the wait gain. Her blood pressure was 118/62; it probably rose a bit with the weigh in news.
Jill knocked softly on the door and then blasted into the room, “Hi Guys!” She looked at me and said “Oh you’re the one that takes all the notes!” in my head I was thinking for this blog of course, I didn’t’ say it out loud because I didn’t want to have to explain blogging again. About half way through the session she checked my notes, “Wow, you record everything, I don’t even need to keep records, this is great”. She looked over the blood pressure, “Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous honey!” and then said she wanted to go over signs of blood pressure problems, but that she didn’t expect Kristy to have any trouble. Really bad headaches, seeing lights, star bursts or spots in vision, dull achy pain in the liver and swelling in the face (swellings in the legs, hands and feet are standard joys of pregnancy and are of no concern), any of those symptoms and we need to call and come in for a visit.
Kristy asked about her weight gain and Jill looked it over. She said it had definitely gone up since last time but since the first appointment it has only increased by sixteen pounds which is perfectly fine and judging by Kristy’s fitness at the first appointment, she could gain up to 30 pounds without a problem. Kristy read that around 25 pounds or so is recommended and my sister who is very tiny gained 30 pounds during her pregnancy and a week after delivery half of it was gone. I think Kristy was worried about getting too big and developing diabetes during pregnancy but I’m not entirely sure. Kristy asked where all the weight is packing on? And Jill said you gain it in your hips, belly, fluids, placenta, amniotic fluid, and breasts. The baby should start chunking up these last few months.
The measurement of Kristy’s belly was next, from pubic bone to the top or roof of the uterus. This is the measurement that was slightly below average last time and so we ended up doing the urgent ultrasound to make sure the baby was growing. This time, however, Kristy measured 28cm which is right on the money or “Perfect!” in the words of Jill. Jill said you should measure in centimeters, roughly the same number of weeks you are pregnant, give or take 2 to 3 weeks.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh; it’s much easier to find the heart beat when you know how the baby likes to position itself. He was on Kristy’s left, our right if we are looking at her, just like he always is. He was showing off, pressing his back up there so we could hear it real well and even see it a little. It would speed up at the end and Jill said this was a very good sign and that he responds to music when we put head phones on Kristy’s belly (he usually comes out of hiding down low and pops his head out right at the head phones). Jill said that this is the number one sign that all is well and they love to see these responses and rises in heart rate. These simple responses mean that the brain is getting enough oxygen to stimulate brain activity and development.
No questions, everything looked good, and we will have our next appointment next year!
Back to the lab so Kristy could get her blood drawn and finish up the diabetes testing. Heading back to the lab in module A Kristy saw her advisor from WSU Vancouver, Elizabeth. They quickly exchanged pleasantries while passing in the hallway. We got back to the lab and Kristy had to go to the restroom again. When she got back she said “Twenty-eight minutes to go before an hour has passed and they can draw my blood” and at that moment I realized what a grave mistake I had made leaving my book at home. I could have finished it in during the waiting time. I began to look around the room to try and find something to keep me amused.
I wanted to use the technical term for my notes, since they are merely scribbles that trigger my elephant memory to recall a certain point in time. One or two words usually correspond to a paragraph, sometimes two in my blogs. I asked Kristy what the technical term was in psychology and she said I have no idea. I told her Bill (She is Bill’s Teachers Assistant for Neuroscience) would be disappointed and she said, oh, that wasn’t Bill’s class that was Steve’s class, Cognition and Memory, “I Rocked that class!” I responded “If you did so awesome in that class, what is the term I’m looking for” and Kristy replied “Look it up yourself, I don’t remember I have pregnancy brain” because evidently when you are pregnant something happens and you become very forgetful, I’m not making this up, it really happens. There is a clumsy stage too! For those who are interested, the technical term for the recall trick is “mnemonics” and there are many exercises and techniques covered under this title for memory recall.
Okay, only like 4 minutes gone by, what the heck. Finally time was up and Kristy went back to get her blood drawn, by this time I had started watching the reader board up on the wall. “Pharmacy Wait Time” was the title, and it scrolled: “Patients Waiting: 9 … Wait Time: 14 Min” over and over. The shortest during my stay was seven patients and nine minutes, but it quickly bumped up to nine patients and seventeen minutes. By the time we left it was twelve patients and twelve minutes. I still wish I had my book but the reader board helped pass the time.
“I forgot my book, oh well, no big deal, I’ll make do”, that is what I was thinking as I got out of my car. Now I know, some of you are thinking, man he’s been reading this book for months, but that is how it was meant to be read, month by month through the pregnancy. I think it works best if you are a month ahead because then you get all the valuable tips ahead of time, but I’m actually at the end, I just have to read the info about Cesarean sections and some advise on bringing home baby and then I’m finished. I’ve already started a list of essential items for our pre-packed birth and hospital stay bags, lord of the rings extended version DVDs (all of them), In-motion ipod speaker dock with remote control, ipod mini, video camera, digital cameras, hydration pack that I hope I get for Christmas (so I stay hydrated through the delivery process, it’s important dad is on the ball), clothes, toiletries, beef jerky for nourishment (need to go to Costco and get the big bag), hp 375 4x6 photo printer (it’s one of those small ones, so our visitors can have a little something as a parting gift), the list goes on and on with things that I have deemed absolutely necessary for a successful birthing experience.
Inside I found that Collette was not manning her station? To my surprise a new receptionist was there, her name was Sharon and she was totally boring. I miss Collette.
Kristy grabbed a brown bag and headed towards the restrooms but was greeted by a nurse who told her she didn’t have to do this now, she had to go to the lab and do it there. Kristy was like, “are you sure”, because she really had to go right then and there. So, we ended up hurry down to the lab and she checked in and they let her go to the bathroom. Then we waited for fifteen minutes and then Kristy went back up and asked how much longer the wait was going to be, because we were already late for our checkup with Jill. The lady apologized and found that it had been ready for around ten minutes but no one called Kristy.
Then we were back to the waiting room for our appointment with Jill. Since I forgot my book I had to read about: The new war in space - hypersonic bombers - space mines and killer satellites, the 4000 mega pixel hand build camera and tomorrows robots invading Japan (latest issue of Popular Science if you are interested). Then we were called back in for Kristy’s weigh in. Wow, 143 pounds, at the time is sounded like an enormous number, mostly because Kristy really doesn’t look all that big. Her jaw was dropping and her eyes were really wide, “Where is it all going?” She was really worried about the wait gain. Her blood pressure was 118/62; it probably rose a bit with the weigh in news.
Jill knocked softly on the door and then blasted into the room, “Hi Guys!” She looked at me and said “Oh you’re the one that takes all the notes!” in my head I was thinking for this blog of course, I didn’t’ say it out loud because I didn’t want to have to explain blogging again. About half way through the session she checked my notes, “Wow, you record everything, I don’t even need to keep records, this is great”. She looked over the blood pressure, “Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous honey!” and then said she wanted to go over signs of blood pressure problems, but that she didn’t expect Kristy to have any trouble. Really bad headaches, seeing lights, star bursts or spots in vision, dull achy pain in the liver and swelling in the face (swellings in the legs, hands and feet are standard joys of pregnancy and are of no concern), any of those symptoms and we need to call and come in for a visit.
Kristy asked about her weight gain and Jill looked it over. She said it had definitely gone up since last time but since the first appointment it has only increased by sixteen pounds which is perfectly fine and judging by Kristy’s fitness at the first appointment, she could gain up to 30 pounds without a problem. Kristy read that around 25 pounds or so is recommended and my sister who is very tiny gained 30 pounds during her pregnancy and a week after delivery half of it was gone. I think Kristy was worried about getting too big and developing diabetes during pregnancy but I’m not entirely sure. Kristy asked where all the weight is packing on? And Jill said you gain it in your hips, belly, fluids, placenta, amniotic fluid, and breasts. The baby should start chunking up these last few months.
The measurement of Kristy’s belly was next, from pubic bone to the top or roof of the uterus. This is the measurement that was slightly below average last time and so we ended up doing the urgent ultrasound to make sure the baby was growing. This time, however, Kristy measured 28cm which is right on the money or “Perfect!” in the words of Jill. Jill said you should measure in centimeters, roughly the same number of weeks you are pregnant, give or take 2 to 3 weeks.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh; it’s much easier to find the heart beat when you know how the baby likes to position itself. He was on Kristy’s left, our right if we are looking at her, just like he always is. He was showing off, pressing his back up there so we could hear it real well and even see it a little. It would speed up at the end and Jill said this was a very good sign and that he responds to music when we put head phones on Kristy’s belly (he usually comes out of hiding down low and pops his head out right at the head phones). Jill said that this is the number one sign that all is well and they love to see these responses and rises in heart rate. These simple responses mean that the brain is getting enough oxygen to stimulate brain activity and development.
No questions, everything looked good, and we will have our next appointment next year!
Back to the lab so Kristy could get her blood drawn and finish up the diabetes testing. Heading back to the lab in module A Kristy saw her advisor from WSU Vancouver, Elizabeth. They quickly exchanged pleasantries while passing in the hallway. We got back to the lab and Kristy had to go to the restroom again. When she got back she said “Twenty-eight minutes to go before an hour has passed and they can draw my blood” and at that moment I realized what a grave mistake I had made leaving my book at home. I could have finished it in during the waiting time. I began to look around the room to try and find something to keep me amused.
I wanted to use the technical term for my notes, since they are merely scribbles that trigger my elephant memory to recall a certain point in time. One or two words usually correspond to a paragraph, sometimes two in my blogs. I asked Kristy what the technical term was in psychology and she said I have no idea. I told her Bill (She is Bill’s Teachers Assistant for Neuroscience) would be disappointed and she said, oh, that wasn’t Bill’s class that was Steve’s class, Cognition and Memory, “I Rocked that class!” I responded “If you did so awesome in that class, what is the term I’m looking for” and Kristy replied “Look it up yourself, I don’t remember I have pregnancy brain” because evidently when you are pregnant something happens and you become very forgetful, I’m not making this up, it really happens. There is a clumsy stage too! For those who are interested, the technical term for the recall trick is “mnemonics” and there are many exercises and techniques covered under this title for memory recall.
Okay, only like 4 minutes gone by, what the heck. Finally time was up and Kristy went back to get her blood drawn, by this time I had started watching the reader board up on the wall. “Pharmacy Wait Time” was the title, and it scrolled: “Patients Waiting: 9 … Wait Time: 14 Min” over and over. The shortest during my stay was seven patients and nine minutes, but it quickly bumped up to nine patients and seventeen minutes. By the time we left it was twelve patients and twelve minutes. I still wish I had my book but the reader board helped pass the time.
December 8th 2005
“Okay, stay calm and breathe” that’s me talking to Kristy. Since we had to drive to the hospital for our tour this evening, I thought I would practice a bit. I set the mileage counter on my car so we could see how far we actually are from our house to the hospital, 8.7 miles and roughly 15-17 minutes depending on weather conditions and traffic. There are about six or seven stoplights on the route, but most of the driving is freeway, all the lights are just before the hospital except for one to get on the freeway.
We arrived at the hospital and started looking at the parking for when we have to rush in and for when visitors want to come see us. We walked passed the family birthing center and into the main lobby and waited. Eventually the tour guide came through finishing up the tour before ours and then came and waited with us. It looked like we might get a private tour, but at the last minute a second couple with three daughters, eight, nine and twelve showed up. There was some mix up over the phone and only kids ten and over were allowed on the tour, the guide asked if we cared and Kristy and I didn’t have any problem with it, so the little girls were allowed to tour.
We went back out into the freezing, back to the family birthing center, “this is where you will enter after you call first and these doors are always open, even if it’s 3:00 AM”, I was hoping it wouldn’t be 3:00 AM. The guide also said that we should not use cell phones or activate car alarms inside the building. I guess if you try to turn your car alarm on or off from inside the family birthing center it activates the facility alarm. It was explained to us that lights will flash, alarms will sound, the building will lock down and very quickly security will close in on all building entrances. The guide said it happens ridiculously fast so that is comforting that they have decent security. Continuing on went in and took the first right, about ten feet down the hall is the main nurses station, which is where we will check in and where all the fetal monitors are.
I asked about hospital registration and the guide so that we mail in the forms, at which time Kristy told me we already had them at home, I was thinking “well thanks for telling me about them”. So, we have to fill those out and program the appropriate family birthing center call in number to each of our cell phones.
We continued down the hall and she showed us a birthing bar that can be used for the squatting position. She said someone would be on hand to install it for us if we needed, but it’s pretty simple, the bar fits into two round slots, one on each side of the bed so the bar goes across the bed. Then you screw in the clamps to hold the bar firmly in place, the same way a Christmas tree stand works.
Next we went into one of the Labor Delivery Observation and Recover (LDOR) birthing suites. Each room had a personal bathroom with shower, tub with jets and toilet, plenty of storage, a television, a bench / sleeping area for significant others and a phone with a direct dial in line. All in all a pretty standard room, very similar to the other two hospitals we had visited recently for the births of my nephew and niece. There was also a standard bassinet with warming pad.
The guide showed us the Toko Transducer which is an ultrasonic sensor used to monitor the mother’s contractions. Piezoelectric ultrasonic Toko Transducers are used to monitor bats, just an FYI. Then we got to see the familiar ultrasound Doppler t which is used to measure the baby’s heart rate and see how the baby is responding to the stress of the contractions. Both monitors are held on by a belt that is reminiscent of Batman’s utility belt or a weight lifters back brace.
Our guide said that background music is highly recommended and there is a place for plug in CD players but they prefer battery powered CD players, “be sure to bring more then one CD in case you have a long delivery”. I was thinking, “lady, welcome to the age of ipods, we’ll be brining hundreds of CDs in a little tiny form factory with a customized labor and delivery play list”. Kristy told me a little later that she was thinking the exact same thing.
Bath, weight, measurements, everything would be done in the room. I stand on the side and they toss the baby up to use as soon as it’s out. The philosophy is to keep the family together at all times. The baby never leaves the room unless there is a complication, then the baby goes to its own private room in the locked down nursery and may be accompanied at all times by one or both of the parents. If a Cesarean section (C-section) is done, right after the baby is born it is handed to the significant other while mom finishes up the surgery, then they all go together to their LDOR as a family.
There are also some standard hospital rooms near the nursery. If a baby has to go to the nursery the parents are given the option of staying in one of these smaller rooms so they can be closer to the nursery. A cot can be rolled in for the significant other to sleep on. Yeah, I was thinking that too, “That’s not as good as the built in one in the standard LDOR”.
Kristy asked if there was any limit to the number of people present in the LDOR during birthing, the fire code is eight, so you could have that many but it’s not recommended because it becomes like a circus. In my mind I was thinking “Yes, photo and video crews have been approved”. Of course Kristy won’t allow my crews in and I don’t know if I really want all that anyways, I’m sure I can take plenty of pictures myself or Kristy’s dad can snap some Napoleon Dynamite glamour shots!
There are regular meals for mom, dad must fend for himself. I’m hoping we are in the hospital on a Monday, then my friend Bryan can bring me something after he plays basketball (at a church just down the street). Or maybe he could pick me up, I could play too and then get something to eat and back to the hospital? Probably not, I’m thinking that wouldn’t go over well with Kristy.
As we were leaving we went out of the family birthing center entrance that is connected to the hospital, right next to the main hospital lobby where we started. On our way out I noticed the “Resident Sleeping Room” and I thought of Alex and Olivia and all those whacky crew members on Grey’s Anatomy. Later in the car Kristy said she saw it too and she thought of Christina and Preston (a.k.a. Burke), also from Grey’s Anatomy. Yes, we watch too much television; we already know we have a problem. We also noticed that there is a coffee / espresso stand in the lobby of the main hospital, good news for you visitors!
We arrived at the hospital and started looking at the parking for when we have to rush in and for when visitors want to come see us. We walked passed the family birthing center and into the main lobby and waited. Eventually the tour guide came through finishing up the tour before ours and then came and waited with us. It looked like we might get a private tour, but at the last minute a second couple with three daughters, eight, nine and twelve showed up. There was some mix up over the phone and only kids ten and over were allowed on the tour, the guide asked if we cared and Kristy and I didn’t have any problem with it, so the little girls were allowed to tour.
We went back out into the freezing, back to the family birthing center, “this is where you will enter after you call first and these doors are always open, even if it’s 3:00 AM”, I was hoping it wouldn’t be 3:00 AM. The guide also said that we should not use cell phones or activate car alarms inside the building. I guess if you try to turn your car alarm on or off from inside the family birthing center it activates the facility alarm. It was explained to us that lights will flash, alarms will sound, the building will lock down and very quickly security will close in on all building entrances. The guide said it happens ridiculously fast so that is comforting that they have decent security. Continuing on went in and took the first right, about ten feet down the hall is the main nurses station, which is where we will check in and where all the fetal monitors are.
I asked about hospital registration and the guide so that we mail in the forms, at which time Kristy told me we already had them at home, I was thinking “well thanks for telling me about them”. So, we have to fill those out and program the appropriate family birthing center call in number to each of our cell phones.
We continued down the hall and she showed us a birthing bar that can be used for the squatting position. She said someone would be on hand to install it for us if we needed, but it’s pretty simple, the bar fits into two round slots, one on each side of the bed so the bar goes across the bed. Then you screw in the clamps to hold the bar firmly in place, the same way a Christmas tree stand works.
Next we went into one of the Labor Delivery Observation and Recover (LDOR) birthing suites. Each room had a personal bathroom with shower, tub with jets and toilet, plenty of storage, a television, a bench / sleeping area for significant others and a phone with a direct dial in line. All in all a pretty standard room, very similar to the other two hospitals we had visited recently for the births of my nephew and niece. There was also a standard bassinet with warming pad.
The guide showed us the Toko Transducer which is an ultrasonic sensor used to monitor the mother’s contractions. Piezoelectric ultrasonic Toko Transducers are used to monitor bats, just an FYI. Then we got to see the familiar ultrasound Doppler t which is used to measure the baby’s heart rate and see how the baby is responding to the stress of the contractions. Both monitors are held on by a belt that is reminiscent of Batman’s utility belt or a weight lifters back brace.
Our guide said that background music is highly recommended and there is a place for plug in CD players but they prefer battery powered CD players, “be sure to bring more then one CD in case you have a long delivery”. I was thinking, “lady, welcome to the age of ipods, we’ll be brining hundreds of CDs in a little tiny form factory with a customized labor and delivery play list”. Kristy told me a little later that she was thinking the exact same thing.
Bath, weight, measurements, everything would be done in the room. I stand on the side and they toss the baby up to use as soon as it’s out. The philosophy is to keep the family together at all times. The baby never leaves the room unless there is a complication, then the baby goes to its own private room in the locked down nursery and may be accompanied at all times by one or both of the parents. If a Cesarean section (C-section) is done, right after the baby is born it is handed to the significant other while mom finishes up the surgery, then they all go together to their LDOR as a family.
There are also some standard hospital rooms near the nursery. If a baby has to go to the nursery the parents are given the option of staying in one of these smaller rooms so they can be closer to the nursery. A cot can be rolled in for the significant other to sleep on. Yeah, I was thinking that too, “That’s not as good as the built in one in the standard LDOR”.
Kristy asked if there was any limit to the number of people present in the LDOR during birthing, the fire code is eight, so you could have that many but it’s not recommended because it becomes like a circus. In my mind I was thinking “Yes, photo and video crews have been approved”. Of course Kristy won’t allow my crews in and I don’t know if I really want all that anyways, I’m sure I can take plenty of pictures myself or Kristy’s dad can snap some Napoleon Dynamite glamour shots!
There are regular meals for mom, dad must fend for himself. I’m hoping we are in the hospital on a Monday, then my friend Bryan can bring me something after he plays basketball (at a church just down the street). Or maybe he could pick me up, I could play too and then get something to eat and back to the hospital? Probably not, I’m thinking that wouldn’t go over well with Kristy.
As we were leaving we went out of the family birthing center entrance that is connected to the hospital, right next to the main hospital lobby where we started. On our way out I noticed the “Resident Sleeping Room” and I thought of Alex and Olivia and all those whacky crew members on Grey’s Anatomy. Later in the car Kristy said she saw it too and she thought of Christina and Preston (a.k.a. Burke), also from Grey’s Anatomy. Yes, we watch too much television; we already know we have a problem. We also noticed that there is a coffee / espresso stand in the lobby of the main hospital, good news for you visitors!
November 17th 2005
This time I didn’t bring my book, we expected to be in and out pretty quick, but I did bring my hp850 digital camera to take some pictures of Kristy during the ultrasound for our website and I wanted to get a picture of the keyboard for the ultrasound. This keyboard looks like something NASA would use to control a spaceship; it even has a joystick on one side.
Anyways, we didn’t have to wait too long, we got in to Room 2 with Jayne again and she went right to work. She measured for due date, which came up right on schedule as February 28th to March 1st, plus or minus four or five days, which showed us at twenty-five weeks and one day for this appointment.
Next she measured the baby’s size and he came up in the 46.6 percentile, average is 50% so that was fine. He now measured to be one pound and 12 ounces, so he has definitely grown since the last ultrasound where he measured a meager 11 ounces. We toured around again, looked at his hands and feet and spine, listened to his heart, a lot of the same things we did in the October 7th ultrasound.
In the end, everything looked great and he was just sitting really low as we expected all along. So much for the urgent ultrasound, there was nothing much to worry about, but better safe then sorry for sure.
We did trace his position and find that he likes to burry his head low, with his back on Kristy’s left (our right when we are looking at her), his bottom pointing up and his legs across the rest of Kristy’s stomach. This totally explains why Jill always finds his heart beat on Kristy’s left side and his little show off Doppler sessions.
Anyways, we didn’t have to wait too long, we got in to Room 2 with Jayne again and she went right to work. She measured for due date, which came up right on schedule as February 28th to March 1st, plus or minus four or five days, which showed us at twenty-five weeks and one day for this appointment.
Next she measured the baby’s size and he came up in the 46.6 percentile, average is 50% so that was fine. He now measured to be one pound and 12 ounces, so he has definitely grown since the last ultrasound where he measured a meager 11 ounces. We toured around again, looked at his hands and feet and spine, listened to his heart, a lot of the same things we did in the October 7th ultrasound.
In the end, everything looked great and he was just sitting really low as we expected all along. So much for the urgent ultrasound, there was nothing much to worry about, but better safe then sorry for sure.
We did trace his position and find that he likes to burry his head low, with his back on Kristy’s left (our right when we are looking at her), his bottom pointing up and his legs across the rest of Kristy’s stomach. This totally explains why Jill always finds his heart beat on Kristy’s left side and his little show off Doppler sessions.
November 11th 2005
Collette finished up her call, “I love you, have a blessed day!”, so she could help Kristy. The call was for a lipstick order. During Kristy’s check in the phone rang again and was greeted with an exuberant “Hello…” Collette finished up the call quickly and got right back to Kristy, “Is your address still the same” followed promptly by “I love your necklace, I love both of them, but especially that one (as she points across the counter), my sisters family room has those colors, I love it!” Red walls with green couches and gold accents, oh yeah, she went into that much detail!
Kristy went back to take care of the brown bag ritual, satisfying the prenatal appointment gods. While she was doing this Collette was checking in someone else when a lady near me sneezed. “Bless You!” rang out loudly throughout the waiting room, from Collette of course. It was impressive, she did it in between breaths, never really stopping the check in process for the other lady, she just threw it out there in the middle of her sentence to the other lady. “Okay, you need a claim number….Bless You!.... and it should be like…”. Just like that, never missing a beat. But wait, it gets even better, someone else showed up and got in line behind the lady she was helping and when that lady was all checked in, she looked up and shouted “Come On Down”, I thought I was on The Price Is Right! I had never been so entertained while in a waiting room.
We started off with the standard routine, Kristy weighed in at 135 pounds, a slight increase of three pounds over the last visit. Then we were led to our room and the nurse took Kristy’s blood pressure, 102/58.
We were greeted with Jill, entering the room and looking at the blood pressure, “Beautiful Honey!” Then she said, “Today I want to mention child birth classes, you should be signing up for them soon” and I made a little note to call and schedule our tour, we already signed up for the weekend class at our delivery hospital.
Next Jill went over pre term labor and what those signs might be, water breaking early, not being able to breath (six times in one hour and we have to go to the hospital) and some private female stuff that I would rather not write about, ever.
Kristy asked what Braxton-Hicks contractions feel like and Jill said “Oh, you’ll know” evidently the belly gets really, really tight and hard.
Next appointment Kristy gets to take a diabetes test, she’ll drink a special elixir and then after an hour they will draw blood from her and test to make sure that sugar and iron levels are okay. She can only drink water the morning of so her sugar isn’t too high and the iron testing will let us know if she is anemic or not.
Jill said “Really nice necklace!” Kristy was just getting ton’s of compliments on this necklace, I think a cashier complimented her later in the day too! Then Jill told us that from this point on we will do away with the #/u measurement and measure in centimeters from the pubic bone to the top or roof of the uterus (the fundal height). The first measurement came up 21cm and then she re-measured and got 23cm, average is 24cm. She said we shouldn’t worry, he could be sitting low or sideways across Kristy’s stomach, that’s not uncommon, but she wanted to order an ultrasound just to make sure, “better safe then sorry”. Kristy told Jill that she can feel him sitting low and that is most probably what is happening.
Moving right along, it was time for the always fun listen to baby’s heart beat portion of the checkup. He was moving all around and Jill was having a hard time locking in on the whoosh. She said if she couldn’t get it then she could go off of the umbilical cord, it’s deeper sounding then the baby’s actual heart beat, but blood is moving in it at the same rate. Finally, she got it, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh and then he started showing off, pressing his back right up against the left side of Kristy’s stomach, our right if we were looking at her and the whoosh sounded more like WHOOSH, very loud, very strong. His heart rate was 140 beats per minute which was just fine.
That was it; we would be scheduled to be back in four weeks. She would mail us the results of the ultrasound sooner and we would be contacted if we had to come back earlier then four weeks.
Then, at the very end she asked me, specifically me if I had any questions. This is different because in the past it was always Kristy or “you guys” and never specifically me, but this time it was. I totally had a question like a week before that I was going to write down, but I didn’t and I in the heat of the moment I forgot so I had nothing. It was kind of like the time I thought I saw my friends stolen car, but forgot to look at the license plates because I was more focused on the two big guys getting into the car and eyeing me as I drove by for the third time, I totally forgot to look at the license plate. I still haven’t heard the end of that one at work!
Kristy went back to take care of the brown bag ritual, satisfying the prenatal appointment gods. While she was doing this Collette was checking in someone else when a lady near me sneezed. “Bless You!” rang out loudly throughout the waiting room, from Collette of course. It was impressive, she did it in between breaths, never really stopping the check in process for the other lady, she just threw it out there in the middle of her sentence to the other lady. “Okay, you need a claim number….Bless You!.... and it should be like…”. Just like that, never missing a beat. But wait, it gets even better, someone else showed up and got in line behind the lady she was helping and when that lady was all checked in, she looked up and shouted “Come On Down”, I thought I was on The Price Is Right! I had never been so entertained while in a waiting room.
We started off with the standard routine, Kristy weighed in at 135 pounds, a slight increase of three pounds over the last visit. Then we were led to our room and the nurse took Kristy’s blood pressure, 102/58.
We were greeted with Jill, entering the room and looking at the blood pressure, “Beautiful Honey!” Then she said, “Today I want to mention child birth classes, you should be signing up for them soon” and I made a little note to call and schedule our tour, we already signed up for the weekend class at our delivery hospital.
Next Jill went over pre term labor and what those signs might be, water breaking early, not being able to breath (six times in one hour and we have to go to the hospital) and some private female stuff that I would rather not write about, ever.
Kristy asked what Braxton-Hicks contractions feel like and Jill said “Oh, you’ll know” evidently the belly gets really, really tight and hard.
Next appointment Kristy gets to take a diabetes test, she’ll drink a special elixir and then after an hour they will draw blood from her and test to make sure that sugar and iron levels are okay. She can only drink water the morning of so her sugar isn’t too high and the iron testing will let us know if she is anemic or not.
Jill said “Really nice necklace!” Kristy was just getting ton’s of compliments on this necklace, I think a cashier complimented her later in the day too! Then Jill told us that from this point on we will do away with the #/u measurement and measure in centimeters from the pubic bone to the top or roof of the uterus (the fundal height). The first measurement came up 21cm and then she re-measured and got 23cm, average is 24cm. She said we shouldn’t worry, he could be sitting low or sideways across Kristy’s stomach, that’s not uncommon, but she wanted to order an ultrasound just to make sure, “better safe then sorry”. Kristy told Jill that she can feel him sitting low and that is most probably what is happening.
Moving right along, it was time for the always fun listen to baby’s heart beat portion of the checkup. He was moving all around and Jill was having a hard time locking in on the whoosh. She said if she couldn’t get it then she could go off of the umbilical cord, it’s deeper sounding then the baby’s actual heart beat, but blood is moving in it at the same rate. Finally, she got it, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh and then he started showing off, pressing his back right up against the left side of Kristy’s stomach, our right if we were looking at her and the whoosh sounded more like WHOOSH, very loud, very strong. His heart rate was 140 beats per minute which was just fine.
That was it; we would be scheduled to be back in four weeks. She would mail us the results of the ultrasound sooner and we would be contacted if we had to come back earlier then four weeks.
Then, at the very end she asked me, specifically me if I had any questions. This is different because in the past it was always Kristy or “you guys” and never specifically me, but this time it was. I totally had a question like a week before that I was going to write down, but I didn’t and I in the heat of the moment I forgot so I had nothing. It was kind of like the time I thought I saw my friends stolen car, but forgot to look at the license plates because I was more focused on the two big guys getting into the car and eyeing me as I drove by for the third time, I totally forgot to look at the license plate. I still haven’t heard the end of that one at work!
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