On Tuesday, October 16th I called Hill at the end of my workday to let her know I was on my way home. I rode my bike the short uphill miles home and greeted both her and Jordan with my customary "Hey Guys!". She looked at me seriously and said, "We need to go for a drive." I said "Really?" She said "Yes, now!" I then put myself into top gear and changed out of my biking gear and into something more presentable for a baby delivery in about 30 seconds. Hill was quite impressed, especially since I was wearing spandex which takes extra effort to remove. It turns out while I was riding home Hill's water had broken and she had everything ready except for me.
With me clothed in more normal people appropriate clothes. I was speedily putting Jordan in his car seat and Hill was gingerly climbing into the front seat of the car. We set off at a fast pace (only slightly over the speed limit) to our friend Rachel's house so we could drop Jordan off while we went to the hospital. Rachel was home and ready to take Jordan when we arrived at her place and we were off to the hospital. About this point Hill's contractions were getting stronger and were about 4-6 minutes apart. She held on strong while we drove the final 25 minutes.
I dropped Hill off at the Women's Center so she could get in line to be admitted. To my great chagrin, after I parked the car and went in Hill was sitting on a seat waiting in line to be admitted. In front of her was a calm girl who was not in pain and looked rather board as the hospital worker filled in her information. With difficulty, we waited patiently while Hill's face turned red and pained as each contraction hit her. The worker must have noticed since she sped up and got Hill admitted.
At the Women's Center they have an area called Triage where the nurses separate the women ready for birth with those that just think they are. The nurse was very nice and got Hill dressed in a stylish open-backed hospital gown and fancy underwear. She then got us situated on a bed and promptly forgot about us. Ok, she most likely did not forget about us but we sat there for a good 45 minutes before she came back, and she really only came back because Hill was ready to puke and needed something to do it in. When the nurse checked her Hill was dilated to a 7. The nurse said, "You are handling this really well!" I think Hill was ready to punch her.
With me clothed in more normal people appropriate clothes. I was speedily putting Jordan in his car seat and Hill was gingerly climbing into the front seat of the car. We set off at a fast pace (only slightly over the speed limit) to our friend Rachel's house so we could drop Jordan off while we went to the hospital. Rachel was home and ready to take Jordan when we arrived at her place and we were off to the hospital. About this point Hill's contractions were getting stronger and were about 4-6 minutes apart. She held on strong while we drove the final 25 minutes.
I dropped Hill off at the Women's Center so she could get in line to be admitted. To my great chagrin, after I parked the car and went in Hill was sitting on a seat waiting in line to be admitted. In front of her was a calm girl who was not in pain and looked rather board as the hospital worker filled in her information. With difficulty, we waited patiently while Hill's face turned red and pained as each contraction hit her. The worker must have noticed since she sped up and got Hill admitted.
At the Women's Center they have an area called Triage where the nurses separate the women ready for birth with those that just think they are. The nurse was very nice and got Hill dressed in a stylish open-backed hospital gown and fancy underwear. She then got us situated on a bed and promptly forgot about us. Ok, she most likely did not forget about us but we sat there for a good 45 minutes before she came back, and she really only came back because Hill was ready to puke and needed something to do it in. When the nurse checked her Hill was dilated to a 7. The nurse said, "You are handling this really well!" I think Hill was ready to punch her.
As a side note, the Women's Center we went to usually delivers 6-7 babies a day. On the day the Natalie was born they delivered 13. The poor nurses were really overwhelmed so that is why things were slower than we would have liked.
Once the nurse discovered that Hill was indeed going to have a baby, she kicked things into high gear and got us in a delivery room. On the way she called the anesthesiologist who met us at the room. The new delivery nurse checked Hill as soon as she was on the hospital bed and said, "You are just one shade away from being ready to deliver." At this point the anesthesiologist saw that Hill only had half of the IV bag in her (she needed to have a whole one). The nurse then chimed in and said, "She is ready to deliver, we need to get the doctor." I will not grace you with Hill's response to all this drama (in addition to the third nurse who was insistent she filled all the blanks in on her forms), but needless to say the lack of an epidural was disheartening.
About this point the doctor came in and saved the day. He checked Hill and said, "This baby will be out in just a few pushes, probably in the next 5 minutes." Hill's spirits skyrocketed and we were off to the races. The nurses and doctor got all dressed up in their sterile gear and went to work. Hill pushed through one contraction and Natalie started to crown. She pushed through another contraction and poof! Out she came! She was the cutest, messiest little girl you ever did see! We finally had our little girl with us! She was 8 pounds, 7 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long. She was healthy and did not have any issues after the delivery. Hill's water broke shortly after 5 PM and Natalie was born at 7:37 PM. Talk about a fast delivery! I will need to take some emergency delivery classes for our next little one, just in case things go even faster!
It has been about a week now and mom and baby are doing fantastic. Natalie took to nursing like a champ and mom is adjusting to two kids instead of one. Suzie (Hill's mom) is here for extra support too and life is complete. We love our new family and look forward to the fun times ahead!
Proud Daddy
Happy Big Brother
Mommy, Daddy, and our new little girl.
Natalie all ready to head home.
Thank you for posting the birth story! wow hillary you are AMAZING way to go mama! i am so thrilled for your family- Miss Natalie is one lucky little girl being born into such an amazing family!! miss you guys!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! What a beautiful little girl and I love her name! That's crazy how fast it all happened (and sad you didn't get an epidural). Glad everyone is doing well!
ReplyDeleteThat was so fun to read that story. Thanks Preston! I wish I was there, I would have loved to hear you Hillary as this all came about. I can't believe how fast it went. Really, you better take some ER classes on delivery Preston, or maybe move closer to a hospital :) Glad all is well. Hillary I really enjoyed talking to you today. Natalie is beautiful. Take care and good luck on your trip if I don't talk to you before hand. You'll do great.
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