Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The Last Night of Two

Tuesday, December 4th, was really my last day of life like I knew it.  We would go to the hospital that night at midnight to begin induction.  Jaggar came into my room early that morning, and he laid beside me.  I was so glad for that, not that he couldn't do it again, but things would definitely be different.  I, of course, felt like I had to finish up the rest of the year's business that day, which was impossible.  We had been frantically trying to teach Mom how to care for Sage, and it was scary.  She was nervous.  I was definitely nervous.  But after a few days, I felt like she could do it.  Because she had to and there was no sense in making myself sick over it.  I had a final OB appointment at 2:15 that afternoon that I kept forgetting about.  Mom and Mema offered to take me to Classic on Noble for lunch that afternoon, which I gladly accepted.  It was so nice and beautifully decorated for Christmas.  Christmas.  I wasn't ready for that.  It didn't feel like it was even Christmastime!  I walked past my reflection and thought about how this was my last day of pregnancy.  I thought that I had worn it well.  People still couldn't believe that I was at the END of it.  

When I did go to the doctor after lunch, I got my final pregnancy poundage added up:  26 lbs.  As much as I freaked out about the adding numbers in the weeks before, at that point, I thought, "Not too bad when you consider all that's in there."  I was good with it.  Then I went to see Dr Collins.  This was where we would see exactly where we were at and estimate an ETA of baby.  And the verdict?  MAYBE a centimeter.  But zero effacement.  And then, while checking that, he says, "Hang on just a sec."  Enter screams from me.  "Sorry!  Sorry.  Hang on!.....Annnd there."  "WHAT are you doing???"  "Sorry. That is called sweeping the membranes."  "Well, could you have WARNED Me that you were doing that?  My GOD!"  "So sorry."  He's holding my hand as I'm sweating thinking I may pass out or throw up.  I said, "Um you shouldn't just DO that."  So sorry. he says, "but that should speed things up some.  Otherwise we'd be in for another 6pm like the last time."  Um I MAY have been okay with that. I said, "Do you have any idea what that feels like?"  He laughed, "Yeah, I do."  Um...really?  No uterus, no opinion, baby.   Here is what sweeping the membranes is.  I honestly laughed at that definition.  The words "gently" and "easily" belong nowhere in that description, I'll tell you that.  After apologizing again and again and fanning me, he said that he'd see me in the morning, and we should expect a baby sometime after lunch.  I asked if my water was going to break on its own now and if I'd have a baby by midnight.  Very doubtful, he laughed.  But after that visit, contractions did start.  And they were there throughout the evening of me trying to get ready and enjoy my children.  I was still so upset that he'd just done that without asking or telling because it put a cramp (literally) in my style for the rest of the day.  And I was like, "Am I going in labor?"  I had no idea, but I really didn't have time to do anything other than what I was already doing.  I did finish getting ready and packing by about 10 that night.  Then I decided I'd lay on the couch to see exactly how close the contractions were.  I figured since I was capable that I didn't have to fly to the hospital.  I really just didn't know.

Here's the kids before they went to bed and after they'd done their Christmas presents from grandparents.


 Notice Jaggar's zoo on top of his bookcase.  That's not even half of those animals either.
 This is for Elizabeth to show that I, too, can mess up a picture.


 I didn't find myself to be as emotional as I was when I went to have Jaggar, and that's prob because I was miserable.  The only thing I decided to do was wait a few more hours.

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