May
5
2012
Sunday morning, April 29, we sort of suspected that Zoe was on her way. We thought perhaps she had broken her water and then plugged it with her head, which happens with a small percentage of pregnancies. We went in into the hospital only to be told three hours later, after some tests, that it was a false alarm. We were disappointed but not suprised.
That night we went to bed just before midnight, and at about 2am on April 30th, Jessie had got up to use the bathroom and suddenly Zoe kicked very hard. Jessie's water was decidedly broken at that point. We made it to the hospital about fifteen minutes later and after a very brief examination in Triage they transferred us to our room on the third floor of the Pavillion for Women and Children. We were concerned that Jessie hadn't been having contractions before her water broke, but after they hooked us up to the monitoring equipment we discovered that she was having them but not noticing them and that she'd dilated to almost three centimeters.
Once we were settled in the room, and had sent notices out people that labor had finally started, we tried to get some sleep since we'd only had a couple of hours of sleep so far that night. However, it was a little like being at some else's house and waiting for Christmas morning to get there; we were sleeping in strange beds and excited enough that sleep was just not going to happen. Of course it didn't help that there was a nurse checking on Jessie every hour or so.
At about 6 or 7 am we decided we couldn't sleep and just gave up on it. At that time the contractions were about 3 - 5 minutes apart and were weak enough that they weren't that uncomfortable. We occupied our time talking about who had shown up in the waiting room so far and updating friends and family who couldn't be there via text messages and Facebook.
Things just cruised along until about 10am, when the contractions started getting strong enough that Jessie had to focus and breathe when they were going on, and were getting more regular. Jessie had gotten to be dilated to about six centimeters, but at this point we had our one and only complication: vomit. The contractions were stressing Jessie's system enough that her body was responding by throwing up.
At around noon, we decided that as much as we wanted to have a totally natural birth, we were going to have to do something to moderate the labor's intensity. We decided that we'd get Jessie started on an epidural, because that had the least impact on Zoe even though getting it set up was much more scary for Jessie. The anesthesiologist was awesome, and getting the epidural started went smoothly with none of the complications that can arise. The relief for Jessie was immediate and the pain levels dropped down to the point where Jessie was able to relax and even sleep for a while, even though the monitoring was showing the contractions were getting more regular and intense. From there on out the pain was very managable. The only bummer was that the stress on Jessie's body was still causing her to throw up every once in a while. We actually ran the hospital out of vomit bags on the floor we were on and they provided us with a bucket to use instead.
Three-thirty in the afternoon the nurse came in and checked our progress and announced we were fully dilated and just had a little lip left that needed to go away before we could push. Our doctor had to go and perform a C-section on another patient, which they expected to take about an hour, and then she was going to come back and check on us again.
About 5pm our nurse came in and checked us, and we were ready to go. Jessie still wasn't feeling much pain, and it took some trial and error for her to identify the pressure that signalled a contraction was starting so she knew when to push. The nurse walked us through the first hour or so of pushing, and then the doctor arrived and the real excitement began. While the doctor was gowning up they were transforming the bed into a delivery table and setting up the stirrups. They called for the nurses who would focus on the baby once she arrived and the doctor started Jessie pushing harder than she had before. Jessie pushed through two contractions, and then on the third one, at 7:09pm, Zoe was out and onto mom's chest while they cleaned her up and started all the after birth procedures. There are a surprising amount of after birth procedures, but they are all kind of a blur for me. My beautiful daughter had arrived and we could finally begin the process of getting to know her.
Say hi to Zoe Ramona Gillespie. She was 9 pounds, 8 ounces and 20 inches long.
Apr
26
2012
So we went to the doctor's office on Tuesday, and the doctor had some bad news. From the position of the baby, and the current state of all of the stuff that has to line up to allow the baby a smooth exit from mom, it looks like we're in for at least another week. Since today is Thursday, that means that we're looking like a revised due date of May 1st.
It was disappointing to hear, but it was also a bit of a relief to be able to get out of continuous wait mode. That doesn't mean that things can't happen faster than that, but in most cases it does.
In the mean time, Jessie and I are doing our best to make sure that she and, to a lesser extent, I are getting enough sleep and generally taking it easy. The swelling in Jessie's feet and hands is getting persistently more uncomfortable as Zoe gets bigger and bigger. This means that it's hard for Jessie to move around much, and at the same time we get tired of just sitting around the house playing video games and watching TV.
On the more entertaining side of things, we've already started with the nicknames for Zoe. Lately we've been referring to her as Zoe-bear or Kickie-bear when we're talking her. Usually she's Kickie-bear when she's putting something sharp into someplace rather uncomfortable for Jessie.
It's been so long now since we first found out about Zoe in late August that at times it feels like we've been waiting for her to get here forever. I guess a few more days won't hurt.
Apr
17
2012
With the birth of our little one imminent it seems like a good idea to go over the plan for the birth, or at least the part of it that addresses potential visitors and helpers.
For the first little bit of the labor process, Jessie and I will be at home. We’ll notify a few key people like the soon to be grandparents and immediate family, but we really don’t want to have visitors. Current thinking among the medical community is that moms are better off and more comfortable at home during the early stages of labor, so that’s where we’ll be. Once we hit one of a few key milestones in the process we’ll proceed to the birthing center, and we’ll notify people who have asked us to notify them at that time.
The Providence Everett hospital has a Pavillion for Women and Children, and that’s where the birth will be taking place. There is a parking garage on Nassau street for visitors, and a set of stairs that goes from the parking garage down to the Women’s Pavilion. For those of you who would like to be there when Zoe arrives, driving directions are here. HOWEVER, no one will be allowed inside the birthing suite until after Zoe is born and Jessie and the baby have had a brief period of time to get to know each other and recover from the birthing process. There are two big waiting rooms on the same floor as the birthing suite that we will be in and friends and family who wish to be on location during the big event will be able to wait there.
After delivery is over we will be staying at the women’s center for a day or so, and if you’d like to visit us there we’d love to see you and show off our little girl. Please call first to make sure that there isn’t a crowd of people there already, and that we’re not resting.
Once our stay at the women’s center is over then we’ll be getting settled in at home, and we anticipate the first week or so that we’ll be pretty tired. Again, we’ll be happy to have a few visitors at a time as long as we’re not napping, so feel free to call us up and see if we’re ok with visitors. If you’d like to help out during that period of time we know we’ll need food, and someone to walk the dogs. Other than that we’re not sure what we’ll need.
For the first few weeks after Zoe is born her immune system will still be forming, so if you’re coming over with the hope of holding the baby be prepared for a barrage of questions about shots and how recently you’ve washed your hands. There has been an outbreak of whooping cough in Snohomish County, and even the common flu could be extreemely hazardous for Zoe. So if you’ve been sick recently, saw someone who was sick, thought about being sick, or even read the word sick recently please be sure to let us know when you call. We’ve already had our parents go out and get their TDAP and Flu shots updated at our doctor’s recommendation, so you can see how strongly we feel about this.
As soon as we’re recovered, and we’re sure that Zoe is up for it, we’ll be getting out of the house and visiting people. We know our friends and family will love Zoe as much as we do, and we want you all to get a chance to meet her and get to know her as well!
Now we’re just waiting on Zoe to get this whole thing started…
Apr
10
2012
I am really, really, REALLY terrible at waiting; I would tell you that I’ve gotten better at it, but all that means is that there are a couple less ‘really’s’ in the previous statement now than there were in previous years.
Waiting for Zoe is the hardest thing we’ve done since – I don’t know, ever? The closest thing to which I can equate this feeling is the last few days before when Brian and I got married, only this time I’m carrying around a 45 lb. weight that I can never put down, and we don’t know when the actual day of the wedding happens to be: we might get woken up in the middle of the night to say our vows, during which strangers will watch my bare ass as I’m in tremendous pain for an indeterminate amount of time.
So… essentially, yes, it is like being in the middle of the strangest dream of my life. The only thing missing is a horde of zombies and a cat with a top hat and monocle.
All this to meet this amazing little person who already has a definite personality (stubborn and curious), complete with likes (when I play Rock Band drums, or Brian talks to her when he gets home from work) and dislikes (the heart rate monitor at the doctor’s office, or when I eat ice cream). The doctor is guessing she’ll be about 8-8.5 lbs. when she’s born, which is simultaneously incredibly tiny and incredibly huge to my brain. A person who’s 8 lbs? That’s smaller than our cat! But then I held my friend’s 9 lb. son who was about 3 weeks old not too long ago, and it verges on psychedelic to think that I have someone inside of me who’s almost that big.
Basically, I’m going nuts at the moment. We’re as prepared as we could get at this point, down to the diaper service, over-packed hospital bag, and even decorative shelves hung in the baby’s room. No wonder people come up with all these crazy ‘tried and true’ things to make baby come earlier – at some point, your poor hormone-charged brain convinces you to do something, ANYTHING to make the madness end. I can tell you right now, though, that nothing will make this child go anywhere until she’s good and ready… hopefully, that’s really, really soon. I don’t know if I could take zombies and gentlemen felines at this point in the game.
Apr
8
2012
Well, I know I said thirty days and counting not that long ago, but that changed last Thursday when we had our last doctor’s appointment. The doctor was poking around and measuring to evaluate current progress, and looked up and announced that Zoe’s head had dropped down into Jessie’s pelvis and now he could only find her shoulders. For those of you who don’t know, this is a one way path; once a baby drops into position they don’t come back out. Officially we are half way through week 37, but at this point Zoe could be born at any time with minimal chance of complications. She will be considered full term on Thursday.
Now everything depends on how fast Jessie’s body prepares for the start of active labor. It could be a day, or it could be a couple more weeks. The good news is that Zoe is head down like she should be, and she’s facing the best way to make things as comfortable as possible for both mom and baby.
We’re now on high alert and very excited. Our phones are always on and charged up, and I’ve made sure to keep my phone at top volume so I can be sure to hear it if Jessie calls me.
Its Easter Sunday, and we are going to be at church and then off to Jessie’s parents house in Mount Vernon about 45 minutes away from home. Even though I know that labor doesn’t happen like it does in the movies and once it kicks off the process will take several hours, I still have the little voice in the back of my head the wants to worry about how far away from the hospital we’ll be. I’m not worried enough to call off Easter Sunday with Jessie’s parents by any means, but its funny how illogical worry can be.
Here’s hoping that Zoe shows up sooner rather than later!