Pregnancy to Birth

Prior to having any pregnancies at all, Kenny and I met Meg and Jay. I think that it is important to mention them early on, as they are and will always be a huge part of our lives. We shared the next year together in pregnancy. Before that we spent three years together, doing whatever we could think of. Sometimes we drank from boots in New Orleans. Other times it was scrabble and box wine. We had all always talked about having children and supporting one another, well most of us did. I swear we are not mormon.

Let the story begin.

Following a miscarriage of mine, Meg decided that it was her time to try out the pregnancy idea. She would be sick for the next four months, without complaint. She and I are pretty different. I would become pregant three weeks after her. However, when I reached nine weeks I began to have complications yet again. Aparently, my placenta attaches too low. The emergency docs told me not to be too hopeful. My parents were doubtful, my friends worried, me, scared out of my mind. Kenny was on the brink of a nervous breakdown. I began taking a treatment to stay pregnant and I did, stay pregnant. Who knew?

The rest of my pregnancy was relatively uneventful. Meg, Kenny, Jay and I endured the rigors of pregnancy as a foursome treading water. Thank whoever that we had one another. At twenty weeks for Meg, and seventeen weeks for me, Meg asked me to come to the ultrasound for their baby. Everyone prefered boys but me. I wanted girls. Not just regular girls, but the real deal, shopping companion girls. At the ultrasound it was determined that Meg and Jay were having a girl. It was so wonderful to be part of this experience with them. I was able to watch their faces and see true unabashed emotion for this process and for one another. That's what made the next minute or two sort of uncomfortable. The ultrasound tech turned to me and asked if I wanted to be next. 1. Kenny wasn't there. 2. This was Meg's day. So, of course being the friend that she is, she encourged me to take this chance if I wanted it. I was really torn for a second.

Anyway, my baby was a girl too. All fingers and toes were accounted for. I felt such relief. Then I had to call Kenny and tell him what I had done. I married a nice man.

The next four months were about HGTV, namely Suzanne Wong. We saw a lot of movies. I spent a lot more time with my family. There was a lot of eating whatever I wanted. Towards the end of the pregancy, I began shouting out in pain whenever I got up and down. Kenny would reference some female tennis player, but I'm not that into sports.

When I was thirty seven weeks along I noticed that I had very wet yoga pants. I thought about peeing- if I had remembered doing so.. I hadn't. We called the ER and they told us to come in. We were so nervous and excited. I drove so that I could have some control over the situation. Plus, during the last ER trip Kenny took us to the wrong hospital. When the doc took a look he said that my fluid was a bit low and that I had peed. It didn't seem right. I had no memory of peeing and I certainly hadn't been drinking. I asked for an ultrasound the following week for a recheck. They agreed.

Meg, Kenny and I went for my recheck. I was thirty-seven and two days pregnant. They sent me directly to the OB ER. Do not go home. Do not pass go. Wow. We were super excited though. We were the kind of excited before the coolest day of your life excited. We had no f**king clue how hard life was about to become. In hindsight, it's like getting excited to get kicked in the teeth for the next several weeks.

I had an amnio to determine lung development and everything was a go after a few days in the perinatal unit. Kenny was like a monkey in a cage. When I look back at the pictures, he gets more and more homeless in appearance. Too funny.

They softened my cervix overnight on 11/11. That sucked. There was some crying. At six the next morning they wheeled me to labor and delivery and started my labor with drugs. The first resident that checked my cervix broke my water. It was such a cool feeling. I dialated quickly and by three was at 10cm. Obviously I was meant to have babies. I certainly was not meant for any catwalk. I had a lot of nausea during labor. This was unexpected. I really only felt back pain.

At three centimeters, I asked for the drugs. God bless my anistesiologist. I could still manuver. I pushed for several hours with my midwife that I had never met. She wanted me to do the craziest stunts. I stopped enjoying her at the trapeze request. Soon after, she called a doctor to check me. The doc said that the baby was sunny side up and had her head tilted. Turns out my guts would come out before Sloane would. Cool with me though. Enough is enough. She was born forty five minutes later. I had been throwing up for the majority of the procedure. I was pretty well knocked out by the time she made her debut. Kenny looked really happy though.

The first thing I said to Sloane was "my you have quite a snake tongue", and the adventure began.