Matt's Version of the Birth: Part 1

Disclaimer: If you haven’t read Holli’s version it is a lot better, so read hers first.

Holli got to tell her version of the birth, or at least up to the baby flipping. I thought I would tell the husbands perspective. Holli’s story went back to 36 weeks, which I think is a good place for her to start, but I think I will take us back to day 1.

A little background before I begin. Holli and I are poor. Ok that about covers it. We had been trying to conceive for about 8 months with no luck. I know that’s not something you want to think about so look at this picture of Gary Busey to get your mind off that subject….

Ok now were back… We were getting discouraged and Holli’s periods were all over the place…now go back to Gary…that’s better, so we didn’t really know if she was late or pregnant half the time. So one day Holli took a test and it was negative and we thought better luck next time. Time went on with no period and I thought it was God’s mercy on me sparing me for one month. Then one morning Holli woke me up, probably at about 10 am or so (those were the days) and told me, “Matt I think I’m pregnant.” I asked in a sleepy stupor, “Why because you’re late?” She replied, “No, because I have a positive pregnancy test.” Talk about a wakeup call! So we moved this conversation to the couch. We just kind of sat there and said things like, “Now what?” and “So we’re having a baby.” I then lovingly looked my wife in the eyes and was the most honest and emotionally open I had ever been in our relationship and said, “You know I have no clue how to take care of a child, right?” A little background story. I had no clue how to take care of a child. That is one reason I married my wife. She will be an awesome Mom and hopefully be able to undo all the crazy stuff I do. At least it had worked well in our marriage so far.

Fast forward a little bit. As Holli said the pregnancy was a breeze. No morning sickness, no crazy… Back story. My Mom got crazy when she was pregnant. Sorry Mom. I assumed Holli would too, but I was wrong. She was more calm and collected than normal. Not that she was ever crazy, but every woman is at that time of the month. Remember Gary is there whenever you need him. During the pregnancy I learned about taking care of infants. Holli loves to read books about stuff and she had a ton of Pregnancy books. She would always say, “You should read this book it’s really good.” I was say, “Ok.” Which really meant ”,I would rather be pregnant and give birth to a child then read a book about it.” We also went to birthing classes. Those weren’t that bad, but I saw more naked women then I ever wanted to see.

Fast forward more. We are at 36 weeks and go to the doctors. The midwife, she who shall not be named, told us that our child was breech and Holli needed to have a C-Section. She did it in such a way that I wanted to kick-punch her (that’s a kick and punch at the same time), but that is just kind of how she is. So we needed to re-think some things. Holli really wanted a natural birth and I told her I didn’t really have an opinion as long as she had it in a hospital I was cool with whatever she wanted to do. I felt bad for her because she had her heart set on certain things and I wanted her to be happy. After meeting with Doctor McMillan the OB or as I like to call our appointments “Chillin with McMillan,” he was very good about explaining everything. He had an odd sense of humor. He once told us our child felt like she was big and told Holli to take up smoking so she didn’t get too big. I thought that was hilarious!

We set up our Version aka flipping the baby for Saturday. We called the hospital Saturday and they said they were full and to call back on Sunday. Sure enough Sunday morning we went to have the procedure done. It took about half the day, but the actual flipping part was like 5 minutes. They gave Holli and Epidural and then the Doctor went to work. It was like he was wrestling a midget in a burlap sack. He really put some muscle into that thing, but to no avail. We knew that failure was an option but still hoped it would work. So we set up the C-Section for Jan 18th. Even though our plans changed we still had a plan, an exact time and day even. Little did we know our plans would change! Nothing is certain when giving birth.

Ketchup.

Yes, I've used this title for a post before, and yes, I'm using it in the same sense of the word. I thought it was clever then and I still think that, so for my post about all the happenings over the last...month (? eek!) I'm going right ahead and calling it my ketchup post.

And while we are on the subject of ketchup, I remember as a child 1. loving ketchup beyond reason, but most importantly 2. having a small orange cup (70's tupperware style) with the word 'ketchup' printed vertically up the side of the cup. This came to mind as I pondered the appropriateness of duplicating post titles, and it made me happy. Another reason I stuck with it:)

Ok, on to the matter at hand. My last post- June first- detailed my 5k victory. Matt has since filled our blog with delicious recipes, and every so often given me the 'when are you going to post about that doctor appointment?' guilt trip, so here I am. Because we have a lot of ground to cover, and because I like organization, I am detailing the contents of this post below. This is also an aid to you readers who may or may not want to read all my ramblings- feel free to skip to the most interesting section.

1. First OB appointment

2. Mom's visit

3. Free fridays

4. Sunbeams

Number one.

My first OB appointment was June 7th. I'm going to August Health Care for Women. Its about 40 minutes away but is an awesome facility. I would have gone there based on reputation anyhow, but recently the birthing center at Stonewall Jackson Hospital closed, so it really was the closest option I had. Matt is a little bummed about that, mainly because I promised him long ago that if we had a child at SJH, and if it was a boy, his middle name could be Stonewall. Sorry Matt, no chance now.

I met with a CNM (certified nurse midwife) who I had heard good things about. I have been reading all sorts of pregnancy books, so I had some idea of what to expect; blood work, pelvic exam, etc., but a few things did take me by surprise. Can we just say, vaginal ultrasound? Not only did I not know that this would be the type of ultrasound I would have, I didn't know that this type of ultrasound even existed. The rest of the appointment went without a hitch. I met with Mary, and Mom and Matt waited out front since I had the pelvic exam and all. I went and grabbed them and went to the ultrasound room where we waited for Betsy, another CNM. An assistant came in and handed me a blanket with the instructions "bottom's off." This should have been a clue for me, but I figured they just didn't want my pants getting in the way of my waistline. I try to keep this blog G-rated, so I won't give you all the details, but suffice it to say that I had no clue the police-baton shaped probe would be inside of me rather than rubbed on my belly. Here I sat, legs in stirrups, Matt and Mom ooh-ing at seeing the peanut shaped creature with little limbs, just wondering how long this thing is gonna take. Not quite what I pictured my first ultrasound to be. I'm assuming they had to do this kind of procedure because it was so early in my pregnancy- I just wish I would have had some inclination of that before I sat so uncomfortably looking at the baby inside of me!

Aside from the uncomfortable nature of this moment, it was really cool to actually see that little baby so early on. I also was given a projected due date: January 21st! This comes at a precarious time- my birthday is the 15th and Matt's is the 25th. We'll have to have a survey when things get a little closer to see whose birthday you all think the baby will be born closest to.

Here's the little peanut at 7 or so weeks. The circle to the left is the yolk sack. We are looking at the baby with its head on the bottom and a little limb poking out on the top right.

Number two.

Whilst this OB visit was happening, my dear mother came to visit! She came as a Mother's Day gift from us kids, and it was great to spend some time with her. We jaunted around Lexington, got pedicures (so nice on a hot day!), went antique shopping, floated down the Maury, did a little shopping and relaxed. My energy level dictated some of the trip, but it was so fun to be able to take her around to my office and show her the fun little rural place that we live.

Number three.

I think I've mentioned before that I have a great job. If you haven't heard that, let it be known now that I absolutely love what I do. Number three is just one more reason- my boss recently introduced our summer schedule. Basically, she worked out a way to reward us for all the hard work we are doing and are going to have to do this summer by arranging 6 free fridays that we are each assigned this summer. No late hours, so pay cut, no annual leave taken- just straight free days! See what I mean? I have an awesome job. I have already enjoyed 2 of these Fridays. Since my energy is shot by the time I come home from work, these days have given me a chance to catch up on housework and other things I just don't get around to like I used to. Thank you, free Fridays!

Number four.

Matt and I were recently called to teach the 3-4 year old class at church. Our little sunbeams are always a treat. Our class can sometimes be 6 or 7 kids, which is a handful, but man are they cute! We always end up coming home and talking about the funny things they say. Today was a rough day, but Matt told the story of David and Goliath and they were MESMERIZED! While the last child was waiting for his parents to come pick him up he asked if he could play David and Goliath. He was David, Matt was the giant, and he told us step by step what he needed to do, starting with saying a prayer before he picked up his sling! Another kid, while talking about things that we learn to do, asked if we knew how to become zombies. I answered that I didn't, but apparently if you don't go to sleep you become a zombie. Thanks for the info kid, I'll make sure I get some sleep:)

Whew. That was a mouthful. Ok, now that I've got that off my chest, I'm going to watch design star. Farewell!