The following is taken from a journal that I took to the hospital with me. It tells the story of Alyse’s Birth Day.
(This is something that I would really suggest to those of you who may be having a baby in the near future. I took it and a bunch of people- Joy, my mom, Josh, and my sister (mainly her) all wrote out what was going on. I am so glad that I have this journal, because since I was so sick, I really don’t remember a lot of what happened. It is great that I have this to look back on. We continued through our whole stay at the hospital and her first few days home – about the first week of her life. Then Josh and I each wrote her a little letter at the end. It is a great keepsake.)
This was all written on Thursday, March 1st, 2007 – March 2nd
8:55 am – Louann, my nurse, is starting a Pitocin drip which will start contractions. Dr. Godsey is on call. As all this is going on we are discussing how my child might come out Mexican because of all the Qdoba I ate while I was pregnant.
10:00 am – My parents arrive
11:00 am to 1:00 pm - I watched Gilmore Girls.
1:00 pm – Danielle arrives from a half day of work. Dr. Godsey comes in to check on me, but there isn’t much progress yet. Everyone leaves to go get lunch, except for Josh. He stays to assist – or really to watch the Bourne Idenity.
3:00 pm – It is raining outside, and the sound of Alyse’s heartbeat is strong. My family comes back to the hospital room. I am holding Josh’s hand because I am starting to feel contractions. I jokingly told Josh that, “I don’t like this” and “I changed my mind. I want to go home.” Josh says no because he likes watching my contractions on the monitor.
4:00 pm – The cell phones are ringing, actually buzzing.
List of calls:
Joy calls every 2 hours for her update
Sherry van Almen (Josh’s mom)
Amy Corbett (She says she will let our small group know how we are.)
Erica Johnson (my college roommate)
Kim McCutcheon (She says that she will tell everyone at school how I am.)
Jonathan Siegelin (One of Josh and my best friends)
Tom van Almen (Josh’s dad)
Larry Brey (He says that he will tell everyone at the office how I am.)
4:15 pm – The contractions are starting to get more intense. I start to feel really sick. My nurse gives me phenergan to make me feel better.
4:55 pm – I fall asleep. Josh is entertaining with his cop stories.
4:58 pm – Dr. Godsey comes to tell us that things are moving pretty slow. He kicks everyone out to check me. I am 100% effaced and dilated 4.5 cm. He decides to break my water to try to speed things up. I tell the nurse that my pain is around a level 4.
5:30 pm – I have started to get really sick, but finally fall asleep. Everyone discusses how I might have this baby sleeping. Joy arrives, but then her and Danielle leave for a Starbucks run, while my parents bond with some lady named Betty in the waiting room.
7:00 pm – SICK!!!!!! I am very nauseated and am having strong contractions.
7:30 pm – They examine me again. I am only at 5 cm. They decide to give me an epidural hoping that I will feel better.
7:45 pm – Epidural
8:15 pm – Joy, Danielle, and my mom all come to see me, but are quickly kicked out by my nurse. She says I need my rest so I can push later. Josh decides that he has to eat something. Joyce arrives and everyone enjoys some family time together in the waiting area.
8:30 pm – Josh is allowed back in. No one else is.
9:06 pm – Code Red: The fire alarm goes off.
9:45 pm – Joy tries to come back in to see me, but they don’t let her.
10:30 pm – I finally wake up. Joy is allowed to come see me. Everyone else is watching the UNC game. Everyone takes turns coming in to see me, but I still feel really sick and don’t have much energy. Joy hears the nurses discussing me at the nurse’s station. They say it doesn’t look like I am going to have a baby anytime soon.
11:00 pm – The decision is made for me to have a C-section. I was fine with that and in high spirits. The nurses prep me for surgery. Josh puts on his white jump suit, which is very short on him. Hugs, Kisses, Pictures, Prayers.
11:43 pm – Alyse Nicole vanAlmen is born! 7lbs. 1 oz. 20in.
Around 12 am - Josh says that right after I saw Alyse for the first time and was sick a few more times I fell asleep again. I woke up about half an hour later in the recovery room where Josh was sitting beside me hold the most precious little girl ever!
12:54 am – Josh finally comes out to give everyone the news. I am in recovery, sleeping. Everyone is waiting…..
1:52 am – Josh comes to get the happy grandparents and 2 aunts. (Danielle and Joy)
Aunt Danielle gets to hold her first. Grammy cries – a lot. There is a lot of excitement and everyone agrees that she was worth the wait!
That was a crazy, long, day, but a really good day! When I finally got to hold her, I realized it was all worth it.
(This is something that I would really suggest to those of you who may be having a baby in the near future. I took it and a bunch of people- Joy, my mom, Josh, and my sister (mainly her) all wrote out what was going on. I am so glad that I have this journal, because since I was so sick, I really don’t remember a lot of what happened. It is great that I have this to look back on. We continued through our whole stay at the hospital and her first few days home – about the first week of her life. Then Josh and I each wrote her a little letter at the end. It is a great keepsake.)
This was all written on Thursday, March 1st, 2007 – March 2nd
8:55 am – Louann, my nurse, is starting a Pitocin drip which will start contractions. Dr. Godsey is on call. As all this is going on we are discussing how my child might come out Mexican because of all the Qdoba I ate while I was pregnant.
10:00 am – My parents arrive
11:00 am to 1:00 pm - I watched Gilmore Girls.
1:00 pm – Danielle arrives from a half day of work. Dr. Godsey comes in to check on me, but there isn’t much progress yet. Everyone leaves to go get lunch, except for Josh. He stays to assist – or really to watch the Bourne Idenity.
3:00 pm – It is raining outside, and the sound of Alyse’s heartbeat is strong. My family comes back to the hospital room. I am holding Josh’s hand because I am starting to feel contractions. I jokingly told Josh that, “I don’t like this” and “I changed my mind. I want to go home.” Josh says no because he likes watching my contractions on the monitor.
4:00 pm – The cell phones are ringing, actually buzzing.
List of calls:
Joy calls every 2 hours for her update
Sherry van Almen (Josh’s mom)
Amy Corbett (She says she will let our small group know how we are.)
Erica Johnson (my college roommate)
Kim McCutcheon (She says that she will tell everyone at school how I am.)
Jonathan Siegelin (One of Josh and my best friends)
Tom van Almen (Josh’s dad)
Larry Brey (He says that he will tell everyone at the office how I am.)
4:15 pm – The contractions are starting to get more intense. I start to feel really sick. My nurse gives me phenergan to make me feel better.
4:55 pm – I fall asleep. Josh is entertaining with his cop stories.
4:58 pm – Dr. Godsey comes to tell us that things are moving pretty slow. He kicks everyone out to check me. I am 100% effaced and dilated 4.5 cm. He decides to break my water to try to speed things up. I tell the nurse that my pain is around a level 4.
5:30 pm – I have started to get really sick, but finally fall asleep. Everyone discusses how I might have this baby sleeping. Joy arrives, but then her and Danielle leave for a Starbucks run, while my parents bond with some lady named Betty in the waiting room.
7:00 pm – SICK!!!!!! I am very nauseated and am having strong contractions.
7:30 pm – They examine me again. I am only at 5 cm. They decide to give me an epidural hoping that I will feel better.
7:45 pm – Epidural
8:15 pm – Joy, Danielle, and my mom all come to see me, but are quickly kicked out by my nurse. She says I need my rest so I can push later. Josh decides that he has to eat something. Joyce arrives and everyone enjoys some family time together in the waiting area.
8:30 pm – Josh is allowed back in. No one else is.
9:06 pm – Code Red: The fire alarm goes off.
9:45 pm – Joy tries to come back in to see me, but they don’t let her.
10:30 pm – I finally wake up. Joy is allowed to come see me. Everyone else is watching the UNC game. Everyone takes turns coming in to see me, but I still feel really sick and don’t have much energy. Joy hears the nurses discussing me at the nurse’s station. They say it doesn’t look like I am going to have a baby anytime soon.
11:00 pm – The decision is made for me to have a C-section. I was fine with that and in high spirits. The nurses prep me for surgery. Josh puts on his white jump suit, which is very short on him. Hugs, Kisses, Pictures, Prayers.
11:43 pm – Alyse Nicole vanAlmen is born! 7lbs. 1 oz. 20in.
Around 12 am - Josh says that right after I saw Alyse for the first time and was sick a few more times I fell asleep again. I woke up about half an hour later in the recovery room where Josh was sitting beside me hold the most precious little girl ever!
12:54 am – Josh finally comes out to give everyone the news. I am in recovery, sleeping. Everyone is waiting…..
1:52 am – Josh comes to get the happy grandparents and 2 aunts. (Danielle and Joy)
Aunt Danielle gets to hold her first. Grammy cries – a lot. There is a lot of excitement and everyone agrees that she was worth the wait!
That was a crazy, long, day, but a really good day! When I finally got to hold her, I realized it was all worth it.
*Please note - I know that I am not looking my best, but remember that I was in labor, sick, and just had a c-section!!!! :)
3 Comments:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Reading this entry made me cry as if I was watching an episode of Oprah or something. Our days seemed to be very similar, and you're right, it was a long day, but one of THE best days of my life! I love the idea of the journal!