running on fumes

At 10:45pm yesterday, my mother got a call from Gerrit my sister’s boyfriend. “Are you ready?” he asked. “Am I ready?” mom repeated. “Amanda’s water broke,” he said.

As we quickly got ready to head to the hospital, phone calls were made and text messages were sent to various friends and family. My other sister, Corryn, called her boyfriend, Phil, and he came over. Corryn and Phil drove over to the hospital in his car, and I rode with my mom.

It having been my day off, I hadn’t been wearing any makeup, so I did a light application in the car. “You’re putting on makeup to go to the hospital?” my mom asked. “Well you never know when you might see a cute doctor,” I said, “or a nurse. I’ll take a male nurse.”

“Or a female one, for that matter,” my mom shot back. Absolutely priceless.

yadda yadda. We get to the hospital, and meet up with Gerrit’s family who’s already in the waiting room. We all chill out and watch tv for a bit, but after an hour, Corryn is ready to go home. I was about ready to go home then too, but having come in the same car as my mother, I didn’t quite want to leave. Corryn and Phil, as well as Gerrit’s dad and sister left, while I and Gerrit’s mom stayed.

The only people allowed in the room with Amanda during the entire labor and delivery were the two people she had designated as her coaches–my mother, and Gerrit. So for the entire 13 hours that she was in labor, we sat cooped up in the waiting room. Sleep was barely an option, as every time I started to doze off, someone opened the waiting room door, and startled me awake again.

She progressed rather slowly, and I was informed by my mother that the baby was posterior, and as a result, Amanda was having all back labor, from her shoulders all the way down past her bum. She took Demoral (or an equivalent) early in her labor, but did not want an epidural. She, however, ended up getting one after about 7 or 8 hours.

After the epidural, (if I am correct, i may have some facts mixed up) they put her on a pitocin drip to speed up the labor. At 9:30 am, she began to push, and at 10:22am, Nevea Isabelle was born. She was 6lbs, 2oz, and 19.5″ long. Her hair at the moment is blondish, her eyes are blue-grey, and she is the most gorgeous thing I have ever lain (lay? laid?) my eyes on.

Amanda was finally moved into her room just before visiting hours officially began at noon, but the baby had to stay in the nursery under a warming lamp. It seems she inherited the Twisdale natural low-body temp (I am usually around 96 degrees myself–if my temperature is 98.6, it means I have a low-grade fever) but all the doctors and nurses saw was that baby’s temperature was low *rolling my eyes*

Exhausted from having stayed up the entire night, I attempted to call off work, but they wouldn’t let me. I got a shower when I got home, and promptly fell asleep when I decided “I’ll just lay down for ten minutes.” As a result, I was 20 minutes late to work. Oh well, my last day is tomorrow anyway.

An ice storm attempted to make sure that customers stayed away, although it was not entirely successful. It did, however, succeed in making sure that three of my cashiers called off for the weather, and getting me stuck in the parking lot when I tried to go home at the end of my shift. My boss, one of the 3rd shift guys, and some random guy in the parking lot ended up having to push me out.

I have not slept, save for the inadvertant napping this afternoon, and the dozing at the hospital, in almost 36 hours. woo. *collapses*

the end.