The deluge began sometime during the night, and hasn't let up. It's predicted to stay the same, with the occasional addition of "wintry mix", for the next 10 days, which is as far ahead as I can check the forecast online.
Jet doesn't mind. We've had multiple conversations just like this:
*cue thunder*
Jet (eyes wide, with sharp intake of breath): "Mommy! What is dat?"
Me: "I don't know, Jet. What is it?"
Jet: "Dat's TUN-DER!"
*cue more thunder*
Jet: "LOOK, Mommy, LOOK! MORE TUN-DER!"
Me: "Yes, Jet. More tunder."
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Where'd we put that ark?
The Day the World Tilted on its Axis
Today I think I'll write the story of Jet's birth. I've never written it all out before, and I really want to do it.
I had a wonderful pregnancy. Jet was conceived in September, and I taught the entire year. The only days I missed were because I had a head cold and couldn't take any DayQuil.
We knew that once we started a family, we would move closer to our families. So, two weeks before Jet's due date, we did. My wonderful sister (five years younger than I am, who I think is the Beezneez, and shall henceforth be known as such) cleaned my entire apartment for me. I still owe her for that.
Knight and my brother (eight years younger than I am, MusicMan) loaded the UHaul and drove the 3 1/2 hours to my parents' house where we would await Jet's arrival. We planned to find another place to live after that.
Side note: I have another wonderful sister who is the youngest of our family, 12 years younger than I am. She is tiny and completely adorable. She shall be called Shortie, as she has been for years, with much affection.
I gave my last final exam, graded it, and walked (er, waddled) out of the school. I picked up Beezneez at our apartment and we drove to my parents' house.
For the next two weeks, many people sat around and stared at me, waiting for me to pop and making stupid comments like, "Wow! Haven't you had that baby yet??" (To which I wanted to say, "Actually, yes, I have, but I love the swollen ankles and extra weight and back pain so much that I begged the doctor to put him back in for awhile so I could enjoy my whale-like state some more!")
I had a teaching interview on my due date. I received some funny looks when they asked about my due date and I said, "Today." I didn't take that job.
I also had a doctor appointment on my due date. He wanted to induce me the next day. I thought my labor would be easier if I waited for my my body to do what it was supposed to do, so I asked if we could wait a week.
I spent the next few days nesting like a madwoman in between walks with my mom. She and I were all over the city running (er, waddling) errands.
The last few days before I was to be induced were miserable. I went to the OB unit at the hospital twice and was sent home twice. I called my doctor twice, apologizing for not trusting him and begging to be induced. I remember being told something about a skeleton crew at the hospital on the weekend and not enough nurses... though why they would reference a "skeleton crew" at a hospital is beyond me. Can't they just say they're understaffed on the weekends?
The day before my scheduled induction, I was really uncomfortable. I was having contractions, but they were very irregular, so I didn't realize what they were at the time. I thought it was just... umm... intestinal discomfort.
Finally, at 12:45 the morning of the induction, after no sleep for about 24 hours, I woke up Knight and said it really was time. About an hour later, I was hooked up to the monitors and my contractions were three minutes apart. About an hour after that, I was given the epidural, and slept blissfully for about 7 hours. The nurses had to wake me to check me during that time. My mom still says she couldn't believe how quiet and peaceful it was in my room.
Knight folded out the recliner and napped, I think. My mom came at about 8:00 that morning. At about 11:30, I was fully dilated and they asked me to push once. Apparently I was pretty good at it, because then they said, "Wait! Wait for the doctor!"
He ran up four flights of stairs, only to sit in the Johnny Bench position and wait while I did all the work. My dad is an anesthesiologist at this hospital, and he arrived shortly after that.
Up to this point, I had not wanted anyone in the delivery room except for Knight. Later I found out that my mom had quietly asked Knight if she could stay. He, in turn, asked me. I realized that I really did want my mom and dad to experience this with us, so I said yes.
At some point during the pushing, Knight, my dad, and the doctor were all having a rather excited discussion about CARS. I finally shouted, "EXCUSE ME! I'M KIND OF BUSY HERE AND COULD USE SOME HELP!!" I think they were a little irritated with me, but, to be honest, I didn't care.
I only pushed for about 45 minutes, and Jet was born. I remember my mom saying that I just couldn't understand real love until he was born. She was right.
On that day, our world tilted gloriously. Two and a half years later, it's still tilted. In between mountains of laundry, hugs and kisses, piles of diapers, time outs, and millions of new experiences together, love is blooming every minute of every day.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Alpha
In the beginning....
I wrote my first post.
I decided to blog because I wanted to educate the world on things most important -- happenings in my family's life.
Okay. Not really.
Maybe I wanted to document these things because I'm terrified I'll forget the most hilarious, touching, heart-wrenching moments.
Maybe it's a creative outlet.
Maybe I'm jealous of the women whose blogs I currently read -- of their ability to communicate so creatively and effectively. I'm a firm believer in the idea that practice makes perfect for these sorts of things, so...
Here we go!!!
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