Throughout my pregnancy everybody asked what I would do if I went into labor since I was scheduled to have a c-section. I just knew I wouldn't, but said we'd just get on the road to San Antonio knowing we had a nearly 2 hour drive to get to the hospital. I wasn't worried....and so the story begins.
On Wednesday, June 22, I had Betty, my mother's housekeeper that has helped out once a week since I was a little girl and is practically family, come and help clean to get the house ready. We worked non-stop from 8:30 until 1:30 scrubbing and cleaning. I was feeling good and had energy for once....major nesting! Erin Jostes even can and helped us clean on a supposed play date. I am so fortunate to have such good friends. She was cleaning tile grout with a toothpick:) We joked that we were cleaning so hard I was going to go into labor. I was tired that night, but felt just fine.
At about 3 am I woke up with an upset stomach and some pains on my left side. In my sleepiness I realized they were coming about every 10 minutes and that I wasn't able to go back to sleep. I might also mention that I had ZERO Braxton-Hicks or regular contractions with either pregnancy before actually going into labor. Finally, I thought that they could be contractions and I better take a shower since I don't think I had taken one after all that cleaning. It was just so much work to shower/bath at the end of my pregnancy! Then I tried to lay down on the couch to see if they would go away, all the while contemplating whether I should wake Lane. I was also starving on top of the contractions and upset stomach so I decided I would try a bowl of cereal at about 5 am.
Then at 6 when Lane's alarm went off for him to get up for work, I went and and said, "Rise and shine, I am in labor and we are headed to San Antonio, ASAP." Nothing like a nice wake-up call. I got Lena Kate up and we were out the door in about 15 minutes. Lane asked if he had time for breakfast, to which I told him to grab some Nutrigrain and Fiber One bars for the road. He did get some coffee made though.
I had called Dad at 6:15 to let him know we were bringing Lena Kate by. He asked if I was ready to go because we were supposed to go to San Antonio later that day anyway. Why he thought I would call that early just to tell him I was ready, I have no idea! I think he must not have been awake yet either. Little did he know how ready I was!
The ride to San Antonio wasn't too bad, I contracted about every 5 minutes and was thankful for the handlebar above my head, but they were still tolerable. Of course, Lane drove the speed limit. We made it just fine and got all checked in. My doctor scheduled my c-section for 11 am since I had something to eat at 5, they like to wait 6 hours after eating. I was both thankful for the cereal and cursing it, since I was already starving again yet I had to wait because of it. I'm also thinking that 11 worked best with my doctor's schedule too since she was supposed to be in the office that morning.
The bad news was that I had to wait until 11 without medication since they were going to do a spinal. I'm not one that feels the need for natural birth, so I wasn't enjoying the agony that was still coming every 5 minutes. I survived, but I was glad the bed had those handles for me to grip. The nurse had a habit of walking in right during a contraction so I think she got lots of dirty looks from me. I will say that all the nurses were awesome.
Then 11 turned in to 11:30 waiting on the anesthesiologist. It was a busy morning. I was really ready for him to show up! The whole experience was different this time around since it wasn't an emergency and rushed. I was nervous but we all did fine. Poor little Ainslee had it the worst. She was way up in my ribs still and the cord was wrapped around her neck so she came out very bruised and swollen. I'm convinced that either the doctors can see through all that or they tell everybody their baby is cute, because after seeing the first pictures Lane took, I would have thought that was a face only a mother could love. Poor sweet girl was looking pretty rough. Fortunately, I did get a peak at her before she was taken to the nursery. She had LOTS of hair, weighed 7 lbs 11oz and was 20 and 3/4 inches long. I must say she was bigger than I thought she would be. So much for c-section babies being pretty because they didnt' travel down the birth canal. I just can't seem to have a delivery exactly as planned.
After recovery we were moved to our suite, and it was sweet. We had a LARGE room that even had a couch that folded down into a double bed for Lane with fitted sheets and everything. It was nice for him to have something better to sleep on than a rough recliner. He even had room to stretch out. I was up and walking late that night and again at 5:3o am Friday morning. We had lots of visitors and I actually enjoyed the hospital stay. Lena Kate was a very proud big sister and wanted to hold and kiss on Ainslee. It was such a sweet time, despite the soreness from surgery. Friday night I showered, but was in quite a bit of pain. After a dose of medicine I was feeling good, or relatively good again. Saturday, we were on our way home, finally, as a family of 4! Ainslee slept the whole way home and Lena Kate whined most of the way. It had been a big weekend for her too. We got McDonald's nuggets and that made it all better. Mom and Dad and Lane's parents all took care of Lena Kate and were a big help with big sister.
We've since had a great week. Ainslee took to nursing with no problem and has been very good. The swelling and bruising went away in a couple of days and we could actually see how pretty she was:) She sleeps 3 hours at a time at night which isn't bad at this point and goes right back to sleep after nursing. She does spit-up more than Lena Kate every did-a good gusher about once-a-day, but we just clean-up and move on. We'll discuss that with her doctor to make sure it isn't a reflux issue this week.
I think she is beautiful and am so blessed with 2 perfect girls! A few things to note: Lena Kate has been watching Charlotte's Web lately and told Ainslee that she was Wilber. Based on the noises and grunts she was pretty on point with that one. I call her squirt or my little bug. Squirt came from the fact that she is a champ at pooping in a clean diaper before I even have it on her, or even on the changing table. She drenched it SEVERAL times in the first week. What a little stinker-I think she is just messing with the mama. Lena Kate climbs up in the chair next to me and says, "turn her over to me," when she wants to hold baby sister. She also always tells people her name in this fashion-Ainslee, Ainslee Lane. Likewise, she says her name is Lena, Lena Kate. Actually, they come out "Ainswee, Ainswee Wane" and "Wena, Wena Kate."
Long story shorter- I went into labor although I was hoping to never feel another contraction. I labored for 8 hours, and then Miss Ainslee Lane made her way into the world one day before planned. She picked her own birthday! That, or we cleaned too much the day before. All the sickness and rough pregnancy plus labor (not to mention the extra lbs I'm left with) was worth it for the sweet baby girl I got to bring home! You wonder how you will love another as much as your first until the moment you have your second. I can assure you your heart has room for sure. Mine is just bursting with love for both my girls as well as my husband for being such a big help this first week when I couldn't do much other than care for Ainslee as I recovered.
Today is our first day home all day alone since Lane is back at work. I'm sure we'll be just fine :) We've had wonderful friends and family bring us all kinds of food and care for us this past week. Once again, we are a blessed family of 4 and thank you for your prayers :)
