Katherine Taylor Wright
September 2nd 2002, Happy Labor Day!
It’s Time!
At 4:41 am. My water broke. The popping sound woke me up and I rushed to the bathroom. Somehow, I managed to not leak at all on the carpet or the bed. I called the hospital to find out what I needed to do and they said I had about 2 hours to get to the hospital. I was feeling a little bit crampy so I posted to the parentsplace message board that I was off to have my baby and I woke daddy up to tell him that it was time. I took a shower, shaved my legs (couldn’t go into labor with hairy legs!) and finished packing the labor bags. I was so excited that we were finally going to meet you that my knees were wobbly! We got into daddy’s car (the green grand marquis) and left for the hospital.
When we got to the hospital, the nurse was very nice and she took us right to our room. We were settled in our room by 6:20 and my nice light contractions started to intensify a little bit but I was still pretty comfortable. I was hooked up to a monitor that printed out your heartbeat and my contractions on a piece of paper. My contractions looked like rolling hills and your heartbeat went down with each contraction then went back up. Your heartbeat was a little bit sporadic so I had to keep hooked up to the monitors through the whole labor and I had to keep rolling around in bed to help increase your blood flow so your little heart would beat better. Moving around was a bummer because it made the contractions worse which meant that I was very uncomfortable.
Labor Pains
Daddy was very helpful during labor. He rubbed my back, when I let him, got me ice chips, wiped my forehead with a cool cloth and coached me through the breathing which really helped to keep me calm when the contractions got worse. Daddy and I were both watching the monitor and each time I had a contraction, the monitor would tell us how hard it was. I had to stop watching because just when I thought a contraction couldn’t get any worse, it did! Daddy watched it for me and he would tell me when the contraction was going down. That made mommy feel much better!
When I was about 4 centimeters dilated, your grandma Susan showed up to the hospital and helped daddy keep me calm and comfortable. I told daddy that I might want to get an epidural, which would help ease the pain of the contractions (which were getting worse). Daddy asked me if I really wanted a needle in my back since I am so afraid of needles, and I decided that no, I didn’t want a needle in my back. Daddy is so supportive! So we kept on laboring without any drugs.
I hit 8 centimeters around 3pm and the contractions got stronger and stronger. I was very uncomfortable now and I even threw up twice. I started to get the urge to push at around 4pm and the Doctor came in to check my progress. I still had a little bit left to dilate so they let me sit up which helped to get me dilated the rest of the way. Let me add that I had a steady stream of ow, ow, ow, ow, owwwww’s going this entire time.
Here She Comes!
Well, the doctor finally told me that I could start pushing at 4:10 but your heart rate was very sporadic now so we had to get you out quickly. Mommy was very tired since she stayed up until midnight the night before and had been laboring for almost 12 hours and my pushing was not very effective. The doctor decided that mommy needed help getting you out so he attached a vacuum extractor to your head to help pull you out. Grandma Susan, Great Grandma Pearl and Daddy were all in the room when I started pushing. I pushed and pushed and daddy was very helpful and encouraging. Mommy did not like her doctor very much because he was scaring her by saying that we needed to get you out fast. Finally, you were born at 4:27 pm on Labor Day.
The Meeting
The Doctor put you on my chest and I got to look at you for a few minutes. I don’t remember what I said but It was probably something like “Hi Katherine”! I know, very original right? Daddy was crying because he loved you so much and he was worried about you being born without any problems you came out crying and you were very red. The nurses wiped you off, swaddled you in a blanket and gave you a tiny hat. They then handed you to daddy so that the Doctor could finish taking care of mommy. Grandma Susan got to hold you and so did Great Grandma Pearl and Great Grandpa Lyle. Finally the doctors were finished stitching up mommy and they left our new family so I could breastfeed you. You ate like a champ and your eyes were wide open. You were looking at mommy and daddy a lot. Mommy was happy that you were so beautiful and healthy. Your apgar scores were 8 and 9.
The nurses came in and it was time for you to go to the nursery to get a bath and to have some tests run. The nurses gave you to daddy who carried you to the nursery. The nursery nurse did lots of tests on you! They did a hearing test, they put ointment in your eyes, they gave you a shot of vitamin K, they drew blood, they measured and weighed you, they cleaned up your umbilical cord and they gave you a bath. You weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and you were 20 inches long. Daddy took lots of pictures and you didn’t look very happy in any of them! Mommy took a shower while all of this was going on and she got settled into her recovery room. At about 6pm, the nurses and daddy brought you to the recovery room in your bassinet to spend the night with us. We held you, fed you and rocked you to sleep. We just couldn’t get enough of staring at you and holding you. You were so perfect and beautiful and we fell in love with you right away.
You slept most of the first two days but when you woke up, you stared at mommy and daddy a lot. We had a few visitors to the hospital and we got lots of flowers from our friends welcoming you to the world. You stayed in our room most of the time and daddy stayed in the hospital with us. Daddy changed your first diapers and we thought it was pretty funny when you went poop because you made a lot of noise. It was hilarious all of the farting that you did. Mommy was still very tired from giving birth to you so we had the nurses take you to the nursery when you woke up at 4am but they brought you back at 6am to eat. The nurse said you were a very good baby and that you liked to be rocked a lot.
September 4th 2002
Going Home
On September 4th, you were ready to go home. We left the hospital and brought you to your new home at 1746 Beechwood Circle North in Tallahassee Florida. This is the first house that mommy and daddy owned. We brought you into the house and showed you the nursery that we spent so much time setting up for you and we introduced you to Tallia, the cat.
You slept in the bassinet next to our bed for the first week that you were home and then you started to sleep in your crib. You were such a good baby. You hardly ever cried, you breast-fed very well and you slept a lot. In fact, most nights, you went to bed around 1am and you woke up at 4 and at 6 am to eat. As a newborn, you didn’t do too much but you were healthy and happy and we spent most of our time just watching you and looking at your tiny toes, long feet, tiny hands and adorable little face.
September 17th 2002
Off to the Pediatrician
Today was your first visit to the pediatrician. You were 2 weeks old and the doctor wanted to see how well you had grown. We met with Kathy, the nurse and she weighed and measured you and checked to make sure you were healthy. You grew 1 and a half inches and you gained a pound. You are now 8 pounds, 6 ounces, and 21 and a half inches long. You had a good checkup and the nurse said you were very healthy. Mommy told the nurse that you got gas after you ate which made you very uncomfortable but the nurse said that is normal and that I could rub your belly if it seemed to help. I spent the next month rubbing your little belly because you would get very uncomfortable from gas bubbles and you would wiggle and cry until you were able to get some relief.
September 18th 2002
The games people play
Mommy and daddy wanted to make you happy so we started singing to you and playing with you. Your favorite song is the huggle buggle song. It is sung to the tune of London Bridge and it goes like this:
Huggle buggle I love you,
I love you,
I love you,
Huggle buggle I love you,
My sweet baby.
Mommy also played a game with you called the Katherine Kisses game. She made a funny face and said…”I’ve got some Katherine Kisses, coming your way” and then she would kiss you all over. Your face would light up and it was very cute.
Daddy holds you and sticks his tongue out at you. You started to mimic him and you stick your tongue out at him. You have started sticking your tongue out at everyone.
When you are breast-feeding you make some cute faces. You pull off when you are full and purse your little lips while raising your eyebrows. It is the cutest thing in the world. One night, when you were about a week old, mommy was feeding you and singing the “dilly dilly” lullaby to you. She started crying because she loved you so much and wanted you to stay safe and tiny forever. Feeling you in her arms and looking at that sweet little face is the best thing in the world. I want to never put you down, which is good because you love to be held.
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