The Second Coming

Haha. Hilarious title. I want to tell the Animalia's birth story before time has erased my memory. It seems that something that significant couldn't be forgotten but it seems that time heals all wounds.

The end is in sight
The end of my pregnancy was pretty terrible. About a month before my due date I went on a week of bedrest due to fears of preeclampsia. My feet and legs were swollen to about twice their normal size. I was so sick. The swelling went down and I went back to work, only to cut back to part time a couple of weeks later. We were actually amazed that I made it that far since I had been having contractions for weeks. They were severe and sometimes about 5 minutes apart, teasing me into thinking it was finally time. But no. She made me wait. And wait. Then, a couple of weeks before my due date, my doctor decided I was measuring small for gestation and she started having me go to fetal monitoring. It was during one of these sessions that they measured the Animalia at over 8 lbs. Eight?! She's not even due for two more weeks. I hadn't been scared about giving birth til that point. My next appointment my doctor promised that if I went more than a week after my due date, she'd schedule an induction. Relief was in sight.

We're there!
I was still pregnant when the Chicago Cubs made it to the National League Division Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Jimmy lives and dies by their season, so he mostly dies a slow and painful death every year, only to recover and do it again the following year. He was hesitant about leaving me since I was so close to my due date and having contractions ALL THE TIME but I told him that he had to go or he would regret it, especially if the Cubs finally made it to the World Series. My dad bought tickets. They drove to Phoenix to watch the Cubs lose, drove back to Tucson that night, got in at 1am. Jimmy went to work that morning at about 5am. Came home, took a quick nap and they made the trip again. They watched the Cubs lose again. Drove back, got in at 1am. Jimmy fell into bed and fell asleep in seconds. My water broke at about 1:30am. I honestly thought that my pregnancy had finally made me incontinent. Yay. I rushed to the bathroom and noticed my contractions. I decided not to wake Jimmy up yet and thought I should take a shower. Contractions strong enough to make me double over. Oh god. I got out of the shower and put on some comfortable clothes.

I finally woke Jimmy up. We grabbed our stuff and jumped in the car. More contractions, about 5 minutes apart. About half way to the hospital I called my parents. It was the last call I'd make before my cell phone, already on it's last legs, would quit forever. Got to the hospital and was checked in immediately. I was already dilated 5cm. Active labor comes quickly when the water actually breaks on it's own. More severe contractions. Jimmy was asleep at this point, sitting in a chair next to me, holding my hand, his forhead on the bed next to me. After awhile, my parents showed up. More contractions, more dilation and they got me to a labor room. I was informed that my epidural wouldn't be til later. The anesthesiologist was in with a c-section patient. OK. I can handle this. So I did. I squeezed out tears when the contractions came, now 3 minutes apart but I was really truly fine in between. I called boymagnet, to tell her the news and could she send a text message to everyone to let them know I was in labor? I remember her being a little concerned when I asked her to hold on during a contraction. She thought it seemed like a long time. I called my brother and I think I spoke to siyeh too. Family filtered in and out of the room: Tía Lupita and Margo, Tía Margaret, Tío Tony and Caroline, Nino Roy, my parents back and forth, Virginia, Jimmy's mom, Andrea. Jimmy pretty much slept through all of that.

About halfway through my 10 hours of labor I got the epidural. Good thing too because the contractions were no picnic. I was more scared of the epidural than I was of childbirth. Jimmy sat in front of me and held my hands. It was really painful and on his first try I think he grazed a nerve because I felt this crazy pinching pain in my right hip. I still can't help but think that a little to the left (or right, whatever) and I'd have been crippled for life. Yeah, I'm dramatic. So after the epidural was nice. I was pretty dead from the waist down, a little loopy but good. I could hear a woman in a labor room next to me screaming. We all agreed, nurses, visitors and me, that with all the pain control options available it was insane for her to go through that. She screamed for around three hours. I actually started to get concerned with the epidural. Would I not be able to feel the baby come? Would I miss this important moment? Somewhere around 11 it was time to start pushing. I could feel it now. Really. Virginia and my mom woke Jimmy up. He went to the bathroom, they told him to hurry up, we could all here him through the bathroom door. I think he said either "SHIT!" or "Goddamn it!" Then everyone left the room, Jimmy took his place next to me and my mom acted like she was leaving and snuck back in. The nurse asked me if it was ok. This wasn't how it was supposed to be silly mama. I looked at her and back at the nurse. It's ok. My mom seemed happy. Then I really started pushing. I pushed for about 45 minutes, no screaming or swearing. Then the Animalia was there. They put her on top of me. I stared at her because I didn't know what to do or say. Jimmy cried. My mom couldn't stop smiling. Animalia was a little blue. They gave her oxygen right there on top of me and she turned pink. She was amazing. Dr. Tran finished sewing me up (yeah, gross) and said she knew the baby would come when she was good and ready. And then everyone started coming to see her.

She was really amazing. She had rosy cheeks and pink lips and just looked so formed, not like the wrinkled mousy newborn we expected. She had soft furry hair on her ears. Her hair was black like mine. Her eyes were dark blue, they've since changed to a lighter brown than mine but still have that blue in the background sometimes. Her eyelashes were, and are, amazing. Dark like mine but long and curled like her Da. I couldn't believe she was mine and sometimes I still feel that when I look at her.

She was born on October 5, one day before her due date and apparently the most popular birthday in the US. Nine months from New Year's. The hospital was packed and I got the very last private room available. I was lucky I went into labor when I did. Later there were lines of women waiting to get in.

We left the hospital one day later, healthy and happy.