They say NOT having expectations in life is one way to be happy. I like that theory, although I don’t think it’s possible to live your life without ANY expectations if you want to ever get anything accomplished or succeed.
But I think it works some times for some things, like my first Mother’s Day. I’ve been so busy with Max and recovering from the c-section that I didn’t put any time or thought into what I thought my first Mother’s Day should be like.
My mom was here. Max was here. What else was supposed to happen?
I was a little concerned with how Pixie and Stella would react to Max’s arrival home. Pixie already whines and talks and needs attention all day. And Stella is jumpy and worries about everything.
I thought for sure when we got up to feed Max at 2:00 am, the dogs would get up too and make things even more crazy. I thought that when I sat on the sofa with Max the dogs would pounce on me like they usually do for kisses and belly rubs.
But they’ve surprised me so far. They don’t get up at 2:00 am when we do to feed Max. They just quietly watch us from their bed. WHAT? And when I’m on the sofa they stay on their own bed. If they wander towards me and Max at all, I just say “No, go lay down.” And they do it! WHAT?
They have been unbelievably well behaved. I think it helps that my parents are visiting and take them out for walks and give them lots of attention, but I’m hoping Stella and Pixie have realized they are now big sisters to Max and continue to act accordingly.
“That was easy!” and “Oh, he’s a blondie!” were the first two things I heard the doctors and nurses exclaim after they lifted Max out of me during the c-section. The operating room was mostly women and they giggled, “We hardly ever see blondies! Joe, he looks just like you!”
For years I thought that when I got pregnant I’d just get a c-section. Made sense to me. Why go through all those hours of labor and pain when they could just lift the baby out in about 5 minutes? It seems like everyone is doing it these days. I even scheduled one for Week 39 just in case the baby was still in my belly AND because the ultra sound technician kept scaring me with reports that his weight and head size were large and ahead of schedule. I had nightmare thoughts about his head getting stuck or a shoulder and an emergency c-section after hours of labor. Ouch!
But as the pregnancy went on, I changed my mind. The more I thought about it, surgery no longer sounded like a good idea and I wanted to deliver the good old fashioned way! I cancelled the c-section.
Then as week 40 was approaching, my Doctor said she would only allow the pregnancy to go on for one more week at the most. I guess the placenta begins to die and not supply the baby with enough oxygen and nutrients and the rate of still birth increases as time goes on. Ok, I agreed to be induced and get the delivery going.
I was admitted to the hospital and they realized I was already having contractions – a good sign this would go smoothly! They hooked me up to an IV of Pitocin around 8pm and the contractions became strong and steady for 12 hours. 12 hours! 12 hours of contractions, cramping and little sleep.
Joe stayed in the room with me on the most uncomfortable reclining chair I’ve ever seen. It was like a joke. Although I doubt Joe thought it was funny while he tried to sleep on it all night. Maybe they purposely make them uncomfortable? They figure why let the guy sit there in luxury and get sleep as their woman aches in pain for hours?
After those 12 cramping, sleepless hours, nothing was happening. Nothing! No progress. This baby did not want to leave my belly.
The options presented to me were to do the c-section now, or go home for a few days and see if I go into labor on my own. Really? Go into labor on my own? After all this help and it didn’t work? I really doubted that would happen. At least not within days.
I decided that since I was already checked into the hospital and already been denied any food, it was best to do it NOW before I could go home to think and stress about it. And that’s how this pregnancy became yet another c-section statistic.
Max has arrived! Sorry for my unexpected hiatus, but during our week long stay at the hospital, we sort of ‘unplugged’. Even the nurses’ commented to us how they couldn’t believe we never turned on the TV once during our stay.
Now that we’re home, Joe and I are mastering diaper changes, the art of doing things one handed and taking naps instead of getting a full night of sleep. And thankfully, Max is a sleeper! We have to set an alarm and wake him up every few hours to feed during the night.
This little guy takes up all my time. It’s a good thing there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.
