Nora - Part 2

It took another several minutes for EMT #2 to find a pair of scissors. Meanwhile I'm chilling out on the bathroom floor and EMT #1 decided that she should put on the protective gown that was in the ambulance OB box (probably a little late, I'm pretty sure the messy part was over).

EMT #2 came into the bathroom with the scissors and went to go cut the cord. I stopped him and asked if the girls could do it. He hesitated a bit, but then handed over the scissors. Addie and Charlotte came into the room, looked at the baby, and then shook their heads that they didn't want to do it. Addie later told me that she was worried that she was going to accidentally cut the baby. So Sean did the obligatory cutting of the cord duty. 

During the whole clamp/scissors debacle, Sean's phone kept ringing like crazy. I guess when I called the second time and told him to drop everything and come home now he literally dropped his copies on the ground and left. He had texted the school secretary earlier in the morning to let her know I was in labor and he would need a sub. As he was dashing out the door, he texted her again saying, "Actually, might need your help. Call when you get this."  So the secretary kept calling and calling with no answer because Sean was a little preoccupied. 

Since my midwife was not here yet, the paramedics were not comfortable leaving me and insisted that I go to the hospital. I probably should have put up a bigger fight to stay home (the midwife was only about 20 minutes away),  but I had never been in a situation like this, so I obeyed. 

EMT #2 now had a new challenge - how to get me out of the house. 

We have 4 stairs that lead up to our front door, but they are narrow, there is a railing, and there is a 90 degree turn to get through the door. EMT #2 quickly figured out that it would be incredibly difficult to get the gurney into the house. 

I volunteered to walk to the ambulance. No, no, no, that is completely unacceptable. EMT #1 mentions that the firefighters are here, they could carry me out, one could hold under my arms and the other could take my legs. This time it was my turn to do the vetoing, there was absolutely NO way I was going to let someone carry me! I would walk or I wouldn't go. 

Nervous looks were exchanged between the EMTs, but they agreed. I handed off the baby to EMT #1, wrapped myself in the sheet that Sean had brought me, and walked outside into the crazy cold morning. 

I walked down the stairs (which were covered in an inch of ice) and thought to myself how frightening it would be to have someone carry me down these things. I climbed onto the gurney and then they wheeled me to the ambulance. I'd be perfectly happy if I never have to do that again. The walkway and driveway were also covered in a good layer of ice, so it was a very bumpy and unsteady ride, I thought for sure the whole thing was going to tip over. 

The other 3 girls were at the living room window watching me be wheeled away. They were all smiling and waving - hopefully this means that they weren't too traumatized from the events. 

Once I was in the ambulance EMT #2 informed me that he was going to place an IV. I told him that one of the reasons I didn't want to go to the hospital was because I didn't want an IV and could we please not do one. He told me that they would shoot him if he showed up at the hospital and I didn't have an IV started. Okay, fine. 

We live a little under a mile from the hospital so it was a quick trip. But it was long enough for me to worry... 

1- How was Sean going to find me at the hospital? Would they tell him where I was at, or would privacy policies prevent them from being able to tell him anything? My phone was at home, so I couldn't call him. 

2- Were the girls going to get to school on time? Would Sean take them to school before coming to the hospital or would they just stay home today? Sean had asked what to do about the kids before I left. I told him to call the "C" family, but I didn't really give much instruction. Would the C's take the girls to school? 

3- I sure hope the kids aren't traumatized. I probably would have been worried if one of my parents left in an ambulance. 

So we made it to the hospital and the firefighters started to unload the gurney from the ambulance. My IV cord/tubing got caught on something and tried to rip out of my arm. I gave EMT #2 a dirty look but I don't think he noticed. 

Once I was in the hospital it was pretty uneventful. They gave the baby back to me so I could feed her. My nurse collected some information (how far along, my blood type, etc). They paged the on call pediatrician. The doctor arrived, delivered the placenta, told me I did good and everything looks great. She checked out the baby and said that we were free to go whenever we would like. The nurse weighed and measured the baby. 5 pounds 12 ounces and 19 inches long. 

Sean had arrived somewhere in the middle there, but he didn't stay long, he had to run home and get the carseat and some clothes for me and baby. 

I was amazed at the hospital staff. I thought for sure they would make us stay. With all the other girls we tried to leave after the first day, but they wouldn't discharge us until day two. But this time was totally different, they had no problem whatsoever with us leaving right away. Actually, the nurse insisted that we have breakfast before we left, she wanted to make sure that I got my orange juice. 

Oh, and I guess I should say that the girls did make it to school on time. Sean managed to make sure they got breakfast and then drove all 3 of them over to the C family's house. The oldest C girl helped Addie and Charlotte do their hair and then they rode the bus to school. 

I looked back through my contraction timer on my phone and from the first contraction that woke me up at 3:08am until Nora was born at 6:22am, I had 20 contractions. Little girl was sure in a hurry to get here!