I Was Wrong, He Was Right

Apparently, I can go into labor on my own...In fact, I did! Late Wednesday evening, I started having painful contractions that were about 30 minutes apart, but they hurt enough that I couldn't get any sleep. Around 10:30, I went to the couch for about an hour. No change, so I went to bed. Over the next hour, the contractions started coming every 20 minutes and would wake me up they were so painful. By 1:00 a.m. (Thursday morning, 4/23), I thought I might actually be going into labor, which was ironic because I actually went to bed the night before praying to God, "Please, just let it be tonight. I'm done. I hurt. As long as the baby's healthy, I'm ready for her to come." Be careful what you ask for, huh?

At 1:15 a.m., after my contractions had started coming every 10 minutes, I drove myself to the hospital (not even a mile away), and told Hubby to wait for my call to make sure I was really in labor before calling a friend to come stay with the girls. By the time I got checked in, I was in serious pain, and there was no doubt I was in labor. When the nurse checked me, I was dilated to a 4 and 90% effaced. I called Hubby, and we had our good friend Sarah come over to stay with E. He woke H up and gave her the option of coming to the hospital. Of course, she absolutely wanted to be there! Unfortunately, it took them a while to get there. I was there for about an hour and a half before they arrived, and I was in serious pain....like Holy shit, give-me-some-drugs-NOW-pain!!! They had to get blood work done, get the IV in, blah, blah, blah. I was seriously about to lose my shit when they finally gave me the stadol, which helped me to at least relax through the contractions and rest until the anaesthesiologist arrived to give me the epidural.

Right after Hubby and H got there, I got my epidural, then the Dr. arrived. "Didn't you have an appointment today?" he asked....Uh, yeah...clearly, there was no need because look, I'm having a baby tonight, doc. I did officially say to him, "Okay, I was wrong, you were right." He seemed pleased at this in his usual smug way, but thankfully said nothing in response. Shortly after the epidural, the nurse came in to say the doctor wanted to go ahead and break my water, which really didn't matter to me anymore since I wouldn't be able to feel it this time. But, Providence intervened, and when he pulled back the sheets, Nature had done it's job. I still can't believe it! Labor on my own. Water broke on its own. It all happened so damn fast. He checked me, and I was ready to go. With one very long hard push, the baby was delivered in almost one fell swoop, less than 3 hours after I arrived at the hospital.

At 4:18 a.m. on Thursday, April 23rd, our family welcomed Amelia Hope into the world! She weighed 8 lbs 7 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long, perfectly pink and healthy!

Thus far, the breastfeeding has gone better than I'd expected, in the sense that we're dealing with the "normal" learning curve most newborns experience. When she eats, she eats for like 2 hours straight, and when she sleeps, it's even longer. Last night, after eating from 1:00-3:00 a.m., she slept until 7:00 this morning!!

The experience of caring for a newborn, while also trying to care for a 2-yr old is a subject for another post, but it's been particularly challenging. I'm thankful that my mom is here, especially since Hubby had some sort of stomach bug or food poisoning yesterday when we came home from the hospital. He was pretty much out of commission, so I got no rest at all during the day. He's back in good shape now, though, so we're hoping to find our groove again soon. Until then, I'm loving me some sweet babyness!!

Still Waiting

Luckily, between relocation paperwork, getting E's room ready to be a one she shares with her new baby sister, H's softball games, prepping and grading for class, and revising the dissertation, I have plenty of work to keep me busy while I wait for bebe to make her appearance. Unfortunately, this neither a)makes the waiting game any easier nor b)makes me feel any more comfortable. Contractions aren't necessarily increasing in frequency, though they're getting more painful when they come. What hurts more than anything is my lower back and my groin/hamstring area, where I feel an enormous amount pressure, to the point that it really hurts just to walk sometimes. I don't want to be a whiny pregnant woman, but ughh, seriously...

I still feel quite strongly that this baby isn't coming right away, and a good part of me thinks I'll hit my due date (or go past), and the doctor will want to induce. If there was a way to do this without him breaking my water, I'd be okay with that if it were the final option. But, my body has previously demonstrated that it is the breaking of the water that gets things going. A no-win situation is possible.

In other news, we found out that we got the housing compound we requested in Qatar! Even better, they reserved a villa that's located right between the clubhouse and the playground, which we apparently didn't even notice was there when we visited!! Now we just need to get good news from the American School of Doha, letting us know H has been accepted--more waiting. And speaking of H, she just got her first report card of straight As since being in 4th grade!!! I'm so proud of her, and I know how hard she worked to accomplish this goal!

Breaking Up With My Doctor (sorta)

Upon further reflection and with the support of my friend, Sarah, I've decided my OB and I need a Break. Unless complications arise, I'm skipping my appointment next Wednesday. Indeed, I feel no reason to go back to his office until I am either a) in labor (in which case, I'll just meet him at the hospital and hope they call someone else) or b) past my due date.

As my friend confirmed, there's really no need for the checking of the cervix exams. I have no complications, I have no tolerance for the pain it cause me, and unless my water has broken and I'm contracting regularly, it really doesn't matter how much I've dilated, because I'm not in fucking labor!

In other words doc, "don't call me, I'll call you!"

Baby Watch, Etc.

On the good side of things, Hubby and I got our draft contracts last week, and we are very pleased with the "numbers" side of things! We got passport applications submitted for both the girls (a one-hour process at the post office), and we're in the midst of completing the online process for fingerprinting and criminal background checks. We even got our teaching assignments already, and I'm teaching an intro to film studies class for the first time! This is good because it's new and interesting, but there's also the downside--a new class prep to deal with while trying to finish revising the dissertation---blah. The professor who's been teaching the course there for the past three years has helped tremendously, though, by sharing his extensive experience, textbook choice, syllabus, film advice, etc. Right now, the only films I've definitely decided upon are To Kill a Mockingbird and Crash.

Along the baby front, my arrogant doctor is at it again, making grand proclamations and causing me serious pain when he checks my cervix! Really and truly, I hope he's somehow not around when I go into labor! At yesterday's visit, before he even checked my cervix, he said, "You know what I think? I think you're getting ready to have this baby." Yeah, like he's the fucking baby whisperer or something. When I asked what made him say that, he didn't even have an answer, he just proceeded with the exam. I reminded him that I've NEVER gone into labor on my own, and he said "Your point?" Not good folks...I'm not in the mood for this these days.

Anywho, I'm dilated to a 2 and 80% effaced, which led him to proclaim that he doesn't think I'll make it two more weeks. He admitted he could be wrong, but said he'd be surprised. I hope this baby proves him wrong and decides to stay until my due date, but if she wants to come early, we're ready for her. Mostly. His words, "She could come any day now" tickled H to death, as she's always hoping for some excitement in our lives. At this point, I'm just really hoping my water doesn't break in the middle of class or while I'm grocery shopping or something. But I will be happy if my water breaks on its own, as that will be one less opportunity the doctor has to hurt my lady business.

For now, I look forward to tonight! Several good friends and I are getting together for dinner to celebrate the impending arrival of the bebe, and some of my favorite Mexican food is on the menu!! I might even have a sangria....

Caffiene Gods, Why Have Ye Forsaken Me?

Still sleepy on my first day without caffiene.

I decided to start weaning myself off caffiene before the bebe arrives. Apparently, my version of weaning is more like cold turkey. That is, there's not really a space for a gradual reduction if the starting point is just one cup of coffee a day anyway. But, ohhhhh, how important that one cup evidently is! Luckily, I haven't gotten the usual withdrawal migraine that I get without my morning fix. Instead, I'm just sluggish and tired...all day (at least thus far in the day). Bleh...hopefully it will get better over the next few days.

Good Baby News!

She flipped! Yayyyyy!

I had an OB appointment this morning, and I'm dilated to a 1, the bebe has flipped to a head-down presentation, and she's gotten much lower (which explains the increased pelvic pressure I've been feeling). On top of that, I only gained 1/2 a pound in more than two weeks--despite all that food I've been eating! This is particularly amazing to me, but maybe it means I've been making up for it with all the walking around airports??

Thanks to all who wished happy baby-flipping thoughts my way, and let's just hope she stays this way!

AcadeMama Goes to Washington City

*hat tip to Lauren Berlant, from whom I ripped off part of the post title

When I left College Town on Wednesday, I had no idea that it would take longer to get from College Town to Richmond, VA (27 hours) than it did to get from Home State City to Doha, Qatar (26 hours). The first flight got delayed because of mechanical difficulties, which made me miss my connection in Houston. After getting a seat on the next flight out to Richmond (7:00 p.m.), I then got to sit on the runway for 2 hours (air traffic backup and rain), where our pilot then "timed out" and informed us that it would be a violation of FAA regulations for him to take off. Upon returning to gate 30 minutes later, the doors were not opened, and we were kept on the plane another half hour, while they called around to see if we could get another pilot. No food. No water. No bathroom. Finally, after almost 3 hours, I couldn't hold it anymore--I am 8 months pregnant after all--and I asked if I could run to the restroom at the gate. They let me off the plane for a potty break and some fresh air, and about 20 minutes later they let everyone else off. This is about 10:00 p.m. For the next two hours, they try to find a new pilot, tell us they've found a new pilot, continue to push back the departure time, only to ultimately cancel the flight at 12:30 A.M.(!!) and explain that they can't put anyone up in a hotel because it's wasn't their fault---it was weather-related difficulties. Skipping ahead....I finally got to bed in a hotel room a few miles down the road at 2:00, with a 6:00 a.m. wake-up call so I could make the next flight out to Richmond the next day.

Oh yeah, my flight was scheduled to arrive in Richmond at 2:00. I was scheduled to present my paper at 2:30. Forgive me if I was skeptical.

Somehow, I made it in the hotel door at 2:20, checked my luggage with the concierge, and sat down with my panel with five minutes to spare. The presentation went very well, though my paper wasn't as "clean" as I'd planned it to be. I just ran out of time, energy, and battery power to make the minor changes it needed.

My first ASECS was a really great experience. It was like being at a rock concert where all my favorite bands are playing.....um, except this was the academic nerd version ;-) I met several scholars whose work I've long admired and who are heavy-hitters in my field. I had lunch with one of my committee members and, for the first time ever, had someone tell me they'd been referred to my work on one of the playwrights I study in my dissertation (WTF?). I'm really glad I got to go to this conference before moving overseas.

I headed to D.C. on Friday evening, where my (child-free) uncle and aunt took me in for the rest of the weekend. This was my first time in D.C., and as much as there is to see, I only had a short amount of time. The cherry blossoms are starting to bloom, and the tidal basin is simply a stunning display of pink everywhere! Our first stop was the legendary Ben's Chili Bowl, where everyone from Duke Ellington and Barack Obama have stopped to enjoy a chili dog or a half-smoke. The atmosphere was better than any TV show could try to represent, and the food was great....standard diner fare, but better because of the music, the people, and the history.

Next, we hit the Smithsonian Museum of American History, and I saw Dorothy's ruby slippers, Julia Childs' kitchen, and Seinfeld's puffy shirt. I really wanted to see the Ladies of the White House Room, but the line for it was the longest line in the museum, stretching down and around several halls and one flight of stairs! I got E a pair of her own ruby slippers in the museum shop, and I got H some freeze-dried ice cream (what the astronauts eat), so I think they'll be happy. Unfortunately, my back is in pretty bad shape these days, and almost any amount of walking results in super swollen ankles and feet. As usual, I was over-ambitious about what I thought I could do for the day, so I ended up having to ask if we could just sit and rest for a while to give myself a break.

We finished the evening with dinner at Obelisk, a Zagat-rated restaurant that has a fixed-price five-course menu like nothing I've ever experienced. I ate everything from octopus marinated in citrus and cilantro to squab to smoked swordfish belly (my fav) to chocolate-apricot cake with German whipped cream. I'm lucky to have such a great aunt and uncle, because everything was their treat, including the homemade crepes with Nutella my uncle made for breakast this morning!! Seriously, I could get used to this treatment :)

But, I'm ready to see my kiddos and get back to work on my diss, teaching, and preparing for the new baby. Oh, and relocating halfway around the world. Now let's just hope I shaken the bad travel karma that's stuck with me for more the past week! And when I get home, the passport and travelling shoes are getting put away for a while.