Happy Birth Day Carnival - Meenie Edition

Nine months later, we were expecting again, with a due date of July 21, 2003. Seven weeks into the pregnancy, I suffered the first of many gallbladder attacks (well the first of what we realized were gall bladder attacks – remember Christmas Eve 2001 the upset stomach?) – that sent us to the ER. With a diagnosis of gallstones and an OB who wanted to steer clear of surgery despite the surgeons “we should have a window between 17-20 weeks where it’s safe”, I was put on a very strict diet. No fat for most of the remainder of my pregnancy – I lost 50 pounds by my six week post-partum check up. So I subsisted on whole wheat pasta, multigrain cheerios, plain pasta and fruits/veggie’s for my pregnancy. That was back when I still didn’t like most vegetables. Husband figured out how to make a yummy homemade pizza that had no fat, some grilled chicken breast sandwiches and the best discovery of all – I could eat no fat ice cream with chocolate syrup (no fat!) or mix it up into a shake! I did slip and “cheat a few times”, but it usually caused me to have an attack.

At 28 weeks I went into labor (where I was 2 cm, 70% effaced and her head was engaged). After a few doses of some shot, we were able to stop it. Then I was on these pills (I can’t recall what they were) that gave me the shakes. I hated them, but they kept me out of labor for a month. At 34 weeks, I went into labor again. We got it stopped, I went home and 6 hours later was in labor again. They stopped it again, kept me overnight and released me the next morning. At 35 ½ weeks I was in labor again. Again they stopped it and sent me home.

At 37 weeks, I went into labor again. Husband had just worked 14 hours, came home and went to bed. Where I woke him up an hour later and said I think I’m in labor. He complained all the way to the hospital. “You better be in labor. I’m not leaving again without a baby”. We got almost to the hospital and I came this close to telling him that maybe I wasn’t in labor that we should go home. We got to the hospital around 9:30 am. Mostly we hung around, waiting to be seen by the doctor – the nurses checked me, but weren’t sure if I would be staying. The doctor came out of surgery (it was Friday and his surgery day) checked me – I was 4 cm but stretchy to 8. Since I was exactly 37 weeks (and had an induction scheduled for Monday anyway – so I could have gallbladder surgery soon) he broke my water (11:30 am), left the room to go finish up paperwork and said he’d see me in about 45 minutes. Husband called his parents and asked for them to bring lunch (since again, he hadn’t eaten all day). I was still in the triage room and they were preparing a room for me. No sooner had we walked out of the room, when I had the urge to push. He came back in top check and yup – ready to go. The nurses tried to get me to walk to my room, which still wasn’t completely ready, but the doctor put them in their place and rolled me don the room in the bed. As he was washing his hands and the nurses pulling out the equipment, one nurse said, “I see a head”. I never saw the man move so fast in my life. He leapt across the room in time to grab her. I never pushed- to force of the contractions did all the work. So on June 27^th, 2003 at 11:47 am Meenie entered the world with a bang. She was 20 inches and 6 pounds. Unfortunately, she swallowed before he could suction so there was a big tube shoved down her to suck stuff out. As I was being stitched up – I tore (but it was the easiest recovery by far) I heard the nurses say “I’m sorry but you can’t go in there, I thin she’s in active labor”. My in-laws arrived with Einey moments after Meenie was born! So I sent Husband out to get just Eieny and she watched in Husband’s arms as her sister was suctioned and then bathed. She needed a little bit of oxygen for a few hours, but was able to stay in the room with us.

A week later – July forth, they hesitated putting her back for jaundice. So we kept her outside at a picnic and were told if her levels didn’t drop by the 5^th, we’d be back in for some bili lights. They dropped. Meenie took to breast feeding like a champ. So well she went from 5 pounds 11 ounces at a week old to just over 9 pounds three weeks later at her one month check up. But it only lasted six weeks as I had to have surgery and couldn’t build up a supply (remember the surgery they wanted to do while I was pregnant and then right after – well then the surgeon decided to wait six weeks as it would be the least risky). Recovering from that surgery was really hard. Meenie is now five (tomorrow!) and still growing like a weed. She grew from a fussy/cranky/didn’t want to be held baby to a bubbly, happy, cuddly little girl.

Be sure to check out the Einey Edition and Moe Edition.

Alex, over at Formula Feed and Flexible Parenting, is throwing a Birth Days Carnival this week in honor of her Younger Son’s (YS) 2^nd birthday. Since Meenie also celebrates a birthday this week, I thought I’d join in the fun and re-live the births of my daughters.