I felt as if I had been pregnant for seventeen months. I spent seven months pregnant with BJ. I had barely recovered, and six weeks later I was pregnant with Karina... for a whole nine months.
The doctor said, "ok, well, then let's get you in for an Amnio".
According to seasoned mothers out there - I should have panicked. An amnio is supposed to be painful because it is done with a nearly comically loooong spike (or needle, whatever.) I had zero fear. I had been sticking myself twice a day in the belly with a horse's dose of blood thinner since the very beginning of my pregnancy. Frankly, they could have come in to draw my blood with a rusty hacksaw and I wouldn't have made a peep. I was so ready to be done.
As she was about to leave the room I asked, "oh, can I get that order for the amnio?"... thinking that I would go home... sweaty from the walk out to the car... and still crying. Then they would call me back at the very end of the day to schedule me for a week later.
"oh, well, I was just going to check to see if anybody was in the room right now, but if you want to wait..."
"Nope" Gosh I hope that did not sound giddy, cause I feel giddy.
For the educational record. The needle was like something that you would see in a cartoon. Easily at least a foot long. They do stick it in your belly. I have now had two and I did not feel so much as a pinch. I think that the myth that it hurts is perpetuated by women that get worked up at the site of that sword they use.
While the doctor worked she informed me of the purpose of the Amnio. They would draw out some amniotic fluid and perform a test on it to assess whether Karina's lungs were developed, thereby determining if she was ready to be born. I knew there had to be a catch. That lab test would probably take a week.
"Ok, she is ready to go".
"What?!"
"Yep, the fluid is cloudy. That means that her lungs are functioning well. We will send it off to the lab to be sure, but it looks like she has been ready for a while... this is pretty cloudy"
I could hardly even think about "Windex-ing" the inside of my stomach now. "She's ready?!"
I got up, and grabbed my purse. Walking pretty quickly toward the door, I was completely inside my head. My thoughts were racing with all I had to do. I had phone calls to make, a bag to pack, a crib to assemble, what about bottles, blankets, pacifiers and a diaper bag? What about putting the carseat in the car? I had to get my husband's clothes ready and meals prepared... after all... I was going to be gone for four days. Suddenly I forgot about being so uncomfortable and just started thinking of all I had to do. I was having a baby in a week?.
I might not have even noticed, but the nurse that called me over to her station was my favorite, Brooke.
"Mrs. Gonzalez, I have Good Sam on the phone, they have an opening for tomorrow at 7 a.m. or another on the 11th."
"Huh!?"
Um. I feel totally unprepared to make this decision right now. I wanted to tell her that I had a lot of things to do to mentally prepare myself for giving birth. Now was not the time to bother me with trivialities like... when would I prefer for my baby to arrive?
I quickly thought, "tomorrow at 7 a.m. is less than 24 hours away, and I am totally unprepared... physically... mentally... emotionally. But, if I wait one more day, my baby's birthday will be September 11th? Do I really want to start out on that foot from her very first day? (at that point it was still unclear if Sept. 11th was going to be a national holiday... possibly a national day of mourning.)
Shocked at myself, "I'll take tomorrow".
more pictures...
I remember this day well. At Tita's house. Karina laughed and laughed while Tito snapped a million pictures.
There is no doubt about it, she loves to dance.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment