I've been asked how labor was. Labor wasn't that bad. I got the epidural hoping to slow labor down so I could rest after that rough weekend. I was really wiped out going into it but the i.v.'s and naps I was able to get helped immensely.
The nurse in L&D was in a WICKED mood. We asked to have her replaced with another nurse twice and were refused--they said no one else was available because not enough nurses showed up. I have never realized just how blessed I have been to have good nurses until I got this one.
She was belligerent, rude, nasty, evasive, etc. She clearly did not like Clint asking questions and would ignore or snap at him. He stayed calm and told her "Hey, we don't know this stuff and you are our only source of information. I am not asking you to give you a hard time. I am asking you because I want to know something." This was not the only time we had an issue with anti-male attitudes. At one point, I asked an argumentative woman, "Why can't he make decisions for the baby's health care?! He is the child's FATHER!" She had no answer for that.
Nurse Grump would not call for the epidural. My doctor was there "hanging out" watching interns and had told me on one of his visits to call for him if I wanted him. I asked for him 5-6 times and she refused to get him for me.
She deliberately hurt me many times. I was not sure if she was doing it on purpose or not. I wondered if I was so tired it seemed like she was being rough, you know? I had planned on saying something to Clint as soon as she left the room. Amanda came to me while the nurse was in a corner and said "Mom, she isn't taking good care of you. She's not listening to you either."
Clint HAD been watching her and thought she had been intentionally rough too. She yanked on my i.v. hard again and he came out of the chair so fast she flinched and stepped back. I don't remember what he told her but he basically said she needed to take more care in her treatment of me or she'd deal with him. She was better after that.
I asked for the heartbeat monitor to be turned up so I could hear it. She told me it was broken and "proved" it by pushing a button--nothing happened. Later, the doctor told her to turn it up and she pushed a different button..and it worked just fine!
It is a good thing Hannah was estimated to be 7 lbs or so. She felt that way inside the womb too. Speculation is that she was very deep into my pelvic bones which made her feel smaller. If they had told me she was 10+ lbs, I would have worried about pushing her out. When he said 7, I figured, "That's easy. I've done 9 lbs 13 oz, so 7 lbs should be nothing! I can do this one in five pushes." I gave it all I had the first push and delivered her head. The next two pushes delivered her shoulders. I was exhausted, but DONE!
After the baby was born and Clint and the doctor had left the room, Grump started ignoring me again. I told her I was cold a dozen times. I was shaking so hard, my teeth were chattering! Amanda, on her own, started raiding the supply drawers and pulling out gowns, the thick pads they sit you on, etc and draping them over me. When the nurse saw that, she finally brought me two warmed blankets.
This is how the hospital visit started off and it just went downhill from there. When I had Emily, it was great. I had an excellent nurse who thanked ME for letting her be a part of my birthing experience and for answering her many questions about mothering. The facility has run down so much since July 07 (Emily's birth), that I will look into another hospital if God chooses to bless us again.
I am more wiped out from this birth than any of them, probably due to that nasty third trimester, the weekend just before, the heavy blood loss and the respiratory infection. Clint is home another week and can take off an additional three, if we need it.
Thank you for the prayers and e-mail. It meant a lot that so many thought of us during their busy holiday plans. I'll catch up on e-mail next week.
