The Story of Jane's First Days

Dr. Venuto was ahead of schedule so we started earlier than planned, it was time to head off to the OR. Erin and I hugged and prayed together just before she went off to the operating room without me. I sat in the room for 10 minutes reading a book waiting for a nurse to escort me back into the room where Erin was prepped ready for birthing.

I walked into the OR and it was like a party behind the blue curtain that I was only semi invited to. I sat down next to Erin’s head in front of the blue curtain so that we wouldn’t have to bare the sight of the details of the procedure. Her arms were laying flat straight out on either side of her like a good girl so as not to disturb the operation. The anesthesiologist was our narrator to the whole event. I don’t remember his name but he was Asian, funny, and friendly.

So that I wouldn’t get too queasy I held the camera over my head to take the first couple of shots of baby Jane; considering that I wasn’t watching where I was shooting, the images turned out pretty good. Jane was born at 9:46am weighing in at 7 lbs and 14oz, her length was 19½ in. She looked identical to her older brother on his “birth”-day, and sadly like my father.

Jane was tagged and swaddled and handed to me to show to mommy for a couple of minutes, just enough time to capture a picture, taken by the anesthesiologist. Next it was back to the room while Erin was being sewn back together. Erin was not more than ten minutes behind me, but Jane was too impatient to nurse, she had found her thumb to suck moments before mommy was ready. Once Erin was ready, Jane latched on like a pro. No lactation specialist nurse needed for this baby, she knew what was going on.

More babies needed to be born, so an hour after surgery we were moved down one floor to our new, smaller room. Among Jane’s first guests were big brother Matthew with Grandma and Grandpa Hardwick. Matthew loved Jane from the very beginning; he smelled her hair, hugged her, and kissed her. Then he went to tug on every wire, cable, and cord in the room asking, “What is that?” I took him away for about an hour so the grandparents could get more acquainted with their 12^th grandchild. Someone had carved a bunch of letters and painted them all sorts of colors and left them in a park downtown, Matthew thought they were just as much fun as his new baby sister.

Jane passed all her blood tests for diabetes and didn’t give us cause for concern with jaundice because she was such a good eater and pooper at the hospital. In fact, she went through an entire package of diapers in just the two days at the hospital. It is much different changing the diaper of a girl, if she pees in the middle of a change it is very covert, all of a sudden she’s just laying in a puddle and you don’t know why.

Other guests that visited us in the hospital were: Uncle Joe, Aunt Pattie and Uncle Jim, Aunt Mary with cousins Marisa, Chandler, and Mavric, Friends Janelle with daughter Ella, Heather and Kimber with her daughter Reece, and Erin’s former student Katie. Marisa stayed with Erin the second night at the hospital while I got to stay home with Matthew.

Matthew went shopping with mom a couple of days before Jane’s birthday to pick out a special gift. He was apparently picky and directed mommy to go to several different stores before he picked out the perfect one. I figured that Jane needed to get Matthew a gift too. “Jane” got Matthew a wooden train set. When we got home we stayed up until two hours passed his bedtime playing those trains. His cousin William had introduced him to them a week before, and he totally got it.

I feel blessed to have a wife and two great healthy children, and I thank her every day for carrying them into this world.

More pictures can be found by clicking here.

At the Hospital

We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa’s house and took one last picture of our family of three. Matthew was not cooperative, but was happy to wave us goodbye and have a grandma fun day.

It is less than an hour to baby time. We are admitted into the hospital and have a room with a great view of the Puget Sound. The weather is overcast with grey clouds hovering over us. It is 55 degrees outside, but no rain… yet.

The worst part of Erin’s anticipation is already over, the IV. One attempt and it is in. We listened to the nurses give us the standard questions and procedures of the operation. Erin’s nerves kept her shaking the whole time until a baby started crying next door. Something about the baby’s cry made Erin remember why we are here, and she is now feeling calm.

Good Morning, Baby Day

I woke up at 5:30am and Mom and big brother Matthew were still in bed. I sat in the living room and surveyed the house. It had undergone a deep cleaning for the last two weeks, and now looks like a model home for a new development. It was the calm before the storm with no sounds being made except for the clicking of my laptop keyboard checking Facebook. I'm already getting into the baby day mood after reading about one of my California friends' wife giving birth to triplet girls yesterday. They are lucky to have a birthday of 8-9-10 at 11am. Their combined weight is still less than what baby Jane's birth weight is expected to be because of the gestational diabetes.

I have now showered and everybody is awake. Matthew knows today is baby sister's birthday and says "8-10-10." He wants to watch Clifford the Dog in our bedroom while Mommy and I finish packing and getting ready for the day.

When Erin showers, I ask to make sure she can have one. I've been teasing her since last night because she can't eat or drink anything after midnight. No crackers, coffee, or even ice chips; maybe a shower is too much water for her.

In 15 minutes we are heading out the door to deliver Matthew to Grandma and Grandpa's house to wait and play until Jane arrives. I'm sure he will have is fill of playing with trains, gardening, and throwing rocks into the water.

As of this moment only 3½ hours left until baby is here...

He has a name!

If you were here to visit yesterday, or were lucky enough to get a phone call, you heard about us beta-testing a baby name. Well that name has moved from beta to full-release.

Matthew Graham Hardwick

Among the visitors that came to see new baby Matthew was one of Erin's students from this past school year, Katie. Her mom is one of the nurses on the floor here. Ever since Katie knew Mrs. Hardwick was pregnant, she's made sure the baby knew who she was.

The day was filled with learning how to feed, bathe and change Matthew. As first time parents, Matthew is pretty patient with us. So far he eats like his mom and sleeps like his dad.

I have made a collection of G-rated pictures for you to see the adventure we had. View them by clicking here!

Thank all of you for tracking the progress with us. It has been really fun to receive your comments, chats, emails along the way. I know it helped Erin through the labor process every time one of you would give your input, we had quite a few laughs. We didn't expect our labor to go the way it did, but being able to share it with you has encouraged us along. This may be the end of this series, but it isn't the end of Matthew's, Mom's or Dad's story. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks Erin and I can put together our own memoirs to share the experiences we had during this time. God Bless You!

Now back to regular programming

How it happened - continued

In the last two hours of the delivery, Erin, now pleasantly under epidural's spell, started pushing with every contraction. Since we were at the top of the tallest building on a very tall hill, we left the curtains to the oversized, oval shaped windows wide open. At 9:40pm there's still considerable twilight, and the mountains rose majestically above the horizon. With every push, Erin gave her full concentration and effort to make the baby come microscopically closer to the end goal. Our birth team was excellent in giving her encouragement and advice through the process.

Near the end, Erin was screaming with every push, yelling, "Baby, get out!" For half an hour the top of our baby's head was poking out with his black, curly hairs going every which direction. The doctor asked if she wanted an episiotomy, and Erin declined; but there was trouble brewing inside. Erin had a secret tear beginning on the inside and during one of the last pushes she tore in two places around the baby's head. The doctor was quick to perform an episiotomy to avoid future tearing. Upon the next push, our new boy shot out into the world.

Suddenly the room exploded in activity. Baby Hardwick was placed on mommy's chest immediately after the birth, and the two began their bond. The doctor was lightning quick to have me cut the umbilical cord. A moment later the baby's nurse brought him to the crib to check his vitals. Torn between watching the baby and caring for my shuttering wife, our doula took charge and gave me permission to watch over the baby as she took care of Erin.

I carefully watched as my new son changed from purple to "normal" colored skin. His legs were long and skinny, same were his fingers and toes. Covering his shoulders and back is hair like I've never known. I joked that we should name him Esau, but that name didn't make the list.

During all the tests, he was very calm. Only crying slightly until he heard my voice. Even when he does cry, it's not very high pitched.

After our baby's birth, Erin was on her way to the OR to have her tearing sewn up. But first, another woman needed our doctor to have her twins born. At 12:45am Erin was properly drugged up and was taken into the OR to have her more than thirty stitches put in. I stayed back in the, now emptied, room of labor with my new son. I sat in the rocking chair next to the windows staring at the midnight-glow of downtown. I introduced my son to Tacoma, and pointed out where daddy worked. Minutes later I fell asleep, with baby in arms until Erin came back at 3am.

When she returned, the nurses helped us pack our things and moved us down one floor (from 14 to 12) to a smaller postpartum room. Like a zombie I followed their direction, mumbling uncertain comments or questions, into our new living space. The only thing we forgot was the list of potential baby names that I hung in the birthing room. Like a drone, I sent myself on autopilot to retrieve the document.

Today's to-do list: choosing the name

Stay Tuned...

11:21pm - continued

We started pushing at 9:20pm. At 11:21pm I was able to announce to Erin and the rest of the personnel in the room, "It's a BOY!"

7 lbs 6.6oz.
20.5 inches

Baby is healthy. Mommy has a fourth degree tear from the inside and is waiting to go to the Operating Room.

With all the activity around here, this is all I'll post until tomorrow.

Next up...
The first feeding
Baby pictures
Update on mommy
Baby name

9 1/2 centimeters!

9 1/2 centimeters. That's all for now!

Update: 8:30pm - Doctor is having dinner. We will start pushing when she's done having her strawberry shortcake.

more to come...

The end of labor? - continued

Since you saw us last, we kicked up the intensity of labor. From 4am to 10am there was no improvement in dialation or effacement. So at 10:30am the first small doses of Pitocin were administered. Within twenty minutes labor picked up and things got exciting.

To help distract from the pain, I turned the Computer into a DVD player to show Friends episodes. Erin bounced through her contractions on a tylenol shaped excercise ball while watching Monica and Chandler plan their wedding. That was when it was managable!

Two hours later it was time to check Erin's progress again. I politely asked my mother to leave the room as it was about to get pretty exciting. 6cm dialated, we were elated! Next to the whirlpool tub, where she labored for another hour. This time the moans were getting louder and louder. The most fun about this part was the amount of space in the bathroom and it's need to include Erin's IV medicatons, a nurse, me, doula, stabilizing bars, and a toilet with measured urine sitting in a "hat". An hour later she was at 7cm.

The time for the tub had ended and Erin wanted to be on all fours. We moved to the bed and this time she couldn't keep still. Every contraction she needed a new position. Thrashing wildly to reduce the pain. At one time it looked as if she were performing an African Tribal dance, complete with clawed fingers and grinding teeth.

An hour and a half of this we checked again... 7cm. What?! The last hour was the worst. I'm not normally a crying person, but seeing my wife eye-to-eye writhing in pain, I broke down in tears. So when I heard that there was no improvement in dialation, I was hoping that Erin would request an epideral for herself. It only took two more contractions before she did.

Six contractions later, the anesthesiologist arrived and quickly administered the epidural. Two minutes later, there was no more intense pain. Why so quick? Said the anesthesiologist, "She has great landscaping."

She was quickly relaxing into the bed. "Am I still having contractions?"

"You're having one now."

"Can I take a nap?"

"Yes"

Since Erin was on her way to sleep, our doula Julie gave me permission to go and get some dinner. I headed down to the cafeteria and had a double-meat, double-cheese, double-bacon burger with sweet potato fries with my mom.

I returned at 4:30pm, just in time for the next check: 8cm and 100% effaced! Now we're just waiting for 10cm and a new kind of pressure, the one to push the baby out.

Thanks for staying in touch, your prayers are appreciated!

More to come...

Adventures in Laboring - Continued

We moved to the Active Labor rooms right after the last blog post. But the contractions haven't really progressed beyond where we were back then. Since there's not much new to speak of, I thought it would be fun to share some pictures.

Below is Erin just after enduring her IV injection. Cute face, I think I'll be seeing a lot of it in my near future.

After sleeping on the floor for over an hour, our nurse was able to find an available cot to sleep on. The birthing unit is pretty full these days.

Next shows Erin as a happy camper because the contraction just ended.

At last, breakfast arrived, it took over an hour. Pancakes and eggs with bacon and hash browns, but I forgot to order ketchup. Erin tried sleeping between her contractions. She broke her water at 2am the previous morning, and was trying to induce labor all last night, and now with contractions at their current intensity, she's just plum tired.

One interesting thing to note is the attention paid to making sure the hospital staff is taking care of the appropriate patient. The cafeteria gal who brought in the breakfast checked Erin's tag and asked if she was Ms. Hardwick. "Yes" she replied. Next, she turned to me and asked, "Are you the guest?" "Yes, I'm the baby dad." I replied. Without a flinch she put the food on the table and left. I'm guessing they actually hear that a lot.

Next up
Meeting the daytime On Call doctor Dr. Vanudo

More later...

Active Labor Begins - Continued

It's 4:50am on the second day. Active Labor just started 30 minutes ago; Dr. Ho measured Erin at 3 centimeters and 75% effaced. Mom barely slept during the night, and had her last dose of Cytotec while dad slept on the comfortable bed for four hours (he also slept on the floor for an hour and a half before that)

Erin is off of insulin for the time being. Now we're able to walk around and deal with the labor without having to be strapped to the bed. In the night they hooked her up to an IV because she was loosing too much fluid, which also slowed her labor progress for a bit. The IV was also used to administer antibiotics to help fight off infection because of her water being broken for so long.

We sent our Doula home at 6pm yesterday because of the lack of activity. But today we'll probably be calling her in about 2 hours from now; I'll need somebody that has had a full nights sleep for help then.

Sorry this post is a bit choppy, it's being written in the throws of labor contractions.

More to come...

At the Hospital - Continued

Okay, it's been six hours since my last post. There has been far fewer exciting things happening since we arrived at the hospital. I think the baby just wanted to be born at home. Since we arrived Erin was hooked up to a heart and contraction monitor, and the nurse was going to start inducing with Cytotec. We hadn't yet seen the doctor or had her cervix checked.

Erin had bouts of tears every time the nurse came in to progress the pregnancy in a drug induced way. We called in our second line of defense, our Doula Julie. She was very helpful in managing our concerns about our circumstances.

We had the nurse check the cervix and started walking around the hallways for the next hour. During that time Erin received a call for an interview with Discovery Elementary tomorrow. "Sorry, we're at the hospital trying to have a baby at the moment." Oh well, missed that opportunity.

Below is a picture of St. Joseph's Hospital. We're on the top floor looking out toward the Port of Tacoma on the edge of Commencement Bay.

Below is the view from our room. You can see my workplace in the lower right corner of the window. We can see much of the Cascade mountains just up to but not including Mount Rainier.

At 4:30pm We met with our On-Call Doctor, Dr. Ho. She was very pleasant and explained her reasons why she thinks Cytotec is a good choice for us. Also, a bit earlier we ran into our favorite Midwife that eased some of our concerns for the drug.

At 5pm Erin took a half dose of Cytotec and nodded off to sleep. 45 minutes into the medication, contractions are up. Cytotec only needs to be monitored for an hour then Erin can walk around and eat a bit for the next two hours. My sister Pattie arrived and is sharing her birth stories while they walk the hallways together. Erin hasn't needed to use her breathing excercises yet, but it seems that every other door they pass has a woman inside moaning through her pain.

Next, it seems, is more Cytotec as it seems to be gradually increasing the contractions without intense jumps in pain magnatude.

Still more to come...

Baby Day - Continuation

It's now 10:30am and the contractions haven't quite picked up since early this morning. We made an agreement with the hospital that we would head their direction if there's been no progress by noon. We're trying some techniques to start labor at home: walking, squatting, cleaning chores. If something doesn't happen soon it'll be "tune in Tokyo" time.

Today feels like one of those days when you are going on vacation, but your flight doesn't leave until late afternoon. Most of your morning is just filled with anxiety and boredom. We're all packed and sitting, twiddling our thumbs waiting for departure time to come. It doesn't really matter when we get to the airport, the flight will be delayed anyway, then we're just waiting at the airport instead of at home.

It's said that the breaking of water precedes labor in only 10 to 12 percent of all pregnancies. I say those 88 to 90 percent of women should count themselves lucky, we've gone through a whole roll of toilet paper since 2am.

More to come...

It's Time!

It was 2 o'clock in the morning when Erin turned the lights to the bedroom on, and in the sweetest morning-scratchy voice says "Good morning, honey." She paused to make sure that I was awake. "Are you ready to have a baby today? My water broke."

It's 6am now and her contractions are only 5 minutes apart. They don't have much pain yet, but she is feeling them in her lower back where she's supposed to.

Since 2am was still pretty early, Erin wanted to get more sleep. Besides, who knows when we'll get another chance at sleep again? I placed a plastic bag and towel on the bed for her to sleep on in case of any more spilling.

We haven't called our doctor yet. Actually, our doctor is going on vacation today for a week. So we get to have an on-call doctor, which we're fine with because we didn't feel too connected to our current doctor.

That's it for now. Stay tuned for the rest of the day for more updates on baby Hardwick.

What's next:
Hospital Arrival Time
Doctor's name
Baby Arrival Time
Baby Stats
Baby Name

Baby Stats

According to today's ultrasound, baby is still on target as far as size. Baby weighs about 6 pounds 1 ounce (I was 6 lb 6 oz at birth) and has a normal head size (52nd percentile) Hooray! It is always a relief to see and hear that baby is doing well despite the diabetes. The doctor increased my insulin dosage again today, and all 5 of my blood tests were in range! Hooray again! In five more days baby should be ready to enter the world. After the appointments we stopped by a boutique today that I really enjoyed. I got two diaper covers, two snappis, and some baby bum cleaner. All we need now is the baby!

Testing 1 2 3

My doctor has ordered twice a week non-stress tests to make sure baby is doing ok in there. I went in for my first test yesterday and had no idea what to expect other than a non-invasive monitoring. They walked me back into a little tiny room with a bookshelf, leather recliner, coffee table, and lamp. I got very cozy on the chair while the nurse strapped a couple of monitors on my belly. Then she handed me a chapstick-sized tool with a button on one end. I was instructed to press it every time I felt the baby move. She turned on the machine which blared the sound of the baby's heart beat. Baby was taking a nap, so she rang a cowbell over my belly. That did the trick! So for the next 45 minutes I got to relax in the recliner, listen to baby's heart, and feel for baby's movement. This was indeed a non-stress test! We get to go tomorrow for another NST, an ultrasound (this will be number four and I don't want to look at the screen at all in case baby decided to reveal anything), and another appointment. My blood sugars are still wacky. The endocrinologist has increased my insulin every other day and I'm sure he will again tomorrow. We are praying that baby decides to come out early - any time after next Tuesday - so I don't have to be induced. My final countdown at work: 2 days!!

Well that part is good news

So today I went to visit the endocrinologist and got my prescription to help control the diabetes. Since my levels have gone so high, I am no longer eligible for the oral meds and require insulin injections instead. Injections?! I know!! But, insulin IS safe for baby and the oral meds are only "probably" safe. So that part is good news. I get to take 3 injections a day in my belly and increase my blood testing times to 5 (or more) times a day. If this baby had any idea all the poking I am doing for him/her ... So far I have made it through 1 injection with Joshua at my side comforting me and encouraging me and telling me how proud he was when I managed to actually do it. I don't know how I would ever get through this without him! Also, I have decided to end my school year a little early and am calling it quits as of May 30. The doctor today said they wouldn't let the baby stay more than 39 weeks, and that is just 4 short weeks away! We are meeting with our new ob this Friday, and she may have a more specific plan in mind after monitoring the baby. We'll see. We will now have visits every week and lots of extra monitoring to make sure baby is ok in there. It amazes me that the human population has continue to grow with all the complications that can come with pregnancy!

A Losing Battle

As many of you know, I have been fighting with all that I am to control this diabetes with just diet and exercise. It has been a difficult battle, and until this week I was putting up a pretty good fight. But I am sorry to say that the diabetes has won. My blood sugar is completely out of control no matter what I eat or how many miles I walk a day. It is too high when I roll out of bed. I have tried multiple supplements from my naturopath to no avail, and so on Monday I will call my endocrinologist and get my prescription for drugs that will certainly lower my sugar levels and "probably" not harm the baby. Next I will call and cancel my appointment with the midwife and try to reschedule with a doctor. Last, I will call the hospital and request a tour of their facilities. I am so bummed about this whole ordeal, but trust that it is the Lord's plan and am peaceful knowing that it is what is best for the baby.
Today is a rare day in Washington ... the sun is shining brightly over the 80+ degree day. So we are off to enjoy it and forget about the stinkin' diabetes for a while!

Eight month baby belly and Joshua's first baby shower

I know it's been a while since I've shown off my baby belly to the world, so here it is! 32 weeks and a few days along. Please ignore whatever it is I have spilled on my shirt and the sagging non-maternity sweatpants. We were on our evening walk (gotta keep the blood sugar down!) and we decided then and there it was high time for a picture.
After the amazing day of yard work fun, our home group threw a lovely baby shower. We were showered indeed with everything from a money tree to be used for diaper service to a round trip airline ticket so my mom can be here when the baby is born! Thank you everyone!

Trying to Beat Diabetes

I realize that this disease affects so many people, but I am just not yet willing to accept how much it is affecting me. I have followed my meal plan exactly (which leaves me feeling constantly hungry by the way) and increased my exercise level four times over. And yet, I have failed half of my blood tests. It is a very frustrating situation to be in, and now I get so nervous every time I have to test that it is probably making it worse! Stress is a major factor in increasing glucose levels. Stressed? Me? What, with a baby on the way, diabetes staring me down, a must-pass-or-will-lose-teaching-credential test next weekend, no job to speak of for next year, and all the day to day work and personal issues? Hmmm ... Did I mention that I had a week long hives outbreak too? Ok, enough of my ranting. Just had to get those feelings out to someone other than my poor husband. At least you don't have to see me crying all the time ...

I Got Da Beat

Diabetes that is! After taking the standard pregnancy glucose test last week, it was determined that my glucose levels are off the charts high and I have what is called gestational diabetes. Apparently 3% of pregnant women develop this condition which goes away as soon as the baby is born. Tomorrow I get to go learn how this will really impact my life for the next 8 or so weeks (Can you believe that is all that is left before the baby arrives????). Some of the big bummers that came with this diagnosis include: Not being eligible to deliver at the Birthing Center we had chosen with a midwife and no drugs; having a high risk for C-Section due to diabetic babies having extremely large heads; having a higher risk of a premature baby and all the complications that could follow; having to stick my finger with a needle every day to test my blood. SO... I would much appreciate your prayers for a healthy baby, a complication-free delivery, and peace about the whole situation.