Well, I am officially a Mom.
I started this entry to mark Carter’s 1 week birthday, but I never finished.
I figured I could still do it and mark his two-week birthday.
Clearly, that did not happen.
Forget about 3 weeks.
However, I was determined to finish it by his 1 month birthday.
So, here it is …
Despite the 1:00 AM and 4:00 AM feedings, I still cannot believe that Carter is actually here … his due date was supposed to be this Saturday, March 31st.
While it is fresh in my mind, I thought I would take a moment to reflect on my experiences leading up to the arrival of Mr. Carter Wittmus Lange. As Brian said, I probably will get a “good cry” out of it and I think it will be a fun record for Carter to have when he gets older. I do get a little wordy, so, if you want to jump to the actual day of Carter’s birth … let’s head to February 28th. So, here we go …
To understand how shocking Carter’s arrival was, I have to set the stage. Aside from working with my mom in real estate, I had also been actively giving pitching lessons to about 40 girls. I started a 20 week program in September and the plan was to finish up the week of March 5th. And, then I was going to use all of the extra time I had to mentally and physically prepare for Baby Lange.
To be honest, Brian and I always thought the doctors had the due date wrong and that Baby Lange would be born in April.
Leading up to Carter’s arrival, here is what my schedule looked like:
Monday: Real Estate; Pitching lessons from 3:30 pm to 9:30 pm (I usually ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on my way from one lesson to another)
Tuesday: Real Estate; Drove 75 minutes to pitching lesson; lessons from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
Wednesday: Real Estate; Pitching lessons from 3:30 to 8:30
Thursday / Friday: Real Estate; occasionally a pitching lesson or two; doctors appointments; and all of the errands I neglected to do Monday – Wednesday
Weekends: Real Estate; some pitching lessons; Family Time
Needless to say, I led a very active life while I was pregnant. It certainly made the time go by very quickly. And, physically I only really started to feel it towards the end … started to have a little more trouble with standing for the extended periods of time, back pain, etc.
Since I planned to have about 3+ weeks after pitching lessons to truly dedicate to preparing for Baby Lange, I found other projects along the way to fill any “dead time” that I may have had. And, what better project than planning a Surprise 30th Birthday dinner for my dear husband, as well as, other special events to mark his special day.
If I had known what was about to happen … I would have been sitting on the couch with my feet up.
February 20, 2007 – As I frantically begin preparing for Brian’s birthday, I experienced the first minor complication in my pregnancy… noticed swelling in my right angle. It developed during my Tuesday night pitching lesson and I figured I had just “over done it” for the night.
February 21, 2007 – After a good night’s sleep, my ankle was better, but as I continued to do things throughout the day, the swelling returned. I spoke with my brother about it and because only one of my ankles was swelling, he was concerned about a possible blood clot. So, as I drove from a real estate appointment to my Wednesday night pitching lessons, I paged my doctor and she reassured me that it was perfectly normal for only one ankle to swell.
February 22, 2007 – Brian’s 30th Birthday. As most of you know, I LOVE birthdays. Unfortunately, Brian was traveling for work the entire week. So, I arranged for him to have a phone call marathon throughout the day … he received 30 phone calls and 30 different Yankees Trivia questions. And, I surprised him by traveling up to New York to see him and take him out to dinner. It probably was not the smartest thing I have ever done, especially with a swollen ankle and being almost 9 months pregnant. But, who wants to spend their birthday alone?
February 23, 2007 – I returned from New York in time for my 34 week check up. Since Brian was still away, my Mom came with me. I happened to get the only nurse I did not like in the practice. She seemed to have a little trouble finding Baby Lange’s heartbeat, but eventually found it. Soon after, the doctor came in and measured my tummy only to tell me that I was “measuring small” and that she was sending me for an ultrasound. After having an easy / stress-free pregnancy, I had a swollen ankle for the first time, the nurse had trouble finding the heartbeat, and now I was measuring small. Needless to say, I was a bit upset. Since it was almost 5:00 pm, I quickly called to schedule the ultrasound and the earliest they could see me was 8:30 am on Friday, March 2nd. I called my doctor back to see if there was another testing center I could go to, but she reassured me that Friday, March 2nd was soon enough. She truly felt that I was “measuring small” because I am so tall. With a few tears, I called Brian to fill him in and quickly went home to google “measuring small.” I was not thrilled with what I found. However, I kept busy by preparing the food for Brian’s surprise 30th birthday dinner. (He was on his way home from New York and I had to somehow finish the food before he got home).
February 24, 2007 – Baby Shower Day and Brian’s Birthday Dinner. Looking back, I cannot believe that I thought having two parties on the same day made sense. However, it was a lot of fun. I got up early so that I could finish preparing the food while Brian slept. Plus, I had to pick-up and deliver his cake to my parent’s house. My shower started at 1:00 and ended around 4:00. It was great to see all of my family and friends. And, after opening so many fabulous gifts … it really hit home that I was having a baby. The only thing that took away from the day was the fact that I had had a disappointing doctor’s appointment on Friday. However, as I talked to more and more people at the shower, they had indicated that something similar had happened to them and that I shouldn’t worry.
After the shower ended, I sent Brian and my sister home to unload the gifts. As soon as he left, we quickly transitioned my parent’s house from Baby Shower Central to Birthday Party Central. I think we finally got home around 10:30ish. It was great to celebrate Baby Lange and Brian’s Birthday, but I was EXHAUSTED.
February 25, 2007 – Brian and I woke up and decided that it was time to get serious about Baby Lange and the nursery. We needed to purchase some new lamps for the room. We needed a nightstand table. And, we wanted to purchase our car seat. So, we set out on a little shopping and lunch date. The shopping spree was a huge success. However, I noticed that I was leaking some fluid, especially after going to the bathroom.
To be honest, I noticed it when I woke up, but at the time I did not think it was a big deal. As the day went on, I noticed the leaking fluid more and more. With all of the excitement from the day before, I thought the fluid was related to my bladder and that perhaps Baby Lange had shifted positions and was applying pressure to my bladder … thus, causing the leak.
Brian and I had a great day and I went to bed not overly concerned with the fluid issue.
February 26, 2007 – Since my office meeting was cancelled, I decided to head to the gym for a quick morning workout. The fluid leak was still an issue, but I kept thinking it would go away. Around lunch time, I became a bit uncomfortable and decided to call the doctor’s office. Because of the visit I had had on Friday, I was a little bit more nervous about things. My doctor recommended that I come in for a quick check-up.
Since my mother had just arrived to look at all of my presents from the shower, she decided to drive me to the doctor’s office. They checked Baby Lange’s heartbeat and that was fine. And, then I was examined. Although I tested positive for fluid, the doctor did not see any fluid. However, to be on the safe side, he pulled some strings and was able to move my ultrasound up and I was scheduled for 3:00 pm Monday afternoon.
As I was leaving the doctor’s office, I called Brian and he met my mother and I at the ultrasound testing center. The ultrasound could not have gone better. My amniotic fluid levels were fine and Baby Lange was not so small after all … the ultrasound measured him at 6 lbs 2 oz. And, they said that Baby Lange had a lot of HAIR. As far as the leaking, the doctor said to watch for a fever.
We left the ultrasound in good spirits, but with the realization that perhaps we really needed to focus on getting ready for Baby Lange. Although some people may have cancelled their commitments after the emotional roller-of-a-coaster day I had had, I (like an idiot), headed off to my Monday night pitching lessons.
I called Brian after each lesson to reassure him that I was ok. And, I mentioned to my pitching students that I planned to have lessons on March 5th, but that because I was having some complications with my pregnancy the lessons were going to be shortened.
After my lessons, I headed home and went straight to bed.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007 – Baby Lange prep day. The hormones were clearly raging. I woke up a bit depressed because I was still leaking and had no idea how I was going to survive 5 weeks of what I was feeling. And, I had no energy to go shopping. My mom knew I was depressed and offered to go shopping for me … I had a ton of “what to bring to the hospital” lists, but I had NOTHING on any of those lists. So, I faxed a list to my mom and 2 hours at Target later, my Mom dropped off the essentials.
While she was shopping, I was frantically trying to find a police department that would be willing to inspect my car seat to ensure that we had installed it properly. I was practically crying through these phone calls (I should have known something was wrong). And, then I had an emotional breakdown because I did not have a diaper bag (Again, I should have known that something was wrong).
By mid-afternoon, I decided to call the nurse’s hotline to ask a few questions about my little fluid situation. I did not feel that I had any closure with what I should / should not be doing. When I spoke with the nurse (she wasn’t very nice to me), she basically said that there was little that the doctor could do. She told me that I could come in to get checked out, but she wasn’t sure what, if anything would be done.
While most people would cancel their afternoon commitments, I headed off (like an idiot, again), to my Tuesday night pitching lessons. Neither Brian nor my mother, were thrilled with my decision. As a concession, Brian met me at my pitching lessons and we followed each other home. Since I was 90 minutes away from my doctor and hospital, Brian just wanted to be careful.
All in all, I felt fine. I was just a bit uncomfortable.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007 – The day my life would change forever
I spent most of the morning going through my shower gifts, writing thank you notes, and washing some of the clothes that I thought I would eventually want to pack for the hospital. Around 11:30, I decided that I needed more closure on the fluid situation. So, I quickly called the nurse’s hotline (they are only there until noon on Wednesdays). The same nurse, who I had spoken with on Tuesday, called back and recommend that I come in for a visit because she was unable to diagnose me over the phone. The nurse sent me to the “on call” doctor who happened to be working in Labor & Delivery at Paoli Hospital.
As I was heading to the hospital, I called Brian and told him that I was going for the visit. He told me that I “needed to do what I needed to do to get closure” and he even suggested that I pick-up a nice lunch for myself after the appointment. In addition, I called my mom who was doing some follow-up shopping for me and told her that I was on my way to the doctor. And, thankfully, she suggested that she meet me at the hospital.
Noon: I met up with my mother and we headed in to the hospital. They placed me in triage room and hooked me up to a monitor to watch Baby Lange. To be honest, I thought I was “crying wolf” and I was embarrassed that I had to go through all of this pomp and circumstance … hospital gown, monitors, blood pressure, medical history, etc.
My mom and I got a kick out of listening to Baby Lange on the monitor. The baby was kicking away, but I hardly felt them because of the placement of my placenta.
1:15ish: My mom and I are still waiting for the doctor to come in. I am starting to get a little nervous about time because I planned to have a 4:30 pitching lesson and then of course I had my group lessons at 6:30.
1:30: The doctor arrives and does her exam. On the intial check, I test positive for fluid. However, because of my doctor’s appointment on Monday, my doctor has to check the fluid under the microscope. My doctor leaves the room …
1:45ish: The doctor returns … and says something to the effect of, “Its amnionic fluid. You have a ruptured membrane … your water has broken. Because of where you are in your pregnancy, the risk of infection for you and the baby is too high … we are going to induce labor.”
To say that I did not handle this news well is an under-statement. I bursted out in to tears and told the doctor that I was NOT ready to have this baby and that this was the last thing I thought she was going to say.
I am not sure how my doctor responded, but she mentioned having a NICU consult (to be prepared for a preemie) and then mentioned the drugs that I was going to be put on.
1:55ish: Just before being led to my room, I made the call to Brian. Through a few tears, I told Brian that he had to come home and that I was going to have the baby. My mom quickly ran to get me some lunch (once the drugs started … I was not allowed to eat anything)
2:00ish: I was placed in my room and met with the nurses. I had to sign papers for myself and I had to sign papers for Baby Lange. I quickly ate my lunch and it was go time.
3:00ish: Hooked up to IV and drugs were pumping.
4:00ish: Brian arrives at hospital
4:00 – 7:00: The drugs are flowing. Brian and I are just hanging out in the hospital room … actually, we were frantically canceling my pitching lessons and reviewing our name choices. (We had some favorites, but we never had the “these are the names” conversation.)
7:00 pm: I meet the night nurse assigned to me and she takes over the monitoring of Baby Lange.
7:00 to 9:00: I am finally starting to feel the contractions. To me, it felt like a terrible stomachache. During this time, my sisters and parents arrive at the hospital to check in. They had spent most of the afternoon at my house getting the nursery organized, washing cloths / bedding, buying diapers, putting the pack-n-play together, etc. As I mentioned to the Doctor, WE WERE NOT READY FOR THIS BABY TO COME.
9:00 to 10:30: MORE DRUGS ARE NEEDED. Now, I totally applaud any woman who gives birth without an epidural, however, it became clear around this time that I was not strong enough to be one of those women. So, reinforcements were called in and I received my epidural.
10:30 to 11:00: Kelley and my Mom stop by to see how things are going and to let me know that the Lange house is ready for Baby Lange’s Arrival
11:00: My nurse who happened to be pregnant as well leaves the room for some ice cream. However, she quickly returns when she sees some activity on my monitor. It is time for Kelley and my Mom to leave.
11:01: Time to start pushing
11:30ish: My nurse calls in my OB and the rest of the calvary … Baby Nurse, NICU nurse, etc
11:30 – 11:51: Pushing … Brian was a bit hard on me … my nurse was a big supporter of 3 sets of “pushing.” However, Brian liked to do 4 sets.
11:52: CARTER WITTMUS LANGE ARRIVES …. Brian gets to cut the cord.
12:00ish: Carter is sent to NICU and Brian goes with him
1:00ish: Brian announces “It’s a Boy” to Grandma + Grandpa Z, Aunt Kelley, and Aunt Kara
1:30ish: Family congratulates me in hospital and leaves to catch some sleep before visiting hours on Thursday.
2:00ish: We get to visit Carter in the NICU
3:00ish: SLEEP
Thursday AND EVERY DAY SINCE – It has been all about Mr. Carter Wittmus Lange.
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