On the morning of the 11th, I woke up and felt a little different. I had a few indications that perhaps labor could be right around the corner. I began feeling interesting contractions around 1 o'clock while I was trying to make lunch. They were a little bit different than the Braxton Hicks contractions that I had been used to for the past month or so. I remained calm about it and quietly began to keep track of how often I felt my belly harden. It wasn't very strong or regular at first. I wrote the times in a notepad:
1:35, 1:43, 1:49, 1:57, 2:14, 2:23, ?, 2:52, 2:59, 3:06, 3:13
Once those last four happened, they felt more intense than the earlier ones. Nervously, we began collecting our things that we'd need for the hospital: our overnight bag, stuff Maximus would need to be entertained by, our chargers and last minute stuff, the baby carseat, etc. Then we texted our parents to let them know that we were suddenly experiencing contractions that were 7 minutes apart and the doctor said to come to the hospital. David's parents were already on their way from California and were driving somewhere in the middle of Wyoming when we called. My parents were still at home about 6 hours away.
There was an anxious feeling in the air as we locked up the apartment and carefully descended the stairs to the parking lot. Maximus could tell something was going on and we tried to explain that we needed to go get baby sister out of mama's belly. We hoped that there wouldn't be any traffic on the way to the hospital. We live about 20 miles away and have to take a busy highway to get there so we were a little nervous that my water could break in the car or something, but everything went smoothly. We arrived just before 4 o'clock and strolled into the ER. "I think that I'm in labor but I'm not totally sure," I said to the older man behind the counter. He had me write my name on a paper for him and go sit down and wait near a big door for someone to come get me.It took what felt like forever for someone to arrive with a wheelchair and take us up to the labor and delivery floor. We were immediately settled into a small triage room that had another patient in the adjacent curtained-off area. It was tiny. There was a narrow and uncomfortable hospital bed, a computer stand and two chairs. David had a heck of a time trying to keep Maximus in one place quietly and happily while I answered questions and filled out paperwork. It took about an hour to answer their questions and get some data about the baby and the contractions that they were monitoring with their machines. At that point, the contractions were not very regular but they were coming every 4-7 minutes. I was only dilated 2 centimeters though. They wanted to watch for another hour to see if things progressed or if I could be sent home.
I really didn't want to go back home. I was afraid that as soon as I got there, my water would break and we'd have to turn right back around. Plus, my parents were wanting to know what was going on so they could know if they needed to pack up their car and drive up here or not. We were all unsure. So the nurse told me that if I wanted to get things moving, it'd be helpful to walk around the hospital for a while. We got up and wandered down the hallway to a nice little waiting area. David and Maximus read a few books while I paced around in circles. We were only there for about ten minutes when [TMI warning] I felt some liquid start to drip. It was slow but definitely something other than pee. I quickly told David that we needed to head back to our room and let the nurse know. The moment she had me sit back down on the bed so she could inspect me, out it all gushed. My water broke! It was about 5:30 at this point.
We were moved into a nice, spacious delivery room which felt so good compared to the awful triage room. Maximus had room to play and explore freely which gave David the break he needed. My bed was much more comfortable to sit in too. At this point, there was just a lot of monitoring going on. Nurses came and went. There was a lot of information explained to us and we answered some more questions. They checked my dilation and timed my contractions. Now they were about 2-4 minutes apart but the weird thing was that I couldn't really feel anything at all. With Maximus, I recall having strong contractions for about 5 hours before I finally got the epidural and he was born an hour later. This time, it all felt so mild.
Around 7:30, David's parents arrived! The nurses gave us some time to visit with them. It was great timing because they wanted to get my epidural put in and David needed to be there with me while they did it. So welita and welito were there just in time to take Maximus for a little walk.
The epidural was placed but, as we'd later find out the hard way, the tube went a little crooked. It made my whole right leg feel completely dead. I couldn't move it at all and it was a bit painful. My left leg was fine and only felt kind of numb.Around 9:30 or so, David and his dad went to get some food for them to eat. I wasn't allowed to have anything because of the epidural. They ate and chat and we took some pictures. Nothing was really happening quite yet. I couldn't feel the contractions still but they were regular and often. Around 11, his parents decided to take Maximus home to sleep. He was starting to get very sleepy and whiny, and they had just driven for 2 days straight and were exhausted. Since we had no way of knowing when the baby might come, they agreed to just come back in the morning.
Right after they left, (of course!), my contractions started getting stronger. I could finally feel them. Well, I could feel them on my left side. Because of the way the epidural was incorrectly placed, my right side was completely and overly numb, and I could feel lots of pain on the left side. It was so strange. Gradually, the pain began to intensify. It climbed up the pain scale chart from a 4 to a 7 to an overwhelmingly horrible 10. The anesthesiologist came back and adjusted the tube to hopefully straighten it better so it'd work on my left side too. Then he cranked up the dosage briefly to provide some quicker relief while I screamed and writhed in one-sided pain. That was a very long half hour.
Quickly, but not quick enough, the pain lessened. It went back down to about an 8 then a 6, then a 3, then I couldn't feel much of anything again. Whew. It gave me a renewed respect for women who go completely natural. Me? I couldn't handle that. Call me a wimp if you want but I need my drugs!
Before the pains came, I was dilated about 4 cm. They checked again once we fixed the epidural problem and I was suddenly at about 8 or 9, I don't recall. It was enough for the midwife to be hastily summoned. I think they said the baby was crowning. It all happened very fast. From the time the pain kicked in, to the time she was born only took about an hour. So it was quite amazing that the drugs managed to kick in on the left side in time for me to push. It was a very narrow time frame between hellish pain and baby cries.
They told me that she was basically coming out all on her own suddenly. Without me really having a chance to get my mind around the blur of surreal events, I was being told to give one good push. That's all it took: one sit-up, basically. I leaned forward and pulled my legs toward me once and she popped right out. David helped deliver her. I looked down and my had first glimpse of the tiny blue alien as she came out. The cord was wrapped around her neck, which I remember yelling about in a motherly panic. The blueness didn't help. David was the one that actually got it off her neck. All I remember is watching her flop around like a fish for a long moment while he fixed it. It was strangely amusing and terrifying at the same time from my perspective. It literally looked like she was flopping on the table and nobody could grab her for a whole minute, but in reality it was probably only a couple seconds.Audrey Juliet Sophia Cavazos arrived at 12:35 am on Tuesday, August 12th 2014. She was 6lbs 1.3oz and 19 inches long.
They weighed her and did whatever shots and tests they needed to do then wrapped her up. I got to hold her again at some point and then my parents walked in. They got there at 12:45 am, literally 10 minutes after she was born. They had just barely missed it. Since they spontaneously drove here, they didn't have a hotel so they ended up sitting around our room with us for a while and napping in their car.
That morning, all the grandparents came back. We got a video of Maximus meeting his baby sister for the first time. At first he was confused. He just stared at her and tried to make sense of it. Suddenly, mama's belly was gone and this little Audrey person that we've been telling him about for months was here. He gave her a couple kisses and attempted to explain what happened in his own little way. It was cute.
We spent the whole day of the 12th just sitting around and chatting and holding the baby. The grandparents switched off Maximus duty and came and went now and then to eat and take a break. They left around dinner time and David and I got some time to relax. We didn't manage to put in a food order to the cafeteria in time so we had to take a couple boxed sandwiches that they had in the fridge in the parents' food room. It's a little ridiculous that the kitchen closes at 7 pm, but whatever. We ate but no matter how little sleep we had, we weren't really feeling so bad. Too much excitement. Eventually, in between the nurses continuously coming in and out of the room, I managed to get about 2-3 hours of sleep. He slept about 4-5 hours. I had to keep waking up to feed the baby and deal with nurses.It was a long night. I really couldn't settle down well. The bed wasn't so comfortable anymore and Audrey kept making little gagging noises because she had excess mucus and was having issues. Every time I'd close my eyes, she'd make a sound that worried me and I'd have to check on her again, then a nurse would waltz in. Sleep was just not going to happen. They told me that I could put her in the nursery and let the nurses watch her while I slept but I wasn't comfortable having her out of my reach.
Finally, morning came. David and I showered and got dressed. I ordered some food and ate it while he held the baby. He wanted to wait to go get some food with his parents after they arrived. Soon, the grandparents all came back to see the baby. The photography people stopped by too and suddenly we were feeling rushed to get our photos taken but we weren't quite ready. David had to go eat real quick so the photographer came back an hour later. We had our little mini-photoshoot! It was so loud in that room, full of excited energy. Audrey was a champ! And Maximus did so well when he was put in the pictures with her.After that, they came to check me out and check Audrey out to make sure we were doing well enough to be discharged. I was feeling great! It had taken a while for my legs to be sturdy again but I didn't have much pain other than an overall dull fatigue and ache that can be expected after having given birth. I was in such a better condition than I was when I had Maximus. The difference was amazing and I was so thankful. Audrey was perfect. She passed her hearing test and had all of her shots and tests done. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her. We were so relieved and happy about it!
We spent the rest of the week just hanging out at the apartment. We did all go out and get some burgers at Freddy's for lunch, but the grandma's were doing well making food for everyone and the grandpa's were enjoying themselves with beer and conversation. Audrey was passed around to everyone and she was definitely loved. Maximus was having the time of his life playing with all his grandparents. Good times were had.
--
Audrey,
Someday you may want to know what it was like when you were born. Your story wasn't as dramatic as Maximus' story, but that's probably a good thing. Everything was wonderful and easy. I wanted to write it all down for you and for myself too so I would never forget the details. If you're reading this now as a teenager or even as an adult about to have a child of her own, please know that we love you. No matter where life takes us, you will always be my baby girl and I will always be there for you. This is how it all began.
I'm holding you in my arms right now as I type this. You are already so beautiful. I'm making myself tear up as I look at you. I want you to not only be beautiful, but be smart, strong, creative, adventurous, practical, inquisitive, brave, humble, kind, loving. Stick close to us and to your brother. Never be afraid to speak up and experience your life to its fullest. We love and support you no matter what.
Always remember that we love you,
Mama
--
You are a big brother. If you are able to read this, you surely understand what being a big brother involves. Your name means "Greatest Defender of the People" and your very first, important task that we ever gave you was to always protect and love your baby sister. As of right now, we aren't planning on having more kids but, by the time you read this, perhaps you do have another sibling. If so, you must also protect him or her. It is a very big assignment but we know that you can handle it. Audrey is tiny right now. She is precious and beautiful. You know it. You already want to be by her side at all times. You tell me when she's crying and you give her a kiss on her head to make her feel better. You're already an amazing big brother. All I ask is that you keep it up.
Your life has changed over the past two weeks. You are handling it well so far but you do naturally have a bit of jealousy toward your sister since you aren't used to sharing our attention. It will get easier as she gets older. Soon the two of you will be best friends.
Never forget that we love you. Both of you. Equally. We will always be there for you, and when we're not, you need to be there for each other.
We are proud of you,
Mama
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