Friday, November 25, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Home Sweet Home
On October 29th I came home from the hospital. Jim had to work all day, but Miriam was there with me at the hospital and helped me get discharged. We rode a cab home and when I walked in the door the house was the cleanest I have seen it in ages. On my bed were my pajamas and on my night stand was a bowl of cream of broccoli soup and toast. Susan Grace had taken the younger children to the museum near our home and the house was quiet and sunny. I set the baby down next to my bed. My children had worked so hard and it felt so good to be home, I started to cry. Later that night, the branch had a trick or treating party for the primary. Jim was still working. Pulling out all of the costumes (along with face paint) and getting the kids out the door was very overwhelming. For the second time in one day, I felt the burning sensation of tears welling up in my eyes, this time for a different reason.
Oh, no, here I go on the postpartum rollercoaster of emotions.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Delivery Room, Severence Hospital, Seoul, Korea
A few months before Benjamin was born, I took Miriam to a prenatal appointment with me. Out of the blue, I found myself asking if my oldest daughters could come to the birth of our baby. I expected the doctor to give an emphatic, "No". I just about fell off my chair when she said, "I think that would be great."
Why did I ask? I wondered to myself, over and over again, but Miri, Miri lived each moment of the next few months strategizing how she could convince me that the doctor was right.
In the end, my two oldest daughters were there with Jim and me for the birth of Benjamin; my only child birth experience without pain medication.
Jim said he's never heard anyone scream inside a building as loudly as I did the last five minutes of delivery.
The reason I aquiesced to my daughters' desperate begging to see their baby brother be born? Because they have been so helpful during my pregnancy, it didn't seem fair to leave them out of the most exciting moment of all.
5:15 p.m., October 27, 2011
After six weeks of sporadic bouts of false labor, Benjamin's due date came and went; still no baby. With the exception of Susan Grace (my first baby), I have gone into labor on or before my due date with all of my other children. Much to my disappointment, it looked like I was going to have to be induced with this baby. Bummer! Knowing what I knew about my previous birth experience in Korea, I faced the facts: induction without epidural. Yikes.
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