3.29.2009

my sis is a momma and i'm an auntie! ::

the short story:
he is an adorable 8lb 8ounce 22inch not-so-little little guy named jaden samuel h. :D he has little dimples, chunky thighs and potentially flat feet (taking after his poppa). the labor was crazy long though not overly painful thanks to an epidural which my sis says i must get when it's my turn. back when i was young and oh-so-silly (i.e. before i saw this labor and delivery), i thought i'd like to try it completely au natural but after seeing the beginnings of extreme uncomfortable-ness and the super duper length of time and process it takes for the cervix to dilate, i think not.

baby j with momma's glasses. :) heehee. how funny is that?
the long story:
we came to cedars on fri 3/27 at 3.00am in the morning. my sister spotted spotting and the doc said if that happened that we ought to head to the ER. after a few hrs of monitoring, we were told to go home. my sis was officially in the early stages of the labor. home we went and last minute preps began. i thought we'd be back at the hospital after just a few hrs. boy, was i wrong! my sister had cramp-like contractions all day and then they got stronger around 6.00pm. we headed to the mall to get some walking in and also to gather some lounge wear for her post baby. as her contractions got more consistent, we decided it was time to go back to cedars. we arrived around 10pm and waited. and waited. and waited. then smiled and thanked the anesthesiologists for their good work. then waited and waited. hour after hour passed and i wondered how it could really take this long. my sis got a fever and the baby's heart beat raised so the nurse put humongo ice packs under her armpits, behind her back and above her belly. she dropped in temperature and was shivering for the next hour or two. it's so sad to see your sis in pain and not be able to help her. one thing i realized during the whole labor was that the feeling of helplessness can't be changed but as long as the pained person knows you're there, then that's all you can do. when she finally dilated to 9cm and +2 station, the doc wanted her to push for a try. when she pushed, the baby's heart rate decreased greatly which was not good and it took quite awhile for the heart rate to go back to normal. the doc and nurse said that with the looks of it, the baby would not make it through a v-birth. it was somewhat shocking for me and i was so bummed after all the labor and pains that my sister went through for so many hours. my sis and BIL got all covered and ready for the c-section and i was really sad because when i asked the nurse if i could be present, she said no. out we went to the waiting area. a few minutes later a nurse came out to say that i could go in too! i was soooo unbelievably happy and i ran inside, got all my sterile stuff on and waited with my BIL while they prepped my sis. i got to sit on a stool behind my sis' head and i held her shoulder. i hated that she was shaking so much and kept saying how freezing cold she was. it made me really sad. when they took the baby out, they told my BIL and i that we could see and we stood up and i saw my nephew for the first time! i was even allowed to take pics. :) my BIL headed over to cut the cord and see the baby take the APGAR and pass with flying colors! i held my sis' hand and hummed to her. i was so happy when they finally finished up and closed her up. freaky thing though was when they were counting up the gauze clothes they used during the surgery, they were missing one. i was thinking they couldn't have left something in her uterus!!! anyways, they finally found it and we headed to the recovery room.

a day later, we're all so happy and thankful he's here with us and he's doing great! my sis is doing great as well. i thought she'd be experiencing more pain and inability to move about but she's up and walking and seems to be doing very well. i'm so relieved. when she was in labor and then at the operating table, i just wanted it all to be over so she wouldn't have to be uncomfy anymore.

and that's how my sis became a momma and how i became an auntie! if you read through it all, then you're prob a momma and have your own crazy story of how your little one came into the world. :)

::
unrelated things:
1. i got a free $200 haircut at serge normant by john frieda in west hollywood because a stylist craigslisted a request for someone who would be willing to get a graduated bob for an audition video he's submitting. he's trying to get onto shear genius! i responded and got my hair chopped off. i was excited for a free haircut but he didn't do a great job. i was surprised since he's been cutting hair for 15+ years. maybe people in weho don't get bobs. anyways, when things settle down here, i'll be heading to the k-town salon that my sis went to to get a fix up. in the meanwhile, the hair is up in 2 stubby low pigtails. :)

2. for the moment, i've halted the jewelry making and shop promoting because things have been uber busy here. but give me a week or so... i think that'll be enough time to settle down.

6 comments:

CALVIN LAI said...

Great summary! I can't wait to see you, Jaden & the whole family!

Laura Pugh said...

Congratulations! I love the photo of the baby with glasses.

Patty said...

aww, yay! what a great story! i read the whole thing, even though i'm no mommy! enjoy your time out there, auntie! :)

Unknown said...

haha, :) i did read the whole thing .. but i'm not sure if it's b/c i'm a mommy .. maybe just 'cuz i was curious. =) great re-telling! glad to hear your sister is doing well in recovery .. C-sections can be tough! and i think you did a GREAT job supporting her during her labor and delivery .. what a great sis you are! grace was totally there for me the first time, too .. she gave MUCH better back massages than tim during my labor at home .. she didn't hum to me, but it made me smile when i read that part of your story. =) sisters are the best.

Chocolate and Steel said...

congrats on the little nephew. He is really adorable! I read the whole thing too:) Once you go through it yourself you're always a little curious about other people's birth. Enjoy this time with them:)

Lucy said...

Congratulations auntie! Great birth story. I know... I'm a mommy with a crazy and happy birth story to, so I had to read it all :)