Miss. Raven

My daughter will be 13 on Sunday. How in the world did that happen?! UGH! She's growing up way too fast. I remember that exactly 13 years ago I was heading to my 9:30 appointment, my final appointment, and I was so very sore. I wasn't huge, I was small compared to some of the other women whom I saw at every appointment, but her head was down so low!!! So I waddled to help with the discomfort. It was snowing, of course :), and I thought it would be nice to walk to try and bring labor on. My doctor's office was only a 20 minute walk from my house, not far at all. When I got there my doctor asked me if I wanted him to strip my membranes. Since this was my first baby I had no idea what he was talking about. He explained and I was like..."Sure. Whatever. Knock yourself out!". LOL! He did, ouch, and I walked home in a lot of pain. I was totally regretting the whole walking idea at that point. LOL! But I made it home just fine. I had a lot to do the next day so I thought I should get all my house cleaning done as soon as possible. My entire day was spent cleaning!! And I mean CLEANING!!! Now that I think back on it I guess I was nesting, but then I had no idea, I just thought the house needed a good cleaning. LOL! My friends came over to see me that night to make sure everything was ok. My phone didn't stop ringing all day and well into the night. Raven's biological Father had a bad habit of calling all the time even though I asked him not to, but when he called to see if I was in labor I actually talked to him for a little bit. I asked him to respect my wishes to not have him in my life (LONG STORY), but I knew he had a right to know Raven so I answered all his questions about her. She was baby/daughter #7, YES...7!!, so he knew I was probably going to have her soon when I told him everything that was going on. He, again, asked if he could be there, I told him that the only person I wanted there was my sister and he was fine with that. Before we hung up he asked if he could see her and I told him I'd call him. I never called. It really was for the best, the best for Raven.

The next day was Valentine's Day!! I woke up and just knew I was in labor. I was hot, sweaty, crampy and spotting. But I refused to have my baby on Valentine's Day. I flat out refused! LOL! Selfish, I know, but whatever. LOL! So I started my day with my usual exercises, glass of orange juice and a Twinkie. I was a total Twinkie junkie with Raven. LOL! When I left the house I knew it was going to be rough going due to the BLIZZARD that was just starting. -_- I had to go to the hospital and drop off my paperwork, pick my niece up from school, go grocery shopping for my sister, then go get my bestfriend's 2 girls from the sitter, then go to my house and finish packing my hospital bag and then before work I has plans to go to my friend's, Denise, house for a Valentine's Day feel sorry for yourself because you're single party (LOL!!) before leaving for work. All day long I had been having some pretty painful contractions, but like I said......I refused to have her that day, so I just ignored the pain and kept going. I actually got everything done in record time! I went home to have nap before going to Denise's house. I kept waking up with every contraction and just breathing through them as best as I could. I didn't want to tell anyone because I just wasn't sure if this was it or not.

On my way to her house I stopped because I had a craving for Apple Jacks. YUMMY! I bought a box of those, milk a package of Twinkies and some chips and soda for everyone else. LOL! When I got there I was having contractions every 5-8 minutes apart. Again.....this was my first time so I had no idea what or how it was all supposed to happen. All my friends were there, all girls and one guy, who just happened to be Denise's ex-boyfriend and who was also a Dad. As soon as he saw me he said..."You're having that baby tonight. Call your doctor. Now." I refused to and sat down with a HUGE bowl of my Apple Jacks, the whole box LOL!, and was just happy to be around friends. When 9 o'clock rolled around it was time to go to work, but that was just not happening. I called in and told my boss that I couldn't make it because I was in labor. YAY! Then I remembered that I didn't have my hospital bag! O_O I went to my car thinking I would just drive over and grab it. No way. The snow was coming down too hard and my car was stuck! So my friends and I walked to my house, which was about 1 mile down the road. Not far at all, but I was in LABOR!!! I'm so glad I forgot my bags and had to go back home because I had also forgotten to blow out a few candles I left burning! We made our way back to Denise's house and by this point I couldn't walk through the contractions any more. They were just about a steady 5 minutes apart and getting stronger. Denise's landlord had to drive me to the hospital in his truck because no one else could get out! LOL! Thank God for plows!!

My sister had called me to tell me she would meet me there but one of of twins was in the hospital and it would take her a while to get to me. No prob! I could totally do this alone. I actually liked being alone. It helped me focus. Although, Denise's landlord asked if I wanted him to stay till my sister got there cause he's a Granddad and the thought of a "young woman" being alone during labor made him sad. LOL! Poor guy. I assured him that I was perfectly fine going in on my own. :) I thought that was very nice of him. When I got to labor and delivery I went to the front desk and the 2 women sitting there said..."No, hunny.....you see us AFTER you have your baby" LOL!!!! So I made my way down to the very last desk which was sorta dark and very quiet except for the screaming woman in one of the rooms. I don't mean like moaning, I mean like someone was killing her. o_O Not something a first time Mom wants so hear. So I get checked in, taken to my room and the whole time I'm trying really hard not to make any sounds whatsoever! The pain was so intense, I could barely stand it. I got changed, my doctor came in and we talked. He asked me if I wanted pain meds and I told him no, but thank you. I wanted to do this naturally. He then checked me and I was 5 1/2 cm and Raven was way down. He said just to sit back, try to relax and we'd have a baby tonight. I asked him if we could wait till AFTER midnight, and he just laughed and said..."You're asking the wrong person. You better talk to that little one in there! She's the boss now". So damn true! My sister finally got there around 11:30 and just in time to see me projectile vomit all over the curtains. She ran right back out. LOL! I don't think my nurse liked me very much after that. HAHAHAA!! Anyway. I could feel Raven moving down and knew that this was what they called transition, so I asked to be check. I could barely keep my focus, I didn't want anyone to touch me but I wanted to know where I was. She checked me and I was 7 1/2 cm dilated and she said that it probably wouldn't be much longer. That was at 1:30 a.m.. At 2 a.m. I looked at my sister and said..."I can't do it. This is killing me." She pretty much just started freaking out and asking the nurse if they could do something. The nurse said that I declined meds but if I wanted something she would ask the doctor, I started screaming....."I DON'T WANT FUCKING DRUGS!! I WANT THIS THING OUT OF ME! NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!" O_O The look on that poor woman's face was hysterical! My sister started laughing and told the nurse that I would be just fine. She then looked at me and said..."Nina. You have got to pull it together. You cannot scream at people like that. She is trying her best. And you are doing great!!! Just hang in there!". That's when I felt like I had to push. It was 2:15 a.m.. I told my sister to get the doctor, Raven was coming. NOW! She ran out, the nurse came in and said...."I just checked her and I doubt it's changed in the last 15 minutes, but I'll check anyways." -_- Yeah....she didn't like me. heheheheee!! She didn't even have to look far before she jumped up and said...."She's fully dilated! Do NOT push! That baby is RIGHT there". She ran out of the room to get the doctor and while she was gone I felt my hips pop our (ouch!) and I started pushing again. I told my sister to get them NOW! Just then about 8 people ran into the room and started getting things ready. My doctor walked up to me and said..."Oh yeah...hi baby!! She's coming fast! Better hurry!!" One push and her head was out, the second push I stopped because it hurt sooo bad, third push and she was out! They let me hold her for a second before taking her to the pedis waiting. There was meconium in my water so they had to clear her lungs out as soon as she came out. As soon as they took her from me my sister walked over to her while the doctor stitched me up. My doctor and I were talking about how funny it was that she came out hand first and with her eyes open! :) That's when we heard everyone start laughing and when I asked what the Hell was happening with my baby they said...."She's SMILING!!!" :) Yes, Raven was only minutes old and she was already smiling. After all was aid and done they handed her to me and I just stared at her and she just stared right back at me. She was the most beautiful baby I'd ever seen. She nursed right away, had great poops and slept like right next to me. It was beautiful.

Since the day she was born she was in a rush to do things fast, and now she's turning 13. 13 years went by so fast. I really should stop blinking. LOL!!