Monday, July 16, 2007

Ava Adventures - Part 2: The Wait

I know I teased you with promises of the birthing stories; however, we must first revisit The Wait. Jamie and Cory had to be at the hospital for 5:00 a.m. They asked that everyone else arrive around 8:00 a.m. so they could get settled in. The induction began shortly after 5:00 a.m. and Miss Ava was born at 11:18 p.m. I'll let you do the math.

The maternity floor at the hospital has two waiting areas right across from each other. One is a more private area with about eight chairs, a Coke machine and a television. The other is out in the open and has another eight or so chairs. We, more or less, covered both areas (me, Terry, Katie, Jamie's sister and brother-in-law, Jamie's mom and step-dad, Jamie's dad and step-mom and Jamie's other sister and her two young sons.) We all took turns in the labor and delivery room with Cory and Jamie. However, those of us not in the labor room, were mostly settled into the more private room.

As the day went on, people would come and go to the labor/delivery room with updates and news for those in the waiting room. Then, someone else from the waiting room, would go back to the labor/delivery room to stare at Jamie. When not staring at Jamie, we mostly sat around and read or played Nintendo (both adults and children) and raided the vending machines. One of our main topics of conversation involved the pork chop dinner in the vending machine downstairs. Nobody had the nerve to try it. We did, however, consider buying it, dissecting it and sending it off to the lab.

The later it got, the more delirious everyone became.

  • Around 9:00 p.m., after twelve hours of waiting and worrying, Jamie's 8 year old nephew began to give everyone massages and did a great job of it.

  • When people would come into "our" waiting room to buy a drink from "our" Coke machine, we would strike up random conversations with them and then mock them when they left.

  • We discussed wrapping our t-shirts around our heads and peeing into our empty Coke bottles like that guy on Man vs. Wild (we had the television on The Discovery Channel all day).

  • We told Jamie's nephew that he could probably make some good money offering massages to other people waiting for babies to be born.

  • Being 8 years old, he took us literally and asked a man passing by "our" waiting room if he wanted a massage.

  • We're fairly certain that an announcement made over the speaker system was directed at one of our party after said party began offering rides in a wheelchair he found outside of the labor/delivery room.

Shortly after the wheelchair incident, I was summoned to the delivery room after being told that "the pushing is about to begin."

Tomorrow: Ava Adventures - Part 3: The Delivery

8 comments:

TexasGal said...

I doubt the hospital will ever be the same. Ok, and I don't even want to imagine buying a "dinner" from a vending machine. Sandwiches in those things are creepy enough. My days are all mixed up, is the baby already at home?

Anonymous said...

There was quite a crew there! It was quite a long day, but it sounds like you all made the most of it.

Mommy said...

Your family always makes things so interesting. :)

Lorna said...

If I'd been blogging when Julia was born, my "adventure" would have sounded very much like this, except for the not-induction and the emergency c-section...

We tried to keep Sarah and Bruce's spirits up by acting out our favourite scenes from Zoolander.

Don't you love the photo of the hands? If you don't already have one, get one of those kits to take the baby's handprints---she'll hate you for it when she's a teenager, but in the meantime, you'll have a lovely little sculpture and baby picture in a frame....

Anonymous said...

I sure wish I could have been there.I know you all had a wonderful time WAITING !!! She is absolutely beautiful. I cannot wait to see her and hold her at the next Grillo/Ransonette/Anderson gathering. Oh, the parents are beautiful,too.

Love,
Christi

Laurie said...

Texas Gal - Ava was born at 11:18 Thursday night and they went home 9:00 p.m. Saturday night.

Leslie - It was a very long day but we're very good at entertaining ourselves.

Jen - We do our best. :)

Lorna - Zoolander! Why didn't I think of that?

Christi - I can't wait for you to hold her! See you soon.

Susan in St. Paul said...

That is the only way to do waiting rooms, though I draw the line at mock other people, but I don't do that anyway even normally.

While were in the neurosurgery waiting room for my baby brother's brain surgery we were reading the book how to talk Minnesotan and laughing our heads off. It was a laugh or cry situation anyway.

Having spent way too much time in various medical facilities I truly believe laughter, family and good friends are the only way to go.

Laurie said...

Susan - I guess someone has to draw the line.