behind the scenes

A few funny stories to share of our recent hospital stint:

Just when is it going to happen?
Time was somewhat distorted while at the hospital. Upon arrival, we are first told that I may need to be induced since my water broke (around 6 pm). Then they decide that they'd wait and see and let nature take its course. Prediction was that we'd have pigglet the next day at some point (note - we're thinking Thurs afternoon-ish). Eventually, they move me to a labor and delivery room. When they finally check me again, they realized I had moved quite a bit along in dilating without any medical intervention. Barely arrive to labor and delivery before contractions quickly become worse (around 11-midnight??). Jack tells me that perhaps we shouldn't wait too long to ask for an epidural (advice from his sister Joanne who is a nurse). Hmm, ok - good idea to get epidural before pain gets too bad. Let's call for the anesthesiologist (12:30 am). That plan didn't work so well (see next story). Too late. Pain is unbearable (polite adjective). Finally received epidural and then got checked again (1-1:30ish am). Doctors realize I am fully dilated and say it's time to push (1:30 am). What?? Already? What happened to "maybe" delivering tomorrow?? (Apparently, my facial expressions of constant surprise throughout the evening were pretty memorable.) What do you mean it's time to push?? We start make predictions/bets with the nurse about when pigglet would be delivered. 1:50? - nurse's guess. 2:05? - Jack's guess. 2:25 - doctor's guess. 2:30? - Cat's guess. Actual time - 2:43 am. So, mom was the closest. But, dad says it's not really fair since mom can somewhat "control" delivery time. Whatever.

Looking for tape
During my first hospital stint for preterm labor, I developed what appeared to be an allergic reaction (after many days) to the silk tape (clear stuff) that they use to hold IVs and such in place. So, my doctor mentioned that I should request paper tape next time or something that won't cause me to develop blisters. Apparently this stuff is hard to find. But, we didn't expect to haunt us during the most critical time - i.e., when I was in the LATTER stages of labor..and the anesthesiologist - who is already 30 min late because of an emergency C-section for someone else - comes in, and thinks about going to find some better tape for me. NO..you must give me epidural NOW...screw the tape. Guess he didn't see the rush because the last the docs had checked, I was only 6 cm dilated. Turns out, after he gave me the epidural finally, I was COMPLETELY dilated which meant it was time to push. Yes, the epidural came quite late in the game, which was not the original intent. What did the nurses say? "Oh, you could have had a natural birth after all!" Yeah right. Just take a look at where my nails were digging into Jack's hand and ask me that again.

Standing up for oneself
After delivery, newborns are quickly cleaned, checked and weighed. You get to hold the newborn for a couple of minutes and then she is taken upstairs to be properly cleaned and "warmed up" and subsequently brought to your room on the maternity floor. As Julia was leaving, I vaguely recall giving her some motherly advice (already). "Don't let the big kids push you around just because you might be smaller! You stick up for yourself and stay tough!" Nurses thought it was pretty funny. I, of course, blame the epidural.

High security threat alert
All newborns at Penn Hospital get security sensors tied around one foot. Silent alarms go off if "the infant" appears to be venturing somewhere else. Our alarm went off twice. Once - we were sitting along an wall that was an exterior wall - and the sensors must have been too sensitive. This was during a "how to breastfeed" class and two different nurses came in asking if Baby Wang was in the room (note, Wang was only because they identify babies by mother's last name). The second time the alarm went off was when Jack was pushing Julia in her bassinet around the maternity floor in order to give me a chance to sleep. He went into a restroom and when he came out, nurses were running down the hall in his direction looking panicky. "Oh, we're so glad that it's you!!" Guess the bathrooms are rigged so the alarm will go off? The nurses were relieved to say the least.



The funny smell?
Announcement comes over the PA system that the funny "smoke" smell that some people were commenting on was coming from outside. No worries - the hospital is not on fire.

Updated 5/10/07: Additional stories

A trip to the laundromat
One of the things purchased for pigglet was a nursing shawl in order to be able to discretely nurse in public. Started using it in the hospital as a way to practice and get used to it. One afternoon, the nurse came in to change the sheets, and because the color of the shawl matched with the blankets used by the hospital, she didn't notice it and threw it along with all the sheets and pillowcases into the laundry hamper in the hallway. By the time we realized this an hour or so later, the hamper had been emptied. After a few calls that went no where, Jack found his way to the laundry room of the hospital and, along with a hospital employee, went through about 8 laundry bags before tracking it down. Not a side of the hospital we expected to see to say the least. Word about the missing shawl got around to all the nurses who must have thought we were crazy.

Looking forward to some shut eye
After delivery, while Julia was in the nursery getting cleaned, Jack began looking forward to going to the maternity ward and getting some well-deserved shut eye. It was all an illusion. No sooner did we arrive to maternity around 6 am, did the nurses come in to check vitals, deliver paperwork, bring Julia, help with breastfeeding, etc. Breakfast was delivered twice (?) shortly afterwards.. we were visited by both the pediatrician and my ob/gyn ..and then barely made it in time for the breastfeedling class by 10. The rest of the time that day was spent in awe / shock of Julia and before we knew it, another day had passed. Was this endurance preparation for what lies ahead?