The Story of The Birth of Anja Louise Schap

Hooray, hooray, our dinosaur is here at last!! I don't know how many of you readers actually WANT to know the story of how she came into the world, but I figured I'd post it just in case anybody cared; mostly because I always like to hear other people's stories.

Let me just begin by saying that Martin. was. WONDERFUL. Was, and is. I really should start renting him out as a labor coach and postpartum helper man, we could have a nice second income from that.

So, starting from my last post, here is the story:

I'd called the doctor to tell them that my water had broken and the doctor on call advised me to go in right away to be given the antibiotic since I tested positive on the Group B Strep Test. (That positive test was pretty much the most troublesome thing ever.) So I showered and readied myself and we packed up our things and kissed Theodore goodbye (actually, I couldn't find him as we were leaving so I just shouted goodbye to him through the house) and were on our way. The water breaking was just like it is in the movies, except that I wasn't in the grocery store. Everyone assures you it won't happen that way, that it really only does happen that way in the movies, but it happened to me! And it was really, really funny. But a little bit unfortunate at the same time because it kept me from being able to labor at home or out of bed.

So we checked in at the hospital around 6:30 and the first thing they did was put me on the monitors, which was lame. The whole reason I was advised to go in right away was to get the antibiotic and I wasn't given it until about 4 hours later. When Dr. Genaris came and checked me in the morning I was only one and a half centimeters. Eight hours later when he checked me again, I was a whopping... one and a half centimeters. He suggested pitocin to get things moving. We reluctantly agreed. The pitocin wasn't really that bad though. It thought they'd give it to me and I'd be instantly in a horrible, horrible labor, but it didn't happen that way; Everything still came on gradually. So anyway, I almost immediately went to 4 centimeters, and labored on through the day and at 3:00 our chances for Dr. Genaris to deliver the baby were over because he had to be a Dad this weekend while he wife was out of town. I doubt he'd be able to fathom our disappointment about that. The other doctor was not so wonderful. In fact, he wasn't really very wonderful at all. But, you take what you can get.

However, every nurse that we had was absolutely fabulous. You read these books and hear stories about horribly mean nurses, and I was a little bit afraid every time shift change came around, worried that while I might've lucked out with the last one, my luck probably won't hold out forever. But it did!! I think all those nurses and the nicest girls in the whole world. And pretty, too!

Anyway, by nighttime those contractions were on top of each other, with hardly a break between them, but I was stuck at 4 centimeters, and Anja hadn't descended into the birth canal yet. (Dr. Genaris later wondered if it was because her hand was up by her face because it had been earlier in the day.) And so my prefered "natural childbirth" plan turned into an induced labor ending with c-section. I have to admit though, by the time I signed the paper allowing them to slice me open, I didn't really care how they baby was being born, I just wanted it out.

They gave me a spinal in the operating room, and the anesthesiologist (sp?) was an amazing man. When he came in to meet us, Martin and I thought he was going to be a jerkface, but he ended up being soooooooo nice. He called me "dear" and was really sweet, and after he gave me the spinal he stayed by my head with me until Martin got there, then he backed off, and as soon as Martin left with Anja after she was born, he came back to stay by my head with me and tell me how things were going and as me how I was, etc. He was so incredibly nice. The spinal was AWESOME. I mean, getting it really sucked, but as soon as it kicked in it was the funniest feeling in the world! I felt like I was in the biggst, poofiest snow suit ever made. And it doesn't last very long, so I was still all full of adrenelin (I don't know how to spell that word either) when it was wearing off and it was soooo funny. My toes were the last things to wake up.

Okay, so anyway, the cut me open and we were so happy when they told us it was a girl. Yay! She looked pretty awful when she was born--they said she looked like she'd been through the birth canal. Her eyes were completely red and her skin was pale and she had a ginormous bruise on her terribly mishapen head. Poor thing. But she cutened up the next day and now she is much better looking than she was.

The other funny thing was the recovery room where we hung out while we were waiting for my toes to wake up. It was like a big closet full of supplies and computers. Really weird and funny.

And so, I guess that's it. Anja Louise Schap was born at 10:29pm, she weighed 5lbs 13oz and was 18.5 inches long. Peach-fuzz hair, blue eyes, and looks just like Martin! Oh, the first report he gave to me after she was born was, "she has unattached earlobes like you, and long fingertoes like me!" Both are true. I have to say though, her nose--much like Martin's--looks a lot bigger in pictures than it does in real life.

We got home late yesterday afternoon, and it was a joy to sleep in our house and not be bothered by nurses and cleaning ladies all night long.

So, that's the story! And now there's another Schap in the world!