The Walter Story

For my records and for anybody who cares...

The Birth Story:

On Friday afternoon I started feeling contractions - around dinner time I started keeping track of the frequency. They weren't very consistent (between 4 and 7 minutes) but I called the doctor anyway to get an opinion. He said it was probably not the real thing since the contractions were inconsistent and I had told him they weren't too painful (apparently that was a mistake and I was being too stoic but they really didn't seem as bad as I remembered them being with Milo). Anyway, about an hour later when Matt got home from work the contractions were getting worse and more regular and I was starting to question the whole "not the real thing" theory, Matt convinced me it wouldn't be too embarrassing to go the the hospital at this point even if it was nothing (which wasn't very hard to do since I was starting to get panicky) so we went in "just in case." (Had to leave Milo with Popa)

When we got to the hospital (around 8 pm) they admitted me right away because I was already at a 4 and 100% effaced (whatever that means) and I was also eligible for an epidural right away which I happily accepted because by then it was getting to be as bad as I wanted to tolerate. (Had a bad experience with the epidural insertion - the anesthesiologist did something weird (or maybe it's not weird I don't know) and while he was inserting the catheter I got a really painful "zing" on the right side of my back. I jumped about a mile and then started crying - was probably a bit overemotional at that point anyway but it scared the pants off of Matt who thought the anesthesiologist had just murdered or at the very least crippled me. But it was fine, I was fine and the epidural was effective and we were all happy.)

So then I epidural labored for a few hours and around 2:30 am I started violently shaking and throwing up every five minutes so we knew it was time to push (because apparently that's how my body celebrates reaching 10 cm). They got the doctor in and after not very many big pushes (maybe five?) Walter was out! He had meconium so the NICU had to look at him before I could hold him which took at least 20 minutes but I had lots of fun things to distract me (like stitches and afterbirth). And then they brought Walter over to me finally and it was so weird! I was like, Seriously? That's it? It's over? This is my baby? I was kind of in shock for a while but when that wore off I was very very happy and excited and overwhelmed and all of the things you are when you have a baby.

Our first impressions of Walter:

He seems... tough. Does that sound weird? He's just a little baby but he comes across as very confident - kind of like emotionally independent. He's a very good eater and after the first week he's been a pretty good sleeper too. Milo is not a huge fan but he seems to be accepting the situation fairly well. He's been a little bit extra naughty lately but not by much. We were so so lucky to have Matt's Mom in town to look after us for a while after Walter got here (Thanks Sue!). She was great at giving Milo lots of attention so I think that helped with the transition but of course it's a process. Walter spends a lot of time in his chair in the living room sucking a corkie and being poked and "patted" (hit) by Milo but he doesn't panic. Being hungry upsets him and we have the occasional mystery crying fit but overall he's pretty well behaved. It's been fun getting to know him. Of course I'm already sure he's a genius and also super handsome and perfect.

So there you have it. Welcome to the family Baby Walter! We love you!