Hellobee

Like Lion’s birth story, Panda’s birth story begins at 32 weeks. I started experiencing fairly regular contractions (five minutes apart) around this point and, because I now knew what to look for, I was able to keep track of their frequency. With Lion, I actually didn’t realize until I was in labor that I had been having contractions since around 20 weeks. I didn’t really understand what Braxton-Hicks contractions were and whenever my stomach got tight, I just thought it was just the baby pushing himself to the front of my stomach! This time around, I was much more aware.

With Panda, I started having very infrequent contractions around 22 weeks, but then sometime between Christmas and New Year’s, they started picking up in frequency. There would be periods where I would have five or six contractions in an hour, but then they would reduce in frequency. This continued for the next week until at around 33 weeks, I started having non-painful contractions at five-minute intervals for over an hour. I called my OB who advised me to drink “two big glasses of water” (when I asked what he meant by “big glasses,” he clarified he wanted me to drink at least 64 oz of water; I want to know what kind of glasses he’s talking about!) and lay down, then call him back in another hour. After a few hours of monitoring and contractions continuing, he had me go to the hospital.

After hooking me up to monitors and putting me on IVs, the contractions continued at about 7 minutes apart. My OB came in around 2am and explained that they would be giving me betamethasone to speed lung development (which I took with Lion, as well) and also a medication to stop the contractions and to expect to spend the next two days in the hospital. Having gone through this drill with Lion, I wasn’t too worried. Two days later, I was released and sent home with instructions to rest but, unlike my experience with Lion, was not put on bed rest. Small victories.

My next appointments at 34 and 35 weeks went well. Although I had some contractions at five minute intervals, I was usually able to stop them by drinking tons of water and laying down. My 35 week appointment happened the day before the blizzard was set to hit. That’s when the craziness started up again.

F R I D A Y

On Friday, the Federal government closed early, as did public schools and Lion’s daycare. Mr. Dolphin and I tried to prepare for the blizzard as best we could by ensuring that we had plenty of firewood, some nonperishable food, flashlight, batteries and water. We fully charged our Kindles and planned activities for Lion, with the full assumption that daycare would be closed for several days following the blizzard. DC is not great at handling snow.

S A T U R D A Y

The snow began on Friday evening and by Saturday morning, we already had a foot of snow. The snow continued to fall and by its end, some measurements in our area clocked in well over two feet! Meanwhile, in the early afternoon on Saturday, midway through the blizzard, I started feeling contractions. Not painful, but they happened every five minutes. I drank water and laid down on the couch. Of course, this was the moment where Lion wanted me to play with him and kept telling me to “get up.” After an hour, I called my OB. He was concerned and wanted to try to balance the risks of potentially having a 35 week old baby born at home with the risks of sending me out in the snowstorm. He advised me to continue to drink water, empty my bladder, and lay down.

An hour later, I told him that I thought maybe the contractions had slowed down to every 7 minutes, but were still pretty regular. He wanted me to wait another hour, but also helped us brainstorm ways to get me to the hospital—about a twenty-minute drive—if necessary. After explaining that no, our tiny Honda Fit was not the type of car that could just drive through the snow (nor did we have chains for the car), we came up with a possible solution. Mr. Dolphin went out to see what roads had been cleared since we live about two blocks away from a fairly main road. From there, I could have an Uber or taxi meet me and take me to the hospital. I called our local taxi company to make sure that they were still dispatching cars. While the main road was cleared, of course the sidewalks, parking lot and street we lived on were not. It wouldn’t be easy, but at least we had a plan.

Another hour passed and my OB called back to check in. By now, the contractions had slowed to every 10 minutes and I confirmed that at no point were these contractions painful. At this point, my OB advised me to stay home but to call him if the contractions either became more frequent or more intense.

S U N D A Y

On Sunday, I had more intense contractions, but they were less frequent so I didn’t call my OB. By then, the snow had stopped and snow removal on main roads had begun. Mr. Dolphin was concerned that I would need to go to the hospital at some point so he started working on digging our tiny Honda Fit out from the snow. Did I mention that we don’t own a snow shovel? We had never needed one, until the blizzard hit. Wherever we’ve lived, we just relied on the apartment complex or homeowners association to take care of the snow, which works marvelously as long as you haven’t been hit by a blizzard. Mr. Dolphin ended up clearing as much snow out from behind our car as he could . . . using his hands and dustpan. Let’s just say that Mr. Dolphin was out there for a long time.

M O N D A Y

As expected, the Federal government and pretty much all of the DC metro area was shut down on Monday. It was absolutely gorgeous that day, with warm(ish) temperatures and sun, so we took Lion outside to play in the snow. The snowplows had come through to clear the snow in our parking lot and there was a pile of snow leftover behind our car, so Mr. Dolphin got to digging again. Luckily, one of our neighbors saw him using the dustpan and loaned him a shovel. After about an hour outside, the contractions returned so I went back inside to lay down again.

T U E S D A Y

On Tuesday, the government and schools were shut down again but the main roads had been cleared so I went for my scheduled appointment with my OB. He was happy that Panda waited out the storm, but did tell me that he had to walk to the hospital during the blizzard to deliver two other babies. After hooking me up to monitors for about an hour and checking to see if I was dilated (half a centimeter), he sent me home. The next day was pretty uneventful. Lion and I made homemade play dough and cooked a bit.

T H U R S D A Y

On Thursday, the Federal government finally reopened. While public schools were closed, the administrative offices were open which meant our daycare was open too (on a two hour delay). We dropped Lion off then headed to work. During our 9:30am staff meeting, my boss asked how I was doing after she noticed me touching my stomach every seven minutes. I explained that I was having contractions, but because I had them all weekend, they were probably nothing. An hour later, she poked her head back into my office and I told her they were still far enough apart—seven minutes—but that they were becoming stronger. The contractions intensified, but weren’t painful yet, and became closer together. Between 11am and 1pm, they were about 4-5 minutes apart. When I finally called my OB, he recommended that I go to the hospital.

4 : 0 0  P M

Once in the hospital, I was hooked up to monitors and given an IV with fluids and antibiotics as a prophylactic measure. My doctor called a couple of times and consulted with the nurses. By 4pm, the nurse said I was 3 centimeters dilated, but when she asked where my contractions were pain-wise on a scale from 1-10, I said it was probably a 1 or 2. Mr. Dolphin and Lion came to visit and Mr. Dolphin snuck me in some craisins and a muffin. After my experience giving birth to Lion, I didn’t want to have gone a long period without food in the event that Panda was going to make his entry that evening.

Lion’s last hours as an only child!

7 : 0 0  P M

My doctor came in around 7 and examined me, but I was still at 3 centimeters and said my pain level was still at a 1 or 2. He said that he didn’t think I was in labor, cleared me to eat (yay!), and said that we would consult with my Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialist in the morning, but to expect to stay in the hospital for the next week.

1 2 : 0 0  A M

I ordered chicken gyros delivery and settled in with some episodes of West Wing and Nashville. By 9pm, the contractions started to intensify. I notified the nurse, who called my doctor, but he was apparently not convinced I was in labor. By midnight, the contractions were quite intense, with my pain level reaching a 5, and I told the nurse that I was pretty sure I was in labor. She called the house OB who checked me and said that I was about 7 centimeters dilated. At that point, I think I may have had a placental abruption because I started bleeding heavily. Everything looked good on the monitors, though.

I called Mr. Dolphin and told him he needed to get in touch with one of our friends/babysitter options for Lion because Panda was going to be born that night. Unfortunately, our first option was out of town for the week and we couldn’t get in touch with our second or third options! By 2am, Mr. Dolphin was still unable to reach either of our backups for Lion. I burst into tears because I felt so sad that I didn’t have Mr. Dolphin there. I didn’t want him to bring Lion, though, because I knew that Lion would be scared to see me in my current state. Mr. Dolphin decided to try one last-ditch effort and just show up at our friend’s home to see if they would answer the door at that late hour.

2 : 4 5  A M

My OB calmed me down and I had an incredibly supportive nurse who stayed with me the whole time. At around 2:45, I told my OB that I thought it was time to push. He broke my water at this point (pretty much confirming that the earlier gush was indeed the result of an abruption and not my water breaking). Soon after, and midway through a particularly intense contraction, I told my OB I wanted an epidural, mostly out of frustration rather than any true desire for an epidural. My OB laughed and said, “It’s a little late for that, Mrs. Dolphin.” I then told him, “I’m tired. I can’t do this anymore.” He responded, “Well, with where the baby is right now, I don’t think you have much of a choice. You can do this!” I asked how much longer, thinking he might say another thirty minutes (since that seemed to be his constant refrain during Lion’s birth), but was pleasantly surprised when he responded, “Two more pushes.” Oh, well then. I could definitely do two more pushes.

3 : 0 8  A M

Two pushes later, at 3:08 a.m., little Panda was born. Unlike with Lion, we didn’t have a name picked yet so they wrote “Baby Boy Dolphin” on his card. Also, unlike Lion, I didn’t get to hold Panda immediately. Because he was born at 36 weeks (to the day since he was born after midnight!), he was considered premature and was immediately handed off the neonatologist to be checked out. My OB explained this before I gave birth, so I wasn’t surprised or worried. In fact, when Panda was delivered and as the OB was handing him off, he commented “This is a good sized baby for 36 weeks!”

While the neonatologist checked Panda out, our OB helped me deliver the placenta then showed me the blood clots, evidence of a placental abruption.

3 : 1 5  A M

At around 3:15 a.m., Mr. Dolphin walked in. He had rung the doorbell of our friend and they answered, fully expecting that it was Mr. Dolphin and Lion. Apparently, our friend’s five-year-old son had wanted to look at pictures of his mom (who was out of town) before going to sleep and hid the phone under pillows which muffled the ring. Mr. Dolphin came over to gave me a kiss and check in with me, but I quickly sent him over to Panda to make sure our son was okay.

The whole period of active labor was much shorter with Panda than it was with Lion, typical of second births. I remember being in not nearly as much pain as I was with Lion, probably because I didn’t have any back labor with Panda. I also remember being much less tired because I had actually gotten to eat solid food just a few hours before hitting active labor.

Sweet little healthy baby! Love those first moments!

Panda was born around the fifth percentile for height and weight, not surprising given his gestational age. After Panda was returned to me, I looked at him with surprise because he looked so different from Lion! While Lion was born with a thick head of inch long dark hair, Panda had barely any, but what he did have was blonde! Also, while Lion has these incredibly dark eyes, for the first several months, Panda’s were a light grey. I remember thinking that Panda didn’t look like a preemie, with the exception of his legs which were super skinny.

Although this birth certainly didn’t go as planned or predicted, we were grateful that Panda waited until the snowstorm had passed and roads had been reopened. While it would have been better if Mr. Dolphin had been with me, we were both grateful that I had a remarkably short and much less painful labor than our first. And, most of all, we were thrilled to welcome a sweet, healthy baby to our family.

While holding Panda, I remember being amazed at how quickly we forget how tiny newborn babies are. 6 pounds, 4 ounces and 19 inches tall.