The Last Homely House

General => Council of Cobra => Topic started by: Kralik on June 20, 2008, 09:02:10 PM

Title: In the hospital...
Post by: Kralik on June 20, 2008, 09:02:10 PM
Believe me, it was my wife who insisted that we bring the laptop -- mainly to watch LotR extended edition after delivery. But it looks like we have free wireless! :)

She is in active labor, waters broken, and it looks like we will have the baby tonight! I'll send a picture or two once I have a chance. Keep us in mind! Cheers.
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: DáinIronfoot on June 20, 2008, 09:10:20 PM
I'll be praying for all three of you. ;) Hope all goes well, and I look forward to hearing more.
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Elessar's Socks on June 20, 2008, 09:20:36 PM
Away with you, Kralik! ;) Hope all goes well.
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: FingolfinFinwe on June 20, 2008, 09:21:28 PM
Wow awesome times for the K man.  Prayers out for you and your wife and little one.  :)
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Gil-Estel on June 21, 2008, 12:17:15 AM
Hope everything goes allright!
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Shieldmaiden on June 21, 2008, 07:59:16 AM
Wow, such exciting times!  Let us know how it goes. 
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Kralik on June 21, 2008, 09:44:22 AM
Hope everything goes allright!

Isn't the correct remark, "Hope everything comes out alright!"? ;)
Or another favorite parting remark, "Let's make like a baby and... head out!"

Vivienne was born at 10:32 PST last night, weighing in at 8 pounds 11 ounces. She came so quickly that the doctor had no time even to put on her gloves to catch her! Both her and my wife are doing great. I'll fill you all in with the full story later, and maybe a picture or two. :D
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Gil-Estel on June 21, 2008, 09:59:28 AM
w00t! Congrats man! New life here to celebrate! Dain, put her on the calendar!
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: AgentDrake on June 21, 2008, 10:28:21 AM
Hey, congratulations!
Vivienne... cool name, too!
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: sickofpalantirs on June 21, 2008, 11:07:50 AM
nice name....congratz on the new kiddo...glad your wife and all are doing well
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: FM on June 21, 2008, 03:58:17 PM
Way to go, Boss! :D
Congratulations to you both!
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: DáinIronfoot on June 21, 2008, 06:40:55 PM
Congratulations! Very happy to hear things went so well. Enjoy some time with your new daughter...we'll still be here when you get back. ;)
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Shieldmaiden on June 22, 2008, 01:37:20 AM
Congratulations!  You must be so proud!  And, if my experiences are anything to go by, you are probably very tired, as well.   :D  I hope you and your wife get plenty of time to relax and enjoy your new baby. 
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Ulmo on June 22, 2008, 07:01:03 AM
Congratulations! May Vivienne sleep through the night at an early age and may you and your wife soon learn the art and wonder of the power-nap.
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Kralik on June 22, 2008, 11:09:06 AM
Here's the story:

My wife, Diana, has been having painful contractions on and off, regular and irregular, for the past two weeks or so. Very frustrating! As of Friday morning, we were a week overdue. We went in to the doctor's for her scheduled checkup. Not much to report... the doctor predicted that we may have 3-4 days yet.

We live 30 minutes away from the hospital, so while we were in town, we decided to hang out a little bit. We walked around town, talked, ate lunch, etc. It was over 90 out so we went into places like Safeway for the A/C. Diana's contractions started getting more intense, and were coming about every five minutes or so. We'd seen this before, so we were hesitant to jump to any conclusions.

For our last baby, we had gone into the hospital at least three times thinking Diana was in labor because she was showing the signs, only to have things die down after a few hours. Diana has been finally induced around two weeks past her due date. It's frustrating to get your hopes up only to have them dashed to pieces.

By a couple hours after Diana's doctor appointment (2pm or so), her contractions were still coming strong, so we decided to go home and pack up our stuff. The "labor bags" had been packed three weeks previously, but ransacked to get clothing and toiletries during the interim time. We considered calling my mother, who was watching the kids, and asking her to bring the stuff, but after looking over our "to-pack" list, we realized it would be better if we went ourselves.

You probably aren't all that interested in the packing list, so I'll skip ahead. Packed and back at the hospital by 5pm or so. Hooked up to monitors, not officially checked in. Contractions slowing... ARGH! We were convinced this was it, but the nurses were not so sure, and we were close to being sent home. In any case, labor progresses better while walking around, not while laying down. We asked to be able to walk around a bit in the hospital gardens and then be rechecked. Diana was doing a lot better before she had to be strapped down for 90 minutes. :roll:

At 7:30, the doctor gave us the option to artificially rupture Diana's membranes (break her waters). This would probably give her a shove in the right direction. It was a hard decision, but we decided to do it because a) my mother was in the US (doesn't happen often!) and leaving the country Sunday morning and b) Diana's doctor was also flying out for a week starting Saturday morning. After the rupture, nothing much while the nurses ran tests from 7:30 to 8:30. Contractions seven minutes apart (3-4 is active labor). Dilated to 5cm (she needs to get to 10 to push).

At 8:30, she finally was allowed to get up and start walking again. That's what the contractions really starting coming HARD and fast. Some of them were back-to-back, others with 30-60 seconds in between. We mostly labored together, with little intervention from the nurses, who had gone out of the room. By 9:30pm Diana was in a LOT of pain, and when checked, she had progressed to 6cm or so.

10:00-10:15... breathing through contractions was helping, but Diana wasn't sure she could handle it anymore. Going from 6 to 10cm dilated can take a looooong time. We had hoped for a "natural" birth without drugs as they had really messed things up in our first birth. Still, it's all fine and dandy to say such things when you're not experiencing the incredible pain of childbirth. Diana wanted to try a "walking epidural"... I'm not sure how to spell the official name for it, but it's like an epidural without the bed confinement. It normally lasts for 2 hours and doesn't result in as much paralysis for the mother. So, we called in the nurse and she had to call the doctor to get permission and the anesthesiologist, who lived in another town some 20 minutes away.

10:30! IV's were being put into Diana's arm to prepare for the meds. The doctor, who had been absent since breaking Diana's waters, conveniently decided to stop in and see how Diana was doing. All of a sudden Diana felt the irresistible urge to PUSH! It can be very bad if a woman pushes when she is not ready... lots of tearing and such. Naturally, the doctor and I were saying, "Hold on! Wait! Blow out the birthday candles!" (breathing trick) until the doctor could check her. Diana was saying, "AAaaaaaah! How can I not push?!?!?!" Anyway, the doctor did get a chance to check Diana in there somewhere, and said, "Oh! We're going to have a baby!" No chance even to put on her gloves, Vivienne practically flew out! It was so shocking... we couldn't believe it was done already! I'll spare you the cleanup details, but all I can say is... it was an incredible fast and (relatively) easy birth. No chance for meds, which was better in the long run.

I think we were able to get settled and asleep by about 1-2am that morning... yesterday was a flurry of early morning-afternoon visitors which left us exhausted. We're now back at home and trying to adapt to taking care of three kids. :o My wife has graciously given me permission to sit down and write the story.

...and... here's a picture! In the flurry of activity we forgot to bring our digital camera, so most of our pictures were taken on a disposable camera provided by the hospital. However, here's a snapshot that my mother-in-law took:
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: DáinIronfoot on June 22, 2008, 11:17:48 AM
Kralik looks just as I always imagined!

Thanks for the full update, my friend. Glad to hear things worked out, especially after all those frustrations!
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: AgentDrake on June 22, 2008, 11:20:50 AM
Kralik looks just as I always imagined!

Thanks for the full update, my friend. Glad to hear things worked out, especially after all those frustrations!

Amen on both counts!
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Kralik on June 22, 2008, 11:40:24 AM
Thanks for all of the kind comments! I'll post a up-close picture of our daughter soon.

Kralik looks just as I always imagined!

;)
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Kralik on June 22, 2008, 05:10:52 PM
Here she is! 2-day old Vivienne Antoinette:
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: DáinIronfoot on June 22, 2008, 05:14:03 PM
I know people say this all the time about babies, but I mean it...she is ADORABLE. :D
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: DáinIronfoot on June 22, 2008, 05:19:49 PM
Quote from: Gil-Estel
Dain, put her on the calendar!

Right...should have done this already. It's on there now! ;)
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: FM on June 22, 2008, 06:54:38 PM
Why can't I see the picture?!? :(
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Kralik on June 22, 2008, 06:55:52 PM
They are attached... you should see thumbnails at the bottom of the post...?
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: FM on June 22, 2008, 07:01:20 PM
Not showing for me. :(
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Kralik on June 22, 2008, 08:43:17 PM
Try these direct links:

Awake (http://lotrtcgdb.com/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=367.0;attach=61;image) / Asleep (http://lotrtcgdb.com/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=367.0;attach=63;image)

I know people say this all the time about babies, but I mean it...she is ADORABLE. :D

Thanks! I hope she'll grow up to look like her mom. :)
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: FingolfinFinwe on June 23, 2008, 06:07:53 AM
In the first picture she's trying to make a face like your pic!    ;D

Really, congrats Kralik, that's seriously awesome!   :D  Blessings for you and your family!
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Elessar's Socks on June 23, 2008, 12:09:25 PM
Congrats!!

Relatively easy? *slackjawed*
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: AgentDrake on June 23, 2008, 05:09:06 PM
Wow.... she is absolutely adorable!
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: CarpeGuitarrem on June 23, 2008, 07:34:21 PM
I know people say this all the time about babies, but I mean it...she is ADORABLE. :D
Lol, ain't that the truth?

Congrats, Kralik!
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Celebrimbor on June 24, 2008, 08:37:14 AM
Awwwww...obviously this has come quite a shock to me, thinking kralik was much younger, like, 16 or 17, time for another age poll, soon.

And, congratulations!
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Kralik on June 24, 2008, 08:55:14 AM
Maybe sometime I'll post a "real" family shot... we should start a get-to-know you thread! But in any case, this is our third. :)
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Glamdring on June 24, 2008, 09:01:06 AM
Congratulations! May parenting go well...
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: sickofpalantirs on June 24, 2008, 11:02:27 AM
Congratulations! May parenting go well...
parenting doesn't go well.. it goes tolerabley ;)
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: FM on June 24, 2008, 03:06:39 PM
I beg to differ, I wasn't a problematic teenager nor a overly crying baby, so I think I gave my mother an easy time, on behalf of the hard ones she must have had with my older sis.
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: AgentDrake on June 24, 2008, 11:03:57 PM
Hahahahahahahahaha....

Your "sis" autolinked to Strength in Shadows... as if the Orc was supposed to be a picture of said problematic sibling.
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: FM on June 25, 2008, 08:19:53 AM
Well, I'll say my sister is way more good looking, but otherwise, they're essentially the same. ;)
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: CarpeGuitarrem on June 25, 2008, 11:35:39 AM
Well, I'll say my sister is way more good looking, but otherwise, they're essentially the same. ;)
Wait, she gives strength bonuses to [orc] minions? Cool...
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: sickofpalantirs on May 04, 2009, 10:40:05 AM
I was looking in the announcements forum and saw dains link...was wondering how little Vivienne was?
ditto for your daughter dain.
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Kralik on May 05, 2009, 12:25:03 PM
She is such a happy baby... very adventuresome, crawling everywhere, babbling a lot... I see if I can find an updated photo. :)
Title: Re: In the hospital...
Post by: Elrohir on May 05, 2009, 07:42:16 PM
Baby Photos!  :uh-huh:

(https://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.serienoldies.de%2Fimages4%2Fflintstones_pebbles.jpg&hash=663ceff2678b88519b11b92c58111f708bd8c559)

... very adventuresome, crawling everywhere, babbling a lot...