Introducing Miss Kalah May! (a birth story)

Kalah (pronounced Kal-uh) was brought in to our lives on May 11, 2013 at around 11:00pm... moments before Mother's Day!

As you all know this has been one heck of a pregnancy for us, and I have been classified as high risk since week 27. We had been holding back contractions and labor since week 31 utilizing a combination of modified bed rest and medication. But on Monday, May 6th I was taken off of all medication (kept on modified bed rest) and told that if she decided it was time, then come in to this world she would! No more interventions for us.

One week before Kal was born

During the week I let myself leave the house for a few Mother's Day festivities including a couple of hours at the salon, a Mother's Day presentation at Kesha's school, and a Mother's Day breakfast on Saturday morning. I swear I didn't walk to any of them. If I had we would have had a baby long before Saturday.

Kesh getting her first haircut at the salon

Kesha's Mother's Day performance at school

On our way to our early Mother's Day breakfast

I had been having stomach issues toward the end of the week and knew something was up (and no, not food poisoning or parasites). But there had been no other signs of impending labor. On Friday night I began to have irregular contractions, but again, nothing out of the ordinary, so they weren't really on my radar.

By 4:00pm on Saturday my irregular and "not on the radar" contractions began to get stronger and come in regular intervals. At first they were every 10 minutes, then every 8, then every 7 (you get the picture). When Arturo got home with Kesha around 5:00 on Saturday after spending all day with our friends, we put her down for a very late nap. Once she was asleep I casually walked in to talk to Arturo and I think my words were something like "there's nothing to worry about, but I might be in labor". He looked much more concerned about the situation than I felt about it.

We opted to wait for a few more hours to make sure my contractions didn't taper off, but finally called the doctor at around 8:45pm (when my contractions were 6-7 minutes apart) to ask what he wanted us to do. His answer was, of course, to meet him at the clinic right away. In my overly relaxed state I asked if he was sure or if he wanted us to wait a bit longer (HA!).

Since we had to arrange child care for Kesh (who was still napping at this point in time), we told him we could be there in an hour. So, at 9:45 on the dot he met us at our favorite medical stomping ground (the Clinica Paucarbamba). At this point my contractions were coming every 5 minutes or less. I am pretty sure it just took him looking at me to know this baby was being born that night, but he did a pelvic anyway. I was dilated and at that moment lost my mucus plug.

Most doctors here will not do a VBAC, so combining my previous c-section with the high risk nature of the end of my pregnancy they hadn't wanted me to labor at all. So once they realized that I was in active labor it was rush rush to get me prepped and the baby c-sectioned before my labor progressed any further. I hardly had time to call my parents to let them know we were having the baby!

My epidural was fine (I didn't almost pass out like I did when I had my appendectomy), but as soon as they had me strapped to the table my blood pressure dropped and I threw up. Quality (I am sure this poor clinic is so happy to be done with me). I detest epidurals and am very thankful I have no more scheduled in my near future.

They got me cleaned up, fixed up my blood pressure, then Arturo came in to the room (he was wearing official hospital scrubs and looked great in them!), and we got under way.

The surgery itself was uneventful. Kalah came out no problem and cried right away. They showed her to me and then the pediatrician whisked her away. Arturo followed to oversee her clean-up and vitals checks. In the O.R. they proceeded to tie my tubes and sew me up (yes, they did it, officially there will be no more kids for us).

They brought Kal back in to the operating room after she was cleaned and dressed. It was so fun to see her and see how much she looked like Kesh (we had been debating what she would look like). I felt bad for her because she was hungry and wanted to nurse, but with my arms tied and them sewing me up there would be no nursing until we were back in the room. (note: I know in many clinics you can ask to nurse your child and/or have skin to skin contact while they finish the operation, but the epidural makes me shake very badly and so for me I didn't even discuss the issue).

When Kesh was born Arturo's whole family was there. This time they were caring for Kesh, and it was just the three of us all night. It was nice to have that time to bond, be tired, and let the fact that we had a new baby truly sink in (and no, we didn't get any sleep).

In our room together

My in-laws brought Kesh to the clinic mid morning on Mother's Day. The girls seemed to click right away. Or at least Kesha was completely enamored with her "ñaña" (sister). They stayed for an hour or so then took Kesh off to play while we stayed at the hospital waiting to be sent home.

Kesh meeting Kal for the firs time.

Several good friends of ours came by to visit during the day, which was a welcomed distraction from my incision site pain, my attempts to get out of bed, and hospital boredom. But by 6:00pm they had given us the green light and our discharge papers and we were on the way home!

I know in the US that a typical post c-section hospital stay is much longer than the 15 and 20 hour stays I have had. However, I appreciate that they got me home quickly so that our family only had one night apart.

Our first night home as a family of 4 went really well, and it has only gotten better. My mobility now on day 5 post op is excellent. I look forward to leaving the house with Kesha at some point next week, even if it's just to go to the cafe in our building. I look forward to holding Kesh in my arms again, cuddling her close, and not worrying about her pressing on something as we snuggle (we haven't been able to do that in almost 3 months).

I expect there to be bumps in the road as we grow as a family. The other night Kesha wanted to sleep with mommy instead of Papi (I am currently sleeping in one room with Kalah and Arturo sleeping with Keshsa in her room). We had to talk about Mommy's owie (my c-section incision site) and how I can't sleep with her right now, but soon I will be able to. She cried and cried and it broke my heart. I had her come and watch a movie with me in my bed and cuddle with the understanding that when the movie was over she was going to go sleep with Papi. Kalah was sleeping, so it was just the two of us. It seemed to appease her, but the whole situation still made me sad. 

I hope that I can be the mom I want to be to both of these girls simultaneously. I hope I can be patient enough for Kesha, remember to involve my new infant in our conversations, and give them both the quality time they need from me.

My girls! So much love!

Here's to new beginnings!