G's Birth

As I mentioned yesterday, G just turned four. These years just flew by. I can still remember what it felt like on that fateful day four years ago...

I was very impatient to give birth. I was huge and hot all the time. (This was actually during a cold summer so I was the only one who was hot.) It was the week of my family vacation. I was planning on sticking around for three days due to work before joining everyone in Wisconsin by catching a ride up there with my uncle. Because I was 39 weeks along, I had C sleepover just in case I went into labor at night. He slept over the first two nights with nothing significant happening. The third night I had planned on staying alone because my uncle was coming to pick me up at 7 am and I knew C would not be able to wake up and leave before that.

In hindsight, staying alone was a bad idea. My water broke at 5 am. (At the time that felt like it was really early in the morning but now that's a typical morning.) I called C to take me to the hospital. He didn't pick up his phone! I called a couple of his friends to see if he was with them. No one answered. Grr the plan was already messed up! I couldn't drive myself to the hospital not only because of the safety risks but also because my car had broke the day before so it was still at the mechanic's. I called one of my best friends at the time. She gave me a ride.

Laboring in the hospital was not that bad. I got an epidural after four hours of labor. The doctor misjudged my weight/ height/ whatever and gave me too much painkillers. My legs were so numb I couldn't move them. Thankfully the pain was gone. I spent the day napping in bed. I thought it was going pretty well. I found out after that the staff was not as nice to me as they should have been. The doctor could've asked me about my height/ weight/ whatever before giving me the epidural. Then maybe the dosage would've been correct. The nurses gave me a catheter before the epidural took effect. It hurt so much! I found out when I was in labor with A that the nurses knew it would hurt me and they could've easily prevented that. The doctor gave me an episiotomy without telling me. I didn't find that one out until years later!

Regardless of these deliberate mistakes, everything worked out fine. I met my beautiful baby boy. G was born at 7:47 pm weighing 6 lbs and 13 oz. He was perfect!

C wasn't so nice to me either. I must have torn worse than I realized. The doctor spent quite a bit of time stitching me up afterwards. It was so hard to get up and walk around. C kept calling me weak. He didn't realize I was in serious pain. Thankfully he grew up from that silly kid he used to be.

Speaking of C, I heard from him yesterday. He got NJP'd and fined but he hasn't been released. It was a tough week for him in the brig. We talked about whether he should still try to leave. If he tries again, He'll have to go through the brig time and the legal process all over again. They won't make it easy for him. If he stays he'll be most likely sent to Afghanistan immediately after his MOS. I just want him to do what's easiest on him. I worry so much. Even on the news today, there was a story that Marines were killed by an IED explosion in Afghanistan. Awful timing. I heard the story at work. It was a struggle not to start bawling during lunch. There really is no easy answer...