Lil Miss Monkey Wrench

Our plan going into the hospital to have Maisie was to take hourly updates -- just like we did for Elliot's birth (head way back to the beginning of this blog to view the original post), but events almost never transpire quite as planned, do they?

Quick background: Maisie's due date was Monday, March 8. We both had a hunch that Maisie wouldn't actually arrive until the weekend, but one of our midwives noticed on the 8th that Sharon's belly looked smaller. Sharon was advised to have an ultrasound the next day to check amniotic fluid levels. After a looong afternoon / early evening wait, we were finally told to go ahead and check in to the hospital.

So, here we are:

March 9, 7pm - 8pm:

checking in to the hospital,

checking the baby's heart rate,

checking online restaurant menus for 8th anniversary dinner delivery

March 9, 8pm - 9pm:

Happy Anniversary! To-go dinner delivery courtesy of Helen.

March 9, 9pm - 10pm:

Still life with wedding rings, monitors and heparin lock

March 9, 10pm:

Something you wouldn't have seen during ElliotWatch: facebook status updates from the hospital bed.

March 9, 11pm:

Sharon was given a little "ready-set" medication to prepare for the next-day's delivery and then it was off to "sleep." Very poor, restless sleep.

Okay, so there obviously wasn't much to chronicle overnight. Fast forward to March 10, 5:30 am. Our midwife Lisa informed us that they had been tracking Maisie's heartrate and were concerned about how things were progressing. By 7am, things were looking worse, consultations were made, opinions gathered, and we all decided that Maisie would need to be delivered via c-section.

At this point, everything started moving at triple-speed. It was like an army of nurses had been assembled outside the room for hours, just waiting for the call.

March 10, 7am - 7:30am:

This was my view for the next thirty minutes.

Sharon doesn't remember me taking this photo.

March 10, 7:50am:

Hi Maisie!

The change of plans was obviously a lot to quickly process, but our goal all along was for a healthy and safe delivery.

The good news began with the initial weigh in. You might remember that Elliot weighed in at only 5lbs, 14 ounces, leading to a lot of extra doctor visits, consultations, restrictions, etc. Maisie? 6lbs, 6 ounces! Still on the small side, but officially out of the "danger zone.."

Next up: Elliot meets Maisie.