Thursday, November 04, 2004
The Teachers are at the Convention
It's cold and it's raining; just the weather we have always had during the NJ Teacher's Convention in Atlantic City. I used to go as a teacher, but as an administrator, it was a holiday until now. I am retired, sort of, and being paid on a per diem basis, so I have to be here according to the administrator's contract. Actually, it's rather peaceful and I am getting things done like rearranging my room.
I dropped Donna off at the Philly airport to fly to Frisco to see Hannah, our first grandchild. She will be sleep-deprived but happy. I don't have the pressure of coming home, so this work is easy and relaxing.
I took it upon myself to move the desk so people entering my office will see my face, not the back of my head and not what I am working on with the computer. I have a big window at my back and I feel this is the way the room was designed to be used. The super walked in and said it made sense.
Well, I feel like going home, reading a book, having a drink and curling up by a fire or something right now. I am thinking of an excuse to leave so I can do just that and try to tackle actual stuff tomorrow.
I dropped Donna off at the Philly airport to fly to Frisco to see Hannah, our first grandchild. She will be sleep-deprived but happy. I don't have the pressure of coming home, so this work is easy and relaxing.
I took it upon myself to move the desk so people entering my office will see my face, not the back of my head and not what I am working on with the computer. I have a big window at my back and I feel this is the way the room was designed to be used. The super walked in and said it made sense.
Well, I feel like going home, reading a book, having a drink and curling up by a fire or something right now. I am thinking of an excuse to leave so I can do just that and try to tackle actual stuff tomorrow.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Meanwhile, back in San Francisco
Heather had been taking the pregnancy quite well. She always sounded cheery on the phone as we talked and she was SO excited about having this baby. The sonogram revealed quite a while ago that it was a girl and she decided on Hannah for her first name. Interesting how it is a pallindrome and a very old name in the Wyatt family. I think Heather also wanted a name that started with "H", obviously.
We were worried about the lack of support until Heather decided to stay with Kathy in San Diego to have the child, but as time grew near, she felt strongly that the little girl should be delivered in San Francisco with her husband by her side. She met and became friends with several moms and future moms in her church, which seems to have a group for every human need. She joined MOPS, mothers of pre schoolers, I guess. Wyatt and Heather also entertained a lot of young couples from the church in their apartment.
Heather converted the dining area into a nursery and decorated it; making it cheery for the arrival of their little bundle of joy. When her due date came and went and we heard that the baby was over 8 pounds, we began to worry thinking that she was going to have a "C" section. On Friday, Oct. 29th, she went to her doctor for a stress test. While being tested her blood pressure went too high as did the baby's, so they admitted her into the hospital right away and began to monitor the process. The doctors were prepared to induce labor or take the baby surgically if necessary. Wyatt came from work and was a nervous wreck.
As Heather was talking to us on the phone at first, she seemed excited and without pain, but when we checked back with her on Friday night she was experiencing some pain. The gave her a mild sedative, which they also should have given to Wyatt because he couldn't sleep all night in the waiting area.
While all this was happening on the west coast, we were preparing for Damon's birthday with his serious girl frind, Alex from Maryland. She arrived in the early evening and the two of them went out to eat. Donna was on the phone with everyone and could not contain her excitement. We kept our cell phones with us at all times and if Donna's didn't ring occasionally, she would call someone, namely Wyatt to see about the progress. Once the sedative took effect, the show was over for the evening as far as Heather and the baby were concerned. They were both resting for the next day's festivities.
It didn't take long on Saturday for things to heat up. Allowing for the time delay between the coasts, Wyatt told us that Heather was beginning to dilate but very slowly. At 6:00 am they induced labor with medication. She began to respond but only to about 4 centimenters after a few hours. As we were going to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate Damon's birthday, we speculated whether the baby would be born on October 30th or on Halloween. By calling again, Donna found out that they were deciding whether to take the baby surgically or allow Heather to go through with a vaginal delivery. This was because little Hanna's heart rate kept changing showing that she was tired through all this stress. Earlier in the labor they put a fetal monitor on the baby's head but it didn't stay so they pulled it out to try again. When pulling it out they also snagged a few of the baby's hairs, which were black. they gave them to Heather and she was overwhelmed.
We didn't hear from Wyatt and we prayed that all was going well. We knew how tough it was for us in the labor and delivery room. Then we heard from Wyatt that she was going into the delivery room! That meant that she was going to be born on the 30th and that it was going to be a natural delivery. Well, as natural as you can have with an epidural, which Heather was given at Kathy's insistance. The mothers that delivered in the 60's through the 80's had nothing to help them, not even Tylenol and they remember still how bad it is and tell their daughters to forget about "natural" and take anything they can get!
Heather couldn't even pick up the phone, but Wyatt gave us all the information. We made it back from the restaurant and Damon was running a slight fever. He also reminded us that he was born 24 years earlier at 6:43 P. M. Hannah was fast approaching that time. Donna was so excited that Hannah might be born within the hour that Damon was.
We were tired and lay down but the phone didn't stop. Randy had to raz me about being a grandpa and afterwards admitted that he wished he was in my shape when be became one. That was the first compliment he had ever given me, to my knowledge and it was truly humbling. Donna called Trudi, she called Ernie, she called Kathy, then Kathy Miller and Lyle called her. Finally, Wyatt called at almost midnight to tell us the final results.
He said that when Heather was fully dilated the doctor told her to push and out popped Hannah with one try. This just happened to occur at 6:39 P. M., four minutes away from Damon't birth time! The doc couldn't believe Heather's strength. While Wyatt was talking, Hannah was nursing on Heather's breast. When Hannah was visible to Heather and she could see that her child had Wyatt's hair, his nose, in fact, looked like Wyatt, she cried tears of joy. Hannah weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces at birth.
As Tim said when I told him, "now you are a bi-coastal family; enjoy the frequent flyer miles!"
We were worried about the lack of support until Heather decided to stay with Kathy in San Diego to have the child, but as time grew near, she felt strongly that the little girl should be delivered in San Francisco with her husband by her side. She met and became friends with several moms and future moms in her church, which seems to have a group for every human need. She joined MOPS, mothers of pre schoolers, I guess. Wyatt and Heather also entertained a lot of young couples from the church in their apartment.
Heather converted the dining area into a nursery and decorated it; making it cheery for the arrival of their little bundle of joy. When her due date came and went and we heard that the baby was over 8 pounds, we began to worry thinking that she was going to have a "C" section. On Friday, Oct. 29th, she went to her doctor for a stress test. While being tested her blood pressure went too high as did the baby's, so they admitted her into the hospital right away and began to monitor the process. The doctors were prepared to induce labor or take the baby surgically if necessary. Wyatt came from work and was a nervous wreck.
As Heather was talking to us on the phone at first, she seemed excited and without pain, but when we checked back with her on Friday night she was experiencing some pain. The gave her a mild sedative, which they also should have given to Wyatt because he couldn't sleep all night in the waiting area.
While all this was happening on the west coast, we were preparing for Damon's birthday with his serious girl frind, Alex from Maryland. She arrived in the early evening and the two of them went out to eat. Donna was on the phone with everyone and could not contain her excitement. We kept our cell phones with us at all times and if Donna's didn't ring occasionally, she would call someone, namely Wyatt to see about the progress. Once the sedative took effect, the show was over for the evening as far as Heather and the baby were concerned. They were both resting for the next day's festivities.
It didn't take long on Saturday for things to heat up. Allowing for the time delay between the coasts, Wyatt told us that Heather was beginning to dilate but very slowly. At 6:00 am they induced labor with medication. She began to respond but only to about 4 centimenters after a few hours. As we were going to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate Damon's birthday, we speculated whether the baby would be born on October 30th or on Halloween. By calling again, Donna found out that they were deciding whether to take the baby surgically or allow Heather to go through with a vaginal delivery. This was because little Hanna's heart rate kept changing showing that she was tired through all this stress. Earlier in the labor they put a fetal monitor on the baby's head but it didn't stay so they pulled it out to try again. When pulling it out they also snagged a few of the baby's hairs, which were black. they gave them to Heather and she was overwhelmed.
We didn't hear from Wyatt and we prayed that all was going well. We knew how tough it was for us in the labor and delivery room. Then we heard from Wyatt that she was going into the delivery room! That meant that she was going to be born on the 30th and that it was going to be a natural delivery. Well, as natural as you can have with an epidural, which Heather was given at Kathy's insistance. The mothers that delivered in the 60's through the 80's had nothing to help them, not even Tylenol and they remember still how bad it is and tell their daughters to forget about "natural" and take anything they can get!
Heather couldn't even pick up the phone, but Wyatt gave us all the information. We made it back from the restaurant and Damon was running a slight fever. He also reminded us that he was born 24 years earlier at 6:43 P. M. Hannah was fast approaching that time. Donna was so excited that Hannah might be born within the hour that Damon was.
We were tired and lay down but the phone didn't stop. Randy had to raz me about being a grandpa and afterwards admitted that he wished he was in my shape when be became one. That was the first compliment he had ever given me, to my knowledge and it was truly humbling. Donna called Trudi, she called Ernie, she called Kathy, then Kathy Miller and Lyle called her. Finally, Wyatt called at almost midnight to tell us the final results.
He said that when Heather was fully dilated the doctor told her to push and out popped Hannah with one try. This just happened to occur at 6:39 P. M., four minutes away from Damon't birth time! The doc couldn't believe Heather's strength. While Wyatt was talking, Hannah was nursing on Heather's breast. When Hannah was visible to Heather and she could see that her child had Wyatt's hair, his nose, in fact, looked like Wyatt, she cried tears of joy. Hannah weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces at birth.
As Tim said when I told him, "now you are a bi-coastal family; enjoy the frequent flyer miles!"
