IMR: 1998: January: 27

IMR: 1998: January: 27 -- Monday, 10:59 p.m.
Mother Child Care Unit, Kapi`olani Medical Center, Hawai`i

Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 22:59:39 -1000 (HST)
From: Prophet Zarquon <prophet@aloha.net>
To: hawaii-l@hawaii.edu
Subject: The Newest Ozawa
Hey everyone...
I just found out I can get online from the postpartum ward. I just had to steal a phone cord from... somewhere. It's about 10:30 p.m., Jen's snoring, and I've got a 33.6k connection for the first time ever with this modem.
Sorry for the indirect spam. My dear friend William was our "birth public information officer," and I sent him a list of e-mail addresses to send the news to, as I knew I'd (1) be remiss in telling several friends otherwise and (2) be pooped.
Boy am I pooped. But when there's a working terminal within arm's reach... There's always a second wind. I just got on to put up a couple of pictures for Jen's family in Florida, actually, but of course I want to share the URL with you too if you're interested.
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~ozawa/temp/
Only two shots so far, but they're the first pictures ever. Everything else is on regular film, and won't be developed 'til this weekend (and probably won't be scanned). Wish they were better, but I was concentrating on a few million other things at the time and didn't pay much attention to lighting or composition.
Still, I think you can see... our daughter's a cutie.
Most of the stats were in William's message. 11:38 p.m., Jan. 26. Oh, but 6 lbs., 3.3 oz. is the exact weight figure... I guessed 7. She's 19.5 inches tall (or is it long).
My friend in Portland called, and tells me she's a fire boar (I think... I'm a little muddled). Missed a tiger by that much!
Anyway, since I said I'm still at the hospital, you know we didn't get discharged this afternoon after all. Turns out all babies need to be held 24 hours, and with a 11:38 p.m. birth, the earliest we could leave would be... oh, in an hour or so. We decided to make it a full night. And we're very glad we did.
I think this is the first good patch of sleep Jen's had. I haven't had one yet, though I doze on occasion. Can't sleep in weird surroundings.
Since I'm in a rambling mood, here's some of the details. Delete with glee... I just want to keep my fingers warm.
Jen's bag of waters broke at 1:30 a.m. on Monday, but the doctor said we could wait 'til morning to come in since the contractions were still 10-12 minutes apart. At about 6:30 p.m., they got to about 6 minutes, so we headed off.
We got a very very very nice birthing room, and settled in for the long haul. Contractions came and went, we walked around the hospital to move things along. Unfortunately, even by 3 p.m., Jen was only 1 cm dilated. Things were moving very slowly, and the contractions were taking a lot out of her.
Eventually, the pain was too much so she requested an epidural. From that point on, whoosh, things picked up. She was 8 cm dilated within an hour. She stalled there for a few hours, but without the pain she was cool as a cucumber.
At about 10:45, with a good flow of pitocin ramping up the contractions, the hard labor began. She thought she wasn't going to make it several times, but of course she pulled through like a champ. The hardest part of the whole day was over in under an hour.
Most of Jen's membranes were fine, but there was some internal tearing that had to be sutured up. It's because of those injuries that we're still here. Jen had to be catheterized, and it was only removed about four hours ago. She's still aching and swollen, and hasn't yet peed or had a bowel movement.
We were moved from the neat-o birthing room to a postpartum room a floor below. Not as well appointed, and we eventually ended up sharing it with a Samoan woman who just had her fifth child, and the other four (as well as a dozen other relatives) were flowing in and out all afternoon.
They turned the TV on just for noise, as far as I could tell, since they weren't watching. And at one point, the room was filled with people who suddenly broke out into a full choral arrangement of some Christian song whose name I've now forgotten.
It was grand central station, and Jen was tense and couldn't get rest.
Fortunately our doctor argued the staff (he's from Straub rather than KMC, so it was probably quite a feat) into getting us a private room, which is where we are now. Jen's snoring deeply...
Despite the difficult roomie period, things have actually been going great. Jen's breastfeeding like a pro, after... oh, maybe eight feedings, still not a sore nipple in sight. Thankfully, Katie is a sound sleeper, dozing off four two, three hours at a stretch after being fed. My mom and step mom have stopped in, as has "godfather William."
We went to a baby bathing class, in which I was the volunteer and Katie was the unsuspecting model. I've actually changed a couple of diapers (albeit rather sloppily) and am getting better at "swaddling."
What else what else what else... Oh. We got a gourmet (sort of) steak and lobster "celebration dinner" tonight. Tasty, and noteworthy especially because it was the first and only meal where I got fed as well as Jen. Otherwise, I've had to forage through the hospital for food at mealtimes like the animal that I am.
Katie is very alert, and was moving her eyes around in the delivery room. She listens to sounds, most of which calm her, and has perfect, fingernailed fingers that grip pretty good. She's still working on how to control the attached arms, though. Though her face will change a lot in the next year, everyone's saying she has my nose and basic face, and Jen's eyes, mouth and ears.
We get discharged tomorrow morning, though no one's mentioned a time. I guess it depends on when Jen will be able to walk and pass waste comfortably. The major lesson ahead is, "How to get an infant into a car seat."
We're going to live with my mom -- now a grandmother -- for a few weeks 'til we have the whole parenting thing down. I've missed two days of school and will miss a third.
Right now I'm very hungry all of a sudden so I can't think of a clever way to close.
Well, most importantly... Thanks for all your wonderful wonderful advice, cheer and support. We saved every word. We'll get you this new list.keiki's haiku as soon as we have a quiet moment to write.
Which should be in 2016 or so.

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