For those of you on Facebook, you have seen the hundreds of pictures I've posted of Malachi. I can't stop taking pictures. I've never taken so many pictures of one person or thing in my life, but I can't stop. Moving right along to the point of this post. I want to tell my story about how Malachi came into the world. We had planned a C-Section, but it did not quite go as planned. Easter Sunday, the day before the C-Section, we went and had dinner with the McAveety boys, their wives and their parents. We had a great time. I wasn't allowed to eat past 8:00pm, so at 7:30 I had about 4 pieces of carrot cake. It was awesome. Josh and I went home around 9, exhausted, but of course we couldn't sleep. We kept saying things like "We're going to be holding Malachi in a few hours!" and "This is our last night in this house before we have a baby!" And all sorts of things like that. Finally at 11:30, we turnd off the light and decided we needed to rest as much as possible. Our friend Justin would be picking us up and taking us to the hospital at 6:30 am.
At 11:40, I decided I'd better go ahead and use the bathroom, since it's something I do 18 times a night with Malachi pushing on bladder all the time. Well, I went into the bathroom and started to feel very sick. I wasn't sure which end something wanted to come out of, but I felt awful and I was in some pain. Suddenly I realized "Oh, whoa. This is a real contraction." So I did my breathing and tried to focus until it was over. Then I went back to the bedroom and said "Josh, I just had a contraction. I'm going to the living room because I can sit up on the couch and it's more comfortable." So Josh said "Well, just keep track of how close they are and let me know if anything happens." I said I would and then I called my sister to talk to her about it.
At 11:40, I decided I'd better go ahead and use the bathroom, since it's something I do 18 times a night with Malachi pushing on bladder all the time. Well, I went into the bathroom and started to feel very sick. I wasn't sure which end something wanted to come out of, but I felt awful and I was in some pain. Suddenly I realized "Oh, whoa. This is a real contraction." So I did my breathing and tried to focus until it was over. Then I went back to the bedroom and said "Josh, I just had a contraction. I'm going to the living room because I can sit up on the couch and it's more comfortable." So Josh said "Well, just keep track of how close they are and let me know if anything happens." I said I would and then I called my sister to talk to her about it.
About a half hour later, I had another contraction and I thought "Dang it! I'm not going to get any sleep if they come every half hour!" I started texting Ashley and talkign to her about it, and then fiv minutes later I had another contraction, so I started timing them, and I started having contractions every five minutes for about a minute to a minute and a half. Well, that's when they say to go to the hospital. I called my hospital and I said "I'm scheduled for a C-section at 9:30 in the morning because my baby is breech, but I am having contractions. They're five minutes apart, 60-90 seconds long." So they told me to come on down and they'd check me out.
Now this is my first baby. Usually, with your first baby you're in labor for like 14 hours or something. However, my family history has been somewhat different. The longest labor my mom had was 6 hours, and one of the kids was only 2 hours. My sister went into labor at 6am, didn't realize it until 8am and had Anneliese at like 9:15. So the Hatcher women seem to go quickly.
So I woke up Josh - except he wasn't actually sleeping. He was kind of waiting for me to come in and say it's time to go. Josh jumped out of bed and started gathering everything together. I've never seen him move so fast!! I was still contracting every four or five minutes, and we got in the car and left our parking lot. Then I threw up my four pieces of carrot cake. Awesome. So we headed to Baltimore at 1:00 in the morning. We we're getting close and I realized that Josh won't really know how to get there. We've been to the hospital twice, both times we took a different route and it was in the middle of the day. So in the midst of contractions, I started looking up directions on my iPhone. Josh said "Um, Kat, I know you're busy but I'm really going to need your help when we get into the city." And I told him I was looking it up so I could give him directions between contractions!
We finally made it to the hospital and got a really close parking space. I got out of the car and I was walking around the back when I started contracting and throwing up at the same time. NOT - FUN ! So I groaned in annoyance and started praying that Josh would look over and see an abandoned wheelchair in the corner or that one would fall from Heaven, or that someone in a wheelchair would come around the corner and give me a lift. Right about that time, a security guard in an SUV came around the corner, saw me nine months pregnant throwing up, and said "Do you need a wheelchair?" YES!!!! YES I DO!!!! Praise the Lord!
I got to the wheelchair after a little tiny bit of trouble and I was SO relieved. Until Josh said "So we're just going to straight to Labor and Delivery ont the 16th floor, right?" and the security guard responded "Ah, usually they want them to check in down in the Emergency Room first." Josh, not satisfied with that answer, said "Ok, well, how about if we just go right on up to the 16th floor?" So the security guard called someone and asked and they said "IF she's ready just take her on up to Labor and Delivery." Josh told me later that if that had NOT been the response, he was prepared to do whatever necessary to take the wheelchair away from the security guard and escort me to the 16th floor himself!
So we finally made it upstairs. It was about 1:30 at this point. The security guard wheeled me into the Registration room while I was finishing up a contraction. (This is my least favorite part of my story because of the - not so smart - registration lady, but it's also my favorite because of how funny it was after the fact.) The lady said "May I have your name?" So I told her, gave her my insurance card and Driver's License, and she asked me "Do you have any other insurance?" I told her no and started to feel a contraction coming on when she said to me (Are you ready?) - "Why are you here today?" WHAT?!?!?! Why am I HERE?!?! Calmly, but with an edge of "Are you some sort of idiot?!" I replied "I'm having a BABY." My contraction began to gain strength so I couldn't really talk and she condesendingly said to me, with a chuckle, "Yes, dear, that's why everyone comes up here, but specifically why are you here? Are you having contractions." I could only nod, but I wanted to scream "CAN'T YOU TELL?!?! You see this EVERY day!" So then, I was still contracting mind you, she says "And what's your Social?" I can't tell you right now, Crazy! I was just breathing, focusing, and the lady was just staring at me until finally she said "I'll just make copies of your cards. Let me know when you're ready." And Josh, who was very nervous and ready to take me to the OR himself, said "We pre-registered. Why do we have to go through all of this again?" I have no idea what she answered. I was trying to not kill her. She asked me some more questions while I wasn't contracting and I was feeling better. Then I started having another contraction and she says "Oh, you work at Starbucks! And what's the phone number there?" Then just stared at me while I am obviously contracting AGAIN! So Josh whips out his phone and told her, and he was able to answer some of the questions. When I was done contracting for the second time, we were almost ready to leave registration, but she hadn't given me back my lisence and insurance card. She was holding them, about to give them back, and she asked me again "You don't have any other insurance?" I told her no again. Then she said "Ok, well we just have to ask because sometimes people DO have a second insurance that they don't tell us about and it causes a lot of problems with - " I cut her off by yelling "I DO NOT HAVE ANY OTHER INSURANCE!!" So she handed me my cards and told us to wait in the hall. As we're leaving the room, I started having ANOTHER contraction. That whole ordeal took less than 15 minutes.
Very quickly after we left that room, a nurse came and took us to Triage where they told me to go ahead and put on a robe and pee in a cup. There was no way I was going to be able to squeeze out any pee. I hadn't had anything to drink for 6 hours and I had gone to the bathroom like 6 times at home. So I prayed for a little bit of pee and I got maybe an ounce. Finally I came out of the bathroom and laid down on the table. They hooked me to some monitors and a doctor came in, checked to see if Malachi was still breech - he was - and said she was going to check to see if I was dilated. FINALLY!!! I thought! I can tell you right now I'm dilated! So the doctor checked me, looked at the nurse and said "You need to call Dr. Richman right now!" The nurse said OK but didn't move. The doctor said "Right now! Call Dr. Richman and the on-call doctor. She's 7 cm dilated." I very quickly said "I want the epidural!" because my doctor told me they don't give it to you past 6 or 7. Of course, I was having a C-section so she said to me "Honey, don't worry. You're getting it." At that point it was close to 2am and maybe 15 minutes later another doctor came in and said he was going to check me to see how I was progressing. He checked and said "We need to get her to the OR. She's between 8 and 9 cm." And I was contracting about every three minutes.
At 2:27am, they wheeled me into the Operating Room and I sat on a table to get my spinal. I was really nervous, but after all thsoe contractions getting me up to 9cm, I didn't even feel the needle! They told me to lay down immediately, and it wasn't two seconds before I started to feel great! Josh said he could hear me and he knew the moment I got the medicine because I had been so quiet and focused the whole time, but as soon as I got the medicine I started chatting like crazy. I remember saying "Oh, this is WON-derful!! I LOVE not having contractions!!" Then I asked where Josh was, and they told me he would come in after they had me draped. Well, they draped me and I still didn't see Josh. Someone asked me how I was doing and I said "I just miss my husband!" About that time, he came in. As I saw him walking toward me, I heard a doctor say "I'm making the incision now." YUCK! Josh had a great view of everything they did in the surgery. He could see the smoke coming from where they were cauterizing as they cut, he could see blood and other things going everywhere, and then he looked at me. And I was happy as a clam and said "Tell me a story, honey." He did a great job telling me basiclaly the plot to "You've Got Mail." He said that he wanted to tell me something he didn't have to really think about because he was watching them pull stuff out of me (Gross).
At 2:27am, they wheeled me into the Operating Room and I sat on a table to get my spinal. I was really nervous, but after all thsoe contractions getting me up to 9cm, I didn't even feel the needle! They told me to lay down immediately, and it wasn't two seconds before I started to feel great! Josh said he could hear me and he knew the moment I got the medicine because I had been so quiet and focused the whole time, but as soon as I got the medicine I started chatting like crazy. I remember saying "Oh, this is WON-derful!! I LOVE not having contractions!!" Then I asked where Josh was, and they told me he would come in after they had me draped. Well, they draped me and I still didn't see Josh. Someone asked me how I was doing and I said "I just miss my husband!" About that time, he came in. As I saw him walking toward me, I heard a doctor say "I'm making the incision now." YUCK! Josh had a great view of everything they did in the surgery. He could see the smoke coming from where they were cauterizing as they cut, he could see blood and other things going everywhere, and then he looked at me. And I was happy as a clam and said "Tell me a story, honey." He did a great job telling me basiclaly the plot to "You've Got Mail." He said that he wanted to tell me something he didn't have to really think about because he was watching them pull stuff out of me (Gross).
I threw up again on the operating table. Talk about a weird experience. I was lying flat on my back and I couldn't feel my chest to cough or help me in any way. It was really annoying! Another kind of funny thing we thought about was that for us, other than salvation, this is the single most life changing experience we've ever had, and probably ever will. For the doctors and nurses, it's whatevs. Every day. The nurses were joking around, the anesthesiologist was texting after she knew I was ok. It was kind of bizarre.
Well, a few minutes later, Josh was getting quiet and I knew they must be pulling the baby out. Then I heard him cry. Oh my goodness!! It was the most wonderful cry I've ever heard. Josh said "Oh my gosh!" And I said to Josh "What does he look like?!" umm - a baby? And Josh said "He has hair!" He was born at 2:52 am, weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 19.3 inches long. They let Josh take pictures and they let Josh hold him and they brought him down to me so I could see him, but I was completely numb so I couldn't hold him yet. And they washed him and did all the stuff they have to do. There is a test they run one minte after the baby is born and five minutes after. It is called APGAR, which stands for Activity, Pulse, Grimace, Appearance and Respiration. Each of those five things is rated 0, 1 or 2. Basically 0 is bad (i.e. no movement, no pulse, no response to stimulation, blue or pale all over, no breathing), 1 is ok (arms and legs flexed/ little movement, pulse below 100bpm, facial movement only with stimulation, normal color but hands and feet are blue, weak cry or faint breathing) and 2 is good (active spontaneous movement, good pulse, sneezes and coughs with stimulation, normal color all over, nice loud cry). He did a great job! He was 8 at one minute and 9 at five minutes. His little hands and feet were blue for a while, but the nurses told us that was normal. We are so proud of him!
The funniest thing about our little man was his little frog legs! Every time a nurse came to see him, she'd say "Oh, he must have been a breech baby!" Because of thsoe crazy frog legs! Once we were done in the operating room, Josh went to the recovery room, Malachi went to the nursery and I got stitched back up. I had to go to the recovery room for a while. My temperature had dropped to 94.5, and I couldn't go down to the Mother Baby Unit until it was at least 96.5. That took about 2 hours. I finally got to go down and be with my little boy around 5am. He was so sweet and precious. Here are a few of my favorite pics of him in the hosiptal.
