All Things Supercinski

Last weekend, Sugar started complaining of abdominal pain and was refusing to eat. It was really bad on Sunday morning, and her abdomen was tender to the touch, distended and she was in a great deal of pain. We took her to urgent care at noon, where they determined her appendix had ruptured and was contained in a sac. She and Thomas rode to Austin in an ambulance to Dell Children’s where a surgeon told us late that night it was perhaps not an appendix but rather a birth defect known as Meckel’s Diverticulum and would require open abdominal surgery. Despite being 38.5 weeks pregnant I had ridden down there to be with them. My midwife advised bringing all of our birth kit supplies, just in case, and she would meet us at the hotel if necessary. However, due to the emotional stress of everything, it was most likely that my body would not go into labor at all. Sugar had open abdominal surgery Monday morning where they removed the diverticulum, part of her intestines where it was attached, reattached her intestine, and removed her appendix which was right next to everything and a bit inflamed, just in case.

Her recovery was going to be at least through the week. I stayed in a hotel with my mom and Bud, and Thomas had hospital duty with Sugar. I was up there with her during the day each day. On Wednesday night, she took her first steps (and wouldn’t stop going!) and we walked the hospital halls with her until 8:30. Walking out of the hospital that night, my mom and I had to stop twice due to strong contractions, but they were not much stronger or unlike any contractions I had been experiencing all week long.

That night, I slept great. At 2:30, I woke up with a contraction (again, not strong enough to have me thinking I was in labor), and went to the bathroom. I got back in bed, praying for Sugar and for the baby to wait to come until next week. I had a couple contractions, but I slept until I woke up at 3:30, very, very hungry. I got up and went to the bathroom again and ate some yogurt with a plastic fork, dribbling all over my nightgown. I got back in bed and fell right back to sleep. I woke up with a strong contraction that I had to breathe through, but dozed off immediately afterward, having a really strange dream. I had another really strong contraction that I had to breathe through, rolled over and heard a pop. I got up, ran to the bathroom where yes, my water had broken. It was 4:41 a.m. I called my midwife who packed up immediately for the hour and 45 minute drive. I called Thomas, who immediately began rushing about the hospital room to head my way. My mom was getting dressed to go be at the hospital with Sugar, and she called my dad and his wife to come and get Bud from the hotel.

I would not let Thomas get off the phone with me as contractions were very strong and painful, and I was having a very difficult time coping with them. I was standing on a puddle pad, dripping water everywhere. Thomas arrived at 5:15ish and I was having contractions one on top of another, kneeling next to the bed, saying, “I can’t do this,” and praying for God to help me get through it. I just knew I was going to be only 4 cm dilated when my midwife arrived and I would have a very hard labor. After a few contractions with Thomas there, I felt my body bearing down and pushing. I reached down and could feel the head. I told Thomas to call 911, it was 5:26 and my midwife was over an hour away. I was very concerned because I could see that there was meconium in the water. I climbed up on the bed and began pushing.

Paramedics arrived within a few minutes, along with the firefighters and stretcher. Through all of this, Bud was asleep on the couch in the living room area of the hotel room. I was in the middle of pushing when the paramedic ran over to me, grabbing my arm and asking if I was in labor. I yelled at him to stop touching me. He asked if I was pushing and I told him to shut up. He told me they needed to get me on the stretcher, and I told him I was not getting up off this bed. The other paramedic (a woman), said that I was crowning and could just stay on the bed. Male paramedic grabbed a cord clamp and I told him he would not be clamping that cord until a few minutes after the baby was born. Thomas explained that I am a birthing instructor, and female paramedic seemed to listen to me more then. Next push, baby’s head was out with the cord around the neck. Male paramedic did a great job suctioning baby’s nose and mouth to remove any meconium so he wouldn’t aspirate it. Male paramedic said he had to clamp and cut the cord since it was around baby’s neck, and I told him no, he needed to try and slip the cord over his head. Female paramedic gave it a try, and it came right over. Next push, the body was out and slipped onto the bed. It was 5:42 a.m., just one hour after I realized I was indeed in labor.

It was a boy! Very vigorous and pink, lustily crying. After a minute, they cut the cord and wrapped him in blankets and some foil stuff to keep him warm. I climbed onto the stretcher and they put him on me, and wheeled me out the hotel, down a glass elevator in the lobby and into the ambulance for Thomas’ second ambulance ride in one week. Bud slept through everything until the baby was born, but woke up and one of the firefighters sat with him (per my instructions). Thankfully, my dad and Debbi arrived just after I got on the stretcher and took care of him.

We got to the hospital and I delivered the placenta, they wiped down the baby and I got to nurse him. My midwife arrived and was there to encourage us and help with the transition to the hospital. Thankfully, it was a fairly baby-friendly hospital, and Speedy never left my sight. They even let us deny the antibiotic eye ointment, Heb B and Vitamin K. Their normal policy is for a 48 hour stay, but they let us go the next morning. Thomas took me back to the hotel to nurse and rest, and then we went up to visit Sugar and let her meet her brother. That day happened to be my birthday, so we had a nice birthday dinner in the hospital cafeteria (where Sugar ate real food!) and we had a birthday cake. Our whole family was reunited on Saturday together with Bud, Sugar and Speedy all being in the same place, and Sugar was released from the hospital Saturday afternoon.

Speedy is a very strong boy, intense in his nursing and brought my milk in within 48 hours of his birth. He seems to be in a big hurry ever since his birth! While things did not go as planned, everything worked out great. The Lord has been so good to us and carried us through the craziest week of our lives so far. His timing is perfect, and we rest in knowing that.

Speedy Supercinski
7 pounds, 8 ounces, 20 inches long
August 25, 2011 at 5:42 a.m.

The scene of all the action, he was born on the bed on the left.

Speedy Supercinski
August 25, 2011 at 5:42 a.m.
7 pounds, 8 ounces, 20 inches long
Everyone is home and healthy and doing great

Birth story coming soon!

If you are really interested in this stuff, which I know not everyone is, I have a comparison shot of 37 weeks with Sugar here. I think I was bigger with her.

How far along: 38 weeks (tomorrow)
Size of baby: 6-7 pounds
Total weight gain: 33 pounds (now I’m starting to wonder why I ever posted this in the first place)
Maternity clothes: shirts are barely fitting these days. Happy that I can still wear elastic-waist shorts and skirts from non-maternity days which means my rear end hasn’t grown as much as I thought.
Gender: still no clue, but we have narrowed down names that we both like. I’m so glad that we won’t have a nameless child for a few days!
Movement: lots of knees, feet and hands
Sleep: good, just two bathroom breaks a night, but my hips are starting to complain about all this side sleeping
What I miss: not being so tired. I could take two naps a day if I could.
Cravings: just need some meat
Symptoms: tons of contractions
Best moments of the month: I have moved from busily crossing things off my to-do list, to “leisurely” waiting, which is nice. I don’t have the energy for much else these days. I also have enjoyed going to my deep water aerobics class twice a week. It feels great, and it is a good workout, too. I’m the youngest there by about 15-20 years, but it is still fun. Also, several of my students have had their babies over the past few weeks, and it has been wonderful to see all these sweet little newborns. I can’t wait to hold our baby soon!

I never got around to posting a June update, so I will attempt to include it now. June was a fun month of swim lessons for the kids, lots of trips to the pool, splashpad, and library for their summer events. Sugar is quite the little fish in the water, attempting to swim underwater without floaties all the time. Bud is more cautious, but they both have a great time. We went to our city’s summer concert series a few times, and the kids enjoyed running and tumbling in the soft grass more than the music (some nights, who could blame them?) We enjoyed a visit with our friends, the Culpeppers, and getting to meet their little boy.

The kids spent a weekend with my mom and Woody while Thomas and I enjoyed a lot of rest, relaxation and ethnic foods (mmm, Fadis) while staying in a nice hotel in Houston. Later in June we attended a parent practicum for Classical Conversations. It was a great time to play with friends and prepare for the coming year, while being encouraged in homeschooling.

I managed to can 7 quarts of tomatoes for the summer, but that was it. The garden languished under the heat and drought, though we did manage to get several cantaloupes, a few watermelons, many cucumbers and just a few zucchini.

July was a bit slower of a month with many more visits to the pool, fewer trips to the splashpad (I cannot handle the heat anymore), and more trips to the library’s summer programs. I attended three baby showers in July, and one of them was for me. We have been very productive around the house, making preparations for the baby and the coming school year. Thomas pulled everything out of the garden except for the bell peppers. Everything else was dead. This has been the worst summer garden ever, but since it has only rained three times all summer, it isn’t a surprise.

The kids finished up gymnastics for the year (below you will see Sugar’s favorite ensemble to wear these days.) She spends much of her time picking out new outfits that she creatively matches together and pairs with jewelry.

25. Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson – Amazon recommended this book to me, and since the library had it, I read it. I was looking for some light-hearted reading this month (otherwise I fall asleep), and this fit the bill. It took me about a third of the book to actually get into it, but it is a sweet story with great character development.

26. Room by Emma Donoghue – I don’t know why I thought this would be a good book to read, it was not a good choice for my stage of life. While it is excellently written, and I could not put it down (I read it in a mere 24 hours), the subject matter was far too weighty for this emotional, pregnant momma of a boy the same age as the boy in this book. I think Bud was confused by all the tight hugs he got from me the following days.

27. The Help by Kathryn Stockett – I re-read this book in anticipation of our August book club venturing to the movie theater to see the screen adaptation. Reading it a second time was just as good as the first.

28. Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Sarah Buckley – I have read some of Sarah Buckley’s articles and listened to her on a podcast, and she is quite an expert on natural birth and mothering topics. As a family physician, she adds a great element of research as well. This book was a little extreme for most people, including myself, who many would also consider rather extreme. I enjoyed reading her birth stories and was encouraged by many things she wrote about, though I don’t think I would recommend this book to my average student or most of my friends.