|
|
|
It all went down in the early morning hours on the 27th of June 2006, which oddly enough was the due date that we had known about all along. You would think that we would be ready for it, and in Nicole's case you would be right. She had prepared her bag with every possible necessary item down to diapers for the new baby. The room was in order with drawers full of pre-washed infant clothes in the 0-3 month range organized by clothing type (and dare I say- color.) We even had one of the teenage neighbors "on-call" to come over in the middle of the night to stay with David if we had to leave. The one thing we were lacking: a name for the new arrival.
Nicole woke Tyler at 3:30 AM with a nudge and a "I think we should go in." She had actually been having contractions since 11:30 PM, but they "hadn't been regular." The on-call neighbor (Brigham) was called-in, and responded within 5 minutes. The drive to the hospital was the main concern since we live 35-45 minutes from the hospital, and know of at least 4 babies that have been born in the neighborhood or at various gas stations along the route. Tyler drove with increasing velocity, always mindful of safe driving practices (going 95, but not over 100 mph.) Luckily the roads were nearly deserted except for the occasional roadkill and sicilian wildfire.
Arriving at the hospital, we found our friend from church, and nurse Rebecca Geurtz was on duty. She checked us in and set us up in a monitoring room to check Nicole's progress: 4 cm dilation and irregular contractions. The decision was made to admit us and update the OB as to Nicole's progress. By 6:00 the contractions had become regular and intense. Nicole indicated her intention to have an epidural and the nurse anesthetist was called. The OB was also on his way. By 6:45 Nicole began inquiring much more earnestly as to the wherabouts of the anesthetist. Phrases such as "EPIDURAL!!" and "WHERE IS HE!!" came between "DON'T TOUCH ME!!" and "GET THIS THING OFF OF ME!!" (referring to an oxygen mask.)
The nurse anesthetist arrived just in time and apologized for being late (he had been stuck behind a line of cars- a common occurence on this part of the island.) Nicole didn't want any explanations, she just wanted the pain to go away. Soon things were much better and Nicole was her nice pleasant self again. There was a brief scare when the babies heart rate dropped after the epidural was administered- the doctor thought it was either a result of the epidural or from the rapid descent of the baby.Before we knew it, the doctor announced that she was fully dilated and it was time for pushing. We new the pain was well controlled when the nurse said "okay your having a contraction- push" and Nicole said "Oh ... I guess I am... " It took some more work and a lot of encouragement: (Dr. to Nicole) "Get Mad Nicole!!!" "PUUUSH!!!"
By 8:30, the baby was out and being checked by the pediatrician- what a relief. Everything looked great. Like David, she was very aware of things going on in the room. Because she was 9 lbs, she needed to have her blood glucose tested multiple times while we were at the hospital. She suprised the nursing staff by "latching on" to Nicole on her first attempt at nursing. One of the nurses even said that in three years it was the first time she had seen it.
We still had a problem... babygirl Miles didn't have a name, and now everyone wanted to know what her name would be. We had to file paperwork for an Italian birth certificate within 72 hours, so we had to intensify our efforts to come to a consensus. Tyler suprised Nicole by throwing a new contender in the ring at the last minute. Adriana. It satisfied the requirement Nicole had imposed: an Italian or Hispanic name. In fact it satisfied both (as well as a portuguese name.) Tyler had known an Adriano on his mission, and had baptized an Adriana. We were 90% but still awaiting confirmation. Confirmation came when Frank and Lourdes mentioned that there was a second cousin in Cuba named Adriana. And final confirmation came when we were watching the Brazil-Ghana world cup game (round of 16) In which a brazilian striker named Adriano scored a goal to give Brazil a 2-0 lead over Ghana- it was meant to be! We debated whether or not to give her a middle name. We know so many women who end up dumping their middle name and taking their maiden name instead. In the end we decided to name her Adriana Alonso Miles. We thought it sounded good, and she could decide which family name to keep as her middle name when she gets married.
After 2 nights in the hospital, Nicole and Adriana were discharged and able to return home to Mineo. David was super-excited to get his little sister back home. He kept saying "little sister out of mommy's tummy!" He was able to visit little sister twice while they were in the hospital and was able to hold her for a few minutes. These were priceless moments, and are included in the video download: a must see! We are all home now and on to the next adventure: getting all of the paperwork done for her passport so we can bring her back!