This is it!

Craig and I arrived in Pennsylvania with little drama this afternoon and got checked into our hotel. We had enough time to enjoy a nice dinner before heading to the hospital to wait. We will be remaining in the Labor and Delivery waiting room until Baby Sera is born, so I thought I would provide regular updates to everyone throughout the evening. You will just have to check this feed regularly through the night. I suppose this is one of the few luxuries of adoption. How many other expectant mommies can blog on the night their daughter is born?

2 July 2012

9:26 pm- We have arrived to the hospital and are starting to create a little nest in the waiting room. We are alone, so it seems to be a slow night for deliveries. Several minutes ago, we met our nurse, Stacy and she gave us a brief tour of Labor and Delivery and the nursery. She will be coordinating with case management to see if she can get us a "nesting room" after Sera is born. She believes that Sera will not be born until sometime in the early morning and we have been instructed to remain here in the meantime. Our attorney told us to sleep in shifts, but to be honest, I don't see the sandman visitng this waiting room tonight.

10:32 pm- Still waiting. The nurse came out and said that the birth momma has given her permission to share everything about the delivery process. The birth mom also wanted to ensure that the hospital was doing everything to make sure WE were comfortable. Can you believe that? She's in labor and she's worried about our comfort. In the meantime, I made the mistake of pulling at a loose string on my brand new shirt and now the decorative beading has started to become undone. I have tied it off as best as I can, so the risk for beading failure is reduced, but the shirt is now essentially ruined and a potential choking hazard. I'm not sure if that is a good omen. I think fatigue is starting to take an early toll, as I just tried to convince Craig to start a West Side Story flash mob in the hallway, all because he snapped his fingers.

3 July 2012

12:07 am- Our nurse, Stacy has left for the evening. However, our new nurse, Kim received a 30 minute update from Stacy. We have yet to meet Kim, but we were informed that she was "very nice." So far, the nursing staff seems to love us. Periodically, they step out of the unit to say, "Congrats" or to offer us a blanket or something to drink. The last nurse dimmed the lights for us and encouraged us to sleep. We haven't received an update about how labor is going, but were informed that they can infuse the medication for up to 12 hours. However, considering that this is her 5th child, the nurses don't seem to think it will take that long. Craig has started a game: "Let's see what takes longer.... Getting gas in West Virginia following a storm or labor and delivery?"

2:10 am- Sadly, no update. Its frustrating, but I understand. Sometimes, things don't progress as quickly as we would like, so there is nothing to report. I also know that the nurses are terribly busy. I have tried to do a little reading, but felt too sleepy. Craig tried to take a nap, but the couch was too uncomfortable and the sounds of the lab cart kept waking him.

4:08 am- Still no updates. Craig and I did manage to sleep for about 30 minutes while huddled together for warmth on the sofa. We haven't seen a nurse in about four hours, but I know that patients come first. The sound of the elevators is starting to make me batty. We hear them beep whenever anyone passes our floor and I can hear them double-chime when they reach the floor above or below us. Craig and I get excited whenever the door to Labor and Delivery opens or when one of the doctors walk down the hall, but its someone else's good news. We're starting to get restless. Both of us have thoroughly read all of the posters on the wall and I have straightened the crooked table lamp that has been driving me crazy.

6:13 am- I think I slept 30-45 minutes last night. I would start to drift off and then the door would open and I would perk awake again. We understand that labor and delivery takes time. We just wish that someone would come out and give us some sort of update. Anything at all. However, we feel ignored by new nurse, Kim. Her shift if nearly over and we haven't seen her once. We know that Sera will get here eventually. We just wish someone would communicate with us.

7:32 am- I've seen two doctors in scrubs going into L&D. Since we are the only ones in the waiting room, I hope this means that birth mom will be delivering soon.

7:45 am- We finally caught Nurse Kim as she was heading out the door for the day. Nurse Kim didn't fill us with much confidence, as she couldn't even remember birth momma's name. Nurse Kim said that birth mom slept on and off throughout the night and was getting "more and more uncomfortable." Her contractions were increasing, but I don't think the medication is working as well as they had hoped. The nurse was with birth momma all night and never bothered to check her cervix. The doctor will be meeting with birth momma soon and hopefully, we will know more. Our new nurse is Jenn.

9:47 am- Sorry, nothing to report yet. No one has come to talk to us. The only one to acknowledge us in the past two hours is the custodian. Craig was able to get us something for breakfast and I did manage to have a brief nap, in which I finally achieved deep sleep. The hospital is now piping Muzak over the loud speakers and there are more people to disrupt my sleep efforts. I hope that the birth momma is okay. She must be so tired and uncomfortable. This baby just doesn't want to come out.

10:49 am- Craig sent a text to update the attorney. Apparently, the birth mom texted the attorney and said she is starting to go through "hard labor" now. My first thought was an empathetic... OW! for the birth mom, followed by a YAY! for us. Then I wondered how she was able to manage texting during hard labor.

1:07 pm- While I was in the restroom, Jenn approached Craig. Birth momma is only at 4 cm after 16 hours of pitocin and "hard labor." They are just now giving her an epidural and anticipate that she will deliver around 3:30 pm. After almost 12 years of waiting, you would think that Craig and I would be patient, but we are growing more and more anxious and restless by the minute.

3:31 pm- All of the nurses just came up to the waiting room (near the time clock) to punch out. They were all surprised because they noticed we'd been sitting here since 7 am. Then we had to remind them that we've been here since 9 pm the prior night. As of now, birth momma is only 6 cm. We're progressing, which is good. Its just very, very slow. I really want to shower and brush my teeth and change my clothes, but we never thought we'd be here for nearly 24 hours and didn't bother to pack anything. We're worried about going back to the hotel in shifts because we don't want to miss anything. So, we sit and wait. Craig seems to think he is entitled to the chair he has been occupying the past 18 hours. It has become a part of him.

4:09 pm- We spoke with a doctor. A real, genuine doctor came out, sat down with us, informed us of what was happening, and answered our questions! The birth momma actually asked her doctor to take a moment to ensure that we were receiving updated information. The doctor confirmed that birth momma is only 6 cm, but that can quickly change at any moment. However, she best estimated that she could be delivering in several hours. Baby Sera is doing fine. Despite the prolonged labor, there is no fetal distress. The baby is doing great. Birth momma is pretty tired, but hanging in there. She is alone, which makes me sad. However, she has changed her mind and has decided to remain on the unit after the baby is born. We still do not know if she will want to meet us. The hospital is making arrangements for me to stay in a maternity suite after the baby is born, so I can be with Sera and start some bonding. Craig feels pleased and energized with the recent updates. He's such a problem solver, its been making him crazy that there is nothing he can do to speed things along. So, to finally get some definitive answers and have someone take the time to talk to us has made him feel much, much better. He had started to develop a hatred of inanimate objects in the hospital, like the two clocks in the waiting room that have been taunting us and the loud door to Labor and Delivery. At one point, a little boy and his dad came down the hall to the loud door, with the little boy announcing how excited he was to meet his little brother. Craig then joked, "They're just getting here and they already have a baby?!? Cutters!" I then asked him if he wanted me to go find a cop. His reply: "And I want a gallon of gas!"

4:58 pm- A different doctor in blue scrubs just emerged, announcing, "Adoptive parents? She's getting ready to push. Shouldn't be long now." And then away he left. This will likely be my last blog post in this feed. The next one will include baby pictures!