And Parker Makes Three

We welcomed Parker Elaine to our herd at 12:46 p.m. on Friday, February 20th, 2015.  My water broke at something like 3:30 a.m.  Me being me, I was like, Meh, not really having much in the way of contractions.  We’ll just get some stuff done here at home first.  When we arrived at the hospital at 8:00, I was 5 centimeters dilated, which means I was halfway there already.

The nurses hurried me to a delivery room, where the contractions started coming much harder and faster.  I figured it was time to demand an epidural, since they can’t give it to you after you’re 7 centimeters dilated.  Fortunately, I got it just in time.  In fact, the doc shot me up pretty good and ended up numbing a little more than my legs.  Heh.  Not gonna lie – it was sort of nice.

Anyway, I think I had Parker within an hour of the epidural.  No joke.  It took the contraction pain away, but the pressure came shortly after.  The pressure means you’re transitioning to active labor, which means you’re pretty much there.  My doctor was on duty that day, along with another doc, and although he was in a meeting, he specifically asked to be paged so that he could be the one to deliver Parker.  I thought that was pretty cool.  In fairness, I’m his weird, “Wow, that shit never happens except to you!” patient.

It took almost exactly 10 minutes of pushing to deliver Parker – my shortest yet!  She basically fell out.  I mean, she hadn’t actually even dropped, but my body was just like, “Fuck this.  I’m done.  Here’s your eviction notice, kid.  Now get out!”  So she did.

She was 8 pounds 13.5 ounces and 19 inches long.  That makes her the shortest of the three but in the middle for weight.  Millie is still my boss hoss.

Unfortunately, Parker takes after Brett more, where eating and sleeping is concerned.  She’s hard to put to bed, and her tummy gets upset rather easily.  She would strongly prefer to be in bed with me, but co-sleeping is just not on the menu for me.  I’m hoping she’ll get into a groove in a few days, and this will all get easier.  As of right now, I’ve probably gotten 6-7 hours of sleep in the last four days, including the day I actually had Parker.

The other downside to it all is that I’m not bouncing back this time like with the other two.  With Brett, I was full of beans the same day.  Millie, I had my stride by the next day, and I was pretty fine right after.  This time around, I’m exhausted, my back is killing me where they gave me the epidural, my hips are still giving me hell (I’ve had bad pelvic girdle pain), and the swelling in my feet and legs is ridiculous and painful.  Oh, and my hormones are going nuts like they did with Brett.  PPD, ahoy!

I think my body has just had it.  I’m pretty good with the whole delivery thing, but having three kids back-to-back has taken some pep out of my step, at least for now.  And before you ask, no, there won’t be any more siblings.  I’m getting an IUD ASAP, and that’s that.  My husband has vowed to stay the hell away from me, which I appreciate.  I’m never doing this again.  I’m just done.  I’m tired.

Anyway, Parker is a little delight – cheeky like her sisters, and a real sweetie, even if the concept of sleep seems to evade her.  I’m sleeping in my recliner so that I can hear her and respond faster.  Millie’s going through a spell of not sleeping well, and Parker wakes her up.

So welcome, Parker, our third little girl!  We’re glad you got here happy and healthy, and we’re happy that your sisters seem to be equally excited about a new sibling.  Parker makes three!