That is what the doctor told me on my birthday which was Monday the 20th. I thought I would either be eating cake or pushing. I wasn’t doing either on Monday. The positive thing about Monday’s news was that we had a little bit more time to understand how the stroller and car seat function. We had researched for several months the type of car seat we should purchase and decided to purchase the Chicco Travel System. One thing Raul said was that he would pay what ever the cost for a safe product to protect Daniela.
As I walked out of the doctor’s office he told me to make sure that the baby moves at least ten or more times a day. To which I replied, ” She makes my belly move at night like a dance floor.” He gave me a follow-up appointment for Monday the 27th and stated that he would see me then if nothing happened over the course of the week.
People have been asking me via Twitter, Facebook, email, and phone calls if anything has happened. Today as we went around dropping off little gifts of thanks to clients and friends, one of them mentioned that he checks the blog to see if there has been a new update. So I decided to sit down and write what was going on with us.
Over the weekend we received goodies from various people such as Chenille, Carmen, Antonia, Raul’s Aunt Lucy, his grandmother Lydia, and uncle Irving. The best goodies are the ones that someone else has used. One of the items Chenille included was a book called, “Your New Baby” by Dr. Miriam Stoppard. Raul and I have started reading the book and we both agreed that some of the details are nerve racking especially since we are having a girl.
So on Saturday evening Raul’s grandma stated that the baby will come in January. My distant cousin Maria del Carmen says that my belly is still high up near my chest. And with the information the doctor gave me, Raul and I will play the waiting game with Daniela Lucia. In the meantime, we will continue to work against the clock. I mean it is the eve of her due date so anything can happen between now and tomorrow.
I was induced on the 28th of December at Damas Hospital in Ponce, Puerto Rico by my doctor. I had my relaxation ball and music to listen to as the pitocin tried to do its magic. The doctor checked my three times and asked me what I wanted to do. He explained we could be there 24 hours or due a C-Section. I told him I was hungry and that the baby was not going to come out. I had him explain what the C-Section entailed and told him I would give him my response after lunch. I did not want to put in harms way my health or Daniela’s because I wanted a Vaginal Birth being that Natural Birth was not going to happen. Natural meaning no chemicals to induce labor a la natural as mother nature intended. Once the doctor came back from lunch, I had him check me one more time and I decided then that a C-Section was going to be the option.
I was in the operating room and to my surprise, my mom’s neighbor was calling my name "Tuli". She said as soon as she saw the schedule she quickly came to see me and stayed throughout the procedure ensuring me that everything was going well. Through all of this I was calm and relaxed (not just due to the drugs lol) but because I wanted to make sure that I let the doctor’s and nurses do what they needed to ensure we both came out fine. Once they treated Daniela all of them were amazed that she was very alert and had her eyes wide open as you could see from the pictures taken by one of the nurses. It was not the birth plan that I had hoped for but in the end, all turned out well for us.
My feelings of doubt and nervousness from the beginning of the pregnancy came to an end when I heard Daniela cry and saw her for the first time. I was so scared initially to have her but I have to thank family and friends for their comforting words and advice throughout my pregnancy.