My oh my, how time does fly! My report to you this month can be very long and very short all at once, if you can believe me capable of that. The short version of our lives over the past two months is: moved into the house, had the baby, went to the Outer Banks, blessed the baby. See? I told you I could do it!
Now, normally I would not make the longer version as detailed as I will do so now, but several have told me it’s a fantastic tale, so by your leave, I will share the whole of it. The stars must have been aligned just so, or a full moon, or something cosmic and unnatural to make the timing work out the way it did.
So, the longer version picks up thus (or “thusly” as Alton Brown on the Food Network would say): We gave notice to vacate our apartment by September 15, allowing plenty of time to have the baby, adjust, and gradually work our way over to the house. However, sometime in July our manager told us that they had rented all the other 3-bedroom apartments and ours was next to be vacated. They knew I was due to give birth soon and said they by no means wanted to push us out the door, but if we could vacate earlier they would have a better chance of re-renting it and thus relieving us of our responsibility for rent through October, when our lease ends. We decided to take them up on it and revised our notice to vacate by August 18.
When I went to the doctor for my 39-week checkup on July 30, I was dilated to 4 cm and 75% effaced. The nurse practitioner checking me said I would probably go into labor at any time, gave me instructions for when the happy moment would arrive, and sent me home. My parents were flying home from England that day and Mom planned to drive up the next. When she called on their layover in New Jersey I told her about my progress, and we all figured I’d have the baby within the next 24 hours. Well, I didn’t. We laid low for a few days, every night saying “if we’re not here in the morning…” but I kept emerging each morning, still pregnant.
Finally Mom and I decided we couldn’t just sit and wait for the baby; stuff needed to be done to get ready to move. We set to work, packing the apartment and getting the house cleaned before we moved stuff in. That weekend my Dad came up with his truck and we moved all the food storage and other stuff we’d left in boxes and stored in the third bedroom. Basically we moved everything that wasn’t being used regularly and piled it in the garage.
I went in on Tuesday August 7 (I was due Aug 6) for another doctor’s appointment. I still measured 4 cm and 75%. This doctor (Dr. Alvarez) was absolutely puzzled why I hadn’t gone into labor yet (“Your cervix is so ready!”). He called the hospital to schedule an induction, but they were full until the following Tuesday. Meanwhile they put me on a waiting list for an earlier slot if one opened, and the waiting game continued. I started to feel like giving birth was a myth, and I’d be pregnant forever. Funny how that feeling comes when you’re closer than ever to childbirth. Mom and I kept working hard at the move, starting to unpack essentials at the house so we could function on that end. Nathan arranged for several guys at church to come help move the big stuff on Saturday, after which point we would be living at the house. By that Thursday we figured that when the baby came, he would come home to the house, not the apartment, so we moved all his stuff over and set it up right away. I didn’t want to be sorting through boxes in the middle of the night looking for something. Friday Dr. Alvarez had me come in for a fetal stress test and also did a quick ultrasound to check amniotic fluids, making sure everything was ok before the weekend.
Saturday morning, August 11: Moving Day. I woke up at 6:45 am with a hard pain. I had just rolled over and often felt a similar pain as all my insides rearranged themselves, but ten minutes later, without moving, I had another pain, and ten minutes after that, another. I was finally in labor! When Nathan woke up and asked if I was okay, I said, “What’s our backup plan?” We’d had contingency plans for weeks, covering all sorts of scenarios. I don’t know why we didn’t have one for Active Labor on Moving Day. I guess by this point we’d figured I’d go during or after, sometime when help was organized and in motion, not right before. We were already congratulating ourselves that I’d be around to direct traffic that day. Anyway, Nathan started pondering Plan B while I jumped in the shower. It was not a long shower, but by the time I was finished contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart. We called the doctor’s office at 8 and left a message on the paging service that I was 41 weeks, dilated to a 4 and 75% effaced, with contractions 3 minutes apart, please tell me to report to the hospital. The on-call doctor (Dr. Zimmerman) phoned back and asked when my last appointment was (“Yesterday”) and did they check my cervix then? (“Uh, no, but they checked me on Tuesday”) He asked me to meet him at the office in an hour so he could check me. I said ok—it took 40 minutes to get there anyway—but the whole time I was wondering why he wanted to check me since his fellow practitioners were telling me I was good to go.
We decided to call a friend to take David, have Mom drive me down there, while Nathan went to pick up our rental truck and organize the help before joining us. I sat down to wait out the 15 minutes or so before it was time to leave, but my contractions were now about 2 minutes apart, and we weren’t sure I’d last an hour. We called the doctor back, but he still said to meet him at the office. Nathan looked at me and said to just go, so we did. Mom and I got to the doctor’s office 10 minutes early and had to wait in the parking lot for Dr. Zimmerman to show up and unlock the building. When he pulled up he took one look at me leaning against the car, working my way through a contraction, and said, “I should have sent you to the hospital. I thought your message said you were 31 weeks.” That explained a lot! He decided to go ahead and check me, since we were there, to skip a step at the hospital. I was almost to 7 cm. Fortunately the hospital was across the street. They met me with a wheel chair and got right down to business. I guess I got there just before 10.
Meanwhile Nathan went to pick up the truck, only to be told they didn’t have a truck available in the size he reserved online. They had a bigger truck, but Nathan knew it would be too difficult to maneuver in our parking lot. Finally he said, “Look, I just bought a house, we’re trying to move today, and my wife’s in labor in the hospital. I’ve got enough stress in my life right now, help me out!” The guy in line behind him laughed, said his stuff could wait, and gave up his truck for Nathan.
Around 11 the doctor said we were almost ready to push, so we called Nathan to join us. No one had shown up yet to help move, but he left a note on the door and came down. Five pushes later, at 11:52 am, Daniel Taylor Nash was born. He weighed 9 lb 2 oz and was 21.5 inches long.
What amazed us about Daniel from the start was how calm, alert, and strong he is. He was very content, as we held him for the first time, and followed the sound of Nathan’s voice as he walked back and forth around the bed. He started attempting to lift his head, and just lay there with big open eyes looking around for a couple hours, even while they were cleaning him up and doing all their pokes and tests.
We all oohed and aahed and gave hugs and kisses after he was born, then Mom and Nathan decided there wasn’t much left for them to do at the hospital so they left to go make the move happen. Nathan called the Elder’s Quorum President from our new ward for an extra pair of muscles, since we still didn’t have any help from the old ward, and the two of them moved the big stuff down all our stairs all by their lonesome. Nathan and Mom finished moving stuff on Monday, and when Daniel and I were discharged from the hospital that evening, we came home to the new house. How fun!
Ok, so that was the end of the fantastic tale. I’ll work on brevity now for the rest of my update.
We hadn’t been in the house two weeks before we had our first homeowners’ adventure. I noticed a discoloration on the ceiling below the master bath, and found that it was wet. A visit from the plumber revealed that missing grout and poor seals around the shower surround and drain were the source. At least we didn’t have to open up the ceiling! Nathan took on his first handy-husband job and re-grouted and re-caulked the shower himself. I was so proud of him!
We enjoyed another visit from Nathan’s family, in town for Daniel’s blessing on Sept 2. Mom Nash and Bethany came August 24th and stayed with us for a week before Dad Nash joined us. That Friday (31st) we took them to the Outer Banks, where we toured the Lost Colony at Fort Raleigh, the Bodie Island Lighthouse, and Kitty Hawk. We also did a quick stop at a public beach so they could dip their toes in the Atlantic and feel how warm the water is.
The next day we upheld our Northwest tradition of celebrating Nathan and David’s shared birthday over Labor Day weekend. This time my parents were able to join us. David by now has figured out that blowing out candles is fun, and started blowing his out before we had them all lit. By the time we had gotten all the pictures and video done, he’d blown out his candles three times. After he finished that round, he looked at us expectantly and said, “More!” He’d make the Big Bad Wolf proud. Later that night my brother Brenden and his family came up for the blessing as well. I was sad when everyone left on Monday. It was so much fun to have a house full of family.
David absolutely loves the new house and runs, jumps, and climbs all through it all day long. We decided to help him channel his energy a bit and signed him up for gymnastics at The Little Gym. In addition to the benefits of social interaction, physical skills and exercise, we’re hoping the structured activity will help him learn to sit still and follow directions better. His teachers are amazed at how fearless he is on the equipment.
David is also very sweet and attentive to Daniel. He often asks to hold him and very gently pats his head or tummy. If Daniel cries, David hollers “Baby eat!” and gives him a binky. David also shares his favorite toys and blankets with Daniel. It’s been really fun to watch him.
Mom Nash taught David to hold up three fingers when asked how old he is. A few days later someone asked him his name, and he dutifully arranged his fingers and said, “Three!”
Okay, I think it’s time I bring this novella to an end. We love and miss you all!
Love,
The (Other Other) Nashes
Nathan, Natalie, David, and Daniel
