Friday, September 14

On wisdom teeth, birth, a goddaughter, and sleep deprivation

The title pretty well sums it up. On the 7th, which is my dad's birthday (happy 51st!), I got my wisdom teeth out (just the lower two). I spent 3 days in a complete haze of hydrocodeine and squishy foods with 7-up. Day 4 I switched to ibuprofen and got packed up for the trip to Mustang, to stay with my grandparents (dad's side). On the 11th, I rolled in to my grandparents' drive at about 10:45 pm, printed off directions to the hospital and tried to fall asleep--but that just didn't happen. Wednesday the 12th I woke up at 6:28 (just before the alarm), dressed quickly and ran to the kitchen for some breakfast. I chatted with my grandpa while I ate, and he helped me pack a lunch so I wouldn't have to buy an expensive one at the hospital. I left at 7:30, dealt with the crawling early morning traffic on the way in to OKC, got turned around 3 times because of crappy directions (curse you, Google Maps & Mapquest! Update your info!), and finally made it up to the right hospital building by 8:15.

Ran up 3 flights of stairs--then down, then back up after retrieving my cell phone from the car--only to find the whole building was poorly labeled. By following some rather vague signs, I arrived at the elevators and waited 5 minutes for one to even show up. I talked to some extremely pregnant ladies I can only assume were headed up to check in, and we all squeezed into the elevator to go to the labor & delivery wing. I asked the nurse at the station facing the elevator if she might be able to direct me to Hannah's room (I didn't want to call and bother Hannah and her husband, in case they were sleeping), and the exchange went more or less as follows:

Me: Um, excuse me, I'm looking for my friend who checked in last night for her scheduled induction, her name is Ha-
Nurse: (disgusted tone) I need her name!
Me: Um, yes, her name is Hannah Fortney.
Nurse: (Writing slowly) Anna-
Me: No, that's (enunciating) Hannah, with an "h".
Nurse: Anna?
Me: No, (enunciating like a Hebrew ch/h) "Hannah"!
Nurse: (Annoyed, scribbles out "Anna", writes "Hanna")
Me: There's two "h"s.
Nurse: (Vacant stare)
Me: The second one goes at the end...?
Nurse: (Adds an h) Last name "Courtney", that's C-O-U-
Me: No, Fortney, with an "f", like in...frog.
Nurse: Courtney?
Me: (Spitting to enunciate the "f") Fortney. F-O-R-T-N-E-Y.
Nurse: (Vacant stare) How do you spell it?
Me: (Barely containing contempt and frustration) F-O-R-T-N-E-Y.
Nurse: (Writes it down, finally, after crossing out "Court") She's not on my list.
Me: Should I check somewhere else, or is there something else you can check?
Nurse: (Light goes on) I can check the computer, one moment. (5 minutes later) B-05.
Me: Thanks, could you point me in the right direction?
Nurse: Down the hall, left, left, then right. (Thrusts paper into my hands, ignores me)
Me: Thanks much...

As it turns out, the correct directions were "right, left, right" but I had to ask a *doctor* where to find it (and felt bad, too, since the nurse-attendant person should have given clear directions). Hannah was fine, but bored and tired, as was Sean. At some point, I managed to finish another Calorimetry, but couldn't focus on the sock I'd brought to knit to keep busy. We hung out and chatted until her dad and sister showed up, then talked a while longer until Hannah decided she wanted more meds and kicked us out of the room.

Long story short, at 5:09 (5:11 hospital time, but literally everyone's cell phone and/or watch said 5:09, so that's what I'm sticking to), Mara Lily Fortney came into the world weighing 7 lbs, 4 oz, with a full head of dark curly hair and brown eyes. Long feet, mama's nose, and generally agreed to be the cutest thing ever. Hannah did wonderfully.

I'm a godmother =)

Welcome to the world, munchkin, we're glad you're here.

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