I have been asked to post details of the birth of my daughter Chaya Sarah, aka Siri. Labor stories are usually full of details that are a bit too gory for my liking. So here you get the abridged version without any gross details.
I first went into labor on Sunday afternoon, January 15th around 3 PM. I was waiting for this for a long time-- I was five days late. Previously I had always delivered exactly on time so you can imagine that the five days felt like forever.
I slept through the night hoping that when I woke up, it would be time to go to the hospital. My doctor had already scheduled an induction for me, but I really do not want to be induced. Instead I insisted that I was really in labor and I would go straight to the hospital. When I called the office, they told me that I should just come in and see the doctor. For some reason, they were totally backed up and it took three hours to finish my appointment. When they finally finished, they told me to go straight to the hospital because I would need a "sniff of pitocin" to encourage this baby to come out!
To make a long story short, I finally got my Pitocin at around 3:30 PM, but it seems there was a drip in the tubing. The nurse kept changing my gown rather than checking why it was getting wet. Needless to say, the Pitocin was not really helping. It was probably because I was not getting the correct amount (or any at all!). When 7:30 rolled around and the nurses finally changed shifts, the new nurse was willing to look at the tubing and she determined that it was in fact dripping.
The doctor was wondering why my labor was not progressing. Now we had the answer!
My sister had predicted that I would go into labor on Monday, and that the delivery would be in the middle of the night- early Tuesday morning.
I felt like she gave us a curse! We went into labor and delivery at two o'clock!
In the end, with a little bit of coaxing and pushing, our baby girl was born on Monday night, January 16th, Martin Luther King Day at 11:29 PM.
For the first few days of her life we called her Martina Luthera, in honor of the great MLK. Then, on Thursday, we named her Chaya Sarah, aka Siri, after my beloved grandmother Hilda (I am hoping to post soon about my feelings of naming my daughter after my grandmother).
Thank you to everyone for all the good wishes. We are super happy to have Siri in our lives!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Birth: The Not So Gory Story
Monday, December 26, 2011
Dec 26
Today I'm off to work, even though it is officially a legal holiday. My car is one of 5 at the train station parking lot.
Yesterday, New York traffic could not have been kinder. I think Jews everywhere appreciated that their Sunday Chanukah parties were on December 25th.
This is something no one from outside the New York area can comprehend. A trip might actually be only 20 minutes, but you have to account for traffic and triple your expected travel time.
So today is a pleasure! I have a parking spot, the city should be full of tourists and free of commuters. It's the one day a year you can even PARK on the city streets!
Hope everyone else is enjoying Dec 26 as much as I am... even if you don't live in New York!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Empowered by Technicalities: The Story of My Car
In my home, my husband takes care of all the finances and technicalities of our lives. Loans, plumbing, house or car repairs, insurance, and garbage removal.
Last week, however, we needed to take the car in to be repaired as the rear hatch aka the trunk was leaking after the wiring was installed for a U-haul hitch back in the end of July.
I took off a day from work to run around and scheduled a trip to Toyota to have my car repaired.
And this is how I started to learn all about a lot of things I wish I knew nothing about.
I got the the repair center and was assigned a representative, Bob. No really, his name is Bob. when I told him that the problem was that the car would leak when it rained, Bob informed me that it would take several hours to determine the cause of the leak (which I believed was from the hitch installation). Water testing takes a long time so I would probably have to leave the car there. Of course, just to frustrate me, I was ineligible for a loaner car (still unclear why).
I usually get VERY flustered when things like this go wrong. Here I was stuck in Hackensack at the Toyota repair sop with no ride home, pregnant, and emotional. LUCKILY, I kept it together and waited, figuring we would just have to reschedule the repair.
After about an hour, it was determined that the repair would take several days. Bob said he would try to get me a loaner vehicle for the interim even though it wasn't standard protocol.
They were able to get me a loaner and they gave me the largest car they had, a Venza (a car I secretly wish I owned). The service center staff helped me transfer my 5 car-seats to the Venza and I took off.
Then came the technical work:
First, I had to get documentation of the cause of the leak from Toyota.
After that, I had spoke to my lawyer-aunt to find out how to proceed.
Then, I called the insurance company to find out if this type of damage would be covered and process a claim.
Next, I dealt with Toyota regarding the repairs needed and the details including having the appraiser from the insurance company come to assess the damage.
I also spoke to the insurance company about suing U-haul for the deductible as well as the cost of the repair and made sure I got all the documentation required to do so. I can't wait until that part of this saga is settled.
And finally, I spoke to the bank that finances our car to ensure that we process the insurance payment correctly despite the lien on the vehicle.
TONIGHT ALL THE HARD WORK PAYS OFF. THE CAR IS READY TO BE PICKED UP.
The service center (and Bob) was so amazing that the technicians re-ran the wiring, allowing me to keep the hitch by properly installing it without ruining the weather stripping of the trunk. They also took my car to be washed before I come to get it. Because the repair also included replacing the entire car carpet (full of mold and mildew), I anticipate that the car will come back MUCH cleaner than my children left it ;) and in much better shape.
I can't wait to get my minivan back. And in the process I've been empowered and strengthened. (Let's just hope my husband doesn't see this as an opportunity to distribute his responsibilities...)
Last week, however, we needed to take the car in to be repaired as the rear hatch aka the trunk was leaking after the wiring was installed for a U-haul hitch back in the end of July.
I took off a day from work to run around and scheduled a trip to Toyota to have my car repaired.
And this is how I started to learn all about a lot of things I wish I knew nothing about.
I got the the repair center and was assigned a representative, Bob. No really, his name is Bob. when I told him that the problem was that the car would leak when it rained, Bob informed me that it would take several hours to determine the cause of the leak (which I believed was from the hitch installation). Water testing takes a long time so I would probably have to leave the car there. Of course, just to frustrate me, I was ineligible for a loaner car (still unclear why).
I usually get VERY flustered when things like this go wrong. Here I was stuck in Hackensack at the Toyota repair sop with no ride home, pregnant, and emotional. LUCKILY, I kept it together and waited, figuring we would just have to reschedule the repair.
After about an hour, it was determined that the repair would take several days. Bob said he would try to get me a loaner vehicle for the interim even though it wasn't standard protocol.
They were able to get me a loaner and they gave me the largest car they had, a Venza (a car I secretly wish I owned). The service center staff helped me transfer my 5 car-seats to the Venza and I took off.
Then came the technical work:
First, I had to get documentation of the cause of the leak from Toyota.
After that, I had spoke to my lawyer-aunt to find out how to proceed.
Then, I called the insurance company to find out if this type of damage would be covered and process a claim.
Next, I dealt with Toyota regarding the repairs needed and the details including having the appraiser from the insurance company come to assess the damage.
I also spoke to the insurance company about suing U-haul for the deductible as well as the cost of the repair and made sure I got all the documentation required to do so. I can't wait until that part of this saga is settled.
And finally, I spoke to the bank that finances our car to ensure that we process the insurance payment correctly despite the lien on the vehicle.
TONIGHT ALL THE HARD WORK PAYS OFF. THE CAR IS READY TO BE PICKED UP.
The service center (and Bob) was so amazing that the technicians re-ran the wiring, allowing me to keep the hitch by properly installing it without ruining the weather stripping of the trunk. They also took my car to be washed before I come to get it. Because the repair also included replacing the entire car carpet (full of mold and mildew), I anticipate that the car will come back MUCH cleaner than my children left it ;) and in much better shape.
I can't wait to get my minivan back. And in the process I've been empowered and strengthened. (Let's just hope my husband doesn't see this as an opportunity to distribute his responsibilities...)
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