Ingrid's Birth Story, Part 2

I felt sick day and night during the first trimester. I think it was my body's way of making me eat in a super healthy way for the growing baby inside me. Anything sugary, oily, fatty, creamy, cheesy or meaty made me feel worse. I lived off of grains, fresh fruit, and broth based soups. I needed at least 10 hours of sleep at night to feel halfway decent. At work, I would have to take breaks from the computer and just lay down on the floor. I'd slog through my work, wishing I could just lay on the couch day after day after day...

During the second trimester, I felt pretty fantastic. The timing was perfect -- it fell during the summer when we did all our traveling for our show circuit. New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego... We made it home for my 20 week ultrasound, and found out that we would be having Ingrid (and not Lars). I began showing -- but a lot of people just thought I was fat. (Isn't that an awkward phase?) During this time, I started feeling Ingrid kick... and a lot! I loved her little movements inside me. Each week they grew stronger and stronger.

By the time I hit my third trimester, there was no question of my looking pregnant. I have a short torso, so my belly just stuck straight out. On top of that, I began retaining water. I couldn't wear socks without my feet swelling up like water balloons. My wedding rings no longer fit, and neither did a lot of my maternity clothes. I began having frequent Braxton-Hicks contractions. Nights were horrible. My weird body pillow didn't help much anymore. I had to sleep on the couch, pillows wedged everywhere. I'd spend 10 minutes getting into a perfect position, then have to get up 30 minutes later to go to the bathroom or turn over because my hip hurt. During this time, we were hard at work renovating our new live/work space and getting ready to move our studio. My lumbering body was too big and awkward to allow me to help out much. Instead, I was the fat overseer barking orders to Kirk and our poor family members and friends. (They all deserve medals.)

40 weeks came and went. My stretch marks were spreading larger by the day. My feet were growing puffier by the hour. Ingrid had to come out. I went in to get visit my midwife (Danielle Demeter) and get some tests run when I was 8 days overdue. We had an ultrasound to check things out. The technician estimated that Ingrid would weigh 8 lbs 9 oz. I commented that if she was that big, she must be running out of room in there. The tech replied that actually, my body had done a great job making room and fluid for her to move around in (in other words, my belly was gigantic). No wonder Ingrid was in no hurry.

Danielle decided to sweep my membranes to see if that would help move things along. That night, Kirk and I watched a silly movie to get our minds off of things (Days of Thunder) and drifted off to sleep. I woke up 2 hours later, and I was in labor.