It was time for the epidural. The nurses' shift had changed. It was getting late. "Runaway Jury" was coming to an end. And no matter what or when things happen next, Aliyah needed some sleep. And that wasn't going to happen without medication.
About this time it became clear to Aliyah that she was going to have to give up the dream of giving birth a nightgown chosen from from that would be slightly nicer than a hospital nightgown but not so nice it couldn't be thrown away after becoming saturated in umbilical cord juice. But after the nurse (#4) explained where all the wires and tubes go and that little part of her vision for a perfect delivery died and the floral-print, previously-worn-by-sick-people, cotton hospital gown won out.
During the epidural procedure, two things happened. (1) Aliyah once again performed that magic trick in which she 'accidentally' finds out that everyone in the room besides me was in some way from Midwood Brooklyn and (2) it officially became Monday.
Once it was over Aliyah was tucked in, the TV turned off, lights out
and time to get some sleep. Then... about two minutes later an alarm on the I.V. drip machine goes off. The bag of neutral liquid has emptied. About five minutes later, that's fixed and it is again time for sleeping. I don't think I'm exaggerating that about 2 minutes later a different machine starts making an alarm noise. However in this machine's defense, it was a very soothing alarm. It was a gentle, two-toned alarm that sounded a glockenschpeel played with felt mallets. Unlike the I.V. machine which clearly displayed a message as to what was wrong, this machine appeared to be working exactly as it had for the last 13 hours Aliyah had been hooked up to it. We decided that this relatively friendly alarm could only mean one of three things: (1) It was the "Time for Sleep Alarm," warning the patient that he or she is tired and needs to go to sleep (2) It was the "Your Sushi is No Longer Edible Alarm," warning the patient's husband that even very large amounts of wasabi will not kill all of the bacteria on sushi kept at room temperature for 6 hours; even if said sushi is tuna wasabi roll (3) This was the "Everything's Alright Alarm" indicating that everything is alright and that as long as this alarm was going off there is no need to worry. We were pretty sure it was an "Everything's Alright Alarm" but also that it was broken because Aliyah clearly needed sleep and by virtue of the fact that the alarm going off right next to her bed and keeping her awake, everything was not actually alright. [A side note to any engineers designing medical equipment: alarms should go off at a nurse's station or a doctor's cell phone; there's not much a patient or a patient's spouse can do.] Eventually a nice doctor from Framingham, MA thought our laughter might wake up other patients and turned it off.
Then I.V. machine went off again half an hour after that. I'm not kidding, and by that time it wasn't funny anymore.
Aliyah's still barely dialated, but the epidural has let her sleep through some very big contractions. The monitor shows there are some fairly small ones coming right now about two-and-a-half minutes apart. It's about 5:30 AM on the East Coast right now, so I'm going to post this so my mother can read it with her morning tea.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
12 Hours Later
It's been 12 hours since Aliyah's water broke and 11 since we checked in. We've finally had our fill of "Law & Order" and "The Office" reruns. Aliyah was allowed to walk around the halls for a while and evidently we walked too far because Amanda, our nurse, came looking for us.
Since we started, Amanda has turned up the pitocin dosage 3 times. We've moved on to "Runaway Jury" [which I think is Rachel Weiss' best performance], but I can't sleep in spite of how tired I am. The drugs have finally forced the contractions to about 5 minutes apart. When we get to about 2 to 3 minutes apart there will be another exam. Maybe then it will be time for the this young lady's debut.
It seems like this little girl is going to make sure Dr. Walden also doesn't get much sleep tonight.
Since we started, Amanda has turned up the pitocin dosage 3 times. We've moved on to "Runaway Jury" [which I think is Rachel Weiss' best performance], but I can't sleep in spite of how tired I am. The drugs have finally forced the contractions to about 5 minutes apart. When we get to about 2 to 3 minutes apart there will be another exam. Maybe then it will be time for the this young lady's debut.
It seems like this little girl is going to make sure Dr. Walden also doesn't get much sleep tonight.
3 nurses, 2 doctors, and 4 Law & Orders later
We got dinner from a Japanese place down the street. Alan, Sonja, and little Jocelyn came by to visit though Jocelyn wasn't allowed in the room. The hospital has a policy of not allowing babies which are outside of their mothers into Labor and Delivery. Jocelyn didn't seem to mind though; she now has her ears pierced and was busy flirting with older boys.
A resident did a fifth round of tests to determine if the fluid coming out of Aliyah is, in fact, amniotic fluid. Shockingly, it is. Our friend Helga texted to say she was sent home after a similar situation and got an infection for her troubles.
There's nothing resembling active labor now, and there hasn't been for the 9 hours since Aliyah's water first broke, so we're talking about inducing to avoid infection. Aliyah has an I.V. in now - which makes her very unhappy. Sometime in the next few hours she'll get a dose of Pitocin. Looks like it will be a late night delivery. Make that 3 sleepless nights in a row. Good practice for the future.
A resident did a fifth round of tests to determine if the fluid coming out of Aliyah is, in fact, amniotic fluid. Shockingly, it is. Our friend Helga texted to say she was sent home after a similar situation and got an infection for her troubles.
There's nothing resembling active labor now, and there hasn't been for the 9 hours since Aliyah's water first broke, so we're talking about inducing to avoid infection. Aliyah has an I.V. in now - which makes her very unhappy. Sometime in the next few hours she'll get a dose of Pitocin. Looks like it will be a late night delivery. Make that 3 sleepless nights in a row. Good practice for the future.
Soooooo bored
We are at the hospital. Aliyah's water broke around 11:00 AM. Unexpectedly, we are sooooo bored. And hungry.
We've been here since 12:00. Now it's about 4:45. There's no clear test result that will say the constant trickle of liquid coming out of my wife is amniotic fluid. They were about to send us home, but when Aliyah stood up she splashed the floor. Our nurse asked us to wait. Now we're waiting to see if they will let Aliyah eat.
There's a "Law & Order" marathon on TNT. It's what we'd be watching if we were at home, but every time they say Lenny Brisco's name, the voice inside my head becomes Homer Simpson and says "Mmmmm.... brisket."
We've been here since 12:00. Now it's about 4:45. There's no clear test result that will say the constant trickle of liquid coming out of my wife is amniotic fluid. They were about to send us home, but when Aliyah stood up she splashed the floor. Our nurse asked us to wait. Now we're waiting to see if they will let Aliyah eat.
There's a "Law & Order" marathon on TNT. It's what we'd be watching if we were at home, but every time they say Lenny Brisco's name, the voice inside my head becomes Homer Simpson and says "Mmmmm.... brisket."
Thursday, May 15, 2008
This Day Would Be Even Better if We Got To Take Home A Baby
I woke up at 4 AM this morning 42 miles from home in extreme pain.
The fact that “Pain is information” (accd to my friend Vivian) and that this particular pain meant that Spanky was closer to being an outside baby than an inside baby did not make the pain any more bearable. Though it did make it way exciting.
SO – I did what any woman in labor would do.
I called my friend Dana and asked her to find a PA to drive me back to LA.
She packed me up while I moaned and generally scared the crap out of her.
(Note to LA moms to be, producers make killer birth organizers.)
By 5:40 I was on the road with Rico – whom I’d never met before but who turned out to be delightful.
In the car, I started getting contractions (prior to that the pain had been constant).
By the time we got to my house, the contractions were a minute and a half long and 5 minutes apart.
Textbook, right?
Seamus and I load into the car with a go bag and we are off to Cedars Sinai.
We find rock star parking by the maternity elevator and check ourselves in (see photos for level of enthusiasm and expectation).
I get hooked up to a fetal monitor and something that measures contractions.
Because I had been in moderate pain for most of the day before, I expected to find out I was 3 cm dilated and be off and running.
We settled in for the long haul & I got onto the hospital’s WiFi to check out casting reels figuring I’m hours away from maternity (and maternity leave).
The last two photos are of me cracking up at one of the casting reels – until a contraction comes along.
Unfortunately, after another half an hour it becomes apparent that the contractions are now further paced apart and that reclining makes them feel far less intense.
I am dilated – but barely.
That's where this story fizzles out.
I get sent home to relax for the day.
I'm now in bed, typing, hoping for the contractions to return at full force.
But at least I got the chance to put together this email so I’ve got everyone’s addresses for the real deal.
If false labors can have credits, special thanks are due to Dana for being a superstar, even at 4 AM, to Roger for being on the ball at the crack of dawn, to Rico for driving me swiftly, safely and keeping me distracted, and Ron and Neil for getting Rico back to set without missing a beat!
The fact that “Pain is information” (accd to my friend Vivian) and that this particular pain meant that Spanky was closer to being an outside baby than an inside baby did not make the pain any more bearable. Though it did make it way exciting.
SO – I did what any woman in labor would do.
I called my friend Dana and asked her to find a PA to drive me back to LA.
She packed me up while I moaned and generally scared the crap out of her.
(Note to LA moms to be, producers make killer birth organizers.)
By 5:40 I was on the road with Rico – whom I’d never met before but who turned out to be delightful.
In the car, I started getting contractions (prior to that the pain had been constant).
By the time we got to my house, the contractions were a minute and a half long and 5 minutes apart.
Textbook, right?
Seamus and I load into the car with a go bag and we are off to Cedars Sinai.
We find rock star parking by the maternity elevator and check ourselves in (see photos for level of enthusiasm and expectation).
I get hooked up to a fetal monitor and something that measures contractions.
Because I had been in moderate pain for most of the day before, I expected to find out I was 3 cm dilated and be off and running.
We settled in for the long haul & I got onto the hospital’s WiFi to check out casting reels figuring I’m hours away from maternity (and maternity leave).
The last two photos are of me cracking up at one of the casting reels – until a contraction comes along.
Unfortunately, after another half an hour it becomes apparent that the contractions are now further paced apart and that reclining makes them feel far less intense.
I am dilated – but barely.
That's where this story fizzles out.
I get sent home to relax for the day.
I'm now in bed, typing, hoping for the contractions to return at full force.
But at least I got the chance to put together this email so I’ve got everyone’s addresses for the real deal.
If false labors can have credits, special thanks are due to Dana for being a superstar, even at 4 AM, to Roger for being on the ball at the crack of dawn, to Rico for driving me swiftly, safely and keeping me distracted, and Ron and Neil for getting Rico back to set without missing a beat!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The Story of Our Pregnancy
Seamus and I had sex.
The first month I did not get pregnant.
Seamus was confused.
The next month...
At first we didn't believe it. We took a lot of tests.
I thought it would be great to take a photo of every day and track my belly's growth.
This is day 1.
This is day 4.
It seemed to be taking a while to see a big change, so we waited a little bit before the next photo.
Maybe too long.
This was the next in the series - about 5 months later.
Since Seamus was on the WGA strike line every day, we were planning to write "My Tummy Needs Healthcare" on my stomach and march with the strike baby.
But luckily the strike got settled before we pimped our unborn child.
This is the dress that my friend Anna wore to our wedding 9 months ago.
And here it is on me.
This past weekend Expectant Grandma Betsy was in town.
She and my friends Alexa, Deb, Sonia and Kendall threw me a baby shower.
There are a ton of photos up at http://aliyahandseamus.smugmug.com
The party was amazing. Just an overwhelming experience of games and gifts and friends and honey baked ham.
While the ladies and babies did their thing - Seamus and baby James went to a Red Sox Game and played poker.
Two of the gifts we got were hooded towels.
I thought they were for 3-7 months, but it's actually 3-7 years.
Seamus and I will enjoy them in the meantime.
Man I'm getting big.
Just 55 days to GO!
(No pictures available).
The first month I did not get pregnant.Seamus was confused.
The next month...At first we didn't believe it. We took a lot of tests.
I thought it would be great to take a photo of every day and track my belly's growth.This is day 1.
This is day 4.It seemed to be taking a while to see a big change, so we waited a little bit before the next photo.
Maybe too long.This was the next in the series - about 5 months later.
Since Seamus was on the WGA strike line every day, we were planning to write "My Tummy Needs Healthcare" on my stomach and march with the strike baby.
But luckily the strike got settled before we pimped our unborn child.
This is the dress that my friend Anna wore to our wedding 9 months ago.
And here it is on me.
This past weekend Expectant Grandma Betsy was in town.
She and my friends Alexa, Deb, Sonia and Kendall threw me a baby shower.
There are a ton of photos up at http://aliyahandseamus.smugmug.com
The party was amazing. Just an overwhelming experience of games and gifts and friends and honey baked ham.
While the ladies and babies did their thing - Seamus and baby James went to a Red Sox Game and played poker.
Two of the gifts we got were hooded towels.I thought they were for 3-7 months, but it's actually 3-7 years.
Seamus and I will enjoy them in the meantime.
Man I'm getting big.Just 55 days to GO!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Trading Spaces Tonight -Set your TIVOs
For the last few months – I’ve had two projects afoot.
There’s Spanky McPants Pants, code name for the little girl I’m gestating inside me, and Trading Spaces.
Only one is ready for prime time – and that’s the original makeover breakout hit – Trading Spaces.
It’s refreshed, revamped and awesome!
Now the traders have reasons to trade, starting tonight at 10 PM with a divorced couple looking to improve their strained relationship by redoing each other’s bedrooms.
For the production buffs among you, we shot in HD with multi-cam, a jib and all sorts of production bells and whistles that make the show look HOT!
(I watched the online and HD is better than vision!)
For the TS fans among you – Paige Davis is back! If you are in NY she’s evidently also 6 stories high in Times Square.
Check it out on TLC after the Miss America contest.
Spanky will be premiering at or around May 27th.
There’s Spanky McPants Pants, code name for the little girl I’m gestating inside me, and Trading Spaces.
Only one is ready for prime time – and that’s the original makeover breakout hit – Trading Spaces.
It’s refreshed, revamped and awesome!
Now the traders have reasons to trade, starting tonight at 10 PM with a divorced couple looking to improve their strained relationship by redoing each other’s bedrooms.
For the production buffs among you, we shot in HD with multi-cam, a jib and all sorts of production bells and whistles that make the show look HOT!
(I watched the online and HD is better than vision!)
For the TS fans among you – Paige Davis is back! If you are in NY she’s evidently also 6 stories high in Times Square.
Check it out on TLC after the Miss America contest.
Spanky will be premiering at or around May 27th.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Liam on Letterman tonight, Paige Davis on Ellen tomorrow & Trading Spaces premieres on Saturday at 10 PM
It's a big media week for the Silverstein/Hurley clan.
Liam and Josh Ritter will be playing Letterman tonight along with John Edwards and Diablo Cody - Stripper turned Juno writer. Shockingly Paris Hilton is not on again. She's been a perenial guest since the SAG folks are refusing to cross the picket line at CBS.
As for Diablo, I'm not sure whether I've got a soft spot for funny movies featuring pregnant ladies - but I loved Juno and cracked up rewatching Knocked Up. I highly recommend getting pregnant and falling asleep in front of pregnant lady comedies.
Tomorrow, Paige Davis will be on Ellen with a clip featuring a 13 pound bag of beans.
And Saturday night we FINALLY premiere Trading Spaces.
It's been an action packed week full of mini-post fires, incompatible graphics and last minute notes - so tune in Saturday night at 10 PM on TLC to watch either a very special extended Miss America contest or the best episode ever of Trading Spaces featuring the triumphant return of Paige Davis and a divorced couple redoing each other's bedrooms.
** This episode airs at 10 PM, but moving forward the next 12 episodes will air at 9 PM.
Liam and Josh Ritter will be playing Letterman tonight along with John Edwards and Diablo Cody - Stripper turned Juno writer. Shockingly Paris Hilton is not on again. She's been a perenial guest since the SAG folks are refusing to cross the picket line at CBS.
As for Diablo, I'm not sure whether I've got a soft spot for funny movies featuring pregnant ladies - but I loved Juno and cracked up rewatching Knocked Up. I highly recommend getting pregnant and falling asleep in front of pregnant lady comedies.
Tomorrow, Paige Davis will be on Ellen with a clip featuring a 13 pound bag of beans.
And Saturday night we FINALLY premiere Trading Spaces.
It's been an action packed week full of mini-post fires, incompatible graphics and last minute notes - so tune in Saturday night at 10 PM on TLC to watch either a very special extended Miss America contest or the best episode ever of Trading Spaces featuring the triumphant return of Paige Davis and a divorced couple redoing each other's bedrooms.
** This episode airs at 10 PM, but moving forward the next 12 episodes will air at 9 PM.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Oh Yeah - Watch Wife Swap Tomorrow Night
The episode of wife swap that I co-directed with Stephen Pettinger (one director per house) got picked to be the season premier!!
It's a beauty pageant stage mother who swaps place with a feminist Mormon preacher who home schools her kids to protect them from misogyny.
Please tune in tomorrow night at 8 PM on ABC.
Aliyah
It's a beauty pageant stage mother who swaps place with a feminist Mormon preacher who home schools her kids to protect them from misogyny.
Please tune in tomorrow night at 8 PM on ABC.
Aliyah
NEW YEAR AND A NEW HURLEY (in gestation)!!!
It's been forever - or at least months - since our last posting. This is the problem of having no counter, feedback or accountability to the blog.
It still feels like a not so private diary of indulgence so there's no "you never write" guilt.
Although we've been lax on the digital front - we have been incredibly busy.
Seamus tends to start his days at 4 am, pull on a red shirt and heads out to rable rouse.
More specifically, he is the rabble rouser in charge of the Writers Guild strike line at Universal/NBC.
He's got fantastic stories that I will let him share in another post.
As for me - wiped out by 6 stimulating but exhausting months on Wired Science, I had lofty plans of an extended NY vacation with family and friends around Thanksgiving, but instead I rolled straight into running the upcoming season of Trading Spaces on TLC.
Paige Davis - whom I adore - is back and it's a whole new team at TLC so the show is being revamped into a network worthy, primetime feeling, tentpole series. So far episode 1 looks killer so we just need to keep hitting the high bar we've set for ourselves.
The downside is that it's a 7 day a week job because we air weekly starting Jan 26th.
The upside, I really like the folks I'm working with.
Because of the unexpected new job and it's Saturday after Thanksgiving start date - instead of 10 days in NY, Conn and DC, I spent 2 glorious days on my parents couch holding my perfect nephew Jackson Ezra (son to Josiah and Felicia) and surrounded by my parents, in-laws, grandma, extended family, and my favorite Aunt.
More on Jackson:
Hes beautiful, smart, highly advanced and very handome.
He doesn't actually do much yet - so we entertained ourselves by feeding, changing and bathing him - and also putting a speakerphone under his butt to pretend he could talk.
More on my aunt:
Sydne is now fully recovered from the bout with cancer that left her alternately voiceless, prodded with needles, soldiering through chemo and surgery and generally uncomfortable. She is full of energy again and back to high spirits. We are all REALLY, REALLY grateful.
And in the spirit of burying the lead.
I am pregnant with a baby girl who is due to make her entrance into the world on May 27th.
Seamus and I cannot wait. Her "inside" name is Spanky McPantsPants and there is a short video of her at 13 weeks below. The part at the beginning where it gets cloudy is me cracking up and laughing when I first saw the image.
Oh my god - it really looks like a baby!
Much love to all!
Aliyah and Seamus
It still feels like a not so private diary of indulgence so there's no "you never write" guilt.
Although we've been lax on the digital front - we have been incredibly busy.
Seamus tends to start his days at 4 am, pull on a red shirt and heads out to rable rouse.
More specifically, he is the rabble rouser in charge of the Writers Guild strike line at Universal/NBC.
He's got fantastic stories that I will let him share in another post.
As for me - wiped out by 6 stimulating but exhausting months on Wired Science, I had lofty plans of an extended NY vacation with family and friends around Thanksgiving, but instead I rolled straight into running the upcoming season of Trading Spaces on TLC.
Paige Davis - whom I adore - is back and it's a whole new team at TLC so the show is being revamped into a network worthy, primetime feeling, tentpole series. So far episode 1 looks killer so we just need to keep hitting the high bar we've set for ourselves.
The downside is that it's a 7 day a week job because we air weekly starting Jan 26th.
The upside, I really like the folks I'm working with.
Because of the unexpected new job and it's Saturday after Thanksgiving start date - instead of 10 days in NY, Conn and DC, I spent 2 glorious days on my parents couch holding my perfect nephew Jackson Ezra (son to Josiah and Felicia) and surrounded by my parents, in-laws, grandma, extended family, and my favorite Aunt.
More on Jackson:
Hes beautiful, smart, highly advanced and very handome.
He doesn't actually do much yet - so we entertained ourselves by feeding, changing and bathing him - and also putting a speakerphone under his butt to pretend he could talk.
More on my aunt:
Sydne is now fully recovered from the bout with cancer that left her alternately voiceless, prodded with needles, soldiering through chemo and surgery and generally uncomfortable. She is full of energy again and back to high spirits. We are all REALLY, REALLY grateful.
And in the spirit of burying the lead.
I am pregnant with a baby girl who is due to make her entrance into the world on May 27th.
Seamus and I cannot wait. Her "inside" name is Spanky McPantsPants and there is a short video of her at 13 weeks below. The part at the beginning where it gets cloudy is me cracking up and laughing when I first saw the image.
Oh my god - it really looks like a baby!
Much love to all!
Aliyah and Seamus
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
