I Wanna…Blog Some

Waited for all the relatives to leave that were in town for a funeral. Waited to put space between death and life. You waited, but when you decided to come you came fast.

We had just come home from a fairly casual luau themed wedding reception that we didn’t think we were going to go to. We thought we’d have a newborn baby by then. I had been having braxton hicks contractions off and on for awhile, but definitely had some before, during, and after eating roast pig. We came home, put your brother and sister to bed. It was about 11pm and I started having the kind of contractions that were nothing like braxton hicks contractions. I think I told your dad that we’d better pack our stuff for the birth center. That made a fairly calm man act like a lunatic. I asked him to calm down. You’d think after doing this a few times he would have been calmer.

When I called the birth center and was asked how long I’d been having contractions I could almost hear the midwife laughing when I told her, "about 15 minutes." She was a smart woman though, and rather than tell me to try to get some sleep and call in the morning she asked me if I thought I needed to be checked. I did think I wanted to go in and it was a good thing because when we got to the birth center I was already 7cm dilated. I was relieved because I was always afraid of being sent home for false labor.

About 3 hours after my first real contraction you came slamming out of me. It was intense, but great. I had the ring of fire that I’d heard of, but I did it. I remember thinking, "I’m going to do this NOW," and shutting my eyes and pushing hard. I thought you were out before you were and I just kept going and then you were all the way out. I opened my eyes and there you were. You had a purple face from being bruised on your way out. Your brother was called in to help cut your cord. Your Grandpa Stanley (not exactly the grandpa we thought would be the first to meet you) got to see your dad, his son, and your brother, his grandson, cut your cord and that meant a lot to him.

And after cleaning you up, getting my hemorrhage to stop, and saying good night to your grandpa and brother, you, your dad, and I curled into bed and just slept. No one bothered us. We just slept. I’ve always meant to thank for that also. You might have wanted to see this new world, but you let us sleep.  After sleeping a few good hours we went home. And your big sister came back home from our across the street neighbor’s house with a new hair style and a new found happiness at the discovery of YOU. It was like we brought home a present just for her.

You have been a delight to all of us. And also an amazement to your teacher who you kind of proposed to and excitedly said, "And then we’d be married and I’d be gay!" And a wonder to your Hebrew School teacher that you confessed you did not believe in God to. And many other things to many other people.

Happy 5th Birthday to my baby!