Delia Katherine

Delia was born on July 10, 2009 at 6:06 am
She weighs 9 pounds 4 ounces
She is 21 inches long
Her head is 14 centimeters

I've been saying for a few weeks now that I honestly won't know I'm in labor until my water breaks. I'm so glad it did, or I would have gone back to sleep!! Thank you Ambien!

The Birth Story: Greased Lightning
July 10

3:30 am
I wake up with the tiniest bit of wetness, thinking I've wet my pants. After a check in the bathroom, where the leaking has stopped, I lay back down and have my first strong contraction accompanied by more leaking. I count my contractions and try to decide if this is the real thing or yet another false alarm.

4:10 am
I call the midwives on-call service and have Trina paged. I tell her what is happening and she asks how far apart my contractions are. I tell her I don't know but that I've had 9 since my water broke. (Trina - awww....math in the morning...) They are about 5 minutes apart so I sound the alarm and wake everyone but Kellie. Kellie and Grandpa stay home and Ruthie and Brian load up in the car with me. Amanda (my doula) is to meet us at the birth center.

4:30-5:00 am
I scream out the window through each contraction because I can't walk. (Can't walk! Can't walk! Ahhhhhh! Want to walk!!) Contraction over, window up, groaning and generally being very pissy.

5:00 am
Ruthie and Brian unload the car while I pace around the parking lot through a contraction. Contraction over, I head into the center. I make a beeline for the toilet where I groan and scream and make a hearty show of how displeased I am.

5:00-5:30 am
I have dilated from the 4 centimeters I was at the day before, to 5 centimers. I walk up and down the hall, sometimes nearly breaking out into a sprint - moaning about how I want the water in the tub. Trina can't fill it fast enough for me so I make sure everyone knows how much I want it by chanting through each contraction. (Want the water, want the water, want the waaaaater!)

5:30 am
The tub is full! I eagerly climb into the tub and it feels wonderful on my contracting body. I'm dilated to 10 and fully effaced by this point. Trina shows me how I'll have to lay to be able to birth in the tub. I try, unsuccessfully, to squeeze a baby out. In between contractions, I express my distaste with the position. (I can't push in the tub! I need out!)

5:40 am
I'm in the bed on my back and trying in vain to push Delia out. Legs pulled to chest, butt at end of mattress, groaning and screaming and hating this new position just as much as the old one. Trina asks if I want to try the birthing stool. (I don't care!!!) Contraction over... (Yes!)

5:50 am
I'm on the stool and screaming and pushing. I keep telling Trina that my pushes are doing no good and that Delia isn't coming out and is never coming out. Trina reassures me that she is indeed making progress downward. I get about 4-5 good pushes each contraction and it feels like Delia is lodged somewhere deep in my body and has no intentions of surfacing. I groan, I scream, I lean forward against the wall. I am none-too-shy about making my frustration known. Trina has me feel for Delia between contractions and I actually CAN feel her head, but it's not moving fast enough for my liking. I moan about that, too. The birthing stool is too low to the ground for me to birth Delia, so it's explained to me that I can push until her head is nearly out, then I have to move to the bed.

6:04 am
Delia's head is nearly out and the stool is removed. I grunt about that. (Okay Laura, let's move to the bed so you can finish pushing. *Ungh!* No!)

6:06 am
I squat, right there at the side of the bed, and push Delia the rest of the way out. Good thing Trina was there to catch her because her location in relation to the floor was the last thing on my mind. I'm handed a slimy baby and then I situate myself on the bed for the finishing touches.

6:10 am
We snuggle and wait for the placenta.

6:15 am
When it comes time to push, I can't remember how to push something so small. (I don't know where to push...) After one of the nurses explains it to me, the placenta pops right out.

6:15-9:15 am
My wounds are assessed. I have third degree tears, one in my sphincter, but am otherwise in good repair. Delia and I continue to snuggle and a doctor is called about the tear in my sphincter. Delia is weighed while I am being stitched up by the sweet Doctor Richie who came to the birth center in record time and didn't charge a visit fee. She offered her services as a gift. Dr. Richie happens to be the wife of the Dr. Richie who attended Kellie's birth.

Delia is an excellent nurser and is filling up diapers fast.
Kellie loves being a big sister and picking out diapers. Her favorite part about Delia is her umbilical cord stump. She asks to see that a LOT.
Grandpa and Grammie left tonight. I'm so sad to see them go but am so happy Delia made her appearance when she did. If it wasn't my plan A, it made a wonderful plan B. Grandpa still got to watch Kellie, Grammie still got to attend the birth, and we had all week to play with Grandpa and Grammie.

I don't mention my wonderful support posse in the birth story because I truly felt like I was in my own little world. I am so grateful that the following were able to attend my labor and delivery (and I'm very sorry that I was so darn independent. I can't imagine it was very fun to sit back and watch. I could have at least let each of you rub a part of me, right?) -

Brian
Ruthie
Amanda
Trina
Three very nice lady nurses :) Golly, I wish I knew your names.

Trina is coming by for a house call tomorrow. I'll ask her then and post it so I can remember for the future. Thanks for reading!

Kellie Chipped a Tooth

Kellie was hopping like a happy little bunny through the mall when her feet missed a hop and her face hit the ground - teeth first.

Poor kid has a chipped front tooth. :(

She talks different, looks different, and is behaving differently.

But, amazingly, she's kept good spirits and I'm actually getting used to her new looks and new speech much more quickly than I had anticipated.

Since she's only 2, I haven't enrolled her in our dental plan yet. The soonest she'll be eligible is August 1st. Luckily, the pediatric dentist I spoke with said they'd just be observing it anyway.

So we wait.

I'll post a pic later.

Attitude Reflects Leadership

Kellie has been having a rough week. It's like she went ape crazy with screaming, kicking, rolling tantrums that lasted from 45 minutes to an hour and a half.

Yesterday, when the day BEGAN in a tantrum, I kept my cool instead of losing it. About three minutes before her tantrum ended, I said, "I don't understand your screaming. I think I'll just go start my day now." I poured myself a bowl of cereal and prayed for Kellie to remember how much her Mommy loves to hear her sweet words. Thirty seconds later, as I'm munching on my Honey Bunches, Kellie says, "I'm all done screaming. I'm ready to eat now." I happily got her a bowl of cereal. She asked if we could say another prayer over her breakfast - which we did. In that prayer I said, "Thank you for helping Kellie find her sweet voice and sweet words." We didn't have another tantrum all day. As she was replaying the tantrum back to me (something she and I do, we call it "talking it out") She said, "And MaMa said, 'I can't understand your screams.'" Which made me feel like a successful parent. Because recently I've been losing my cool after 45 minutes of screaming and rolling and irrational freaking and I hear her playback my response, "Stop screaming! I'm so mad! Your screaming makes me mad!" or "MaMa said, "Get back in your bed!'" Some of my less-stellar parenting moves...

Since my breakfast prayer, I've had a change of attitude. With that attitude change, the tantrums have reduced to once or twice a day, lasting less than three minutes. Easily diffused by comments that make me feel proud, even when parroted back in a two year old's sing-songy voice:

"Mommy doesn't understand screams. I'll listen when I hear words."
"Oh boy, you sound upset. Let me know when you're ready to talk about it."
"What a bummer - it looks like you aren't ready to go outside and play."
"It's quiet time, you don't have to sleep, but you do need to lie still and let your body rest quietly."

All of these phrases are part of our normal tantrum-diffusing vocabulary. But in my pregnancy-induced fussiness, I'd lost my touch. I'd gotten so used to my easy-to-handle toddler that I wasn't maintaining all the hard work we've poured into her by reinforcing our method of parenting.

Two days in and we're on the right track. I just hope my postpartum self can remember how to be the parent that Kellie needs. It sure breaks my heart to hear my harsh words and tone played back in my sweet daughter's voice.