(Excuse all the grammatical errors- sorry Mom ?)

THE EVENTS. It was a very fast labor! We went to dinner with my mom and Al to Rosemary and Sage Friday night, January 28th, 2005 and got home about 10:30 pm. We were of course talking about my pregnancy, and wondering when the magical day would be. We all were thinking how it still could be a few weeks... I had been to the doctors that afternoon and was told there was no activity yet. They scheduled an appointment for February 2nd, for a nonstress test, to see how the baby was doing.

At 11:00 pm I started feeling crampy. But I thought for several hours they were just Braxton Hicks contractions, getting more intense and I felt they were certainly not the real thing. I really had it in my head that I wouldn't have the baby for days or a week, at least! I was with Caroline and Grace and my mom that afternoon. We had gone to the library for story hour. We got talking with two moms there. One was pregnant. It turned out she was due on Feb. 6th. She had contractions for five hours the night before and was so excited. But at five am they stopped. She was bummed out. I kept thinking of her and that certainly affected my take on the situation. I really was in such denial that I was feeling labor pains. I got out my book What To Expect When You're Expecting to try to figure out if these were false or real labor pains. Some nice facts: I pooped three times that night and kept saying to Trevor “what if all this is, is just poop cramps?” Oh, and I threw up my delicious dinner- a mixed green salad with strawberries, orchette (baby’s ears) with brocolli rabe and sundried tomatoes and a delicious dessert of crème de brule.

I took a bath and Trevor brought a chair into the shower and we sat drinking tea together. He took photos and a video of me, because this was a new development in my pregnancy. I said a few times “what if?” but I really didn't believe it. Moonunit stood by the bathroom door watching us. Trevor started timing the contractions and they kept increasing and getting closer and closer. When they got down to a minute and a half we were shocked. We had been told over and over by our doctor and in the Lamaze class to call the doctor and go up to the hospital when the contractions were 5 minutes apart. How could they be this close? But I was so confused because I could talk during the contractions. We also had been told when we called the doctor I had to talk so they could hear my breathing. To be in labor one couldn’t talk during the contractions. I got a little out of breath for some of the contractions, but I felt like I was supposed to be unable to move or talk during them, so I just kept thinking these were just some weird Braxton Hicks contractions and definitely weren't true labor pains!

It was fun having Trevor time me. I kept walking around the house and then say “okay” when one would come on and he would write down the time and rub my back because it was getting sooo sore. I was shocked how much my back hurt. I really thought the baby was sunny side up because of all the pressure on my back.

We debated if we should call the doctor, or go to the clinic. I didn't want to go up to the hospital if we were only going to be sent home because it wasn't really happening yet. Trevor suggested we go to the clinic to check if I was dilated. That felt like the perfect decision. We debated about bringing the bags in the car. I convinced Trevor not to bring them, because again, this wasn't the real deal, I said. I was in pajamas and Trevor asked if I wanted to change, but I said I wanted to be comfy. I was wearing my purple snowflake pajama pants. Trevor had me go sit in the car and he rushed around to get the camera and video camera and feed Moonie, just in case.

We were excited driving to the clinic because we knew the staff had been waiting for 9 months to possibly see us, because Mary worked there. We had talked several times how it would be so funny if we had the baby at the clinic. Trevor wished we were taking the go-kart over like we had done for our Lamaze classes. The nurse and doctor said, when they brought me into the room, “this is really happening”, just from seeing me and seeing how close the contractions were. They said to Trevor “you need to get your bags”. Trevor said “they are literally across the street”. They said it again, but then said “why don't you stay until we see how dilated she is”. For a moment I thought we might have the baby there, with the way they were acting. They did an internal and said I wasn't dilated. I wasn’t so sure then that I really was going to have the baby as soon as they said. They called our doctor and told us we needed to go up to the hospital. They felt we could drive up, it wasn't necessary for an ambulance to take us. They were very excited for us, and it was fun having our cheerleaders wish us luck as we left the clinic.

We went home, I stayed in the car, and Trevor went in and got our bags. He was moving so fast asking if we had everything. We weren’t nervous or panicked, just really excited. I said there was a little list in the bag, which listed the few extra things we still needed to grab. He got the bags and brought them and pillows to the car, and then we both said, car seat! The most important thing to bring! It was exciting imagining us bringing our baby home!

We drove up to Middletown, and it was a freezing night. Trevor was so encouraging through each contraction. The clinic had given me a huge pad to sit on and one to wear in case my water broke. Trevor said when he had gone in to get the bags that Moonunit was sitting between the bags aware that something big was happening. Trevor called our moms from the road, woke them up saying "this is the call you've been waiting for". We got to the hospital at 2:00 am. I had to tell Trevor to speed up, (can you imagine that?) because my back was hurting so much and I just wanted to get out of the car.

We left our bags, camera and video camera in the car because we thought I would be in labor for a long while, and Trevor could run out later once I was situated in a room. It took about 15 minutes to get up to the maternity ward because I had to keep stopping when I got a contraction and lean against the wall and have Trevor rub my back.

We were set up in our room and they checked me to only find that I was one centimeter dilated (I needed to be 10 to get the baby out). So they told us it was going to be a while, even though my contractions were coming so quickly. That was hard for me to hear, because my lower back hurt surprisingly soooo much. My mom walked into the room, she was going to be there for the delivery, and said she just couldn't go back to sleep after getting our call. That was a nice surprise to see her up with us so soon.

Trevor and my mom were amazing! Super coaches! They both held my hands and rubbed my back and gave so much encouragement. Having mom there, encouraging me, reminded me so much of my high school track days when she would calm me down before all my races. Mom kept spooning me ice chips, which were so satisfying. In Lamaze class they talked about ice chips during labor. I didn’t think they would be as desirable as a big glass of water, but they were great because I could just suck on them. Trevor remembered our Lamaze breathing perfectly and kept doing the breathing so I could mimic him. I kept my eyes closed for a lot of it, which helped me focus. I tried getting in a few positions to see what would make me most comfortable. I sat on the big blue birthing ball and leaned against the bed. I also sat on the stool in the shower with hot water beating down on my back and my head resting against the shower wall. Nothing felt good.

I kept debating if I should get Statall because of my back. I was worried that I was only one centimeter dilated and would be in labor for a while and my back just hurt so much! I kept asking mom and Trevor their opinions. It was a really tough decision for me because I had really wanted to go au naturalle... In the middle of each contraction I would say “ok I think I want Statall”. Trevor said, as they had told us in Lamaze class, ”let’s just get through this contraction and see how you feel”. And when I was resting in between contractions I did feel good. But so quickly- about 2 min. or less, I would get another contraction, and I realized it wasn't necessary to be "so tough" I needed to do what was best for me. I asked the nurse if taking it would slow things down a lot, and she and Trevor said it does to a degree. Trevor laughed and asked, "do you remember anything from our classes?" It would take the edge off and was very mild, not like an Epidural supposedly is. So I said I wanted it, and then I wanted it sooo fast. They told me it would take 10 minutes to kick in. After about 3 minutes I was already asking if I got enough because I felt it wasn't working. But Trevor kept saying "one contraction at a time" and helped me breathe through each one.

At 4:00am my water broke which was encouraging and exciting. Twenty minutes later I said in a panic "I feel something coming out!" I reached down and it felt like the head! It was scary. I did not know what it could be. Mom rushed out and got a nurse and it was the water sack! It was still really full. She checked me again and said in a very shocked but pleased tone "you are 8 centimeters dilated!" All of a sudden there was a lot of commotion. Nurses came rushing in, pushing in equipment (it was a birthing room). The nurse kept repeating to the other nurses who were coming in, “she was just one centimeter an hour and a half ago”. My doctor wasn't there yet, because they had thought I was going to be in labor for a long time, so they brought in the floor doctor. One of the nurses said several times, “didn’t you read the book?”

I was getting the urge to push but was told I wasn't yet 10 centimeters so just to keep breathing through the contractions. At first it was hard not to push because I felt like the baby was right there and there was no way I could not push. But I made myself relax my muscles, and just breathe, and not push. My doctor soon arrived and said she drove through red lights to get there on time. And so from 4:45 am to 5:30 am I was pushing. That was so intense! My back no longer hurt and I really got into the pushing! It is such an adrenaline rush, knowing I was at that stage and so close to having our baby. Also now I was in control because I could push and the contractions were no longer controlling me.

I had my legs bent and pulled up against my chest and my hands around my hamstrings. I was like a ball. The pushing really was like what they described in Lamaze class, I pushed like I was going to take a poop. Later I asked Trevor if I did take a poop, and he said that I did but they cleaned it up so fast it was gone in a second. The nurses kept saying how great I was doing, how I was making progress, how I was so strong and flexible. It was incredibly encouraging. Between each set of three pushes I was really tired and relaxed so I would have the energy for the next set. The nurse counted to eight for each push. I was supposed to take a breath, hold it, and push for those eight seconds, take another breath and repeat. I was pushing 3 times for each contraction and then resting.

The doctor gave me an episiotimy. The local anesthetic hurt a lot, but I didn't feel them cut me. Trevor and my mom were surprised to see she used scissors. That made room for her to come out. The doctor pointed out to Mom and Trevor that she could see the head! I guess it was hard to see the head at first because the head would come out slightly, go back in with each push, but then came out farther out each time. They said you could see dark hair. At one point Trevor said to me “you can feel the head. Put your hand down and feel the baby's head.” I did. It was sooo amazing and unreal. I asked for them to put up a mirror. I had seen it in the Lamaze class video and was excited to try it. Trevor positioned the angle just right so I could see around the nurses and doctors. I could see her! I liked having my eyes closed when I pushed so I could focus. Near the end of the push I would open my eyes to look into the mirror. I could see that my skin bulged due to her head being so close. It looked so incredible to see the skin pushed out like that. My mom said at one point "remember all of this. Remember what this is like. It is going to be over so soon."

There were a few pushes that the nurse said “let's hold this for 10 seconds, and can you do one more push?” I was getting really tired, but again it was encouraging to hear that, because I knew we were getting close by those comments. All of a sudden I saw that the head was halfway out! The doctor said “okay, don't push hard, just very gently”. That was very diffcult to do at first, to have to slow down. She didn't want me pushing hard when the baby was easing out. The baby eased out, Trevor said, head, shoulders and then the rest of the body came out rather quickly. The baby was born at 5:30 am exactly. “It’s a girl!” The baby had its mouth and nose sucked with the little plunger and then took a good breath and cry. Trevor had read in one of Dr. Weil’s books how important the first breath was in a baby’s life, so we were excited she took a great first breath.

They wiped the baby a little and put her right on my chest. Trevor said he didn't really remember hearing that she was a girl for 10 or so minutes because all that was happening. I tried to pull her up closer to me but the doctor said, “wait, she's still attached”. Trevor got to cut the cord with these big scissors and said it took three cuts to get through it, and that it felt like rubber tubing. Trevor and I had talked about him using his knife, but we had no time that night to ask the doctor if he could.

She opened her eyes in minutes and started looking for my nipple. I started crying. I couldn't believe I was holding my daughter- my baby that was just seconds before INSIDE me and now she was on my chest. It felt like I was hugging myself. They quickly put a little pink and blue hat on her to keep her warm and the tiniest little diaper. It was incredible saying her name. “ Hi, little Bailey.”

It was all sooo wonderful and amazing. It happened so fast. I couldn't believe I just had a baby. I had been in denial, and I didn't even feel like I had time to prepare once I was at the hospital. It was like flying. Before you know it you are in a whole different state or country, unlike driving where it takes a while and you have time to prepare for where you are going. Before we knew it she was born. Six hours from first contraction to smiling baby- as Trevor put it. And we were only at the hospital for 3 hours.

Having Mom and Trevor there was perfect. We were such a strong, supportive team. Mom and Trevor worked so well together, on either side of me. I am so glad Mom didn't go back to sleep because she would have missed it all! After we were holding Bailey, we realized we didn't even have a chance to call Mary again before Bailey was born, which we had said we would if there were any developments.

Then I just wanted to talk about it all, recap the events. I wanted to hear what happened from Mom and Trevor, because it was such a whirlwind. I was so excited to have a little girl! I had gotten used to hearing from most people who saw me and said, “the way you are carrying, it will DEFINITELY be a boy". Whoops! Proved them wrong! I had no strong feeling myself, whether I would have a boy or girl, nor no dreams on the baby’s sex. The baby pool however, had many more girl guesses than boys.

Mom asked if she could do anything (she’d already done SO much) and went out to the car to get our camera, and we immediately started taking photos. We took 400 pictures while we were at the hospital. It felt like we were in our own little world, in room 302, for those few days. I didn’t need to go anywhere. I had all I needed right there with me.

She was weighed and we were surprised to hear that she was 8 pounds! We had been told that she probably would be just 7 pounds about two weeks ago at the doctors. I couldn't imagine how an 8 pound baby fit in my belly. She was 20.5 inches long.

They put her on the warming table under this heater. She had a tag put on her umbilical cord, which is like the clothing store tags that set off alarms if you try to leave with it on. They told us that the maternity ward doors would immediately lock if she was near the door. She lay on her back under the warmer and just stretched her long thin arms and legs out, and was so comfortable there all exposed. She has the longest, thin fingers and feet which seem to be just like Trevor's. She was purple when she came out but immediately began to pinken so nicely, which they were very impressed by. She had a nice round head. It wasn't coned, because she came out so quickly. She didn't have any rash. She had slightly pink eyelids, (angel kisses) that will fade. The nurse gave her her first bath and she really liked it. It was a sponge bath right under the heat light. She took a toothbrush and scrubbed her head to get the blood off her.

When I stood up to watch her take her bath, I felt a little strange, but it also felt good to be standing. My stomach was so empty and mushy, and I felt like I had to hold under my belly to keep it from falling. We made some calls to David and Apple, Dad and Sheila, Mary, and Al and Tory. When I talked to Tory he put John Salazar on the phone!

Everyone was so excited and surprised! Al came up on his way to an open house for work. Funny thing, the night before at dinner, he had jokingly said you can't have this baby tomorrow, because I have an open house and Mom was going up to see Irene and check out land in NH and VT. We all though had felt that it wouldn't happen for a while anyways, so it really did feel like a joke when they mentioned that at dinner.

Al took so many photos, wonderful photos, as did Mary when she came up. This baby is certainly going to be used to the camera! Al was so sweet holding her. The first babies he ever held were Caroline and Grace so it was really special for him and us, to watch him with Bailey. Mary came up later that day after she worked at the clinic in the morning. Bailey quickly was labeled “the most beautiful baby ever”- a very proud Grandma. We had Lou and Shannon and Jen visit. Mary came several times and Heide visited twice and Sunday morning brought us breakfast from O'Rourkes. We had planned to go to O'Rourkes together Sunday and then go see Aviator. Big change of plans! Bret and Megan came up with the girls and we took photos of them together. So sweet to see the girls with her and imagining them all together when I am taking care of them again. We talked to many other friends there too and were excited to share the news with more, when we were home.

We talked about Bailey's middle name with Mom and Al and Mary at the hospital. We hadn't made the final decision of one because she came faster than we were prepared. When we mentioned Reed, Mary said all surprised that it was her mother's grandmother's maiden name (if I got that right. I need to look at the email Frank sent to confirm it). She spelled it Read. We were very happy to hear that and immediately felt it was a perfect choice and such a coincidence. We didn't know that Read was a family name.

So I could keep writing more and more- all about our wonderful hospital stay, breastfeeding, driving her home and then recording all the firsts! But I am excited to journal- because it all goes so fast and I want to be able to remember all these wonderful details. We were told yesterday at her first doctor visit, that she will gain an ounce a day! It is going to go sooo fast! So Trevor said let's just have 9 more so we always have a baby! It was so wonderful to have delivered her so quickly because then that prospect doesn't sound so far out! The doctor made sure we realized that future babies would be just as fast if not faster. WOW! Home birth it sounds like!

Life is juicy!