How he came into the world

(copied from Facebook note)

It was Tuesday Dec 8 at 3PM that I posted the following on Facebook:
"Dear Baby: Please stay inside me until 1)we finish the sheetrock and primer, 2)your Papa finishes the massive amounts of work he has scheduled this week, 3) your mommy finishes the massive amounts of work scheduled this week, and 4) we buy a new washing machine and have it delivered and installed. Then you are free to come any time. Thank you."

Apparently I either knew something might be up, or this kid doesn't listen to me... About 2 hours later, signs of pre-labor appeared. Such signs could mean labor was hours, days or weeks away. I stayed home the next day, not feeling up to driving. By 10am, Dec 9, as the workmen of #1 were sheetrocking, labor signs became a bit more obvious. By 11AM, there was no doubt....I was trying to be discreet so as not to alarm the workers. As it turned out, I was about to tell them they needed to leave for the day when they said they were finishing up. Not done, just done for the day because everything was wet. So we didn't even make it through #1. They'll come back next week :).

Over the next 11 hours, we brought him into the world. :) And when I say "we", I mean Frédéric, Angelina, and I. They were both very helpful. And my midwives too. He was born in the water at 10:10pm, and I wouldn't change a thing! For anyone interested in more details of the birth, let me know and I'll email all the gory details.

As for Angelina, she was great! She had her moments, but for the most part, she loved being involved and wasn't at all scared. And being in the birthing tub with us was a blast for her. She helped massage my back and kept holding me when it hurt. She did leave the room towards the end saying "Mommy's upset" because apparently I was making some significant noises ("Holy cow that hurts!");). She came back in within seconds of the baby coming out and immediately went to him to touch him, covered in mucus and all....The look on her face of fascination and wonder as we welcomed him into the world was priceless.





So, I jinxed myself by asking the baby to wait. I also planned a Girls Night In at our house for Wednesday night. The other way to assure labor without inducing - give up your birth tub....I didn't have the tub yet because another client, already 8 days overdue, still had it. The midwife picked it up on her way to my house saying to her "I have a sure way to get you into labor, I'm taking the tub for another mom." Sure enough, about the time Lenaïc was born, the midwife received a call from the other mom saying her labor had started. Who needs pitocin, when Murphy's Law is at work?!