We all were praying she would come at a "convenient" time, seeing as I generally have a speedy labor (45 minutes start to finish is my record!) and we live so far away from the hospital. It seems our prayers were answered in a rather amusing way:
Tired of the trials and discomforts of the last weeks of pregnancy, I wanted to see if I could speed things up a bit. Jay and I planned on going out on a date on Saturday. We knew it would be our last date before Baby Who was to arrive, so we arranged for all day babysitting for the other children. I figured a rush of adrenaline might get labor going, so we went to go see the movie 'Thor'. Unfortunately my plan did not seem to work, as I just had one mild Braxton Hicks contraction the entire time we were at the theater.
As we left the theater, we laughed at my silly adrenaline theory and decided to have an early, leisurely dinner together. After much debating, we opted for Chili's (I LOVE their avocado Cobb salad!). At exactly 4pm, and in mid sentence, my water broke. I dashed to the restroom, which was, of course, at the faaaaarrrrrrrrr end of the restaurant, and confirmed that indeed my water had broken. I waddled aaaaaaalllllll the way through the restaurant back to Jay, who wisely paid for our meal, and mouthed the words, "Lets go!!!". We hopped in the car, exited the parking lot, crossed the street and pulled into the hospital parking lot.
Yes, Chili's just happened to be right across the street from my hospital! I arrived so early, I actually had time for an epidural! Yippee!!!
All things considered, labor was joyous and uneventful, unless you count the complete panic and chaos among the hospital staff when I was the only one in the room ready for the baby to come. (Why oh why do doctors never believe me when I tell them that once I get to 4 cm, the last 6cm go at lightning speed?)
2 hours and 50 minutes after my water broke, I held my precious little Poppe Seed in my arms for the first time.
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| First moments |
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| Sisters and Dad! |
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| Happy big brother |
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| Taking Marialina for her first ride! |
Unfortunately Ryan had left for camp that morning and was not able to meet his new little sister until she was already a week old. But all siblings (and Mom and Dad, too!) are madly in love with Marialina and we can't imagine our family being complete without her!
Thank you, dear Lord, for my daughter, for a safe delivery, and for making sure we got to the hospital in plenty of time!
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