Thursday 13

On this day four years ago at precisely 5:23 in the morning I began having mild contractions and realized I was in labor. Although she was not officially born until January 25th, the 24th is also a date close to my heart because I spent nearly every minute of it focusing on my baby girl and how to get her out of my body and into my arms. Here are thirteen facts about my labor experience with Xylie. No worries, I won't go into any of the "gross stuff."

1. The night before Napp and I stayed up late watching Pirates of the Caribbean.
2. During my early contractions I was very upset that I had not completed a few projects that I had planned to get down and actually got out my step stool to organize our hall closet. Napp put a stop to that before I started.
3. My labor started a week prior to my Feb. 1 due date
4. We had a class scheduled for the maternity center I was going to give birth in that day so we went as planned and a mid wife examined me before the class was completed.
5. Although I was in labor during the class it was early labor and I was not far enough along to be admitted to The Maternity Center.
6. Napp and I drove back to Alexandria, VA (about a 45 minute drive). At this point, my contractions started getting harder and I got sick with each one, but I was afraid to go back and get sent home again because the car ride was grueling. So I laid in our bed for several hours. The midwife called to check on us and said that I needed to come back ASAP since I was getting so ill.
7. When we got back to the Maternity Center I was only three-centimeters dilated. I was admitted and given an IV with lots of fluids and some medication for the nausea.
8. The medication made me a little loopy and I remember hallucinating about a dog toy that I use to have for my dog Angel when I was a little girl. Weird, I know. Poor Napp didn't know what the heck I was talking about when I asked him to give Carleigh the rubber hotdog toy. Carleigh's never had such a toy and we certainly didn't have her with us!
9. Napp and I went through the Bradley childbirth classes and had a pretty standard "Bradley birth" No pain meds, natural breathing, etc. The one thing I did that was not standard was lie still. I was very comfortable on my left side and that's where I wanted to stay.
   
10. The Midwife who I thought I didn't want to deliver my baby was the one on duty that day. It turns out that she was the perfect fit for my personality. She was wonderful and very calming and respected my wishes. Also, her suggestions always worked.
    
11. My friend Mona who was studying to become a Douala was our Douala. She did an awesome job and even cut the umbilical cord.
12. My labor seemed to stop at 9 centimeters. At that time the mid-wife told me that I could just keep doing what we were doing and have the baby in a few more hours or try something a bit different to get her out ASAP. I said "I want to get her out of me now!" She said, "OK, we're gonna get you up and you will walk up and down the stairs a few times with our help." Napp thought that was not going to be possible, so I did it.
13. I so wanted Xylie to be born on the 24th because it is my friend Giselle's birthday and I had labored for 17 hours that day. But true to her nature, Xylie arrived 16 minutes after midnight on the 25th. Not to mention I had an hours worth of pushing before I heard her lusty cry. She scored a perfect 10 on the APGAR. My first words to her as I held her in my arms were "You were soooo worth it!"