New baby, 3rd b day...and life in between. It has been a wild month.
Juliet Pearl St.Julien joined the crew on my birthday, June 15th. It was
the most memorable b day yet, to be sure!! The birth was amazing. In
short I woke up feeling contractions around 3:30 in the morning. We
weren't convinced it was labor because the contractions were super close
together...we decided it had to be the real deal and headed to the
hospital around 5. By the time we got to the hospital I was in serious
pain!! They took me into the admitting room and I was dilated to a
five. Which was NOT what I was wanting to hear. I was sure all that
pain was doing ALOT more than one centimeter of progress. Thoughts of
ACTUALLY going natural were quickly dissipating. I started panicking and
yelling all sorts of crazy things. I was desperately trying to
convince everyone I couldn't do this, I was begging Dave to forget
everything we had decided and get me that DANG epidural NOW!!! He was
trying his best to decide if he should listen to the pre laboring wife
or the screaming wild animal in front of him. Then my water broke and
some how we made it to the delivery room and I was all kinds of CRAZY. I
was still only dilated to a 6 but I was feeling the urge to push sooo
strong. So I did and my midwife luckily made it there in time to give me
the go ahead to push. I was STILL begging for drugs and the nurses
finally said "If you get an epidural it will be at least 10 contractions
before you feel it, and chances are that baby will be here before you
feel any relief." NOT what I wanted to hear, but at that point I
realized I was gonna do this thing whether I wanted to or not. And I
didn't want to anymore!!!
I had all these visions of how my labor would
proceed. In my minds eye I was walking around calmly with Dave trying
the different positions we researched to reduce pain . I pictured
getting in the tub, or sitting on the birthing ball. In my mind the
pain would be there but it would be manageable. BOY was I WRONG!! All I
was able to do was grip that side bar on the hospital bed and scream
like the dickens!! I didn't have to push for long...it felt like longer
than it was. And there were a few times I really honestly thought "this
is too much, I will NOT do this anymore!! I am going to reach down,
push that babies head back up and GO HOME!!!!" But instead I pushed
harder. Somehow, I did it. That dark head finally came out and I have
never been more relieved of ANYTHING in my life. I don't know that I
felt that feeling some people talk about, of like a euphoria. Mine was
exhaustion and RELIEF!!!
Juliet was born at 6:30am, three of the longest
most memorable hours of my life. It was fast and furious, but
thankfully she was a healthy 7 lb wonder. We were in love immediately.
We are still baffled by this mop of dark hair. She didn't have a name
for the first day, we were trying Juliet on for size. The next day we
figured it was as good a name as any and she would grow into it. We
decide on Pearl for her middle name because it's the June birthstone.
Our girls are smitten with her and we are excited to get to know her as
she grows. Looking back at the birth experience, the further away I get
the more fond I feel about it all. I am glad everything went the way
it did. Dave and I laugh at how loud I was yelling and how I literally
screamed so hard that after things had calmed down my guts hurt. That's
what screaming your guts out feels like. I don't know that I will try
going unmedicated again, Dave will tell you NO WAY. But I am
undecided. I am glad I know what it feels like. And I am glad Juliet
is here and healthy. Welcome little lady...
Rosie turned three!! We are crazy about our three year old. She is just the best. We get such a kick out of this girl. She is still just so funny and unpredictable. She is so intense one minute then sweet and loving the next. I don't know that there is a cuter face in this world!! I just stare at her face and those green eyes and dimples and I am enamored! She is no angel but we love every single bit of her and are so glad she is part of our family. She just adores Scarlet and lately they will just play and play together in their little make believe world. It's the BEST. There are so many things Rosie says and does. I wish I could capture them all and remember everything. But I don't think I will be able to at the moment. We love you Rose bud!!
