We have a baby girl!

I knew we were about to leave the realm of the ordinary when she stopped our slow waddle to the car and said, "Call 911. This baby is coming right now!"

Now, I consider myself a pretty good writer, and I know that I can express myself far better in written prose than spoken word, but this blog post is one that I doubt can approach a true to life depiction of the lived experience.

The ball began rolling in the mid-afternoon this last Saturday. I was out in the backyard building some stairs in the middle of a new retaining wall, likely the last chance I would get to work outside before the snow buries my project for the winter. Duquesa beckoned for me to come talk to her from the back door, where she put me on notice that she felt minor contractions - tremors of the event to come. Life would go on normally for the next few hours though. We went to mass, and then stopped by the mall for Duquesa to get a little exercise in a warm place. She was able to walk while her mom and I chased Jerome all over the mall for a few hours.

Labor did not really set in until around 8:30 - 9:00, after Jerome and Elliot finally went to bed. I began to time her contractions while attempting to keep her as comfortable as possible. Duquesa had some nasty back-labor, so laying in bed was not as comfortable as it could have been for her. Still, contractions never got more frequent than 7 minutes apart. I knew we would be heading in soon, so I packed my bag and got the car ready with the infant car seat while Molli took great care of Duquesa.

The next time I saw her, I knew she had just had a more serious contraction. Even though they were still a ways apart, we both thought it was time to go in to the hospital. Last time, with Elliot, we jumped the gun a little - she ended up laboring for about 16 hours after we arrived at St. John's. I had hoped that this labor would be far less grueling for Duquesa, but I had no idea at how my wish was about to be granted.

My favorite rendition of this part of the story comes from my 13 year old sister, Sarah. Thankfully, she wrote this exclamatory email just after the experience, so the emotion comes through quite well, even in all caps and with the spelling errors, which add to the charm:

OH MY GOODNESS GRASHOUS TO YOU ALL I EXPRESS MY EXCITMENT!!!!!!!!! AND I AM COMPLETLEY NERVE RECKED ITS GOING TO TAKE ME A LONG LONG TIME TO WRITE THIS EMAIL BECAUSE I AM SHAKING SO MUCH!!! AT 12:05 ON THE 16TH OFNOVEMBER WE HAD A LITTLE TINY BEAUTIFUL WONDERFUL ABSOLUTLY PRESIOUSE AMAZING (EVERYTHING POSITIVE ABOUT A LITTLE BABY GIRL THAT IS POSSIBLE) BORN IN MY FAMILY'S HOUSE!!!!!!!! I KNOW I CAN'T BELIEVE IT EITHER!!!!! SITTING IN THE KITCHEN BY MYSELF BURNING A CD OF PEACEFUL SONGS FOR DUQUESA (MY SIS-IN-LAW) TO GIVE BIRTH TO AND THEN I HEAR A SOUND. I AM NOT GOING TO DESCRIBE THE SOUND BECAUSE IT WAS SCARY. SHE CAME OUT OF THE PLACE OF THE HOUSE WHERE SHE AND MY BROTHER STAY AND SHE WAS LEANING ON MY BROTHER . WITH HER BELLY TOUCHING HIS (HE WALKED BACKWARDS) THEY MADE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE KITCHEN ON THE WAY TO THE CAR BUT SHE COULD NOT MAKE IT. SO ALL OF A SUDDEN MY SISTER IN LAW IS LAYING IN OUR GUEST BEDROOM ON THE BED WITH 10 HUGE TOWELS AROUND HER (IT MAY HAVE BEEN MORE) GIVING BIRTH TO A CHILD. MY BROTHER JUST DELIVERED HIS CHILD IN MY HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MOLLY (DUQUESA'S MOM) WAS ON THE PHONE WITH 911 GETTING MAD ABOUT HOW THEY WERE NOT HERE YET AND THE MAN ON THE OTHER LINE WAS ASKING HER STUPID QUESTIONS (OR AT LEAST THAT IS WHAT WE THOUGHT AT THE TIME) AND GIVING US DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO DELIVER A BABY!!! THEN I HEARD A BEAUTIFUL NOISE FROM THE KITCHEN. THE SOUND OF MY WONDERFUL LITTLE BABY NEICE SENA (LONG E ITS ITALIAN) WAS CRYING. SHE JUST CAME OUT OF HER MOM!!!! I DON'T THINK I WILL EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER FORGET THIS NIGHT EVEN IF I GROW UP AND GET ALL TIMERS. MAMA AND BABY AND DADA ARE ON THEIR WAY TO THE HOSPITAL OR ALREADY THERE AND SENA IS HEALTHY AND I AM NOT GOING TO SLEEP TONIGHT!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL AND I LOVE MY NEW LITTLE BABY NEICE AND MY REALLY AMAZINGLY STRONG SISTER IN LAW. SHE REALLY IS A WONDERFUL STONG BEAUTIFUL WOMEN AND SHE HAS HAD 3 BABIES AND NOT EVEN MARRIED 3 YEARS YET. I LOVE HER WITH ALL MY HEART AND WILL ADMIRE HER ALL OF MY LIFE. OMG I AM AN AUNT FOR A 5TH TIME!! AND I WATCHED A BABY BEING BORN!!!!!

I think Sarah is going to be a wonderful writer some day. That night, I was asked many times by doctors and nurses what had happened, and I couldn't muster nearly that amount of detail. Perhaps it was the effect of adrenaline, but the situation seemed very simple to me at the time. I just put Duquesa on the bed, went and washed my hands, rolled up my sleeves and delivered the baby. In fact, I was concentrating so hard on holding the baby correctly and making sure everything appeared normal that I completely forgot to check if it was a boy or a girl! Duquesa and I both agreed later that we were only able let the wonderful news sink in hours later once we were settled and knew for sure that momma and baby were both healthy.

After Siena was born, we wrapped her in clean towels and made sure her air passages were clear. Not only were they completely free of any blockage, but she came out remarkably clean. Truly, part of the reason our ad lib home birth went so well was that the whole process was far less messy than it often is. The other main reason is how quick it went. I never imagined a birth happening so quickly and seemingly effortlessly. It was literally a matter of only a few minutes from when I laid Duquesa down to the moment I held Siena in my hands. The paramedics arrived shortly thereafter and helped me cut the cord and pack up momma and baby for the ride to the hospital.

After the nurses recovered from the shock or our story, they weighed little Siena and told us she came in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and measured 20 inches long. She is so precious and petite - the perfect little girl baby. She even makes very girlie little coos and squeaks. We are so happy to have a little girl to go with our two wonderful little boys! I know Duquesa is going to have a blast decking out her little girl in all things frilly and pink.

We are so blessed and thankful to God that everything went so well in a situation that could have been tragic. As I am writing, little Siena is lying on my chest asleep, giving me ample opportunity to take in that priceless new-baby smell and to cherish a moment with my new daughter. I am all out of words, so I will let some pictures do the rest of the talking.