A Birthday Birth Story

       Hello, This is my new blog,  it's supposed to help me with my new resolve to eat real food and make more things homemade.  However,  today is much too important for that.  Today is our little boy's birthday.  Aleksei Henrik is 3 years old and to celebrate I will tell you all the wonderful story of how he came into the world.
    

      It was two days before my due date at 5:30 in the morning when I awoke with a contraction.  Contractions continued every 15 minutes with some general cramping in between.  My previous labour was a good 38 hours long, so when I sent Alex off to work that morning it never crossed my mind that this baby could be born before he got home.  I started my day and decided a walk around town with my two-year old would get things going.  I stopped and breathed through contractions, sometimes needing to stop in the middle of the street.  At exactly noon the contractions suddenly changed to 5 minutes apart.  I called my sister-in-law and she came and picked up Indiana.  Seeing him walk down the street with her I became a bleary-eyed mess thinking about how his life would never be the same after that day.
      This next part is all a blur.  I was all alone at home trying to make arrangements,  lots of phone calls were made and lots of people called me.  Meanwhile contractions are getting stronger and a bit closer together and I'm getting this very strong pain between contractions.  Somewhere in there I stopped making sense and the phone calls stopped.  My other sister-in-law Angie came over to take me to the hospital as I had made an appointment with the midwife for 4:30.  I was still waddling around trying to pack and put away the supper I had in the crock-pot. We got everything all packed and me into the car.  
      The car ride was sheer agony.  The pain between contractions was actually worse than the contraction itself.  I think I said something to Angie as we were leaving,  but then was unable to speak the rest of the trip.  When we got to town,  we stopped at the university to pick-up Alex.  Angie went in to get him and I sat in the car.  As I'm writhing in pain I'm imagining them visiting and taking a tour of the piano shop, maybe getting a coffee.  Anyways,  I'm sure none of that happened,  they did get back to the car.  We arrive at the hospital,  I have tears streaming down my face and my chin is quivering.  I walk up to the admitting desk and hand over my health card and the lady asks me to repeat my address, phone number and date of birth. Are you serious!?  You think I can talk much less remember my postal code?
      We get up to the labour and delivery floor and meet my midwife.  I'm seven centimeters dilated.  I get into the bath tub and finally the pain between contractions goes away.  It's not sweet relief though,  by now the contractions are a minute and a half apart and very intense.  I labour for maybe 45 minutes and then ask if I can push. I get on the bed,  I'm fully dilated and the midwife breaks my waters.  I keep thinking about my last labour where I pushed for 2 hours and 40 minutes.  This will not happen again I tell myself,  so I push like crazy.  The midwife keeps saying things like "that's really good SLOW pushing Gabrielle."  So I push harder and keep pushing even without a contraction.  And then after only ten minutes our little Alyosha was born.  9lbs. 3oz.  21 inches. 6:08 p.m.

      The next few hours were pure bliss.  Just us in our quiet little room enjoying our baby.  The midwives did their thing but let us hold our baby for hours before he needed to be weighed and get a diaper on.  Soon my mom came with Indiana.  He fell instantly in love with his little brother  as we all did.
      And so, Happy Birthday our precious Alyosha,  you bring us joy.