The Post You've all Been Waiting For..

Let's start by saying that I know the title is grammatically incorrect..get off my back, I'm tired. Please excuse any typos or poorly phrased sentences for the same reason.

When I last posted, Meg had been told that the baby would come within 48 hrs. Spot on, Midwife Mary-Paul! Within 12 she had started labor and the rest is history. I'm going to spare the labor stories, Meg can post that later herself. Primary accounts are much more accurate than secondary, although I was there for most of it.

Tuesday afternoon I was hoping to get one more day of work and a haircut in before we had to leave. That was not to be the case. I ended up coloring my hair at 10 that night and cutting my bangs in the morning before we left. I would advise that 4:00 am haircuts in your bathroom after having not slept aren't always a better option than no cut at all. At least the baby didn't meet me with gray roots. We were up pretty late packing the car because I didn't want to come home if we got the call while I was at school. Eddie called around 2 and said it looked like it might be a go but would call again around 4 if it was still going on so we could get to the airport. Kenny went back to sleep (WHAT????), but I couldn't so I....well, I don't remember what I did, but I didn't go back to bed. Good thing, too, cause Meg called a little after 3 and said they were going to the hospital. She told me if this wasn't labor, she would have to kill herself because she knew she wouldn't be able to take the real thing. "Calm down" says I, "they will give you an epidural before it gets bad and all will be fine" (insert foreshadowing music).

We kicked into high gear and started the process of listing for a flight (standby talk for "hope I get on"). Because I had access to the flight lists, I could tell that there weren't many people on the flight, only 34, and usually they don't fly with an empty flight. It didn't look good. Kenny went to Walmart because he forgot we needed cat food (WHAT???) and I called a friend to drive us to the airport. I had to deliver a cd of a shoot I had just done and pack some other cds to mail for another family (both were supposed to be picked up Wed). You know all those cliche scenes where people are rushing to get someplace because someone is having a baby? We were stopped in Haltom City for going 51 in a 40. "Tell him we are going to the airport to catch a flight for the birth of our first grandchild" I told Kenny. It worked! Well, that and the fact that Kenny is a FF in NRH. Whatever the reason, they let us go and we made it in plenty of time. The flight took off as scheduled and had internet so I was able to keep up with the progress as the flew. When we got there, a friend picked us up and we hustled to the base hospital. Eddie called as we arrived to tell us her water broke and she was at a 6. We RAN up there. In retrospect, it was a ridiculous waste of energy that would have been better saved for the marathon labor, but who knew?

The room she was in was nice and we were all able to fit in comfortably. We visited, Eddie bought us lunch and we had a great time until, (duhn, duhn, duhn) the contractions slowed down and the epidural stopped working. They started pitocin, just a whiff to get you going again, and then ramping it up, over and over to get the contractions strong enough. Again, sparing details better left to the one who personally experienced them, I will focus on the Mom POV. Nothing is harder than watching your child experience pain that you can do nothing about. I thought about all the mothers, grandmothers, aunts and sister who have sat with a laboring loved one back in the day when there were no hospitals or pain relief. (Side note, when contemplating life's mysteries, joys or struggles, I often think of Little House on the Prairie and how it would be for Ma, Pa, Laura and the rest. Weird, I know). As I sat with her and helped her breathe thru the contractions while silently praying in between, I kept coming back to the thought that this was a defining moment in our relationship. Another one of the moments where you can pinpoint the change where most times those changes are gradual. She said "this is what you did for me...I am so sorry". I don't know if she meant the labor or the fact that she didn't understand it before. She was groggy, exhausted and foggy from pain, but the emotion from which she spoke wrenched my heart. We have a different bond now, not only as mother/daughter, but mother/mother.

I left the room while she pushed, I didn't really want to be in there for that. The door couldn't quite contain the auditory evidence of her pain. But the innate love for our children that God put into us filled her voice the next minute when I heard, "Oh, my sweet baby, where have you been?" *tears*

To make an incredibly long (25 hrs total in the hospital for Meg) and sometimes stressful story short, our sweet Little Critter, Reid Nathaniel, arrived at 11:42 pm, West Coast Time, at 7 lbs 10 oz (a full 2 pounds bigger than his mommy at birth) and 20 inches long. With a head full of hair and chubby cheeks, he is the most precious, perfect little bite of joy I've ever seen. Delicious! Already obviously gifted, he has yet to make a peep of protest about anything, including shots or a bath, and has taken to nursing like a pro. He has even let me change his clothes a couple of times for an impromptu photo shoot. I realize that day 2 through year 18 will bring changes, and his perfection may be hidden by the veil of colicky nights, temper tantrums, speeding tickets and "bad choices". Despite that, I'm going to hold onto the sleep deprived, sepia tinged memories of last night until my last breath. God is good.

This is Papaw with his new best buddy.

Daddy getting some sugar.
I LOVE this picture! After a day of labor, we both get what we want. I have my hands on Reid and she has her hands on a turkey sandwich!
Can you believe she's been up for almost 2 days?