Her Mom and I go way back, and this was her fourth birth and second that I had the pleasure of being present for. Let's just say, she's got this birth thing figured out. She called to let me know she was having regular surges around noon, I came to her house and we proceed to watch "50 First Dates" while she snacks and drinks big glasses of water, by 1pm Shari is up and moving either on the birth ball or doing her characteristic birth laps of her kitchen island. This is where it got interesting, She had requested to stay home as long as possible, so when she mentioned maybe going in, her husband suggested she go take a bath. So we went up to her bath and she got in, I could see the thunderstorm moving in through the window above the bath. She stayed there for just 20-30 minutes as her surges picked up in frequency and intensity. Just before I was going to suggest we get moving if she wanted to make it to the hospital, she said "It's time". She got out, dressed, and hurried down to the car. I ran through the rain to follow them the short 10 min trip to the hospital, we get to the valet, and there is a 15 car line. Then I see her husband start pulling around the other cars and I thought "uh oh". I pulled up into the drive, put my car in park, and ran up to their car. Mom says "My water broke and baby is coming". AHHH!!! I ran inside to find a chair and some help, after asking a couple places, I went to labor and delivery and boy did they hop to. One nurse grabbed a kit and followed me, while the others grabbed a gurney. We met Mom coming across the parking area, and she went with the nurse while I went to move my car out of the way. When I got back to labor and delivery I was directed to her room, she said "I can feel the head, I need to get these pants off", so I helped her, turned around to grab the video camera, and heard "Here she is!" Sure enough as I turned back around Mom was pulling Gia up to her chest with a big smile on her face. Incredible, what a day! Congratulations to my friends on their whirlwind arrival, I wouldn't have missed it!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Welcome Baby Gia!
Gia came rushing into this world in the midst of a thunderstorm, reminding me of this song:
Her Mom and I go way back, and this was her fourth birth and second that I had the pleasure of being present for. Let's just say, she's got this birth thing figured out. She called to let me know she was having regular surges around noon, I came to her house and we proceed to watch "50 First Dates" while she snacks and drinks big glasses of water, by 1pm Shari is up and moving either on the birth ball or doing her characteristic birth laps of her kitchen island. This is where it got interesting, She had requested to stay home as long as possible, so when she mentioned maybe going in, her husband suggested she go take a bath. So we went up to her bath and she got in, I could see the thunderstorm moving in through the window above the bath. She stayed there for just 20-30 minutes as her surges picked up in frequency and intensity. Just before I was going to suggest we get moving if she wanted to make it to the hospital, she said "It's time". She got out, dressed, and hurried down to the car. I ran through the rain to follow them the short 10 min trip to the hospital, we get to the valet, and there is a 15 car line. Then I see her husband start pulling around the other cars and I thought "uh oh". I pulled up into the drive, put my car in park, and ran up to their car. Mom says "My water broke and baby is coming". AHHH!!! I ran inside to find a chair and some help, after asking a couple places, I went to labor and delivery and boy did they hop to. One nurse grabbed a kit and followed me, while the others grabbed a gurney. We met Mom coming across the parking area, and she went with the nurse while I went to move my car out of the way. When I got back to labor and delivery I was directed to her room, she said "I can feel the head, I need to get these pants off", so I helped her, turned around to grab the video camera, and heard "Here she is!" Sure enough as I turned back around Mom was pulling Gia up to her chest with a big smile on her face. Incredible, what a day! Congratulations to my friends on their whirlwind arrival, I wouldn't have missed it!
Her Mom and I go way back, and this was her fourth birth and second that I had the pleasure of being present for. Let's just say, she's got this birth thing figured out. She called to let me know she was having regular surges around noon, I came to her house and we proceed to watch "50 First Dates" while she snacks and drinks big glasses of water, by 1pm Shari is up and moving either on the birth ball or doing her characteristic birth laps of her kitchen island. This is where it got interesting, She had requested to stay home as long as possible, so when she mentioned maybe going in, her husband suggested she go take a bath. So we went up to her bath and she got in, I could see the thunderstorm moving in through the window above the bath. She stayed there for just 20-30 minutes as her surges picked up in frequency and intensity. Just before I was going to suggest we get moving if she wanted to make it to the hospital, she said "It's time". She got out, dressed, and hurried down to the car. I ran through the rain to follow them the short 10 min trip to the hospital, we get to the valet, and there is a 15 car line. Then I see her husband start pulling around the other cars and I thought "uh oh". I pulled up into the drive, put my car in park, and ran up to their car. Mom says "My water broke and baby is coming". AHHH!!! I ran inside to find a chair and some help, after asking a couple places, I went to labor and delivery and boy did they hop to. One nurse grabbed a kit and followed me, while the others grabbed a gurney. We met Mom coming across the parking area, and she went with the nurse while I went to move my car out of the way. When I got back to labor and delivery I was directed to her room, she said "I can feel the head, I need to get these pants off", so I helped her, turned around to grab the video camera, and heard "Here she is!" Sure enough as I turned back around Mom was pulling Gia up to her chest with a big smile on her face. Incredible, what a day! Congratulations to my friends on their whirlwind arrival, I wouldn't have missed it!
