And then there were two...

Yesterday was E's 6th birthday. Yes, she was born the day after C-boy's birthday. I tried to tell her the story of her birth, telling her the details of what was happening at a particular time six years ago, but she wasn't too thrilled. She said if she wanted to know about it she could have a baby herself- not sure she was going to have a baby because it would probably hurt, and she has LOOONG time to think about it, so 'mama stop!'

Her birth was actually the most enjoyable of all of my births. It began gently in the wee hours of the morning. Contractions every 5 minutes for an hour, so it must be time! Called dear friend Tessa who had a 2 hour drive. My naturopath was my labor support, and she headed over about 4am. By the time she arrived, the contractions had slowed, of course, so we all went to bed. I had 3 hours of solid sleep, surprisingly. Up at 8 and we had a lovely, leisurely breakfast of eggs, sausage and cinnamon rolls ( I still remember that) while I labored at home, surrounded by loved ones. My little taste if homebirth before heading off to the hospital. Arrived at 10 am and 5cm and my gentle labor continued. I truly enjoyed the labor, standing throughout most of it until the very end, at 2pm giving birth kneeling on the bed. My water finally broke just as she was crowning and she was caught by my ND as my gracious perinatologist allowed her to. E was whisked away to be checked by the NICU team. She was born early, at 35 weeks and weighed 4 pounds 5 ounces, big for my babies. The sound of her crying, even across the room, was sweet music to our ears. They gave her back to me a few mintues later and I held her for about an hour before she had to go to the NICU. Their protocol for 35 weekers was to admit them. My greatest regret was letting her go- not questioning "protocol". I thought she would be observed for a bit and then we would get her back. Or at the most for a few days. She was in the NICU for 2 weeks before we could take her home. I still remember sobbing on the bathroom floor because she was screaming in her isolette while under the bili lights. I hate that NICU. 4 or 5 babes to a nurse. Shuffled around so I wouldn't know where she was one day to the next. She responded to the different nurses differently, liking some, but not others. One was convinced the had reflux, but E only responded that way with her. I was there every day, all day long, only heading home for sleep and to spend time with C and dh. It is still like a bad dream. I feel nauseous every time I think about it. Finally, we were able to get her home and never looked back.

We celebrate both C-boy and E last night with a couple of families. Pizza for 20, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and lemon pound cake. Whose idea was it to make pizza for 20? Fun was had by all. I actually think we have two teens in the house because she sure acts like she is going on 16! Happy Birthday, Esther! I love you.