The story of my birth. (as told by my mom)
The day you were born:
As you know, Debbie and Mary were my midwives. Friday night, Bill and I had gone over to Santa Barbara, to the little hippie village that Mary and her guy, who was a craftsman of some sort, lived.
She examined me - I was just about ready, but it would probably be a few days, yet.
After that, since Megan was staying at Jeanne’s while we went for my checkup and had encouraged us to go out, we went to an Italian restaurant we liked. Bill and I had lasagna, and then headed home over the pass.
About halfway through,I had some pain in my stomach. “Indigestion”, I said to Bill. Then, when it came harder and through regular intervals, I knew labor had begun.
No cell phones, so Bill tried to go as smoothly as possible, which slowed us down a bit, getting home.
As soon as we arrived, Bill called Debbie and Mary and told them what had happened. At that point, it was about 10:30 PM.
I called Jeanne, who came over and go a few things for Megan, who was then going to stay over with her.
Around 12:00 AM, Saturday May 7th, Debbie and Mary arrived.
I was on the convertible sofa that had plastic and then clean sheets on top .I was doing my breathing exercises, and Bill was rubbing my back. I was again having what they called back labor, which means most of the discomfort was there. I had back labor with Megan, as well.
My Mother had not shared the details of her labor with me, so I don’t know whether back labor was a genetic tendency, or not. With Diane and Johnny, she had had “Twilight Sleep” meaning lots of drugs, and remembered nothing, for which she was grateful. I had come a little too soon for that.
I guess labor was tough on my Mother, but I had learned the breathing techniques that kept me going without any drugs and didn’t even consider taking any. I was a woman who wouldn’t drink coffee, much less alcohol when pregnant. I wouldn’t take anything except vitamins - not even an aspirin. I was determined that my children were going to have the best possible start in life.
As labor continued, I kept trying to find a comfortable way of delivering, and finally went on my hands and knees. And that’s how you came into the world - with Debbie and Mary catching you.
Bill was asked if he would like to cut the placenta. He went a bit green and said “No, Thanks”.
After you were cleaned up,I took a look at you. You were very cute, with fluffy reddish hair and you looked a bit like Mr. Magoo, a cartoon character,; not quite the blonde, blue-eyed charmer you turned into a month later - so pretty that people kept asking me for my little girl’s name. AT that point, your nose was a bit flattened by your journey and your blue eyes were kind of squinting at me. You seemed very lively and happy to be there.
And Immediately nursed with gusto, to the point where you had so much that you spit it out, projectile-style. You did that for about a month, and Dr. Netzer said that your stomach had needed to develop a bit more. He suggested that I try to keep your nursing shorter. It wasn’t easy, since you had a huge appetite.
I asked Bill to serve himself and the midwives some cookies that I had baked in preparation for their visit and inexpensive champagne to toast your arrival. I had orange juice and joined in the toast.
Jeanne brought Megan over, who was really disappointed that you weren’t a girl. It took her a while to get over that :-)
Dr. Netzer came by Saturday afternoon and checked you out. You were absolutely perfect, he said. And we all agreed.
As you know, Debbie and Mary were my midwives. Friday night, Bill and I had gone over to Santa Barbara, to the little hippie village that Mary and her guy, who was a craftsman of some sort, lived.
She examined me - I was just about ready, but it would probably be a few days, yet.
After that, since Megan was staying at Jeanne’s while we went for my checkup and had encouraged us to go out, we went to an Italian restaurant we liked. Bill and I had lasagna, and then headed home over the pass.
About halfway through,I had some pain in my stomach. “Indigestion”, I said to Bill. Then, when it came harder and through regular intervals, I knew labor had begun.
No cell phones, so Bill tried to go as smoothly as possible, which slowed us down a bit, getting home.
As soon as we arrived, Bill called Debbie and Mary and told them what had happened. At that point, it was about 10:30 PM.
I called Jeanne, who came over and go a few things for Megan, who was then going to stay over with her.
Around 12:00 AM, Saturday May 7th, Debbie and Mary arrived.
I was on the convertible sofa that had plastic and then clean sheets on top .I was doing my breathing exercises, and Bill was rubbing my back. I was again having what they called back labor, which means most of the discomfort was there. I had back labor with Megan, as well.
My Mother had not shared the details of her labor with me, so I don’t know whether back labor was a genetic tendency, or not. With Diane and Johnny, she had had “Twilight Sleep” meaning lots of drugs, and remembered nothing, for which she was grateful. I had come a little too soon for that.
I guess labor was tough on my Mother, but I had learned the breathing techniques that kept me going without any drugs and didn’t even consider taking any. I was a woman who wouldn’t drink coffee, much less alcohol when pregnant. I wouldn’t take anything except vitamins - not even an aspirin. I was determined that my children were going to have the best possible start in life.
As labor continued, I kept trying to find a comfortable way of delivering, and finally went on my hands and knees. And that’s how you came into the world - with Debbie and Mary catching you.
Bill was asked if he would like to cut the placenta. He went a bit green and said “No, Thanks”.
After you were cleaned up,I took a look at you. You were very cute, with fluffy reddish hair and you looked a bit like Mr. Magoo, a cartoon character,; not quite the blonde, blue-eyed charmer you turned into a month later - so pretty that people kept asking me for my little girl’s name. AT that point, your nose was a bit flattened by your journey and your blue eyes were kind of squinting at me. You seemed very lively and happy to be there.
And Immediately nursed with gusto, to the point where you had so much that you spit it out, projectile-style. You did that for about a month, and Dr. Netzer said that your stomach had needed to develop a bit more. He suggested that I try to keep your nursing shorter. It wasn’t easy, since you had a huge appetite.
I asked Bill to serve himself and the midwives some cookies that I had baked in preparation for their visit and inexpensive champagne to toast your arrival. I had orange juice and joined in the toast.
Jeanne brought Megan over, who was really disappointed that you weren’t a girl. It took her a while to get over that :-)
Dr. Netzer came by Saturday afternoon and checked you out. You were absolutely perfect, he said. And we all agreed.