"And now the time has come to speak of Julia. . . . "

Hooray for 100 posts. Alright here is the story of Julia.




Well we were starting to think that the pregnancy would last forever. The midwife was starting to talk castor oil which must have made me freak out and go into labor. The early labor was very long and I mostly ignored it because I had had so many faky patterned contractions for weeks always thinking "this is it" that I didn't want to think it was real. I walked alot downtown and Ben and I went to Borders and out to lunch.

The contractions lasted ten minutes apart for almost 24 hours before things really kicked into gear. I was getting to the point where I couldn't sleep thru them (it was about two in the morning) because they were so strong but they still remained ten minutes apart so I was hesitant to call Mary Ann. I would doze to sleep, wake up, have a contraction, lay back down again and just when I was nodding off, have another one.

Having a history of reaaaaallly long births I thought I had until the following afternoon before the baby would come. I just decided to get in the tub and try and get some releif. When I got out of the tub they REALLY picked up and were feeling like transition. I kept thinking--"this can't be transition it's too soon!" So finally i had Ben call the midwife to come down and I climbed into the bed. All of a sudden I wanted to push and my water broke really violently. It actually almost made me laugh. Everything was soaking wet. The kids then woke up and were wondering what was going on and I was wanting to push. Ben called the grandmothers to come and get the kids and meanwhile Angelica went to fetch me water.

I was sitting there moaning "I want to push" and Ben was on the phone getting directions from the midwife for delivering the baby should she miss the birth. The kids kept badgering Ben and everything was really crazy. Actually, It was all rather comical in retrospect.

The grandmothers came and took the girls and my mom decided to stay and help. Mary Ann came rushing in not to much later and I started pushing the minute she got in the door--I couldn't wait. After a while we decided I should switch positions and squat since the baby was slightly posterior and having a little trouble making it around my bone. Once I switched postions she was out with a few pushes--arriving about forty minutes after the midwife got there.

Despite being two weeks late she was just fine and the placenta looked great too so no worries on that front. Thank goodness for patient midwives.

I was so exited that she was born on January the fifth, which I have always said is a birthday that keeps showing up in my life. It is the birthday of my dear youngest sister (also a third girl) Josepha, my dear friend Regina (houseartjournal) and my husband's best childhood friend. So know we have big reasons to celebrate January the fifth every year and another reason to rejoice every Christmas season!

Hooray for January the fifth!

Oh and Julia was nameless for the first day of her life because when she came none of our girl names suited her and we had to wait and pray and let her name come to us ---which it did. Julia is a name I have always loved as has Ben and it suits her to a T. Her sweetness overwhelms us with joy. She weighed seven pounds three ounces, which is my biggest baby yet.

I couldn't be more overjoyed to have three dear daughters. I told Ben it'll be another wedding to pay for but he couldn't be a prouder or more overjoyed papa.

And that's how Julia came to us.

Oh and Zita got a haircut from her dad.