My baby is TEN!

Ten years ago at 7:35 AM, Bob and I welcomed our second daughter into the world. Born at home, in Mesa, AZ, 4 days after my due date, Monkey weighed in at 7 pounds 10 oz.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MONKEYFACE!!!

Mercifully, labor was short - just five hours start to finish, compared to 27 hours with Boo - and the long discussed plans whether or not to have 2 1/2-year old Boo in the room were moot; the child in question stayed asleep until 5 minutes after her little sister was born. When Boo climbed out of her blue toddler bed and made her way into our bedroom right across the hall, she was startled to find 6 adults in the room, all crowded around a newly swaddled infant. Boo cried from the surprise but was quickly hugged and reassured by her Daddy, then introduced to her new baby sister. Not long after that, the very first photo of the sisters was taken, only in this one, Boo was proudly wearing a t-shirt that proclaimed, “I’m a big SISTER!”

It was 2:30, AM of course, when it became apparent that sleep was to be replaced on the agenda by imminent childbirth. We’d gone to bed too late, puttering around after having had a late dinner of Boston Market chicken, and I knew things were starting to get moving because the Braxton Hicks contractions were beginning to get quite a bit stronger. I alerted my doctor to my suspicions by phone and warned her we would most likely be calling in the wee hours. She told me to try to get some sleep but I was too wired to listen. Silly me. At any rate, at 2:30 Bob made some calls and I began staggering around the house, leaning on walls and moaning. By the time Dr. Farra arrived at about 4:30, I was at 5 cm and the contractions were coming every 30 seconds or so. Farra made herself comfortable on the couch and monitored me as I roamed, pausing to contract. Bob took up his birth partner duties to remind me to “BREATHE, dammit!” every time I stopped and clenched instead of relaxing through the contractions. SO easy for HIM to say, but I DID forget to breath nearly every contraction!

By the time 7:20 rolled around (notes are so handy to have when trying to recreate this kind of event!), I was completely effaced and nearing 9 cm. And I think I was yelling a fair amount…

Dr. Farra had brought her birthing chair, and I recall getting off my hands and knees where I had been wiggling (which really helped), and getting onto the wondrous chair. I then asked, ordered Farra to break my water, which she did; still at 9 cm, I pushed twice and out sailed my daughter into my doctor’s hands . Bob had planned to catch her - we didn’t know the gender until Monkey was born - but like a cavewoman I had the most visceral need to breathe in my mate’s scent while I was giving birth, so my doctor played catcher, grabbing my baby under the arms as she emerged. Monkey’s APGAR scores were 10 right away; she was alert, looking around, perfect. As a side note, after having given birth on my back, even sitting up, my experience with chair was phenomenal. Using gravity, not working against it, helped make my second and last birth wondrously easy.

Our second daughter, with her olive skin tones and dark, curly hair, is truly a child of the desert, with a capacity for tanning unrivaled in our immediate and extended family. She is also the only O blood type in a family of B’s; the wonders of recessive genes, indeed!

Monkey is a joy to have around, her huge heart and quick wit making life consistently endearing and stimulating. She loves to read (prising her out of books can be a challenge), write imaginative fantasy stories, create tiny clay family scenes out of Sculpey, play dungeons and dragons and cuddle at any opportunity. The youngest in her class, she is an exuberant and confident fifth-grader, keeping her teachers alert. This weekend, for her party, she has invited a host of kids to slay a dragon pinata, have foam sword fights, and partake of bountiful booty. The weather powers will be in cooperation, with a 75 degree day forecast.

Our family was complete that hot Arizona morning (it was 107 degrees that day) and we all wish her a joyous day and many, many happy returns.