angie, 38 weeks
crazily enough, i just got home from my best friend angie's house.
she gave birth to her baby girl unexpectedly AT HOME(!!!) earlier this evening.
as in: before help arrived... with her own 2 hands... standing up in her bathroom... while her husband was in the other room on the phone, frantically trying to track down help.
it was unbelievable.
she'd been sorta laboring all day, after going to the birth center in the morning only to be sent home. she was barely dilated (~2cm) and it was predicted that it would be another couple of days. her contractions weren't regular and had pretty much stopped once she arrived there. so back to the house she went. when i called and checked on her around 5:00pm, she sounded tired and was disappointed over the false alarm, but was just resting and listening to a relaxation CD, while riding out occasional contractions....
fastforward to 7:37pm.
her husband calls and says, "i think you should come over, something doesnt seem right" but he can't really explain what is going on. all of a sudden(?)she's having 3 minute long contractions, with no real rest in between, and she's in quite a bit of pain. (i'm thinking, wtf?! how did this happen? what does this even mean? there's no break AT ALL? are you sure about this? hmmm..!) i can hear her making some noise in the background...
i quickly get ready to go check on her/keep her company/make her laugh/make sure she gets to the center/do whatever i can do, and then my phone rings again--
it's now 7:42pm.
i hear: "HOLY SHIT SHE JUST HAD THE BABY AT THE HOUSE!!!" and then the line goes dead.
HUH?!!!!?
i couldnt get over there fast enough-- she'd been planning to deliver at the birth center all along, but baby annabelle had other plans...
it was so trippy to walk into angie's bedroom and see her propped up in bed, skin to skin with her newborn daughter, trembling uncontrollably, smiling while looking slightly terrified. it was phenomenal. her eyes spoke volumes. i hugged and kissed her, told her she did wonderful, and above all: 'EVERYTHING WILL BE OK'. i made sure that annabelle was super covered up, snug against angie's chest, and found a hat for her perfect little head full of beautiful dark hair... she was rosy and fleshier than ellie had been (my guess? 7lb, 3oz-- will know tomorrow), and looked perfectly healthy and content against her blown-away mama...
thankfully, her midwife Nancy and 2 nurses showed up about 15 minutes after i did and sprang into action. it's ridiculously amazing, how heightened the senses become-- (i don't see sleep in sight for tonite!) ... one minute i'm waiting on angie's placenta with yellow rubber gloves on and a bowl (per the midwife's instruction while she's en route- wtf?!) and the next i'm warming up baby blankets in the dryer... or searching for baby socks... or making peanut butter sandwiches... or helping to wrap annabelle's tiny arm around angie so she's in good position to nurse for the first time... or holding a flashlite so the midwife can see better to give a stitch.
absolutely bonkers.
i could go on and on, but bottom line: angie and annabelle are doing well, falling in love with one another, home in bed and getting rest. and new daddy too, though still a bit shell-shocked!
wow. and how was YOUR sunday?!
yesterday, today, tomorrow-- forever and ever amen. whenever and however babies choose to make their entrances: simply miraculous.
experiencing brand new life, up close and as real as it gets:
the maker certainly knows what she's doing.
my mind is officially blown.
