Benjamin Oliver

Maya called it.

On the 24th of October, she said to me; "Mama, the baby is going to come tomorrow!" I said in reply; "I certainly hope not! We have a lot to do before this baby comes!" Ben was born the next day.

The weekend prior to his arrival, Scott and I decided that we needed to put mulch out in the front to get us through the winter and try and stamp out all of our weeds. So, I weeded, he hauled and we both spread. There were several other projects that we were planning on getting done and I started to get the pillars ready to paint downstairs. The house was a total disaster. There was a ton of laundry to be done.

At about 10:30 pm I started to feel like, yes, maybe I would have this baby tomorrow. Scott, ever supportive, said;"You can't have this baby today or tomorrow.... I'm tired. " Great.

At about 2:30 am contractions started. Nothing serious or consistent, but definitely the start of something real. 5:30 am my water broke but nothing else changed. I called the midwives at about 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning and they said to call in at noon if nothing changed, otherwise, if things started to move along, I should come in. I called around to cancel appointments that I had set up and change plans for the day since I thought that I would be in labor all day.

Blythe called at around 9:00 and I asked her to come over and give me some acupuncture to help make the contractions more productive. My contractions actually stopped when I was getting the treatment. She put some press tacks in at LI 4 and SP 6. I continued to fold clothes and try to tidy up. Scott had gone to see a house, took Maya to swimming and then ran to the store for some food stuff to have during labor.

Blythe left and I was alone for about 20 minutes. I called the midwives to check in with them. Caroline, the midwife that I talked to, said that since nothing had changed to come in at 8:00pm at the latest and sooner if things got more intense. I said okay, got off the phone and called my mom. I gave her the update and had her call around and let people know what was going on. Scott called his mom and told her that the baby was coming today. Maya was wanting me to play with her and though my contractions hadn't gotten any closer together they were a little bit more intense. So I asked Scott to take her over to Mark and Sarah's because I couldn't give her the attention that she needed. The contractions were doing something weird by having a little partial contraction followed almost immediately by a bigger more intense one. Then there would be a break.

I decided to get into the shower because it was so soothing when I was in labor with Maya. That was my first mistake. I got in and couldn't get out. Literally. The contractions were so intense the only way that I could get through them was by doing my modified version of Six Sounds Therapy, a Qigong form that I barely ever did. I guess I will have to brush up on it for next baby.

Scott came home and came down to the bathroom to check on me and I told him to get stuff together to go to the hospital and to call the midwife. He called the midwife and she said to get to the hospital, pronto. Then he tried to get me out of the shower. I couldn't move. If I moved I would trigger a contraction, and the contraction was so strong that I couldn't move. Panic set in as I realized that I was not going to get into the car. Then I felt the baby's head. Shit. Scott called 911 and I continued to push because there was nothing else I could do. I was past my moment of panic and had moved on to having the baby. The 911 operator kept telling Scott to get me on the floor so we didn't drop the baby, Scott was like, "I am not going to drop the baby! What do I do????" I was already on my hands and knees so it didn't really matter but I tried to oblige and as I was turning around, out came little Ben! Scott caught him and Ben cried. Boy, was he mad! Not quite the entrance I think he had been planning. But he sure made an impression!

The paramedics got there about 5 minutes later, cut the cord and wrapped us up. I was in complete shock. I remember the paramedic talking to me and I couldn't really focus on what she was saying, then they put us on a stretcher and took us to the hospital for observation. It was the craziest, most amazing, wonderful, mind blowing thing. We were so lucky, but I also think trusting in ourselves helped us to handle this very intense experience. He was and is perfect in every way.

I feel very blessed to have a beautiful baby boy, an amazing, adaptable little girl and my rock and best friend of a husband to travel this journey with. Every day is a blessing and I am thankful each day for how rich my life is.

So, welcome Ben. You are almost a year now and it has flown by. It has been a year full of ups and downs with lots of adjustments along the way. I don't know what the future holds but I do know that your personality is showing me gentleness, determination, giggles and silliness, inquisitiveness and smarts. On one hand I can wait to see what you will become, but on the other hand, I want to freeze time, because it is so precious. You are my gentle boy with a shining spirit and I love you.