Labor Day

I was awoken at 2:30am this morning to Jolie whispering to me, “Leo, it’s happening.” She said it very calmly, too. But it’s funny how fast you wake up after hearing those words. And at 39 weeks-plus, I had plenty of reason to become very alert, very quickly.

They say your second baby comes really fast. And so far, it’s been nothing short of that. When the contraction started at 230am, they didn’t waste much time to get consistent and frequent. Unlike with Parker, we didn’t have the pages of pages of pad paper where we kept noting the time of the contraction. This time they were happening so fast and so close to each other, you didn’t have to write it down to figure out that it’s go time. In the hour that followed, Jolie was having one every 3-5 minutes. Not long after that, we’re out the door and inbound for our hospital.

What about little Parker? Jolie’s sister, Ashley, is actually in town. She and boyfriend, Jeff, are visiting and had been here for week. She leaves on Tuesday. Tomorrow evening to be exact, so the timing couldn’t be better. She may after all get to visit us at the hospital … while the bread is still hot out of the oven. It’ll be great to have some family around this time.

We were up late last night after getting back from Estes Park late in the evening and not before Parker snuck in a 6pm nap on the drive home. So he had plenty reason to be awake ’til 1130pm. I was exhausted and hit the sack before everyone, so unfortunately, Jolie got stuck as Parker’s late night muse. It’s about 7:45am and Jolie’s quite situated now. The happy juice – aka epidural – has been flowing for about an hour and is allowing her to finally get some rest.

Doctor Ansell was on call and greeted us when we arrived, but it looks like it’ll be Jill Siegfried who’ll be bringing in our second child into this world. Jill was also the first face Parker saw and it’s a darn nice face to be looking at … she’s quite a looker and absolutely sweet. We’re really happy to have her again. We also have Kathy, the nurse, who was also there to assist with Parker. That’s also great, since her and Jolie have built a relationship over time during her numerous visits to the labor and delivery unit for all those monitoring they had to do during the pregnancy. At any rate, I’m sure all the familiar faces will help towards Jolie’s overall comfort.

It’s September 15, 2008 at about 8:15am. It’s still and quiet now in Room 328. Other than the gentle pump that occasional comes on to check mommy’s blood pressure, the only sound in the room is the consistent whoosing of the monitor speaker of our baby’s heart beat. Jolie looks so peaceful now … it’s probably the most rest she gotten in recent weeks. In fact, with the catheter plugged in her, her unusually small bladder won’t be interrupting her sleep this time. Room 328 faces south in this young, magnificent hospital that rivals many 5-star hotels. We’ve got a great facility here and we’re so thankful we’re blessed with insurance. It was dark when we arrived, but it’s plenty bright outside now. It was great to see dawn break outside our windows – the birth of a new day awaits the birth of our child. 30 minutes ago, Jill checked and said Jolie is at “… 8cm and very thin …” So things are moving right along. I’m going to put something in my belly and try to catch a cat nap or so before the main event comes.