sweetheart

caleb is going to be such a good husband someday (and, in the meantime, a great son and brother). today, he and his nana walked to starbucks where he asked to buy me a scone (he wanted a chocolate one but since they don't make those he settled on cranberry... good choice!). then, we he got home, he walked in the door saying "Hi Mommy!" when i came over to greet him, he said "Mommy, cute shirt." love him!!

chocolate brownie

at our favorite zoo, there are four alpacas that we feed every time we go. actually, we just feed two of them because the other two are in a separate pen and one of them likes to spit so we avoid that area! anyway, the two we feed are named Biff and Charlie Brown. but caleb doesn't call the second one charlie brown, he calls him "chocolate brownie." he's so set on this, for some reason, that once when i said "sorry charlie" to him, he replied back with "sorry chocolate brownie!"

what i can do now

just 9 short days ago, i was pregnant. very pregnant. and it was rough. i think that, coupled with having a short labor, has made this early postpartum time really good. i feel great. here are a few things i can do now that i could not do 9 days ago:

• pick something up off the ground
• walk down the steps in less than 3 minutes (even while carrying an infant seat)
• get in and out of bed all by myself
• lay on my back
• walk without gritting my teeth
• dance with caleb
• kiss alia's beautiful face

things i didn't need

it's funny now when i think back at how long it took me to pack my bags for the birth center. i spent so much time thinking about what to bring and pulling it all together. part of it was i wanted to have everything i needed (and had to figure out what to wear!) and part of it was that i lacked motivation to decide what that would be.

but here are some things i brought that i definitely did not need...

• relaxing and inspiring music playlist on the ipod
• labor journal full of verses, poems, song lyrics, etc.
• swimsuit for troy (if he had tried to change, he probably would have missed her birth)
• two different laboring outfits (i barely had time to get out of what i was wearing, let alone put anything else on)
• computer to keep friends and family apprised of what was going on. i don't think this one even made it out of the car...

memorable quotes from during labor...

• on the car trip to the birth center, spoken because of the switch from active to transitional labor: "OH NO! they (the contractions) get worse!"
• pulling into the parking lot of the birth center, toward the end of transitional labor: "Troy, if we ever win the lottery, can we repave this?!". he promised.
• while pushing baby Alia out: "Alia, stop doing this to me!"

on a side note, one of the things for which i've been most grateful regarding this labor and delivery experience is how connected i felt to my body and the whole experience. i love that i remember what others were doing/saying and what i was doing/saying. there's something really sweet about it, and i didn't even know it was missing last time.

She's here!

unlike last time when i was induced, epidural-ed, monitored, and spend hours and hours pushing, this labor was super quick!! here's how i remember the day...

11am-12:15pm visit cougar mountain zoo and do my best to waddle around seeing all the animals. no contractions.

12:15pm-2:15pm eat lunch, put caleb down for a nap, welcome friends coming for a visit, still no contractions.

2:15pm-3:00pm feeling like i need to a)use the bathroom, b)should finish packing my bags, and c)don't want to be around people. have 2 mild contractions.

3:00pm-9:15pm say goodbye to friends, call family to let them know something is starting, eat dinner, get caleb to bed, win two games of ticket to ride. mild contractions every 15-20 minutes but i'm not even timing them.

9:15pm-9:30pm finish packing, tell troy to start timing contractions.

9:30pm-9:40pm have three contractions, each one getting harder and harder. call the midwife, start heading out the door.

10:15pm-10:55pm drive to the birth center. worst 40 minutes of my life. contractions getting worse and worse, every 2 minutes or so.

10:55pm-11:13pm arrive at the birth center and have a baby!! hardest and best 18 minutes of my life!

more fun stories to come!