Happy Birthday

Lovely Daughter #2....

It was a brisk sunny fall Sunday afternoon when LD#2 made her entrance into the world. Starting a lifelong trend, she tried to do it the hard way, coming with both feet first, and the result was a c-section. I'd known about this possibility for a few weeks but the final decision wasn't made until I arrived at the hospital with contractions just a few minutes apart and the labor and delivery docs did a quick exam. Since this was in the days before routine ultrasounds, they called for a quick x-ray and I was immediately prepped for the c-section.

The father of my first three children was a submariner, and the realities of submarine schedules meant if dad was home for the conception he likely wouldn't be home for the birth. So my good friend J had volunteered as my labor coach. J went with me to childbirth classes and we practiced breathing and relaxing, and she was eagerly anticipating being present for the birth. When I knew for sure that I would have a c-section I felt as bad for her as I did for me because after several years of dealing with infertility, she and her husband had just started the long process of adoption. She had looked at LD's birth as her one shot at a birth experience, but they wouldn't let her accompany me into the OR. Twenty-six years ago things were different--it's a bit shocking to me to think about how different!

We lived about 30 minutes away from the Navy hospital, but on that particular day traffic was complicated by the local fair and it took almost twice that long to get there. I am one of those lucky people blessed with very short labors, and I knew my contractions were getting really close together as we sat stuck in traffic. J kept saying, "are you okay?" and I kept nodding and breathing, not wanting to panic her by admitting just how close my contractions were. So when we arrived at the hospital things moved VERY quickly.

It was a bit rough having a c-section with a 2 and a half year old and a five year old at home and a husband at sea. The other reality of submariner life at the time was the almost total lack of communication while the sub was underway. Families could send forty word messages ("familygrams") to crew members, but the crew members had no way of responding. So for almost three months there was no two-way communication. And forty word messages are limited to say the least. So I knew that FoMC knew about the birth (he also received an official Red Cross notification) but I couldn't talk to him or hear from him for two months after LD was born.

Because I am both stubborn and a quick healer I was up and around and wanting to do everything pretty quickly. My mother stayed a week after we came home from the hospital, but then I was on my own--three kids under six and me. LD#2 was a very content baby--she rarely cried and she slept for long stretches--so long that I would have to wake her to eat. But my life was still a blur--I had to drive elder son to kindergarten which because we had moved to a new house but not changed his school meant a 25 minute commute each way. It felt like we had just enough time to get back home, nurse LD#2, let her nap for a bit and then get back in the car to fetch elder son. LD#1 was good at entertaining herself, but she was just a toddler and she needed attention, too. November and December passed in a fog. Somehow groceries were bought and laundry was done, but I don't remember how. I can remember finishing up Christmas preparations in a total panic that I wouldn't get everything done--but somehow I did. I remember getting the tree that year in our VW Rabbit with three kids and a load of groceries in the car plus the tree sticking out the back--I wish I had a picture of that!

It's funny how birthdays bring back all these memories. And how quickly time goes by. LD#2 is married now--how is that possible?

Happy Birthday, LD#2, and thanks for the memories. I look forward to many more.