Journal of THE Boss: A New Cousin to Love

WELCOME CAMILLE EILEEN!!

Finally, on Tuesday, December 27 at 4:50 something in the morning, little Miss Camille "Miss Priss" Eileen was born. She weighed in at a healthy 9 pounds 7 ounces and was 21 inches long. What an experience her birth was.

I got the phone call Christmas Day evening. I was at my in-laws house for dinner. I had been on the phone with my mom the entire drive down in the car. When we got to my in-laws and I hung up, I looked at my phone and thought, "I don't need to bring it in". My cell phone had been "on call" for weeks just in case she went into labor and I wasn't at home. And of course, the one time I don't have it on me, she goes into labor. Maybe because I didn't have my cell phone with me and she had to search frantically for my in-laws number, she went in to labor. Now that I think about it, I think I deserve a thank you for that.

We left the next morning, no, she still hadn't had the baby and arrived about 1:30p.m. When I say we, I mean myself and the 3 kids. When we got there, she was asleep and very exhausted. Now I can appreciate what she went through when she watched me labor. And I can appreciate why my mom chose to stay away during the time her daughter was laboring - it was really hard to see her like that and brought tears to my eyes just looking at her in so much discomfort. But once I got over the initial emotions, I knew I had a job to do, not only for her and her husband but for my kids. They were ecstatic to find out that there favorite aunt would be having a baby. If I could have gotten a dollar for every time one of them asked me, "Did she have the baby yet?", I would be very rich. The process was a great experience for them. We had several child lead discussions about where babies come from and how babies come out. They can all appreciate now that babies just don't show up one day at your doorstep being held by a stork. They've been through the hours and hours and waiting and waiting of labor. I helped the kids prepare for what was ahead by having them watch Baby Story on TLC, so I felt confident that they were aware of what kind of pain and discomfort my sister would be going through and that when the baby came out, she wouldn't be dressed and all cute but would be covered in blood and guck and probably screaming her head off.

To make a long story a tad bit shorter, my sister labored for 36 hours. And yes, we stayed there through most of it. The kids started to get impatient late Monday nite and I explained to them that if they wanted to be there as soon as the baby came out, we just had to wait. I also made them understand that if I missed the baby's birth, that I was going to be really upset because I had Em wanted me there and she wanted my help. So, about 10 p.m. on Monday nite, I went to the car, got their blankets and pillows, Princy's and RockAByes, and bedded them down in the waiting room for the nite. My son slept under a table on a bunch of blankets and each of the girls slept on a couch in the waiting room. And for those of you that think it can't be done, yes, you can look at your child at 11pm and force them to go to sleep. It takes a little time, perserverance and patience but it can be done. At 3:50 a.m. on Tuesday morning, Emmys' husband came to get me to tell me that she was fully dilated and ready to push. Since the kids were asleep and the waiting room was only a few doors away from Em's room, I left them and went to help Em labor. What an experience that was. Between her contractions and strong pushing efforts, I would run to check on the kids. It didn't surprise me that my 6 yr old was the only one awake and asking if the baby had been born yet. I told her no and asked if she wanted to come see Em push her out. She said she did and I picked her up and walked her just a few steps into the room. I had the nurse point out where the baby's head was coming out and my daughter was amazed. She clung to me tight and said that was enough, she had seen what she wanted and now would wait a little more patiently in the waiting room. Em's nurse was a homeschooling mom. I was very thankful for that because she could appreciate my kids desire to be part of this great learning experience. She could also understand that my kids could handle sitting in the waiting room without constant supervision and wouldn't rip the room apart. That is just how they are. I won't go into the details of the rest of Em's labor and postpartum experience, you can read that at her blog. I do have to say that I am extremely proud of my kids for their outstanding behavior and drive to be part of Camille's birth. They got to see her and hold her within 20 minutes of her birth. They slept in the waiting room to await the birth of a baby. And during Em's postpartum period, they spent 9 hours a day for 2 days playing in the family waiting room. It was normal to find one of my kids walking the halls of the mother and baby unit to get themselves a drink, go to the bathroom or just come down to Em's room to see what was going on. One of the nurses said to me, "It looks like they know their way around this unit." And yes, after being there basically from Monday to Thursday nite, they had made themselves at home.

I say thank you to them. For once again, showing me that the minutes, hours, weeks, months and years that I have dedicated to making them well rounded, open minded, flexible, learning experience seeking children have paid off. That I can expect so much of them and they are always up to meet that challenge. I wish the same mentality on my newborn niece. I am confident that she will be raised to see the world with open eyes and an open mind. That she too will be able to experience so much of life before she is even two!

Just born