Another birth story (random pg memories, part 3)

Wearing Susan's robe

Christopher was born exactly six days before my due date, and being a first time mom, I was somehow surprised.  In fact I ignored all evidence of impending labor.  Jim and I had driven to Richardson (from Duncanville), Texas for my nephew Richie's soccer game on Saturday, September 28.  All through the game I felt regular pains, but never seriously considered that my time had come.

After the game we went to my brother and sister-in-law's house for lunch.  Standing on their front porch after ringing the bell, I felt a gush of warm water running down my legs.  Being the prideful, easily embarrassed, and extremely modest person I am, I was mortified!  My memories of that day are jumbled, but in some ways extremely clear.  I remember thinking for sure I had wet my pants.  My sister-in-law knew differently, and just helped me change into a housecoat of hers for the trip back to Duncanville.

Sitting on a towel she also lent me, we rushed home to call the midwife, thinking that was to be the day our baby would be born.  Too bad I didn't wait one more day, I thought. He could have been born on my mother-in-law's birthday.  Little did I know that he would not only not arrive before midnight, but he would not be born before midnight Sunday either.  He didn't make his royal appearance until Monday morning around 7:00 A.M. after almost two full days of labor.

For the sake of my friends and relations who are expecting their first babies, I won't go into detail.  Bottom line is that it was an extremely long difficult labor.  Thankfully we were at a birth center instead of a hospital, where a C-section would have been forced on me.  We had a brand new midwife, Freida Miller, who stayed with me the whole time, encouraging and patiently waiting until Christopher was ready to be born.  In all, Freida delivered four of my babies, including one in Guatemala.  She is one of my heroes.  Of course she would say that I did all the hard work, but I know she and Jim were just as tired when it was all over.

Christopher weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz.

The very first thing I said after receiving my baby into my arms was that I wanted a dozen of them.  Amnesia set in immediately.  During each subsequent labor, the memory would return in vivid and painful clarity, but by then it was too late.  (I was never accused of having a large family because my labor and deliveries were easy.  Ha!)

Returning to Wycliffe Courts later that day to rest and recuperate, we were greeted by all our friends, who of course assumed that the baby was two days old by then.  I vaguely remember Jim going ahead of me to explain how exhausted I was, and then helping me into the apartment where I must have slept for 24 hours, hardly waking long enough to feed my adorable little boy.

Leaving the Birth Center

Outside our apartment (lower right)

The proud young grandma (BJ)

If he had waited six days, Christopher would have been born on his Papa's 60th birthday.  This was our first outing when Chris was six days old.

Our first prayer card was taken October 6, 1985

 Postscript:

For fun, I just did a Google search of the birth center where Christopher was born, and sure enough, it is still around.  You can see the website by clicking here.