Poor Middle Child

I just realized that I wrote a lovely blog about Jack's 1st birthday, and didn't do anything for Maggie's! Poor middle child. When discussing the potential fourth child, Jeff and I kept trying to come up with "a good reason" to have a fourth and making Maggie not be the middle child seemed to be the best we could do!

But I digress...back to Maggie's birthday...

So three years year, nine months ago, I woke up in the middle of the night and I could smell everything in the house, and I knew immediately that I was pregnant. Ellie was just nine months old and we were in the process of trying to move to Wilmington, DE. As a matter of fact, we had been looking at houses just the day before; two bedroom houses in Trolley Square with small yards... well, needless to say, the news that we had another baby coming changed our plans quick! Suddenly, four bedrooms and a yard were imperative. So, we found our house in Pike Creek and moved in December.

Before we moved, I went to see a new OB practice in Columbia that had midwives practicing with them. After my experience with Ellie, I felt that midwives were really the way I wanted to go. In Maryland, midwives can attend births in the hospital and you can have drugs too. Best of both worlds, I thought. After we moved to Delaware, I was confronted with a problem - Delaware does not allow midwives to practice in hospitals. It was a birth center: no drugs, no two day stay, or a hospital and a potential repeat of the aggrevation and fear I experienced with Ellie. So Jeff and I toured The Birth Center in Wilmington, and our decision was made. We'd go with the midwives. I mean, seriously, how hard could it be, right???

I mostly tried not to think about natural child birth. My pregnancy moved along as my pregnancies do, uneventful and slightly boring. I was due July 16th and of course thought I would go early, cause why wouldn't I? The last week of pregnancy came and I got more and more crazy, actually getting angry at Jeff for going to work and leaving me alone with a 18 month old. Thank God Ellie was a pretty easy toddler! I came up with a game called "baby birdie" where I would lay on the couch and make a "nest" and Ellie would be my birdie... and sit there for an hour while I fed her "worms". What a good girl.

Finally, the day arrived... I woke up around 4AM with contractions, but they weren't regular and they weren't bad. I hesitated in telling Jeff, cause he is a well known contraction killer. Every time I tell him I'm having them, they stop. Around 6 we broke down and called grandparents. Everyone arrived around 9AM, just in time for the contractions to stop AGAIN. I was angry, frustrated, irked... we had already had one false alarm, and I wasn't going to do that again. So, Mom, Jeff, Ginny and I packed up and went to the mall. We walked around and eventually contractions started up again. I didn't notice, but according to Jeff, people were looking at me very strangely, as if they were waiting for my water to break in the food court.

We decided to meet the grandpas in Newark for lunch around 2PM. The whole lot of us, including Ellie, went to Klondike Kate's for some lunch. Little did we know we picked the Newark Beer Festival day to be wandering around down there. I was very tempted to partake! Ellie was just thrilled to have balloons and no one was paying much attention to me. Slowly, during lunch the contractions began to build, until we were done and decided to walk to Bing's Bakery. For those of you not from this area, it's maybe a 1/4 mile, but let me tell you, it seemed like the Bataan Death March to me.

While in the bakery, Mom asked me what kind of stuff I would want for breakfast the next morning, but I couldn't answer. I was doubled over with a contraction... suddenly, everything began to move very fast. Jeff ran to get the car, and we were off.

I figured I still had enough time to take a shower, so we stopped at home and I went upstairs to get in the shower. Blammo! Water broken.... now I needed a shower! We left for the Birth Center at 4:00 and Margaret Leigh made her appearance at 6:30! Whew!

Our first months were tough, as I think it's very hard for anyone to go from one to two kids. No one can fully explain to me why it's so hard, but man... it was tough. Now, at age three, my Mags is a lovebug, a little mommy, and a dancing queen who loves to laugh. As much as she makes me crazy, she tickles me every day with her little ways. She loves her brother, a little too much I might say, and she is joy to watch.

Remind me of this later today when I want to duct tape her to the wall! :)