Noble, born March 5, 2007 at 8:45 pm, 8 lbs 8 oz
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| hours after his birth -- hence the date saying 3-6-07 |
4 years ago (4 minutes before I started writing this), I gave birth to him...
His was a wild birth. He was almost born in a bathtub :) After having had Jai at home, I sometimes wish I'd just had him in the bathtub :)) When I had been in labor with Kassidy, I had been sent home from the hospital 2 times because it was "inactive" labor, so I was determined to not get to the birth center too soon with Noble. I had been told by a midwife in the morning to just go about life as usual and call back when my contractions were consistent. They never got consistent.
But a wise dear friend of mine heard me having long close-together contractions on the phone (as I was on my way down to the bathtub) and raced over, even though I had insisted that they weren't consistent and so I couldn't be close enough for concern. I walked down to the bathtub (our's was out-of-service, so we had to use one in an abandoned apartment for the week before the birth), and I climbed in, and I was suddenly in excruciating pain. I thought the pain was too bad to bear and I may end up needing an epidural (something I hadn't used or even wanted with Kass) -- now, I know I was in transition (between labor and pushing).
I was in tears at that point with pain. I was trying to climb out of the tub, when my friend and my son's dad came into the apartment. We gathered up the kids and bags of pre-packed stuff, and headed down for the 30-45 minute drive. On the way down in my friend's brand new Yukon, I felt the urgency to be where I needed to be. I kept urging her to drive faster. We called a couple people on the drive down. I was really feeling urgency.
Meanwhile, my mom was racing across the county, from the low desert, up the grade, across the country-side, and deep into the city.
We got to the hospital-based birth center, and my water broke about 5 minutes after climbing into the wheelchair (SO glad it didn't bust in my friend's new Yukon!). As it turns out, that was a popular time for birthing. The birth center was full and I was going to have to birth in the hospital with midwives (I was VERY unhappy about that fact, especially because I had planned to have Kassidy at that birth center almost 8 years before, but they had lost their lease and I ended up in a hospital). I was feeling the urge to push, and I kept telling the nurse who was escorting us around. Then we got down to the hospital floors and they said they were full, too, and I was going to have to birth in the ER! That is when the nurse called upstairs and pulled some strings.
We went back upstairs and got me into the queen-sized bed, I had 1 contraction on the bed, and it was time to push. And Noble was born in 15 minutes. It was an excruciatingly painful birth because of the stress, and it still makes me angry to know how unnecessary it all was -- I started off beautifully laboring alone in birthland, and ended up wanting to curse people out for being so nice when they were torturing me. It was what spurred my unassisted birth 2 1/2 years later (to the day) -- knowing I could just do me without needing permission or being messed with.
My mom showed up about 15 minutes after Noble was born, making a record-breaking 2 hour trip in about an hour! She tells a story about a gigantic moon in the sky as she was driving, and she knew Noble was on his way. (Interestingly, all 3 of my children's births occur the day after the full moon.)
After his birth, I was in a baby haze, surrounded by friends and family. My best friend, Karina, had raced down for the birth, too :))
My oldest was bursting with excitement over her new baby brother ♥
I was very aware of how blessed I was for my family ♥
I kept waking up during the night and looking at my babies sleeping, and I could have died of contentment ♥
The next day my dad, his new family, and my sister came down.
It has been a joy watching him grow...
Follow the length of his dreads :)))
He is unfolding to reveal such depth and amazing character. He is so amazing to me. He reminds me so much of me. He is so familiar. We used to call him a mini me, because he truly has been so much like me. It has been a blessing to see him grow to be like his dad, too. I knew there was a reason I loved him ;) He is so interesting to me, fascinating for the ways we are different and intriguing for the ways we are the same. I feel like I learn about myself by experiencing him ♥
Noble is the best big brother a baby sister could hope for! Najaia is more blessed than I can find the words for.
I wish Kass still felt like this about him:
He helps me to remember to slow down, because he likes things slow and simple. He isn't a big fan of big crowds and lots of stuff. Today, he just wanted to connect with a few special people and play with a couple new toys. This year was the first year he enjoyed everyone singing happy birthday to him. I feel him coming out of his shell -- sometimes, in fact, I forget that he was painfully shy until just after his second birthday. Now, he is playful and friendly and adventurous. He is sensitive to people and situations. He loves sneaking up on us (while I am asking Kassidy what those sounds are that we are hearing), and he loves being a lion, and he loves his action figures, animals, dragons, and dinosaurs. He loves to play alone or with a few friends. He is so easy going. He is such a joy.
Today, he is taller -- he looked in the mirror and noticed he is as tall as a 4-year-old and was surprised that his clothes fit his 4-year-old body. He was so proud to be 4. A few short weeks ago, he didn't want to turn 4 -- he wanted to stay 3. I told him he could stay 3 as long as he wanted to. Today, he was ready to be 4. I'm in tears right now. I love him so much. I am SO.IN.LOVE with this boy ♥
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