Our Bicentenial Baby

My children's birthdays are always so special in my mind and heart and this is one of those days. Tia was our first Lamaze baby and practice was the name of the game..for weeks on end, every single night with very few exceptions. Back in the day the idea was for the husband to inflict enough pain ( there are pressure points that accomplish this quite nicely without leaving marks ) to simulate labor. There were several types of breathing to be used in the different stages of labor and since the first labor was uneducated and not alot of fun, I was game to try a different strategy. Very late on the evening of April 4th I started having contractions. We lived in Wahiawa at the time and Noni and Nono had to drive from Mililani to pick up Tessa. By the time they got to our house the contractions were bad enough that I remember thinking..." if it gets worse than this I'm gonna need to change breathing.." We were supposed to drive from Wahiawa to Kahuku...a hospital that allowed "rooming in" with the baby...something very controversial in those days....and a good hour plus in the car. Um no. I got to the front porch and baby crowned. John says " you can make it to Kahuku...just blow". Um seriously NO. Wahiawa General Hospital was 5 minutes from the house and thats where we went. No doctor actually awake and on duty but the nurse got her gloves on and woosh, like a creature from the deep, bursting into the air, Tia was born. John's immediate response was to look lovingly at me and say " we have to do this again ". I could cheerfully have choked him at that moment. The doctor did eventually wake up and show up to stitch me up...apparently wooshing isnt the most intelligent way to push a baby out....and then issued dire warnings about leaving the hospital. There was no rooming in and I was determined to have my baby with me so we went home. Poor Noni came to the hospital looking for us and we had already left.... Those times are etched forever in the heart of every mother so we celebrate not only the person that child has become but also and always, the moment we one became two. Thank you Lord for sharing this child with us and bless her, now and always.