After a few extra days, our precious little girl is here. Lillianna Marie Banguilan was born at 6:53 am on 10/23/09 in our home. She weighs 9 lbs 9 oz and is 20.5" long. At the moment, she is sleeping peacefully in her swing and Nanay and Jaiden are at the Taste of Suwanee Festival (so it's a little quiet). I thought I would take this moment and write down some details before I forget so here is my version. After a few extra days, our precious little girl is here. Lillianna Marie Banguilan was born at 6:53 am on 10/23/09 in our home. She weighs 9 lbs 9 oz and is 20.5" long. At the moment, she is sleeping peacefully in her swing and Nanay and Jaiden are at the Taste of Suwanee Festival (so it's a little quiet). I thought I would take this moment and write down some details before I forget so here is my version. (Anna's to come.)

I have to admit, I was getting a little anxious about the new arrival seeing that Jaiden was born right on his due date but... I was trying to practice what I preach in that 'babies are born on their birth date and not on their due date' so, we waited. My mom came up on Saturday so we walked every day together. Thursday night I decided to give the myth about eggplant a try so we went to Athens Greek Restaurant. There had been no "signs" of anything so I figured it couldn't hurt and it tasted pretty good.

Thursday night we went to bed as usual and Friday morning, I woke up as usual with the need to pee. (A brief side note. Wednesday night, Anna accidentally flushed the toilet paper holder so at about 11:00 pm, Anna and I tore out the potty to retrieve the lost paper holder. Anna joked that this was #32 on the list of ways to induce labor. :) ) So, as usual, I went pee at about 4:00 then went to lay back down. I noticed a pretty good pressure wave so I woke Anna up. I think I lay there for a few min and told anna to time a few. They were about 4 min apart and 45 seconds long. After that, I didn't feel comfortable laying down so I went to my rocking chair to listen to a script. I knew that this could be something or it could be nothing. I was listening to my Easy First Stage cd which is about 50 min long but after about 30 min, I felt like I wanted to get up and walk. I could tell that this was my birthing time because the pressure waves were getting more intense but still fine and still 4 mins apart. I got Anna and told her to call our midwife Debbie, just to give her a 'heads up' call since things weren't stopping.

Anna called Debbie at about 4:45 while I was eating some toast and Debbie said just piddle about and check back in about 30 min. After that, we went back upstairs and I lay in the bed while Anna gave me birth prompts. (To those who are not familiar with Hypnobabies, these are verbal and physical cues that we practiced to get and keep me relaxed.) She did a great job and things were getting very intense for me. Somewhere in there, Anna called Debbie again and told her what was going on and that she needed to come. I remember saying "I need my Debbie." She was about an hour away so it was time for her so head our way. Somewhere around 6:00 I told Anna I needed to get in the tub. She called Debbie again and asked if I could get in and she said I better wait so we didn't slow things down. I said if I can't get in the tub, I'm getting in the shower. Things were very intense for me now and I remember saying something's not right, I can't do this much longer. I could hear my noises changing from aahhhs to uuhhhs and thinking I have to push. My doula brain was saying this is ok, it's just transition and my me brain was saying it's too soon. It had only been 2.5 hours since things started. I think Anna just kept Debbie on the phone while I got in the shower. I started on my hands and knees and just let the water hit my back and run down onto my belly.

After 1 or 2 waves, I decided to plug up the tub so I could soak. (good plan...) The shower was still on and Anna had Debbie on speaker. They were both so wonderful in talking to me saying what a great job I was doing and Debbie kept saying things sounded great. I remember thinking I feel like I'm screaming but it was more like letting the power go through me. Debbie talked to Anna and told her to check if the baby was coming out. She couldn't see so I checked. I could feel her head but it was still about an inch in. While I was pushing in the tub, I think my water broke. Debbie asked if there was anything in the water and Anna said no. I still had the sense to notice that there was no meconium even though it wasn't until later that I remembered that fact. At some point, I sat up on my legs and let the water cover my bottom to relieve some pressure. That felt good and things were still really intense. I think I spent 2 waves like that then rolled over on my back. Then, Anna could get a better view and the babies head was right there.

Debbie was still talking to Anna and I reached down and felt the babies head. I think Anna decided 'screw it, I'm getting in too.' She climbed in the tub and with the next push, Lillianna's head was born. Debbie had her check for a cord and there was none. With one more push, one shoulder slid out, then the other, then her whole body slid right into Anna's arms. She put the baby right on my chest. By then, my mom had woken up and had gotten a few things ready. She handed Anna a few blankets and managed to take a few pictures. We covered her up so she wouldn't get too cold but we had to check if it was a girl or a boy. Anna and I looked at the same time and said, "it's a girl." We were so amazed by what just happened.

Debbie was still on the phone and continued to give us praises as well as the necessary midwife stuff. Lillianna was a little blue still so I needed the reassurance from Debbie that everything was ok. It was and in just a few seconds, she started making those wonderful baby noises. Babies born in the water are much calmer so they usually don't cry right away. Debbie walked us through delivering the placenta and a few minutes after that, my mom helped me into bed. Anna was so great; she had the baby in one hand and a bowl of placenta in the other. This is the same person that wouldn't even look at Jaiden's placenta.

A few minutes after I got into bed, Debbie came in. Anna did give me back the baby so I could try to nurse her a bit more. She is an excellent nurser!. After that, the people started coming in; Anna called in some reinforcements at some point but alas, they were all a bit late.

All in all, it was a wonderful and very FAST birth. 3 hours from start to finish. Jaiden is doing GREAT too. He loves his little sister and is very helpful. He is getting plenty of attention and lots of play time with all of the friends that are stopping by.