The Big Day

Olivia Sophia Delaune was born on Sunday night, September 28, at 11:09 pm. After a Saturday night with intermittent "practice contractions", we woke up Sunday morning and went with our usual routines. We have breakfast, watch a little Sunday morning TV, and Cassandra brings me to work before she heads off downtown to go to work herself. Except on this Sunday morning, I asked if I should take the car to work.
"I'll be just fine, these are just Braxton-Hicks practice contractions", to paraphrase the response I got to that question.

Well, a few of hours later, she had called the doula, as well as me at work, to let us know that they were a bit more intense than she first thought, and that I might be needed later if they continued. It turns out later was about 15 minutes later, with the message loud and clear: come on home.
It just so happens that this was a bright and sunny Sunday, about 70 degrees, which those who have experienced the UW Waterfront Activities Center know is a very busy day. I called my boss, let him know he was about to be short a supervisor, and hopped in a cab home.

We labored for a few hours at home with the doula, which went quite well, and the contractions continued to intensify. It was time to get to the birth center, except there was one small snag. There was no way Cassandra was taking a car ride to the Eastside! "Do you want to have her at home? Can we have her at home? Let's have her at home!", and it was settled. The midwife was summoned to the house after she took a short trip to the Eastside for our files and her home birth kit, and we progressed beautifully from there. Seven hours of active labor and 30 minutes of pushing later, Olivia was ready to take on her new world.

Everyone tells you the birth of your child will be a life-changing experience, but we could not fully appreciate it until we actually experienced it. Neither of us could hold back the tears through the incredible rush of raw emotions , especially her daddy. Her pure innocence and beauty is stamped on our hearts forever.

You can see many more pictures of the big day at :
http://oliviasophiadelaune.shutterfly.com/events/4