Summer has arrived!

I suppose I should update the blog now that the grand event has finally occurred: our beautiful daughter, Summer Soleil Ahrary, finally made her appearance on May 14th at 5:51am. It was a beautiful process and I'll share a little here about the labor and delivery here:

I had been experiencing many practice contractions for a few weeks before my due date. The practice contractions are like torture, because they make you think that you *might* be going into labor; you get all excited and mentally prepared, but then they stop. It's a mentally and emotionally draining experience. Finally, a week after my due date, I had just accepted that I was going to be pregnant forever. I saw my doctor a week after my due date, May 13th. I was 1 cm dilated and about 70% effaced, so I had made progress, but we weren't there yet. She did me the huge favor of stripping my membranes. It's an old midwives trick used to encourage the body to produce prostaglandins, which can help to stimulate labor. It hurts a bit, but hey-- I'll do what I can at this point. She then said that I could help the process by walking, but we had appointments to strip my membranes again on Friday in case the first time didn't work and we also made an appointment later on to induce labor if I still hadn't started after that. I had to do what I could to avoid artificial induction of labor!

I left the office with a bright and hopeful outlook. Ramis went to work and I drove straight to the park by our house. I walked 3 miles and came home. Not too long after, maybe at around 2pm, I started feeling more painful contractions. I hadn't timed them because I didn't want to get worked up. I texted Ramis and he started making his way home. By the time he got there, they were still happening and I was loosely timing them at about 12 minutes apart. We took a walk around the park with Daisy. I had to stop a few times on the walk because the contractions were becoming a bit more painful. We came back home, watched the Ali G Season 1 shows, then we went on another walk. At this point, maybe 7pm, my contractions were about 8-10 minutes apart. By the time we finished this next walk, my contractions were 5 minutes apart and getting closer. I sat on plastic bags on the couch (in case my water broke) and Ramis started packing the car with our stuff. We were on our way.

At about 9:45 or so, we arrived at Kaiser Hospital. We walked in (I'm not about to be wheeled around!!), and were strapped to monitors. After about an hour of monitoring my contractions, which were very regular, the doctor came in and told me I was at 3.5 centimeters dilated. Dr. Murphy said that a lot of first-time moms can stay at 3 cms for many hours, so she could send me home if I thought I would be more comfortable. I looked at her with a very concerned face. She said she thinks I'll go more quickly, so she'll admit me.

We got admitted at about 11pm in room 16. Right away, they got ready to put me on an epidural. "Um, no. I don't want an epidural."-- "Are you sure??"-- "Yes, and don't ask me either, I will tell you if I want medication." And, then we were off. I started to get 'in the zone', and Ramis told the nurse that I don't want the monitors on for a while because we're going to walk around. We walked-- very slowly-- around the halls. We got back on the monitors (HATE those monitors), and then he asked if we could remove them to walk or sit on the yoga ball or something else. Ramis was a champ getting me up and moving around. He did an amazing job of persuading my stubborn self to do what might be uncomfortable at the time just to keep things moving. Then, he left to go get our bags from the car.

While he was gone, I had a moment of weakness. You could say that he was definitely the glue holding me together, even with just his presence in the room. He came back and I said, "I can't do this." I wanted the epidural. He did his perfect lover move: he told me to give him a break and stop being like that. So, I did. It's amazing how one amazing person's few words can have such a profound effect. He continued to be amazing and supportive, giving me massages every once in a while and helped me talk and breathe through contractions. However, at this point, I wanted nothing to do with anyone. I didn't want anyone to touch me or talk to me. I just wanted to stare my way through contractions. So, Ramis backed off and read books and watched TV, waiting for me to call on him. He even took a few pictures while I was laboring! It's funny to see how catatonic I was! I was completely out of it in another world. Every hour and a half or so I was calling someone in to check my progress-- I couldn't wait the whole 2 hours. :)

At about 4:30am, it got too painful and I had a horrible urge to push, but I knew I shouldn't. I was at about 8.5 cm dilated by then, so I had Ramis help me breathe and focus through contractions. It helped and I did the best I could, but sometimes it was too much. By about 4:50 or so, I was at 9 cm and the nurse helped to massage my cervix so it didn't rupture or tear because I was having such a hard time not pushing. That was all it took and at 5am, I was at 10cm and everyone was front and center for the labor.

I had options for labor positions because I didn't have an epidural or any pain medications, but at that point, I didn't really care. I figured, if this works let's do it. It was go time. I pushed, waited, pushed, waited, and pushed, and waited. Sometime in the process, Dr. Murphy told us that she had Daddy's hair-- YEA!! About 50 minutes after we started pushing, Summer Soleil arrived as the sun was dawning over the horizon. It couldn't have been a more perfect time for her to make her grand appearance. Her fist was snuggled up against her cheek as she was born, a position that she often keeps while napping, she was completely comfortable throughout.

She was placed on my belly and we were introduced. I remember repeating: "I can't believe you're finally here"... and I couldn't. Her loud, wailing, beautiful cries were soon quieted as Summer connected with her mommy and daddy. We talked a bit, but then not too long after, Daddy had the grand honor of cutting Summer's last connection to her mommy, her umbilical cord. Then, finally, she was free!

She was weighed in at a healthy 8 lbs. 14 ounces and was 20.5 inches in length. She got checked out, and then daddy snuggled with her for a long time as mommy was getting mended. We talked about her features, something that we waited for so long to witness.

All in all, it was a beautiful process. All three of us had such a vital role in the process-- we each brought our own special flare to it. Ramis brought the amazingly supportive and understanding father role; it honestly could not have been done without him. He is my strength and always will be. I played my ever-so-present stubborn and pain-wielding woman role. I knew my body could handle birth of a large baby without meds, and I was right. (I'm a big fan of mind over matter.) And Summer-- oh, Summer-- she did her part by being the girl that we now know as peaceful and strong, a perfect combination that I look forward to seeing in her as a grown woman.