I finally hit 40 weeks pregnant on September 15. As both Jaxon and Jonas were born 2 weeks early, I thought that this meant I was never going to go into labor. I still felt really good though, and would only get disappointed as each weekend passed as I was worried about how disruptive giving birth during our crazy week would be. But I guess you don't really get to choose.
Then, on Saturday morning I lost my mucus plug. Obviously this can mean that labor is either imminent or still days or weeks away, but as we left that morning to take the kids to an activity at our church, I decided to grab the packed suitcase, just in case... From about 10h00 on I started having contractions about every 10 minutes, but that wasn't so unusual. After the boys activity was over, we headed over to the UN, which was having an open house. It was really fun, with exhibits from all the different UN organizations, bee exhibits sports activities, kids activities, etc. However, during the marrionette show on human rights, I noticed that my contractions suddenly jumped from 10 minutes apart to 3 minutes apart. We took that as our cue to go; though I am sure there were skilled birth attendants in the vicinity, I didn't actually want to give birth at the UN.
We dropped the kids off at our friends' house just after 5, perfect timing to begin a slumber party with their friends Justine and Clea. Then Daniel and I headed over to the birth center, Le Grange Rouge (The Red Barn) in Grens. I walked around for a few minutes but was in enough pain that I was ready to hide myself away inside somewhere. This is still outside the birth center, and definitely a fake smile...
When we walked into the birth center at 6h00 I knew I was right where I needed to be. The lights were dim, there were wonderful smells of aromatherapy, classical music was playing in the background and the midwife was preparing me an herbal infusion especially concocted for labor. Nothing medical in sight, until she took out her tools the check the babies heart rate and my blood pressure. The contractions were nonstop now and I was delighted to find I was already dilated to a four. The midwife had special massage oil for Daniel to rub my legs and back as the contractions shot pain through them.
The midwife filled that bath, which was heaven-sent. I labored in the tub for awhile and then I knew it was time to push. One push for the head, another for the shoulders. The midwife pulled her out of the water and handed her out to Daniel. He then laid her on my chest and the midwife laid a warm wet towel over her. At 7h07 we had our little baby.
Evaëlle (Ay-vaw-elle for those who are having a hard time in English) Irena - Eva for short. It was actually Jaxon who picked the name Evaëlle. Apparently there was a little girl in his class last year with the name and he thought it was pretty. We thought so, too. Irena is after Irena Sendler, who saved 2500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto during the Holocaust. One last souvenir of our summer vacation, I suppose. Her birthday is also special because she was born on my Great Grandma Rose's (Gran) birthday. Although she passed away before I was born, she was such an important figure in my mother's life that I have always felt a connection to her. And what a relief that this little girl wasn't born on September 11.
After taking care of us, the midwife headed down to prepare dinner for us: spinach tortellini and a fresh green salad. She explained to us all the special ingredients she had included in order to help with recovery or with breastfeeding. She settled Evaëlle in a special hammock complete with sheepskin and left Daniel and I alone to enjoy a romantic candle-lit dinner.
The entire experience was amazing, and by 11h30 we were ready to head back home with our new baby daughter. We could have stayed the night, but I was ready to get home to my own bed and begin our life in our space with our new person. I could not believe how perfect the entire experience was; going into labor on a Saturday, being able to drop the kids off in the late afternoon instead of the middle of the night, the perfect birth center, a fast labor, virtually no recovery and getting home by midnight to boot. This little girl was already proving both accommodating and kind.
We picked Jaxon and Jonas up the next morning and brought them home to meet her. Love. We just love this little one. I have to say, I have had to give up my position of being the favorite girl in the house (it was easier when there was no competition), but it is well worth it.
We spent lots of days at the Nyon pool, which appeared to be the communal gathering place for all pregnant women in the region
And it all came to an end with school beginning again on the 27th of August. I can't believe Jonas is going to the big school with Jaxon now! We really had such a great summer. I had quite a bit of work to do, but figured out that I could get a whole lot done when I took my computer to the pool/lake/park with me and let the kids do their thing. I felt like I needed to take advantage, as pretty soon that type of freedom for me will be coming to an end... Seven weeks seemed like the perfect length for a summer break. We had a couple of good trips, a visit from grandparents and lots of local activities, so we never got bored. I have to say, I kind of miss having my little buddies around all of the time, but they are happy to be back in school.
