There were a few things we came up with. "Let's go out for dinner. After all, it might be one of our last opportunities before Lucie arrives." Then Abbey sent me an email around lunchtime. "It's the Olympics opening ceremony. Let's stay in with pizza." Sold. It'll be nice to see how The Brits show off to the world.When I got home I decided to change into my USA T-shirt to watch the show. I'm a BritAmerican after all.
Three bites into her home made pizza Abbey says, "My friend at work told me that if I wanted to speed things along I should eat pizza." I smiled, and grabbed and took another bite of pizza, just as Danny Boyle's Olympic opening began. Ah, to see James Bond escort Queen Elizabeth to the opening ceremony. How more British can you get? My stomach did somersaults of pride! So did Abbey's and they became more and more frequent.
"I feel different." Anyone who has lived with a woman for any length of time knows this is not news. You just smile sweetly and say, "Really? How so?" In this case, Abbey grabbed her phone and called her sister Sam, playing down the difference. Sam knew this difference all too well. Her mum was in agreement. Next thing we knew they were both at our door, and by 10:30 PM we was on the road to St. Mary's Hospital.
It was a long night. Hours went by. Hospital staff checked in every few hours to see if there were any signs that things were moving along. Abbey did laps of the hospital hall with Sam hoping it would help. I did a few myself. Are we staying or are we going back home? By 7am, it was decided we would be staying and we were taken to our delivery room.That's not a typo. It was a delivery room just for us! Couches, an extra bed if dad wanted to sleep, reclining chairs. It was bigger than our first apartment!
At this point we had both been up for over 24 hours with little to no sleep between us. Our nurse was a lovely lady called Mattie. Full of beans and ready for anything, Mattie talked Abbey through all of her pains and got her to a place where she could manage. We knew there was still a way to go but what we had been waiting for was going to happen. Today was the day!
Anyone that knows me knows I'm a softy. The right movie, (or John Williams score) and the floodgates open. It's a Middleton thing. A real trigger for me is seeing someone I love in pain and being powerless to help. I knew it would be the way when Abbey went into labour, and I remember crying more than once. Some of those tear triggers make me smile looking back on them. Here, in no particular order, are my favourite Abbey-In-Labour declarations:
"Oh God, Help me!"
"That's it I'm done. I guess she's staying in there!"
"What did you do to me!"
Around 1pm, things weren't moving. Mattie, who was by now one of the family, looked into Abbeys eyes. Maybe it was because of experience, intuition, being a mother herself, or all of the above that she knew we that Abbey couldn't take much more. I'll never forget the tone in her voice when she very gently said, "OK Abbey. Shall we just get this done? I'm off at 3, and we're gonna have a baby before I go."
When it was time to push my eyes were again full of tears. With everyone else coaching, Abbey gave it all she had, and on Saturday July 28th 2012 at 2:08 PM Central Daylight Time (8:08 PM Greenwich Mean Time) Lucie Rose Middleton was born! She weighed in at 6 pounds 15 ounces and was 17 and a half inches long.
At this point we had both been up for over 24 hours with little to no sleep between us. Our nurse was a lovely lady called Mattie. Full of beans and ready for anything, Mattie talked Abbey through all of her pains and got her to a place where she could manage. We knew there was still a way to go but what we had been waiting for was going to happen. Today was the day!
Anyone that knows me knows I'm a softy. The right movie, (or John Williams score) and the floodgates open. It's a Middleton thing. A real trigger for me is seeing someone I love in pain and being powerless to help. I knew it would be the way when Abbey went into labour, and I remember crying more than once. Some of those tear triggers make me smile looking back on them. Here, in no particular order, are my favourite Abbey-In-Labour declarations:
"Oh God, Help me!"
"That's it I'm done. I guess she's staying in there!"
"What did you do to me!"
Around 1pm, things weren't moving. Mattie, who was by now one of the family, looked into Abbeys eyes. Maybe it was because of experience, intuition, being a mother herself, or all of the above that she knew we that Abbey couldn't take much more. I'll never forget the tone in her voice when she very gently said, "OK Abbey. Shall we just get this done? I'm off at 3, and we're gonna have a baby before I go."
When it was time to push my eyes were again full of tears. With everyone else coaching, Abbey gave it all she had, and on Saturday July 28th 2012 at 2:08 PM Central Daylight Time (8:08 PM Greenwich Mean Time) Lucie Rose Middleton was born! She weighed in at 6 pounds 15 ounces and was 17 and a half inches long.
Welcome Lucie! Congrats James and Abbey! She's Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThe most amazing experience you can go thru! Wonderful job, both of you. She is absolutely B-E-A-UTIFUL!!!! She looks a lot like her daddy. Can't wait to see her in person (yes James, she's already a person) but pics are just not the same. Make sure to bring her in soon. "Sorry Miss Jackson"
ReplyDeleteOkay so now I am crying James. You really need to be a writer. Thank you for letting me be there through your eyes. I love you three so much, Great Aunt June Bug
ReplyDeleteIt was the best gift that you could give a Mother to be in the delivery room when Lucie came into the world. I will always remember the bond of the family being together at this special time.
ReplyDeleteI love you guys and am proud to have such wonderful kids. Lucie is a doll.
Keep up the posts.
Lots of Love,
Mom