But so was Greg… IT’S A GIRL!!!
Cora Kameko Madea made her appearance at 3:20 pm (that’s 2:20 am Eastern Standard Time) on 5/7/9! She’s been a joy and is proving to be a really good baby (I know, it’s a biased opinion, but she who writes the blog gets her opinions published as fact)!
As you know, labor was planned to be induced the night of 5/7/9, but our prayers were answered and natural labor began once Greg was safely home. I started to feel some strong, but infrequent contractions on my way to pick up Greg at the train station (who was wearing a mustache that almost made me go into labor right then and there) in the early evening of 5/6/9. They remained infrequent through the night of the 6th, which allowed (almost) everyone to get a good night’s sleep. For all my midwife friends, here is the quick “shift change report:”
- Around 4 am, contractions started to hurt a lot more and were occurring about every 10 minutes.
- By 8 am I called the birth center and told them I would be there soon.
- Right at 8:30 am, we arrived at the clinic and I was already 7 cm dilated! Baby’s heartbeat was strong and we were all pleased with the progress.
- Around noon I was 9 cm dilated and Dr. Higashijima decided to break my water.
- I was ready to push around 1 pm. Because of baby’s size, pushing was very challenging (learned a few tips for the next time I’m coaching though – especially one from Dr H’s 85 year old father who came in to assist).
- After about 2 hours of intermittent pushing, baby arrived without intervention.
I was so relieved I forgot to ask about sex…. And Greg, who was so certain it was a boy, was staring at me more than the new member of the family – so we were both quite shocked when we caught Dr. H referring to ‘lil M as a she… that’s right, ‘lil M IS A GIRL!!! She weighed in at 3994 grams (8 lb 13 oz) and 54 cm (21.26 inches).
Cora has allowed us to sleep through her first 2 nights – 10 hours, then 7 hours. She’s breastfeeding like a champion and is alert to both ChiChi and HaHa’s voices (that’s Japanese for daddy and mommy).
We are so impressed with the care received here at the birth center. The chef is amazing and the meals are quite gourmet (and at least 4 courses…). Wine is served with dinner. The first dinner was steak and the second was excellent sushi. We are allowed to stay up to 5 days here and we are truly left alone. This respite is quite nice. Cora stays in the room with us the whole time and we do her diaper changes and check her temperature.
I take my own medicine and was pampered with a hair shampoo and style the day after delivery. If only this service were available in the states!
FYI, Kameko is Japanese for “turtle child” and also means longevity. We chose that name since Greg is stationed on the USS Tortuga out here; we thought it’d be a neat reminder of where she arrived.
We promise to keep the pictures coming and apologize for the delay in this announcement as we don’t have internet access at the birth clinic.
A note from Greg: My one job is take this entry that Meg typed back to the house, upload and run back to the clinic where I’ve been crashing for the past couple of days, but I just got to throw a little more detail into this entry (especially since this entire portion of our lives is more or less told through Meg’s eyes due to necessity).
Yes, I was able to make it back for the birth (a true rarity in this neck of the woods) and Cora was kind enough to not only wait for my arrival, but allow me to have a full night’s sleep (OK, perhaps that had as much to do with my ability to sleep through Meg’s moaning that was loud enough to wake up her Mom downstairs… we have a REAL comfortable bed)!!! I must admit I did a good job driving to the clinic (I know because Meg didn’t yell once) and then got to sit around for the next 7 hours watching my wife writhe in pain (guys, if you EVER get to go through this, bring a flask – I know I will next time). Doc kept trying to give Meg an epidural or suck Cora out (I know, I had no idea they use vacuum cleaners either) not to mention an bunch of other things that Meg flat out refused (I was a little perturbed at her stubbornness, but after it was over Doc went on and on about how “truly dedicated” Meg was to a natural birth… all I’m saying is that since he was complementary, I’m assuming she made the right choices).
And for all you guys who have never seen a birth… well, think about how blown away you were when you first learned that Darth Vader was Luke’s father and multiply that by 100… words cannot describe… I am truly blessed to have been here…
And we have been chilling ever since!!! OK, now I have to run back to clinic – hope all is well wherever you are!
Cora Kameko Madea made her appearance at 3:20 pm (that’s 2:20 am Eastern Standard Time) on 5/7/9! She’s been a joy and is proving to be a really good baby (I know, it’s a biased opinion, but she who writes the blog gets her opinions published as fact)!
As you know, labor was planned to be induced the night of 5/7/9, but our prayers were answered and natural labor began once Greg was safely home. I started to feel some strong, but infrequent contractions on my way to pick up Greg at the train station (who was wearing a mustache that almost made me go into labor right then and there) in the early evening of 5/6/9. They remained infrequent through the night of the 6th, which allowed (almost) everyone to get a good night’s sleep. For all my midwife friends, here is the quick “shift change report:”
- Around 4 am, contractions started to hurt a lot more and were occurring about every 10 minutes.
- By 8 am I called the birth center and told them I would be there soon.
- Right at 8:30 am, we arrived at the clinic and I was already 7 cm dilated! Baby’s heartbeat was strong and we were all pleased with the progress.
- Around noon I was 9 cm dilated and Dr. Higashijima decided to break my water.
- I was ready to push around 1 pm. Because of baby’s size, pushing was very challenging (learned a few tips for the next time I’m coaching though – especially one from Dr H’s 85 year old father who came in to assist).
- After about 2 hours of intermittent pushing, baby arrived without intervention.
I was so relieved I forgot to ask about sex…. And Greg, who was so certain it was a boy, was staring at me more than the new member of the family – so we were both quite shocked when we caught Dr. H referring to ‘lil M as a she… that’s right, ‘lil M IS A GIRL!!! She weighed in at 3994 grams (8 lb 13 oz) and 54 cm (21.26 inches).
Cora has allowed us to sleep through her first 2 nights – 10 hours, then 7 hours. She’s breastfeeding like a champion and is alert to both ChiChi and HaHa’s voices (that’s Japanese for daddy and mommy).
We are so impressed with the care received here at the birth center. The chef is amazing and the meals are quite gourmet (and at least 4 courses…). Wine is served with dinner. The first dinner was steak and the second was excellent sushi. We are allowed to stay up to 5 days here and we are truly left alone. This respite is quite nice. Cora stays in the room with us the whole time and we do her diaper changes and check her temperature.
I take my own medicine and was pampered with a hair shampoo and style the day after delivery. If only this service were available in the states!
FYI, Kameko is Japanese for “turtle child” and also means longevity. We chose that name since Greg is stationed on the USS Tortuga out here; we thought it’d be a neat reminder of where she arrived.
We promise to keep the pictures coming and apologize for the delay in this announcement as we don’t have internet access at the birth clinic.
A note from Greg: My one job is take this entry that Meg typed back to the house, upload and run back to the clinic where I’ve been crashing for the past couple of days, but I just got to throw a little more detail into this entry (especially since this entire portion of our lives is more or less told through Meg’s eyes due to necessity).
Yes, I was able to make it back for the birth (a true rarity in this neck of the woods) and Cora was kind enough to not only wait for my arrival, but allow me to have a full night’s sleep (OK, perhaps that had as much to do with my ability to sleep through Meg’s moaning that was loud enough to wake up her Mom downstairs… we have a REAL comfortable bed)!!! I must admit I did a good job driving to the clinic (I know because Meg didn’t yell once) and then got to sit around for the next 7 hours watching my wife writhe in pain (guys, if you EVER get to go through this, bring a flask – I know I will next time). Doc kept trying to give Meg an epidural or suck Cora out (I know, I had no idea they use vacuum cleaners either) not to mention an bunch of other things that Meg flat out refused (I was a little perturbed at her stubbornness, but after it was over Doc went on and on about how “truly dedicated” Meg was to a natural birth… all I’m saying is that since he was complementary, I’m assuming she made the right choices).
And for all you guys who have never seen a birth… well, think about how blown away you were when you first learned that Darth Vader was Luke’s father and multiply that by 100… words cannot describe… I am truly blessed to have been here…
And we have been chilling ever since!!! OK, now I have to run back to clinic – hope all is well wherever you are!
9 comments:
Meg and Greg and Cora--
Congratulations! She is so beautiful and Meghan you look great (I assume that picture was after your wash and style?). I am so sad that you guys are there and I am here....I want to see her in person! Webcam is in the near future. You guys sure made a pretty baby and it looks like you are enjoying it. So wait...Darth Vader is Luke's father (kidding)! Enjoy your time. Love, Aunt Becky
yay - congratulations!! We're glad to hear that Cora's arrival went smoothly and that Greg was able to be there! Enjoy your family of three! :)
She is absolutely beautiful! We are so excited for you! Wish you weren't so far away! Take care and enjoy every minute!
Love and best wishes,
Karen, George, Will, Lindsay, and Kaitlyn
By the way, I love the first picture of Cora - she looks like she's smiling! How cute!!!
Greg, however, needs to loose the facial hair!!! :)
Meg - you look fabulous! Cora is beautiful and I'm so glad Greg was there for it. Looking forward to future posts.
Love,
Sara
Hey Greg! It's Kathleen, your "Godsister" (your parents' godchild)! Congrats on your beautiful baby and tell your wife "way to go" on the natural labor. I had natural labor with my daughter too. Girls are so fun! Enjoy every minute with her!!
Awesome!! Congrats! Can't wait to meet her. Poor girl, one of the first things she sees is Greg's porn 'stache. get a razor buddy.
Greg & Megan -
From Jeremy... glad everything is going well!! Congrats on the new baby!
Greg, you mean you weren't out in the lobby passing out cigars??? I thought you some years ago you said a man's place is out in the lobby!! Assuming I am not in Dahlgren, I'll be in the delivery room in about 2 more weeks!!
Good thing you got rid of the mustache, you look like Groucho Marx with it.
Jeremy
she is so so so eautiful. beautiful! she looks like her dad to me for now. YOU have a gorgus glow
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