The Birth of Frances Pearl

So this happened...

On Monday March 3, a cool week before her due date, we welcomed our freshest little one, Frances Pearl.  Right here at home in bed just the same as we did with her little bro just three years earlier.  I'll be honest, Frances was a complete surprise baby, I actually found out that I was pregnant while on tour with Simon in Vancouver, talk about a vacation bummer.  Frances' pregnancy was much harder, having a busy two year old and a hectic tour schedule made for lots of tears and tantrums; me and not Theo.  Nevertheless, we managed and at 9:30 am, after about 8 hours of labor and to a room full of women Frances was born, screaming and mad as hell, feisty like her mom already.

Here's our wee girl's birth story if you're into that sorta thing.

At about 12:30 am, a gush of water woke me from a deep sleep.  At first I thought I wet the bed and then I thought, crap, I wish I had put the plastic sheets on the bed and then it hit me that I was in fact going in to labor early!  Now I was pregnant for an eternity with Theo; real time 41 weeks and 3 days so to be going in to labor roughly a week and half before my due date was pretty much the best thing ever.  Simon was out at a music thing so a phone call later, he was on route, while waiting for him to get home I wandered from room to room, I was calm and excited.  I also called Laura and gave her a heads up, not much was happening as the contractions were mild so I told her I'd check in in a bit and we both decided to head back to bed and to get as much sleep as possible.

At about 2:30 am, the contractions were getting more and more intense and I was having a hard time sleeping through them.  I woke Simon up and we decided to call the midwife (anyone seen that show??)and my sister.  At this time I decided to take a bath thinking that the warm water might move things along, the contractions were manageable but slightly painful.  While in the bath, my midwife Corinne and her student Sarah arrived as well as Laura,  I was checked and was only 2-3 cm which was discouraging because I had woken up three very sleepy women to drive across Toronto at 2 in the morning for early labor.  But lucky for me, my birth team was a solid one; we had tea, they rubbed my back and gave me words of reassurance.  Corinne suggested I go back to bed for a bit and the four of us camped out my room; Laura and I sleeping side by side and the midwives at the foot of the bed couting my contractions as I slept.  It was then that the labor tapered off, contractions went from being every 3 minutes to every 7.  At 7 am, Corinne and Sarah decided to go for breakfast and to check on another patient.  Laura ran me a bath and brought me tea while I laboured in the tub listening to Theo watching cartoons, the contractions becoming more and more intense.

I remember being very concerned about Theo at this point, though he was oblivious to what was going on, I knew I didn't want him to stay while I laboured.  Simon called his sister Meg and asked her to come and get the little gaffer, while out I asked him to pick up some ginger-ale because an ice cold gingie was something I couldn't stop thinking about.  Just as Simon left, the contractions were getting intense, Laura was pushing hard on my lower back which relieved some of the pain and I found the only position bearable was on all fours; which is what got me into this predicament in the first place.

Around 9:15 am, the midwives arrived and I was checked again, they told me I was about 5 cm which was soul crushing because I was so tired and in so much pain.  Almost immediately after being checked I had two really good mind blowingly painful contractions,  that I think I'll remember till I'm 85, to which I heard Laura say; "Amy, the head!! the head is out! Keep going!..." what's next is a blur but then little Frankie was put on my chest, screaming like hell.

About 10 minutes later, after the placenta had been birthed and Frances was chattering away to us about her journey, Simon ran in thinking we were watching a movie with a baby in it, he was blown away to realize she was here.  Laura told him it was a girl and the look on his face is one that i'll remember forever.

So there it is, that's the story of how little Frankie Pearl came along.  To say she's great, is an understatement.  She has brought all this amazing craziness to our life in the best and most wonderful way.    

Thanks for reading.
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