A beautiful baby!!

I had already decided to call her Chelsea. I got the name from the movie 'On Golden Pond', starring Henry Fonda, Kathryn Hepburn, and Jane Fonda. Jane's character in the movie was named Chelsea, and I really liked the sound of it. Jack's contribution was all her middle names. He couldn't leave anyone out. Marilee was a combination of my mother (Marilyn) and his stepmother (Betty Lee); Frances was the name of a woman who was like a grandmother to him; Hazel was the name of his grandmother; and Ayres was the middle name of my grandmother. Chelsea Marilee Frances Hazel Ayres Riley. Oh, well...she is ok with it..and I've told her where they all came from. She thinks it's cool.

She was a beautiful baby, as all babies are to their parents. She had lots of auburn hair, a lovely pinkish complexion, and was only 6 pounds 15 ounces. The day began with my water breaking and waking me up. I must have labored during my sleep!! I remember going to bed the night before with a lower back ache, but that was it. My water broke about 4:30 a.m. and I woke up Jack and told him. He sprang into action, making sure everyting was ready. He was going to go to work that day, but it was going to be overtime. That's why he called her his 'overtime baby'. I went to the bathroom, and then we went to the hospital. I remember arguing with Jack about going to the donut shop first, but I won. I felt like we didn't have much time to spare. Sure enough, by the time I got into the hospital long enough for them to examine me, I was TOTALLY dilated!! They couldn't believe it, and either could I!

"You walked into this hospital, with a smile on your face, completely dilated?", one of the nurses said to me!! So by the time I was put on the birthing table in the birhting room (new at that time) they didn't have any time to even put a needle in my arm for any medication. My labor intensified from the moment I got to the hospital, and when the doctor finally got there, I was ready to push!! My husband was running around blithering..that's all I can remember. The doctor, at one point, was leaning against the wall, waiting for me to push the baby out far enough for him to help.

The nurses were very helpful in letting me know when to push. It was really hard work, but I knew it wouldn't be long. At one point, the doctor said the baby's heart rate was going down, and that was not good, so he gave me a pudendal block so he could use forceps to get her out. But it was not necessary after all...her heart rate came back up.

All I remember was it happened so fast!! Before I knew it, she was born, I felt her coming out, and then there was something else coming out...I didn't know what. I assumed it was the placenta...I think they took her away to weigh her and take all the necessary scores, clean her up. But they brought her back, and I tried to nurse her. (I had already decided to do that.) She took right to it, and all I could do was stare at her.

"My daughter...my daughter....I'm a mom, I'm a mom..." I kept saying it over and over to get used to the idea. It was so foreign to me!! But I knew I would have to get used to it, and it would be my name for a long, long time. I loved it...I was so ready to be a mom....

Jack was so excited that he called everybody from my hospital room to let them know!! That was fun...and he had a good time doing that. I just wanted to lay there and rest, and bask in the fact that I was a new mom....

She was beautiful...They brought her in to me, and I held her and loved her and thanked God that everything was good and she was healthy. It seemed my life was so full.....