Read Part I here.

Fran came home a bit early from work and I made dinner. My new mommy friend told me to get plenty to eat because I would need it. (Good advice.) By dinnertime (8 or 9ish) the surges were strong enough that I was pretty uncomfortable. That is when my main coping mechanism kicked in: the hippy dance. In the hypnobirthing class, we watched a video where this earth mama was talking about how she rotated her hips around and around during her surges, and how it was like the motion of the earth and stuff. Well, I don't know if I was aligned with the planet or what, but this dance really helped! Francisco even did it too, you know, out of solidarity. We must have made quite a sight.

The hippy dance and my relaxation exercises got me through for several more hours. I did the hypnobirthing exercises a few times, but the more intense the surges got, the harder it was to focus on them. (But I did learn the hippy dance in that class, and a load of other stuff, so it was worth it.)

While I labored on, Francisco was the one nesting! They say that is a sign of early labor, but it didn't kick in for me. Fortunately, it did for Fran. He was unpacking boxes and moving furniture around, getting the house ready as much as he could.

I am not quite sure how, but we managed to take a nap from 2 to 3 a.m. or so, and I relaxed and breathed through the surges as they came and went. The last one was different — I just had to get up and go to the bathroom, where I proceeded to sit down and then throw up all over the wall Francisco had just painted days before. (Sorry dear!)  This was the first of several unflattering tableaux my dear husband was about to take in. Oh well.

I wasn't aware of it at the time, but I later realized this was also what they call "transition."


These sweet little feet were on their way!