The Birth Story (again): by guest author Beth

[Upon seeing our timeline of June's birth, Beth of Two Little Tidbits (aka, my sister) decided that a third party perspective was needed and wrote up the following account. So, I guess this means I'm pretty much a celebrity blogger now, right? I mean, who else is honored with guest authors? ; ) With no further ado, here's Beth's version.]

8:30 a.m. (Monday, August 17, 2009)	Call Kate to invite her to bring Georgia over for a playdate as a distraction from waiting for labor. Turns out she’s been having contractions since 4:30 a.m. That’s exciting! Doesn’t sound like things are happening very fast though. Sounds likely that Steph and Georgia will come over later to get out of Kate’s hair.
9:30 a.m.	Kate calls back to reconfirm the plan. Steph bringing Georgia over soon. Georgia to nap at my house to give K&J more time home alone.
10:30 a.m.	Steph arrives with Georiga. She says Kate appears to be in pain but is putting on a brave face.
12:30 p.m.	Steph and I decide that we have waited long enough for an update and are entitled to call. Kate sounds about the same. Still contractions – not any faster, not any slower. I tell Joe that I will call back at 4:30. Somehow by announcing this in advance I feel like I’m not bugging them as much.
1:30 p.m.	Steph puts Georgia down for a nap and heads off. I’m supposed to let her know whenever K&J go to the hospital.
4:30 p.m.	Alice, Sam, Georgia are all awake and playing, eating snacks, etc. Call Joe for update. Main question being: Do you want me to bring Georgia back to you now, or not? The interesting result: Joe seems to have no answer to this question whatsoever. Hmmm, usually Joe has answers. I think it through and propose this plan: I will keep Georgia here for now and I will feed her dinner. I will bring her back to K&J around 7 pm for bedtime routine & tucking in so they can see her and she can see them, since it is starting to seem pretty likely that this baby is going to wait until the middle of the night to be born. Then I will come home, pack my own stuff, and return to Kate’s house about 9 p.m. to just go to bed there. That way I’m already in their house in case they need to flee, and nobody has to call and wake me up at 1 a.m. Joe seems to have no clue, which is unlike him. He loves the plan.
7:00 p.m.	Plan is executed – Georgia is dropped off.
9:00 p.m.	Return to Kate and Joe’s house. Joe answers the door and says I am requested in the bedroom. Kate is having really strong contractions that require her to bend over and yell into a pillow on the bed. Hmmm. But K&J and the doula are saying the contractions aren’t long enough yet. Kate appears to be semi-delirious. She is fixated on REALLY RANDOM tasks. Like filing her insurance paperwork. And wondering if she can still enroll Georgia in Friday morning music class. And making Joe disassemble the cord-blood donation box and repack it for some reason. I remember this spaced out feeling from having Sam… I think this baby is coming soon. I want Kate to get in the shower to relieve the pain, but she insists she must finish organizing her purse first. She has lost it. Joe appears to be on my wavelength. He wants Kate in the shower too. He called the doula who said this is not a big deal yet, and that she is going to bed and to call back later. Finally, 9:45, Kate agrees to get in the shower. I go to read in the front room. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Twilight. She was reading Twilight or one of the sequels. It should be noted for posterity that June was born during Beth's Twilight obsession phase.]
10:30 p.m.	Ok, appears nothing is happening. Trying to decide what the right balance is between being helpful and hovering and interfering. Tell Joe that I am going downstairs to the bedroom and to get me anytime if they need me.
11:30 p.m.	Hear the door buzzer. Ah ha – that must be the doula arriving. Occasionally can hear Kate’s contraction pillow yells through the air ducts.
12:15 a.m. (Tuesday, August 18, 2009)	Ok, am I hiding out or staying out of the way? I can’t decide. Do they need me up there? There is definitely an increase in footsteps back and forth up and down the hall.
12:25 a.m.	Decide to go upstairs and check on things. If they have some trance going with candles I won’t interfere. But maybe they need a hand and don’t even realize I’m awake? Meet doula in the kitchen and ask what is going on. Doula says that Kate really wants to go to the hospital, even though active labor has just started. Doula seems somewhat disappointed that Kate is giving in and going to the hospital now. Go to the back door – give Kate a hug. She has a contraction on the back deck. Looks like it is all happening now.
12:30 a.m	Kate and Joe leave. I go downstairs and text Lach and Steph that they just left for the hospital. Steph responds. We coordinate plans for the morning. Good.
1:45 a.m.	Joe calls! I have terrible cellphone reception in their basement. I think the baby’s name is June. That’s awesome! I point out that they just left home an hour and fifteen minutes ago. Joe says the baby was born at 12:59 a.m. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? Joe says it was a “crazy ride” to the hospital. Wow! Yay!
2:15 a.m.	Too wound up to sleep. I forgot to ask the weight and length questions. What is wrong with me? Text Joe asking for more info. Try to settle my brain.
6:30 a.m.	Wake up in K&J’s guest room. Sheesh I am tired. Time to get going on 4 hours sleep! How did they have a baby 29 minutes after leaving the house?

[Thank you, Beth, for your contribution! For anyone not yet sick of this story, I've actually already written up my play-by-play full length version but just haven't posted it yet. I'll get to that as soon as I get over my embarrassment of how long it is. Prolly tomorrow.]