November 8, 2011
Ahh, the birth of a child, a TRUE GIFT FROM GOD. So there we were with the due date coming closer and closer, as in the projected date was TODAY. Was I excited? Yea. As usual I had a ton of other stuff going on this day as well. Range training with a client in the morning and Court at night. Funny thing, when Mark Jr. was born it was the same thing.
So there I was at the range with a client working on the intricate skills of fine tuning a rifle and matching it up to its owner, the Paw in Law was there as well, Tanya was taking the day off to rest and had her mom and sister close by for assistance and of course she okayed me working, said she’d let me know if anything happened. All was okay.
Tanya gave me text and let me know she was going in to do a checkup and Tara was taking her so Randy and I started to finish up our range work, just in case. Tanya ended up texting me back letting me know she was not quite dilated enough and that the Midwife suggested she do some walking. She and Tara left for the Mall (go figure). I wrapped up my stuff and drove down to meet them at the Mall. At about 2pm we went back to the Midwife for another checkup. Still not time…..
We got back home and I got ready for court. Debated about cancelling at the last minute but Tanya said it was good, she would call me if she needed me so away I went to court. As it would have it, I completed my last court case when Tanya sent me a text letting me know “it was time”. I left court and went to her parent’s house (where she was) and away we all went caravanning to the Midwife Center.
Upon arrival it was business as usual, get chart, take vitals, get settled into the room and WAIT. Tanya was dilated enough to stay until Colleen was born and the Born on date was projected to be November 8 so all was on schedule, it was now around 8:30 pm. The girls were working on laps around the office since that seemed to make Tanya more comfortable. Randy and I just did what seemed natural – STAY out of the WAY of extremely Hormonal and Emotional women. Oh yea, I did frequently ask if there was anything I could do to help, or can I get you something, and I did sit with her and rub her back and neck, but for the most part, I tried to help without getting in the way. Randy and I opted to sit in the hall and munch on deer jerky and wait and wait and wait.
Tanya had invited her best friend Gabby to come be a part of the blessing and she did arrive. After some time Tanya got into the Hot Tub to help her relax and hopefully help the baby get more into the correct delivery position. The midwife came in and broke her water which brought on more discomfort. The midwife suggested that maybe someone consider getting in the tub with her to support her from behind. I was already behind her supporting her head and thought to myself, yea I’ll do that. Before I could even get up and think about getting in Gabby was down to her skivvies and in the water- talk about no bashfulness – I saw another side of Gabby I had never seen before, and I was impressed. No not for the reason one would think (ha ha get your mind out of the gutter, we’re having a baby here) No I was thoroughly impressed that without any thought or concerns Gabby would do anything needed for HER FRIEND. Yep, Gabby scored MEGA points with me on this night. I even told her so. You see Gabby and I are on absolute opposing preverbal poles. She is an extremely far left liberal and I am a hard core Conservative so we always discuss politics anytime we are in a room together (which drives Tanya nuts by the way) BUT for her, regardless of our political differences of opinions, to step up to the plate like that for a friend of hers says volumes about her dedication to the people she cares for. THAT’S what REAL friends do, and for that, we can continue to agree to disagree about politics BUT if you mess with her You HAVE to go through ME first and I ain’t no pushover. KUDO’s Gabby.
Now back to Colleen’s arrival. After a while, and many laps around the office, the time finally came. Our little girl was ready to enter our world. Tanya was of course in pain and wanting her to come on but Colleen had other plans. She wanted to play a little hide and seek and peek- a- boo for a while. She’d stick her little head out, look around, then decide to go hide again. Tanya was clearly in pain but she absolutely refused to take any meds. She did refer to me with numerous comments about how this was somehow all my fault and of course she also made a few comments about how she wanted to open up a can of whoop ass on me (paraphrasing to keep it PG rated) but I have to give her credit, 19 hours of labor with no meds proves to me she tough. Finally the moment came, Colleen Elizabeth Rich entered our world (she was late, Princesses must always arrive fashionably late, so she missed her due date by 1 hour and 54 minutes) and has made us the happiest parents on the planet. Tanya made sure she was all okay; she counted her fingers and toes 3 times then made me count and recount. Yep everything was good. After all of the emotional congrats from everyone and the little girl getting all of her medical checks squared away, I cut the cord and so begins the next journey.
I am proud of my family, my son, my wife and my daughter. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I am proud of my extended family, my in-laws and sister in law for they are all great and we have all grown together over time and yes I am proud of Gabby for she has shown everyone what a TRUE FRIEND is. Each day I look at my family and I am reminded that all of this is truly a blessing from GOD and I thank him for that. Stay tuned for more to come, for as we celebrate Colleens first birthday we can now move to the next chapter, the growing years, and reflect on all that makes our world go around.
To read more of Colleen's birth stories...
Tanya's (aka Mama) POV
Gabrielle's POV
AWWWWW :D :D :D :D.
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