Sorry for the radio silence around here lately.  It has been a busy two weeks: Ada turned five, we had our annual block party and two birthday parties AND -best of all – we had a baby girl!

Dare was born at home at 12:50 on July 26.  She weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long.  She is doing really well and already feels like she’s always been part of the family.

Chris and I have had all of our children at home, and we expected this third birth to be a relatively easy one.  We assumed that we knew what we were doing and we were lucky to have our same beloved midwife for the birth of Dare.  Thank you Joan!  But…babies and children have a way of reminding us that we have little control over our lives.  I was convinced that the baby was coming for an entire week before her birth and kept making Chris stay home for work.  I visited the acupuncturist two times to move things along, to no avail.  A slow leak put us on a path of castor oil and breaking my bag of water, and Dare decided to join us sunny-side-up which made labor and pushing much harder than the previous two births.  When we and the midwife made the decision to get labor going on July 25, Ada cried all the way home saying she didn’t want to share her birthday.  (Little Dare graciously held out for minutes past Ada’s day).  Ultimately all was successful.  Dare kept her heart rate up and worked as hard as I did to join the world.  My mother-in-law was a champ downstairs taking care of the girls and waiting through loud noises above.  When Dare was finally out (thank goodness!!), we had to shake Ada awake.  She had fallen asleep on our bed five feet away from my loudness, and missed the entirety of the pushing.  Both Ada and Josie woke up and smiled to meet their new sister.  My mother-in-law Pat cut the cord.  We toasted and I ate a grilled cheese sandwich.  (We have never had a baby at night, and it was too late for my usual post-labor Indian takeout).

So, here we are a family of five.  Three girls.  Dare has double big sisters.  She is a lucky lucky girl.  I am feeling so so happy to no longer be pregnant in August.  We are settling in to life with this new little creature,  feeling sleepy and happy and blessed.