Water Break #2

12 hours later...

Haley's water broke!

Not another plumbing issue but the real deal. The fixture that was supposed to burst, did its thing!

Samantha must have heard about the scheduled induction and decided that NO one was going to tell her what to do!

Hmmm....note to self....strong-willed child issues pending and probable.

The phone rang at 3:22am and in a foggy state I kind of knew who would be at the other end.

Jordan was calling with news that Haley had been having contractions for the last couple of hours and that her water had just broke but they were instructed to wait a few more hours until reporting to the hospital.

The phone rang again at 5am. It was TIME!

G-Mama...that would be me...hightailed it down to the hospital.

Daughter in pain, son-in-law attending to her needs, nurses monitoring baby "S"...it was all quite surreal.

Labor intensified, epidural given, sanity restored! Thank God for pain relief during child-birth!

Haley progressed and a new celebration of life ensued

Samantha Grace was born 7/7/10

at 11:32am

8lbs 6oz., 20 inches long

Praise God for the miracle of new life! She is beautiful!

What a gift and a privilege it was to be present at her birth. Words cannot adequately express the awe in witnessing a miracle of God. Anyone that says that God does not perform miracles in our modern day society has not seen a baby being born.

New life...a precious sight.

Haley and Jordan gave me a gift that I will never forget. To see my first grandchild born is life-changing.

Let the Grandma Good-Times Roll!

Water Break...just not what we planned!

It 's been a day of flowing water...just not the type for which we hoped!

After running errands, I returned home to find my plumber...who I had left at the house 4 hours earlier... scurrying out to his truck. He was moving at quite a fast pace so I didn't want to disturb him. After carrying a load into the house I sensed that something wasn't quite right. There was the distinct sound of dripping which I attributed to the rotten weather we were having...can you say "rain" in July in So. Cal?? Ugh! Sorry...got a bit off track.

Anyway...the plumber called to me saying that he had something he needed to show me. I asked if there was a problem and he said "kind of."

Well...nothing prepared me for what I was about to see. My family room had water dripping through my ceiling and light fixtures. As I moved closer, the ceiling fan began to have a poltergeist moment and started whipping at a tremendous rate of speed...flashing the lights....and spraying water around the room in whirlybird fashion. Quite a sight to see considering it wasn't turned on! Apparently it was shorting out from the electrical current but I maintain that it was possessed! For sure an exorcism was in order. And...it didn't take long as the drywall in the ceiling started to give way and the fixture became history and landed all over the floor in a million pieces.

Water, water, everywhere. Windows, floors, pictures, built in cabinets and all my BEACHY trinkets. Wish I had taken pictures but it was happening so fast, all I could do was try and salvage my furniture and keep-sakes by throwing towels in every direction.

Carpets are pulled back...industrial fans are whirring loudly....ceilings are exposed....furniture is strewn throughout the house....washing machine is going non-stop...Tina's exhausted!

Certainly a day when I could have used some sand, sea OR sun. Maybe the sun will come out tomorrow....hmm...sounds like a song!

I find it very ironic that we've been waiting with bated breath for Haley's water to break and instead, mine breaks. Not quite what we had in mind!

9 Days and counting

Haley is scheduled to be induced first thing Thursday morning. We'd much prefer for Miss Samantha to come on her own, but if not, we're just gonna have to help her along! Although it would be kind of neat if God allowed today's water break to be a precursor to another!

Will She come out with a Bang? (Or 6 days and counting...)

Happy 4th of July!

I've been procrastinating with updates thinking....hoping...willing...lil' Samantha out of hiding. But once again...we see that we have a strong-willed child on our hands that has her own little time schedule in mind. Meanwhile her mama is getting mighty impatient and Grandma Tina is frustrated that she won't be able to don her red, white and blue romper especially chosen for this day. Samantha that is....not Grandma! Oooh...scary thought!

We did get our beach walk in on Friday...even Mr. SSS (Sand, Sea & Sun) accompanied us. I don't think he liked the idea of not getting in on some fun and the possible "water break" that could occur.

The beach was just what the Doctor ordered! Cool breezes and salt air and we were feeling calmer by the minute. We shared some fish tacos, fish and chips and a salad at Fisherman's Restaurant on the pier and even snuck in a shared glass of Pinot Grigio (with ice and lemon, of course) to toast to our little pregnant princess who's about to become a mom.

The day was bittersweet. We reminisced about all the good times we had shared at this beach. We watched the junior lifeguards playing dodge ball and even got to watch them do their infamous "pier jump" which was a highlight of our children's summer when they were that age.

Every summer when the kids were young we would pack the car with coolers, chairs and plenty of sunscreen and head down to San Clemente. For 5 weeks, the kids would be part of the junior life-guard program every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1 until 4. That's when my three hours of "wanderings and ponderings" began. I could watch the waves and just be. It's when I discovered a favorite little book, which has now become my summer companion, "The Gift from the Sea." Every Friday, Steve would take off from work and meet us at the beach around 4 as would many of the Dads, and we'd start off the week-end with fun and games. It was our home away from home and a landmark of our summers.

We were also fortunate enough to have friends that had a beach rental in San Clemente while our kids were young that graciously shared it with us on numerous occasions. On our walk, we strode by the house and laughed at the many memories it brought to mind.

We talked about the gift of family and, even with all it's quirks and faults, the precious gift it is to have all these wonderful loving souls to support you through a pregnancy and a birth.

For a few hours, time stood still. We had our daughter to ourselves and we re-lived the past that only we shared.

So maybe...just maybe...God intended us to have one last solo beach walk with our little princess to celebrate her and the many gifts and talents that she has enriched our lives with. We know that we will adore and love our "new" little princess but our first princess will always hold a special place in our hearts.