She's Here (!).

Yes, she finally came. Only 3 days past her due date.

Here's a belly picture taken when my (real) contractions began on Wednesday afternoon (February 16).


I had just gotten my haircut (the only thing left to do after having a facial, 2 massages, a manicure, and pedicure, not in the same day though!) and had gotten back from a 2.5 mile walk.

Contractions were somewhat sporadic through the evening so I decided to go to bed. After a mostly sleepless night filled with a spattering of intense contractions, I went to the hospital at 3:30 in the morning and had the wee one around 8 am.

Here she is, a little camera shy. We are really proud of her hair! Our first child to have much by way of hair at this age. I like to fluff it up after her bath, a la Rod Stewart. Born 7 pounds, 9 oz. We named her Salem.

I could not have had such an awesome (yes natural! more details on that later...) birth experience without the help of my 1) husband 2) sister 3) and amazing dula (who birthed 3, 11 pound + babies naturally!). Below, is my dula on the left, and sister on the right.

My husband and I are in agreeance. Since we've added another to our brood, it seems as if someone has hit the fast forward button. We blink, and another day has gone by, and there are still so many things left undone.

I am thrilled that I am no longer pregnant (an understatement). I feel fantastic, and my desire to eat vegetables and all the deliciousness of my old vegan favorites has returned! I'm back in the kitchen (as much as I can be at this stage), and went grocery shopping today and was ecstatic to peruse the produce aisle and salivate as I looked at the variety of colorful and vibrant fruits and vegetables.

So I'm back world! It may take me awhile to figure out how to live as a mom of four, but I'm back. As soon as I can, I will share my birth experience, which thanks to your words of support, helped in part to contribute to an amazing natural birth.