Baby Kela

Who would've known that less than 24 hours from our last blog, we would have a new addition to our family?! Certainly not anyone of us here at the house! Kela Tagaroulias made her entrance into our lives on Sunday July 13th at exactly 2:00 pm in Athens Greece. She weighed in at 7 1/2 pounds and was 20 1/2 inches long. The Lord has truly given us a beautiful bundle of joy who has brought many tears and smiles over the last week. (We are waiting to have her middle name translated into Hawaiian for us; it will mean peace amidst the storm)

Let me give you a quick recap for all those who want to know exactly what happened......

I started contractions at about 2 am or 3 am on Sunday morning about 10-15 minutes apart and they stayed that way till about 5:30 am. After that point, I noticed they were becoming more consistent and from 8-10 minutes apart. We called Keoni and Kepa at 9:15 and told them to start making their way down from the camp into Athens (1 1/2 hours north of the city), as we all expected this baby to come by evening. The bets were on by Babis, my Mom and my Dad at 7 pm, 10 pm and 4:32 pm respectively. In the back of my mind I thought, "well, for my sake let's hope my Dad wins!" At 11:30 my contractions went from 10 minutes to 3 minutes apart in 1 contraction that lasted for 2 1/2 minutes. Then my Mom says (mainly becuase I can't remember anything beyond that point) they came with a sparatic change 5-6-3, but each contraction was lasting between 1 - 1 1/2 minutes. My Mom and Dad began thinking that we needed to get going, but our midwife was insistent on taking a medication to relax and to soak in the tub for 45 minutes (she knew I was aiming for a natural birth and so she wanted me to stay home as long as possible. The hospital automatically gives you an epidural if you arrive at the hospital and are less than 4 cm dialated). My parents said they tracked my contractions between 11:55 and 12:15 and they grew longer as the intervals grew shorter to where they were just 30 seconds apart. My Dad said seriously "We need to go now!" Yet the midwife was insistent on me soaking in the tub. After 3 phone calls to the midwife in 5 minutes, we were on our way out the door. With my Dad driving like a madman, my Mom in shotgun praying she doesn't have to deliver a baby in the car and Babis trying to give my Dad directions (and warn him about turns coming up - Dad was on a mission) and I trying to keep my sanity and focus on breathing as I'm standing up backwards in the car, head digging into Babis' sternum with every contraction so close together my muscles never getting a chance to relax. We finally arrived at the hospital - now, remember this is Greece and I am giving birth at the oldest maternity hospital in Athens, so this hospital looks more like any other of the buildings to the left and right of it. So, we've arrived at the hospital and Dad doensn't even know it even though Babis keeps telling him "We're here, right here. Right here, it's right here." And Dad just keeps asking, "Where, where?" As you can tell already my birthing experience has HUGHES stamped all over it, yet it continues.........

As I'm limping into the emergency room beginning another contraction there is only 1 other pregnant lady in the waiting room and 1 receptionist (I read on a baby website that women are least likely to give birth on a weekend, and it was a Sunday and the hospital was nice and empty!). They rushed me back to an examination room where my midwife met me to examine me along with 4 other nurses to start taking vitals, medical history and clothes and I could tell there was a panic in the air. Thankfully, my midwife kept calm which in turn helped me to continue breathing despite the intense need to push this baby out! After her examination, I thought I heard her tell another nurse I was 3 cm dialated sending fear over me thinking there was no way I was going to make it and I had decided right then and there to get an epidural (which I wanted to avoid). So I asked my midwife in complete disbelief "I'm only a 3, are you serious?!" For a split second I saw complete shock in her eyes right before she regained focus and looked directly at me and said, "No, you are fully dialated". They got me directly into the pre-op room where we waited for the doctor to arrive, yes waited. My doctor was out of town for a day and a half, so his wife was on standby in case I should deliver Saturday or Sunday, as they practice together and Babis and I had also seen her a couple times in the last 9 months. Sure enough, here we were on Sunday just a couple hours before my doctor arrived and due to the progressive nature of my labor that caught us all off guard she came walking through the doors with her bathing suit under her scrubs! Despite all the pain, I couldn't help but laugh out loud at the circus I felt I was a part of. During this short 3 contraction wait the nurses all asked if I was going to have an epidural and when I asked my midwife if I was going to be in more pain than I already had been in, she reassured me the worst was over. With a slight wave of energy feeling I could see light at the end of the tunnel I proceeded without any pain medication. Once the doctor arrived and they wheeled me across the hall, baby Kela was out in just 3 contractions. Having her put directly on me after being delivered was very emotional for both Babis and I, but to find out we had a girl left me speechless.

Sorry for the long version of it all, but I know most of the women out there are wanting the details anyway. Really this has been such an amazing experience for Babis, myself and our families. My parents are now first time grandparents and my brothers are first time uncles! We have had such a blast getting to know this little one and holding her for countless hours and it's only been a 6 days. More to come.....