It’s finally sunk in…you mean I’m DONE with labor? Really?

I stepped out of the pool to head to a quick shower before moving to the living room to relax with my new little girl. It’s a good thing I decided to shower — right about this time, the shivers set in, and I was shaking uncontrollably for the first part of a hot shower.

Baby gets handed off to her aunt Lani, who’s more than happy to take over for a few minutes.

The placenta’s been delivered by now (one push — easy!), and it’s time for us to get out of the pool, which now has some icky/bloody tinge to the water.

But that’s okay…mine, she is, and I think she’s just gorgeous.

What the &^%$ just happened here? If you can’t tell, I’m still just a tad out of it. I’m holding this baby, and it still hasn’t quite sunk in completely that she’s MINE.

She’s not quite sure what to think about this place. Where am I?!?

Baby and I say hello to each other.

Isn’t it amazing the color a baby is upon just arriving? It’s hard to imagine at that point that before long, this will be someone who walks, runs, talks back, laughs, cries (okay, the crying part’s not hard to imagine)…

I hold my precious little girl for the first time. Is this for real? Did I really create a whole new person? Wow.

Baby went from just barely crowning (think a quarter-size spot of head showing) to “we have a head” to “we have a baby!” within just a few moments. Merrie pulls her out of the water as I roll over (I was on all fours) and throw my leg over the cord.

See the expression on the baby’s face? She still stretches that way…arms bent upward, face bent backward, and lips pursed. Waaaaay too cute.

There is a very, very good reason this is called labor. Here’s a rare “upright” contraction. Most of them, I was doubled over, head pressed into the sides of the pool. In many cases, “horsey lips” helped me relax — and with my head down, that turned into motorboat noises in the water. It’s funny in retrospect, but it was hell at the time.