Exciting! Mostly!

You guys? My sister's in labor as I'm writing this. She's six hours away, with Brian and a whole bunch of doctors who don't know her well. They've only lived there for a few months, so they don't have friends close enough to visit them at the hospital. I'm dying that I'm not there.

You might have noticed that the Kid and I are pretty close. I've always been protective of her - I remember crying more than she did once when she got a spanking (which I'm sure she fully deserved), and the only "fight" I've ever had with my best friend was when we were six and our brothers were picking on the Kid, as older brothers do, and my friend didn't stick up for my sister enough.

The contractions woke the Kid up at 4 am yesterday. She's been in labor for almost thirty-six hours as of this writing. Things are progressing, but slowly - her cervix is apparently not as excited as the rest of us about this kid showing up, so it took its sweet time getting ready. Now the cervix is cooperating, I guess, but the baby has rotated during the wait and is now face-up, so they're trying to wiggle her back around. The Kid had an epidural late last night, so she's as comfortable as she can be, for having regular contractions and being awake for two days.

Brian and the Kid announced a while ago that they were reserving the first two weeks of the baby's life for just them. They want to settle into a rhythm on their own, without people coming and going and bossing and being in their shit. I think this is a good idea, but that means I am not there right now, holding the Kid's hand when she needs it, getting her a cold washcloth (she said the epidural makes her feel really warm, even though Brian is shivering), reminding her how strong and brave she is.

She said in the time since she was admitted, they've had something like ten other deliveries. She can hear them, and she heard a baby cry as she was texting me that. I teared up at my desk at work, because I'm not there telling her it's her turn soon! I have to keep reminding myself that if either the Kid or the baby were in any danger, they'd do a c-section, so things are still just fine. Humans have been doing this for a long freaking time, and mostly it all works out the way it's supposed to.

You guys? The baby's middle name is Rachael.