Maverick's Birth Story Part 1

I don't recommend waiting a year to try and properly write out your birth story- exact times get a little hazy, but I really do remember this birth and the details and how it felt so much better than I remembered Maddox's birth.  I'll spare you the goriest details, but still include the fun stuff.  :)

On Wednesday, Aug 18th 2010 (one day overdue) Marshall, Mdx, and I were taking our daily walk around Target.  You may laugh, but that's not really an exaggeration!  We were living in the Bayview Tower TLF (Temporary Living Facility) on base because we had moved out of our rental house a week and a half before.  Now, WHY in the world would a family with a woman almost ready to deliver a baby move into TLF??  Truly, it was our best option.  Marshall was heading to Korea Labor Day weekend, and I was moving down to NC to stay with family until we joined him.  I didn't want the stress of having the movers and everything crazy with a newborn baby, so we got permission to live in TLF for almost a month so that we could be moved out, deliver the baby, have some time to recover, and then leave.  We were so thankful that Langley TLF was understanding and extra accommodating!  So anyway- back to Target.  If you've ever lived in a TLF you know what I'm talking about here- you quickly become tired of flipping the AFN channels, staring at each other, and riding the elevator for fun. Not that we would ever do that.

We made a few videos just for fun:

We also got many hours of playground time (mostly Marshall and Mdx)

So, with Target a few minutes down the road and a kid who loves shopping carts and popcorn- you get the idea!  Every day those poor red shirted employees watched me dig through the dollar section and mutter generally rude things under my breath about organization and rednecks not putting things back.  They may or may not have had to draw straws to see who was going to have to clean up the mess when my water broke, after daily watching me waddle through the door.  I think on this particular day we made a few laps around, when I started to feel the difference between real contractions and Braxton Hicks contractions.

I knew my body was preparing to deliver for a few reasons.  The baby had dropped LONG ago and was engaged.  With every step I could feel his bowling ball of a head (as I imagined it, because Marshall's head is huge) knocking on the door.  I also had been at least 3cm dilated for weeks.  My body had "cleaned itself out" over the last day, which is definitely a sign (sorry folks, but it's the truth!)  I knew second babies generally come faster than first babies, and Mdx's labor was about 8 hours, so once labor started, I shouldn't dilly dally.  Still, the contractions were really not too bad.  Stomach tightening, back definitely hurting, but manageable.  I could still carry on a conversation but every seven minutes or so I got this look like I was thinking really hard about buying that spiky blue ball that goes in the dryer.

After timing contractions for around 30 minutes (7 to 6 minutes apart) I told Marshall that I thought we should go back to the hotel and see if they stop or continue.  He agreed, so we got into the car and headed back.  Having contractions sitting in a car is not fun....it's an awful position for the pelvis to be in with all that extra stuff going on down there.  By the time we arrived back on base I couldn't walk during a contraction, I had to stand still.  So I stood still in the parking lot, then in the lobby, then on the elevator, then in the hallway, and finally safely back in our TLF.  The contractions seemed to be closer together, and once I began timing them we saw that they were now 6 minutes apart consistently.  Time to start making some plans!!

Marshall called our friend Jamie who had offered to keep Mdx for us whenever it was time to go to the hospital.  Jamie was so thoughtful and would check in with me before going out and doing anything, to make sure that I knew she would be just a phone call away.  Coincidentally, Aug 18th was also Jamie's birthday!  She lived in the neighborhood right next to TLF, so it was a quick trip for Marshall to gather Mdx's things and run her over.  Mdx was really excited about getting to sleep at Miss Jamie's house, she didn't even notice anything was going on with me!

While Marshall was gone I called my doula Heather (more about her later!) and let her know what was going on.  She was at a sewing party with some friends, and told me I should probably call the midwife and let her know I was in labor, and then call her back and tell her what she says.  So I called the Midwifery Center, and was pleasantly surprised to have my favorite midwife Tara answer the phone!  The Midwifery Center at DePaul is a birth center that is inside a hospital, staffed by Certified Nurse Midwives, who are assisted (when necessary) by OBs.  (I'll write another post about my new views on birth....)  I had received all my prenatal care there, and gotten to know the four midwives pretty well.  I was THRILLED to be able to birth there.

Tara talked to me on the phone, assessed the situation, and recommended that we head over to Norfolk sooner rather than later, since sometimes tunnel traffic could be bad.  She said she already had one woman laboring there, so she'd already be there for the night!  I hung up the phone and called Heather back.  The first words out of my mouth were "You are going to hate me....."- I felt bad that she was going to have to leave her sewing party- but she was stoked to know that it was GO time!  She didn't mind one bit, this is what we'd been preparing for all this time!  I started gathering all our stuff so that when Marshall got back and Heather arrived we'd be ready to go.

....more to come as the essay continues......

DMZ Part 3

After going through a checkpoint our bus arrived at the Joint Security Area.  We were then boarded by an American Soldier who is stationed at Camp Bonifas and assigned to work at the JSA.  He wore a special armband designating him as assigned to the DMZ, and recited quite a few memorized speeches during our time there.

Camp Bonfias JSA water tower.  No pictures allowed after this until told otherwise.

We rode in our bus to the Visitor's Center where we were shown a brief presentation regarding the history behind the JSA, and the seriousness of our visit there.  There can be (and have been) incidents within the DMZ where people can get hurt, and there is a very strict protocol that must be followed.  There was a dress code we were given when we bought the tickets-no logos or provocative sayings on clothing, no short shorts, women dress modestly, etc.  I was told my Bermuda shorts might be too short, so I wore jeans.

After the presentation we were put onto a JSA bus, and driven up into the JSA.  The building is called the Freedom House, and stands directly across from the blue buildings that straddle the Military Demarcation Line.  You can see a better layout on this website.

This is the view from the steps of the Freedom House, over the blue buildings that were intended to be temporary when they were built.  The large building you can see is the North Korean building where they gather their negotiators and distinguished visitors before entering the blue building.  When our tour group was getting ready to enter the building, the South Korean soldier locked the door to the North Korean side, and stood guard.  It can only be used by one side at a time.  

The soldier is standing with half his body hidden behind the building so he can signal if he needs to without the North Korean guards being able to see him.  These guards stare at each other all day long.

Inside building T2, the American soldier is explaining to us that within this building is the only place where you can set foot into the North Korean side of the DMZ.  The South Korean soldier is standing at a position sometimes referred to as "ROK Ready"- it is a modified Tae Kwon Do stance.  You can see their ginormous arm bands.

Running down the middle of the buildings is the MDL- you cannot cross this line.  Actually, you used to be able to, but after a series of violent attacks, it was decided that both sides should stay on their side of the line.

Marshall is trying ROK Ready.  It doesn't have the same effect somehow.  Maybe it is the loafers.

The soldier peeking around the building.

It's hard to see, but in this photo there is a North Korean soldier at the top of the steps peering at us through binoculars.  Hope he liked my jeans.

When we were done at the JSA Panmunjeom we traveled to an observation point where we could see North Korean observation towers.

The skies finally cleared enough that we could just barely see Gijeoung-dong Village, which is a North Korean village built for the sole purpose of propaganda.  North Korea has tried to make this village look like a place with nice apartment buildings and people working in the fields, but it is obvious that there is no glass in the windows of the buildings, and the people working in the fields are transported in.  Surrounding the village are powerful loudspeakers that sometimes send out propaganda messages or music.  What you can see in this picture is the giant flag tower they built so that the North Korean flag could be visible from the South Korean side.  However, the flag is so heavy that it sometimes rips under its own weight.

Here is a view down to where the axe murder incident happened.

This is a memorial marker, in the exact spot where the tree stood.  Reading about this incident, and listening to the stories really goes to show how volatile this whole area is.  That people would be killed over trimming a tree- how senseless. 

Around the checkpoint you can see the entrance to the bridge that straddles the MDL.  

This bridge is known as the Bridge of No Return.  Soldiers were allowed to pass across this bridge only once at the end of the war, they had to choose which side they wanted to go to.  But wherever they went, they could never go back.  And what is amazing, is that it is now 2011, and they STILL cannot go back.

That concludes our pictures from the DMZ tour.  I highly recommend it to anyone who gets a chance to go.  It helps to understand why these countries are divided, and why our forces are still necessary here.  I pray for peace for all Korean people, and that their country can be reunited one day.