Christmas Eve day I was sitting in my kitchen rattling off items we needed from the grocery store. My husband was making a run to get some last minute things we needed for Christmas dinner and he was making a list. I had been thinking I wanted some clementines…a bit of a craving I guess (the little tiny oranges for those who don’t know) but figured my husband would not be very frugal and know if they had them for a reasonable price so I just asked him to pick up a couple of oranges instead.

A few hours later, Ed had returned from the store with my oranges and we were getting ready to entertain my parents for Christmas Eve.

Then came a knock at the door.

I’m going to pause here and give you an opportunity to guess who/what was at my door………..

Ok…well…time is up….

It was one of the neighbors with a case of, you guessed it, clementines!!!!!!!!

I was utterly dumbfounded…

I now sit in the same seat daily at the same time I wished for the clementines wishing for much grander things. The latest wish was for a personal chef. Previous wishes have included a cash windfall and Mexican food. So far the doorbell hasn’t rung anymore….

I firmly believe that during the birth of a baby, a woman has every right to insist on any means available to limit the pain she experiences. If it’s safe for her and the baby, why not? This pregnancy, my attitude was no different and I was asking for an epidural from the minute the pain became more intense. In fact, I even may have yelled and screamed about one a time or two.

My doctor is kind of old school. His father before him was an OB and my doctor is now easily in his late 40’s or early 50’s. Throughout my pregnancy, he exhibited some of these old-fashioned values. Not in the major stuff, he had the best equipment and did all the necessary testing, but in the little stuff. For example, when I had a cold he suggested I avoid OTC medications and stick with “good old-fashioned chicken soup.”

A couple of weeks prior to when I went into labor, we discussed how my previous labor and delivery went, including my love of the epidural. My doctor went on to suggest to me that I try to avoid an epidural this time. He said that I will find I have an easier recovery. I cataloged that information in the back of my mind but was not convinced. I know he has seen a lot of patients, but how could he know if experiencing all the pain of labor can be offset by a quicker recovery?
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On Tuesday November 27th around 5am I woke up for my hourly trip to the bathroom. A 50 lb baby really takes its toll on your bladder…. Anyway, as I rocked and rolled myself out of bed (surely comic relief if anyone had seen it) and stood up I had the strange feeling maybe I didn’t make it to the bathroom. It wasn’t a lot, but enough to know that something was out of place. I realized that it was possible that my water had broken so I ran (ok, slowly waddled) downstairs to the computer to do an internet search for the signs of someone’s water breaking (yes, I’ve done this before and no, I’m not an idiot). Since I wasn’t having contractions, I took the advice to lay down for 20 minutes then stand back up to see if it happened again. It did. Twice. That combined with the smell of “Comet” (yes, apparently amniotic fluid smells like Comet. I didn’t believe either it but it’s true) pretty much was the proof I needed. So, I jumped in the shower - there was no way I was going to the hospital not clean.
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Ok, forget about the traditional Christmas Carol, White Christmas or It’s a Wonderful Life.  Here is a list of movies that get me into the Christmas mood, and some memorable lines.  Just writing about these has me chuckling.

1. Christmas in Connecticut - This has got to be my all-time favorite Christmas movie; a wonderful example of screwball comedy.  It’s 1945, Barbara Stanwyck writes a Martha Stewart type magazine column from her Connecticut farm.  The only problem - she’s single, lives in a little New York City apartment, can’t cook, and about to be exposed.  Quote of the movie - “Magoo will get you in, Magoo will get you out.”
2. Holiday Inn - A large part of this movie was reconfigured as White Christmas.  I’ve watched this since I was a teen (keep you comments to yourself Kim), and only recently watched White Christmas.  I honestly don’t see why anyone would watch White Christmas instead of this movie.  Holiday Inn has Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire vying for Marjorie Reynolds.  You can’t beat that.  This has a great version of the song White Chirstmas.  Quote of the movie - “I’m Linda Mason.” Read the rest of this entry »