Mary Aoife (Eva) Delumpa
Born : September 30, 2002 @ 7:24 pm
Weighed : 7 pounds, 7 ounces

***Click on a picture below to see a larger view***

It all started Sunday, September 29, 2002. Moira woke up having regular, but short contractions that went all the whole day. At 11 pm that evening, we called our midwife Yelena to have her come and set up. We were going to have a baby! Well, 1 am came, no baby. 2 am came, and still no baby. 3 am came, and Moira fell asleep! Aiyeee! So Yelena and her assistant Olga went home to get some sleep - so did we.

The next morning, there wasn't much of a change, at least in the time between contractions, though Moira was saying they were a bit more intense. That was a good sign. But by 2 pm, we were both pretty wiped out, and nothing had changed much, so I told her, "Honey, we need a change of pace. Let's get dressed, get you out of the house, and walking around, and let gravity start working for you." She tiredly agreed, and we went to run errands. Immediately, things started changing. The contractions were longer and stronger, but we didn't want to get our hopes up because of the previous night. But I had a feeling something was up...

After we ran our errands, I took Moira to downtown Los Altos, to get her a Jamba Juice. I ordered her a Power Boost juice with lots of Femme boost protein additive to get the ball rolling. On our way back home, Moira had three really strong contractions back-to-back. Was it time?

Being the pragmatist, Moira wanted to wait for an hour to see if the contractions were regular. And sure enough, they were.So after 20 hours of labor, Moira finally delivered Mary Aoife. With this baby, we decided not to have the delivery in a hospital, but in the confines and comfort of our home. And the experience was nothing short of amazing! There is absolutely nothing like or more beautiful than the excited and relieved look of a mother who has just give birth to a child.

Mary Aoife came out just perfect! In fact, she didn't cry when she was delivered. Her eyes merely fluttered open, she took a couple of looks around, then just started breathing easy. It wasn't until she realized that she was no longer in a warm, wet, enfolding bag did she cry. But a couple of heated blankets too care of that!

Working with us throughout the pregnancy was our midwife Yelena (left), and during the birthing process, Olga (right) was also brought in. Yelena actually missed the birth because the baby came so fast from the time we called her to come. But thankfully, Olga lived nearby, and she did a GREAT job. She was so calm and amiable. It was just a joy to work with her. In these shots, Yelena is weighing the baby and doing an initial checkup, and Olga is cuddling her for a "Kodak moment." Mary Aoife was our first 10/10 Apgar baby!

Here, the baby is out and we getting ready to cut the umbelical cord. Liam got to do the honors this time, as Brian has done the past ones. Poor Brian and Liam! They wanted to see the birth, but things happened so fast, there was just no time to call them to see the baby coming. Maybe next time...

What great big brothers Mary Aoife has! Brian is such a natural. In fact, if it wasn't for Brian watching the kids while the baby was being delivered, we think that it would've been absolute chaos. Way to go, Bud! You're a very special son and brother!

Here are some miscellaneous shots of the kids and family after the baby was born.

Leah Panec dropped by to see the baby, and she and Didi took turns holding her.