Leila

I know this is super late...but the kids are sleeping and I was making my rounds...I thought I should document Leila's birth before I forget all the little details, at least for posterity. So, I'll start with a couple pictures and if you don't wanna read the rest...you don't have to.








Leila was originally due on September 19th but we knew she would probably be a little earlier than that. Actually, my doctor was surprised I even made it past 38 weeks. I was dialated 1+ cm at 35 weeks and by 38 I was nearly completely effaced and 3cm. Semisi had been staying with my parents in California for a couple weeks so I could get some rest and when I hit 39 weeks and still no baby, my mom decided to just drive here to Utah with Semisi and just wait for the baby to come. With Semisi, I called my mom when I knew I was in labor and she hopped on a plane to make it in time for delivery. Unfortunately, Semisi was a little impatient and I delivered him just as she pulled into the parking lot. I know, bummer huh. So with this pregnancy, obviously my mom didn't wanna miss it. She arrived here with Semisi and my brother Duke around midnight Sunday night. She also wanted to rush here because I have two nieces with LOTS of clothes so she had to bring all the clothes here from California. My SIL did such a good job of organizing and taking care of the clothes...i didnt really have to buy a thing! We just traded clothes since I was having my girl and she was having her boy.

So my mom and I stayed up putting all the clothes away and talking story. We went to bed around 130am and I felt fine. At 4:00am on the dot, I woke up with some discomfort that felt alot like a contraction. I turned over to see if the pain went away....it didn't..so I watched the clock to see if I got another one soon. At 4:05 I got another one. I was sure this was a contraction so I woke Manase up and told him I thought I might be in labor. In his true fashion...he mumbled something and turned over and went back to sleep. (lol) I went to the bathroom to see if I was bleeding, check. Knowing how fast Semisi's labor was (roughly 6 hours) I knew this one would probably be faster so I didn't bother waiting an hour to make sure I was in labor. I woke up my mom, took a shower, and got ready to head to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital and got checked in. I guess the nurses didn't think I was in very intense labor because I was all smiles and didn't appear to be in much pain(which I WAS) so they took their time coming in to check me. I was SET on getting an epidural so I was kinda hoping they would hurry before it was too late to get one. Even my mom was saying "hopefully we dont get sent home." to which I replied "Nope, I know my body. I don't have false labor...I don't get sent home." After waiting ten minutes for the nurse to come in and get me hooked up(which felt like an eternity!!) the finally checked me and I was 7 1/2cm dialated already. I knew it! Surprised, they said I didn't LOOK like i was in that much pain. I don't know, maybe I hide it well, but I felt like I was dying. I think people are thrown off because for me, the contractions bring such an intense pain for those couple minutes, that in between...I'm in a really good mood just because I'm not in that pain. I was carrying on conversations and laughing and smiling, then I just dug my head into the pillow with each contraction.

So after seeing how quickly I was progressing four more nurses rushed in to help me get set up. The Dr came in around 530 to see that I was dialated to 8 already. He broke my water and ordered my epidural. With Semisi, the anesthesiologist was late due to being in the OR so they gave me a shot to help curb the pain. So when I received my epidural this time, it hurt a little more than I remembered but it was worth it! I was in heaven after that. I totally respect women who want to and do deliver their babies naturally...more power to ya. I wish I had the stamina to do it...but I don't. And no offense to anyone else or their opinions...but I honestly had ZERO desire to try it naturally. My mom kept saying..."you could handle it to 8cm...you could have done it without the meds" but again...i have no desire to try. Just like I have no desire to have a root canal without meds. I trust todays technology and I trust that the DR would not put anything in my body that would hurt me or the baby. I loved it...I wasn't "drugged up" or "groggy" when she came out...as most people try to say you will be if you get meds. I was completely conscious of everything going on just without the pain. It might not work for everyone..but it worked for me.

Anyway...sorry for the rant...the next hour was great. I was fully dialaterd by 6:40 ish so the DR decided we should try pushing. I pushed through one contraction(about two long 10 second pushes) and voila! She was here!

Leila Lata 'i Lomoloma Tonga arrived at 6:46am on the morning of September 14, 2009. She weighed in at 7lbs 1oz (a wee little baby) and 19 1/2 inches long. She had a head FULL of hair and some healthy lungs. The nurse who was cleaning her was so put off by her screams that she stepped back and said "I don't know what I did to make her so mad!" She had a temper from the get go. Semisi was in the waiting room with Duke so we brought him in to meet her right away. He has a teddy bear who he cuddles so, thinking she was a doll, he insisted on hugging her and kissing her. It was so adorable.

We named her Leila Lata 'i Lomoloma after Manase's cousin who passed away in early 2006. We wanted to honor Leila's mother, Manase's aunt Mele who was the only member of Manase's family to attend our wedding. She is such a kind, humble woman who will always hold a very special place in my heart. I want Leila to grow up very close to this woman and follow her example.

Leila and I were in the hospital two nights and came home on Wednesday morning. On Monday, I noticed that Semisi felt a little warm so they went home. That night, my mom says he had a fever of 103 that would not break until morning. He had a fever all week that week, and we had many visits to the Dr. Turns out he had Bronchilitis and his molars were coming in and an ingrown toenail(causing great discomfort) and a bugbite that had contracted something called Merza(a type of staff infection that is very stubborn and almost impossible to treat). WOW! Poor kid. All that AND his mommy is carrying around another baby when he needed to be baby'd more than ever. Thank goodness my mom was here to help with him.

Today she is 3 weeks old and has brought so much more love into our home. Semisi for the most part loves his little sister so much. He knows her name and runs over to kiss her whenever she cries. We haven't seen too much of the jealousy but I think that's because he still gets most of my attention what with Leila sleeping most of the day. Im interested to see how it goes when she starts demanding attention. She's such a good baby and eats nonstop! She does get easily annoyed by her loud brother...but thats to be expected.

So far I'm handling the load better than I thought I would. Manase is gone 12-13 hours a day so it's mostly me and the kids...but my sister Anu and her bf Vaea help so much. Anu sleeps with Semisi when Manase goes away on the weekends, and Vaea takes him to the park and plays with him all the time. I love being a mother of two. I'm so excited to see more and more of Leila's personality and the bond they begin to grow through the years.