And for my NEXT trick...

This is not new news to ANYONE reading this, but even I cannot wrap my mind around this:
She is HERE.
I hold her close, I breastfeed her (and she excels in that), I sing and talk to her...rock her, swing her, change her. Sigh...I'm so so so in love with her.

I have also, if you can believe this, fallen in love with my husband again.


Or deeper. Or more. After all of this, he has scored points above and beyond.
Here's our lil story:

June 16th, our due date, came and went. Father's day was a sleep late day for us...and we loved it. Woke up around 10:30 and began discussing just exactly what breakfast should entail. We decided breakfast would consist of lunch. Billy dressed while I, all huge and pregnant, went to wee wee. So I waddle-waddled to the bathroom and wee-wee'd then I wipey-wiped and then...
saw blood. Not a LOT...just pink on the tissue...and it shared the space with a little brown. Ummmmm, ooookaaaay...

I yelled for Billy, told him what I saw then told him to go to Sonic and get me a burger. :) He said, "Well, don't you think you should call the hospital first? Or at least call Shelli and ask what she thinks?"

"Nooo, we are HUNGRY...GO! FOOD! NOW! Please?"

By this time, it was close to 11. AND there is a trickle of liquid and I've stapled a maxi pad into my sweats. (Yeah, THAT'll do it.) So, I call the nurses' station at Deaconess and the nurse just says to come on in.
"Better safe than sorry" she says. "We'll just send you home again if it's false labor again."

Now, I've read many-a book about labor and false labor, etc. This was not 'false labor' and based on what I'd read, a trickle of liquid usually means it's "Time" but also that you probably have all kinds of time before Labor really begins.

So, I get my Sonic burger and we pack up the car and head up to Deaconess.
It's almost Noon.

In the car, at Noon O Two, on 50th and close to the hospital:

I suddenly feel as though I'd been hosed down with very, very warm water and I begin to scream "OMYGODOMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOOOOOOD...." all while I'm laughing hysterically and maybe crying a little.
It was about there I knew my membranes had ruptured and HEY we're not quite as far off as we thought!

We waddled into the ER (on a Sunday, the only friggin door OPEN) and by this time my sweat pants are drenched and sticky and dear GOD it was so weird. (Yes, we had placed a towel underneath me in the car...I know, GROSS, right? The towel has disappeared since our trip.) Deaconess' ER is very understaffed, but we got a drippy pad thingy and a wheelchair and we get on upstairs.

Now from here, it gets boring. Because we check in at close to 12:15 in the afternoon and it's a lot of waiting. This blog has already gone on forever, so here's the DL...

I go into a steady labor around 1:45...When I'm dialated to a 4, I get my epidural. WHEEE. It wasn't so bad, just hard on me because I was into a hard contraction RIGHT when they were sticking me.

(me, in labor)


By the time we're all set up in the stirrups we had a plethera of people waiting for us to birth our baby for them: We had Granny, Paula, Mom, Aunt Sherry and Uncle Mark, their son, my sweet Austin...My dad and Collin. Friends Shelli, Shanna, Emily and Tyrone, Jeremy and his little girl, Ella. This little group literally partied til we were done! I am not kidding. I heard there was a sing along and PIZZA involved! LUCKIES.


Around 11 p.m. I get to push. Lots of pushing.
Here's where I praise Billy the most. It was Doc, Nurse and me and Billy. Doc in the "catching zone" and Nurse and Billy flanking me to hold my legs and cheer me on. That PRECIOUS Groom of mine was instructed to help lift my legs and push me forward to assist my pushing. Not ONLY did he hop right on board, but he whispered constant praise and encouragement in my ear. He also kept reminding me to breathe deeply, like my Yoga. He also kept thanking me for doing this for us. YOU try to resist that man. I was quite randy for him right then and there. Ha. (I was actually randy for him all day. PREGNANCY and LABOR ARE WEIRD.

So, I pushed.
Doc kept telling me "Good Job" but her face was unsettled that I could see.
She said I could get another Epidural and we could keep pushing but that I'd made NO progress in an hour and she couldn't see any progress in my future. And I was feeling the contractions again. DUDE. Doc gave me the option. Keep pushing? Or:

SEE SECSHUN!! (We later learned that Lily's cord was too short to allow a vaginal birth. She bungee'd back upstairs with every push.)

I chose the C-Section. No more pushing, no waiting. Quickly I was wheeled to the OR. Another Doc sees that my epidural has come out so it's my luck to get to have another one! They lay me down, Billy finally arrives and they cut me open.
They put lots of pressure on my ribs...we hear lots of suctioning (there was meconium in the womb) then there it was...small, squeaky and glorious.
Our daughter was crying.

Billy was called to Lily's side so that he could snap pictures of her first moments in our family. And of course THAT is exactly when my violent shakes started. I shook so hard that I could hear rattling from the metal table beneath me. The nurse invited Billy to leave and help bathe his daughter. Nothing in the world would have had me ask him to miss that. I wanted him to be there. Which left me in the O.R. alone with my shakes and oncoming panic attack.

So, eternity passed by and I was finally wheeled down the hall, towards my room and past the nursery, where all our family and friends were admiring the "handywork" of Billy and Kim Knight. I was in such pain and the shakes had become so bad that I couldn't even open my eyes. But I could (just barely) mutter the word "Mama..." as I was whisked by the group.

Only my Mama didn't hear. But everyone else did! "Sandi, your daughter is calling you!" "Mom, Kimmer just hollered for you..." "Mom! (from my best friend) Go! Kim needs you!"
Dear Lord, did I need her. She came right in, saw what was going on, and knew my coach was absent for the moment...so she talked me down and coached my Yoga breathing and held my hand. The shakes subsided. Then were gone.
This was intensely beautiful to me. It was almost like a re-bonding between us. My mama was there for me again, as always as I had just given birth to my own daughter. Looking back on it, I can almost say it was my favorite part of this entire ordeal.

Until, that is, I was introduced to oxicodene! WOOOOHOOOO!


I seriously bless the pain meds. I am one of those who do not function while in pain. Aaaaahhhh.

ACT II:

My sweet mama knew that at that point, we were done. She kindly went out to all the waiting loved ones and told them about my shakes and ordeal and told everyone to go home. (You don't gots to go home but you cain't stay here!)

Though the next couple of days would be pandamonium with all the visitors, I was still grateful to each person. When asked to leave, they just left, no problems. (I was SO surprised.) This gave us a moment. I wanted to finally meet my daughter. I wanted to hold and be held by my husband. I wanted to see if my dreams - my deepest desires were in fact, coming to life.

Well, here: Do I LOOK happy?


She was/is the most gorgeous baby I'd seen.

If I had been given an order form...and the Lord my God had said, "Ok, Kim...what, exactly do you want in a husband? OH and the second form is for what you want in a child..."

and I could have custom ordered my new family, there is no way I would have received all I needed.

God is so precise in meeting our needs. He knew I needed a strong man, a funny, sensitive, fearless man. Yet a man who was a total dork and willing to play games.

I dreamed of a perfect family...a perfect life. And I am still constantly shocked at the things I never even asked for and yet I have them.

Now, I hope you don't think I'm being snotty or bragging (Laaah Dee Dah I have it all and YOU do NOT...nyah, nyah...") because I am daily overwhelmed at the blessings. I also pray that God gives me a serving heart and that I can give joy ten-fold the way He has given to us.

Anyway, back to the story. I swear it's almost over.

I have my beloved family. We have our Lily Blue.



We went into the hospital on Father's day; came home on 6/21/07. Breastfeeding going awesome...No sleep. By the way, it's 6/25/07, 7:14 a.m. and I've not been to bed. Typical, right?

Here are some random pics of some not so random folks. The last one I'm posting for a certain aunt who will enjoy it.

That's all from here. I'm going to bed (couch) and praying for three straight hours. PLEEEEEEASE.

Love,
Kimmer, Billy & Lily.