Once Upon A Time... page 2

Inspiration ⁄ Search: ambulance

Cheers

I totally love your page, wonderful ending, thanks for sharing.

September 12, 2015

Neat story and neat layout!

November 30, 2007

I think that's great. I did a similar page for my daughter.

April 15, 2004

Once Upon A Time... page 2

I documented the day Miranda Jen decided to make her grand entrance to the world.

This was used for her first Birthday party. I made a collage of her first pics and blended them together along with one current picture. I chalked the journal page to give it an aged look.

Journalling: Miranda Jen was born on a Saturday, November 16th, 2002 to be exact. It was a brisk day in San Francisco. Almost a perfect day for a baby to be born. Only problem was, it was also a perfect day for a wedding. The day my little MJ decided to come see the world was also the day her Auntie Lissa was to become Mrs. Edward Belardo.

Of course, she was not expected to arrive at least for another week. So I safely assumed that all was well and the family proceeded as normal, preparing for Lissa and Ed's wedding. My husband Tony, my daughter Aly and myself all had parts to play in this grand occasion so that Friday, in spite of a few minor Braxton-Hicks contractions (which I experienced often during my last trimester) we joined the relatives at the Marriott, San Francisco, the site of the reception. After checking in, we relaxed a bit as we waited for and greeted arriving kin. During this time, my contractions began to strengthen and came at least once every hour. Still, determined to car on as normal, I ignored them. But as the evening wore on I noticed that I had to stop every so often to brace myself against these unusually strong 'false' labor contractions (can you tell I was in denial by this time?).

I started to dread the worse. By 11:00 that evening, I was almost certain that I was in labor. I began to time my pains and by 1:30 a.m. my contractions were coming every 5 minutes. Everyone was already in bed getting the rest that they would need for the next day so I quietly called Kaiser Vallejo, the planned hospital for my baby's birth. Labor and Delivery walked through and timed my contractions over the phone . . . and as we debated on whether I should start making my way to Vallejo . . . my bag of water breaks! Oh boy! After that, it was a blurry rollercoaster ride.

I remember waking Tony. Shuttling Aly to her grandparents room down the hall. Grabbing my overnight bag . . . and rushing downstairs to our waiting car. Unfortunately, the contractions were coming one on top of the other. Not a good thing when you're planning on a 35-mile drive back to Vallejo. We got half way down the street when I mentioned to Tony that I wouldn't be able to make it. Back to the hotel we go since Tony was totally unfamiliar with San Francisco streets and the location of San Francisco Kaiser. He left me in the car as he ran back into the hotel lobby to have them call an ambulance. By this time I think it was around close to 3:00 a.m. and there I was panting and groaning in the front seat wondering what was taking the ambulance so long.

Finally, a man in a blue shirt opens the car door and asks me if I was in labor . . . no duh! It was the ambulance and paramedics . . . and even through my haze of pain . . . I noticed how good looking he was . . . but that lasted . . . what . . . only a second before another wrenching pain gripped my stomach. The ride to the hospital seemed endless and torturous. The driver appeared to have had the uncanny ability to find every pothole and rut in San Francisco. And after 9 hours of labor, Miranda Jen Reyes Esta was born by caesarean section at 12:53 p.m. The most beautiful baby in the world. And around the same time, Mrs. Melissa Jocelyn Esta became Mrs. Edward Belardo . . . It was a day of many blessings.