Happy Birth Day, Squirt! It's a....

GIRL!

This time, for once, I did have mother's intuition. It helped that Squeak clued me in about this one awhile ago. I know that everyone really just wants to see a photo, so I'll try not to be too wordy in this post, but if it weren't for the sleep deprivation that accompanies having a newborn, I'd have a baby every nine (OK, maybe ten) months for the thrill and exhilaration of natural birth. Labor and birth were AWESOME! D was a fabulous birth companion--the best doula I could ever have!

Proud sister and brother

We're still deciding about a name (and hoping it doesn't take two weeks like last time!!), but one of our favorite options is Botum, which is Cambodium for princess.




Lots of exciting things to say about the birth, but for now I'll just mention one. Squirt was born with the amniotic sac intact, or en caul. This is something I had heard about as a childbirth educator, but it's very rare, and I've never known anyone whose baby emerged with the sac intact--and now it happened to us! Pretty cool!

Here's some info I found on the internet:

Dwight Cruikshank MD, states that being born with or in a caul is rare, probably occurring in fewer than 1 in 1000 births, and that he has seen fewer than 10 babies with a caul throughout his career.

In medieval times the appearance of a caul on a newborn baby was seen as a sign of good luck. It was considered an omen that the child was destined for greatness. Birth "En Caul" is generally considered to be a very auspicious beginning for a child.

Many are great natural healers, which trait may be manifested by the laying on of their hands, or remotely from a distance. Many are considered to have great ability in matters of judgment and ruling nations and often possess insights which are difficult to appreciate by other people.

In many cultures the Caulbearers were considered to be “Kings by right,” due to the predictive nature of their births and their leadership abilities. This is one of the reasons why certain Buddhist groups, to this very day seek out Caulbearers to be brought up to become Dalai Lamas.

More info found here

Stats:
Birth Day: September 26, 2009
Time: 3:41 a.m.
Weight: 7 lb. 12 oz.
Length: 19.5 inches
Head circumfrence: 13.5 inches (smallest one yet)
Labor time: 18.5 hours

We are so thrilled about our baby girl!