The Birth of Mallory Mirth (December 14, 2023)

 

It was the day after St. Lucia Day, and I was exactly 4 weeks overdue. Yes, that's some kind of crazy, but I was having biophysical u/s and NSTs two times a week at the end, and this particular morning Pitterpat showed off all the flips and wiggles, so, while watchful, my provider was going to allow me to head into the weekend.

John met me after my morning appointment for a date, and while eating subs, I started having regular contractions that felt like they were heading more into The End. I was used to prodromal labor from the previous days, so after hemming and hawing a bit, I decided to head home and told John he might as well go back to work. It only took the 30-minute car ride home for me to decide I'd better head right back to town. When Mopsy showed up to watch the children, Susannah took charge as driver, and when she reached the top of Mount Hunger a minute later, my breathing was already making her nervous. 😂 She kept her cool, though, and mostly drove the speed limit, which is more than John probably would have done in her place. (Yes, I took a picture on my phone, because I thought it was funny.)

John works a mere block from the hospital, so he met us at the ER entrance. I could barely walk at this point, and for the first time ever, I was thankful instead of annoyed by the wheelchair and escort. They wheeled me straight into a room, we met the red-headed nurse, and about 20 minutes later, Mallory arrived. The nurse(s) delivering her were tense while I was pushing, and I discovered later that the umbilical cord had been wrapped around her neck twice. Speaking of that cord, after birth the red-headed nurse held up the umbilical cord and loudly proclaimed, "She's going to have good luck for life!" She was impressed that the cord had not just one, but two true knots in it. Even one true knot, according to old wives and red-headed nurses, immediately marks the baby with good luck, so our girl was doubly marked. 

Since she was a hair shy of 7 lb., 5 oz. at 4 weeks post-due, there's a good chance she had started losing weight before she came out. Birth is one event of many in which our lack of control is glaringly obvious, and we are so grateful that God spared her and gave her a smooth, quick, safe delivery into the world. 

Before we were moved upstairs to the maternity floor, John started leafing through our baby names books and writing down options for our girl. We explained to the red-headed nurse who delivered her that we don't name our babies until after birth, and that it's easier for us to see what fits them best. She said she'd help us choose the perfect name, picked up the book, and pointed at random, announcing "KYLE! Your baby's name should be Kyle!" We laughingly declined, and at that point, she began pushing for us to name the baby after her. "Mallory's a great name. I always try to get a baby named after me, but no one's done it yet," she said. On a whim, John looked up the meaning of Mallory, a name that we had never before even considered for a baby. As it happens, it means "unfortunate; unlucky." There it was. We put it on the names list and later decided that a name we'd never liked before was just right for this true-knotted little one.

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Mallory Mirth Owen

(Unlucky) (Merriment) (Well-Born).

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When Mallory the Nurse heard that we'd named our new baby after her, she came up from the labor and delivery ward to see us before we left. She held little Mallory with tears in her eyes. Human connection is mysterious-- a strange and wonderful thing. 

And as a gray-haired mama, what a strange and wonderful honor it was to carry and grow you, my dear. I remain overwhelmed by the goodness of you and it all.