Happy Birthday To My Election Day Baby

Today is election day. As I sit here typing, I can hear from the living room that Ohio and Pennsylvania have been called for Obama. No republican has ever been elected to the White House without Ohio. Pundits are saying that McCain's campaign staff is already admitting defeat. And it's not yet 11:00 p.m. I'm afraid to put it in writing, but I actually think that we might pull this election off.

Lest I jinx the race, I'll save my election reflections for another post. For another day.

But as I try to sort out my thoughts -- which are racing around my head -- regarding this election, I can't help but think back 4 years to the last time a President was elected.

I was working for a lobbying firm at the time, so for us an election...a Presidential one no less....was comparable to tax season for an accountant. Things were slightly less intense for me -- I was one of the few non-registered lobbyists on staff -- but they were still nuts. People were walking around wearing their party affiliations on their selves. Literally. I've never seen so much red and blue attire in one place.

Monday, November 1 was, as you can imagine, completely crazy. I had a to-do list a mile long. I got through 98% of it, and almost wrapped things up for the day, but a nagging feeling told me to stay late and finish it up. I was 36 weeks pregnant.

I ended up racing straight from the office to my book club where I had a great time drinking wine with friends, eating a great meal, talking about kids and husbands, and discussing our book....whatever it might have been...for exactly three seconds. Why is it that book clubs always revert to supper clubs?

My back started aching at around 9:30. I had one bad cramp, down low on my right side, at about 10. A few minutes later I felt dampness. Down there. And I was sitting on my neighbor's BRAND. NEW. LEATHER. CHAIR. The one she and her husband had splurged on. I was almost too scared to stand up and look lest I discover a puddle. Thankfully when I did stand up the seat of the chair...and my pants....was dry. I feigned a headache and quickly got myself home. We were about to adjourn anyway, so suspicions weren't peaked.

Of course, when I got home I discovered an empty house. Well, empty except for my 8 pound dog, Truman. Who was totally cute but completely worthless. Turns out that I had just missed Noah. He left probably 5 minutes before I got home. To go work out. In a loud gym. Where cell phones don't hold a candle to blasting music and machines.

Long story short, when Noah returned an hour later I was fit to be tied. My "where are you darling?" voicemail messages had digressed to "you'd better get home immediately or I'm going to kill you!" I was fairly certain that I was in labor. My husband was missing. And my mother was in New York. For one night. Because of course I wouldn't go in to labor 4 weeks early, right? And she'd only be gone for 24 hours.

The good news was that there wasn't a lick of traffic between our house and George Washington University Hospital in downtown DC. And while my totally favorite OB, the one that I adore, wasn't on call that night, my second favorite OB was. And said second favorite OB showed up at 2 a.m. looking totally cute and completely perky wearing the most adorable black patent leather Dansko clogs. I now own two pairs. And I always get compliments when I wear them!

In the few hours between our arrival at the hospital when it was confirmed that I was leaking amniotic fluid and, thus, wouldn't be leaving the hospital....and when Lily was born just after 5 a.m. I must have made a dozen calls to my office, leaving messages for everyone about what work would need to be done in my absence. I was having a baby but the only "baby" I could focus on was my job.

But at 5:08 a.m., on November 2, 2004, after about 40 minutes of pushing, Lily Lewis Israel was born. And her little life only cost me three stitches. A minor price to pay. She weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces and was a tiny 19 inches long. And though covered in vernix and a fine white fur, missing her eyebrows and eyelashes (and early birth will do that to ya....you betcha!) and sporting a nose flattened like a pancake thanks to my birth canal, my OB took one look at her and declared that she was a gorgeous baby. And she wasn't blowing smoke up my stitched up arse either. She was completely amazed by Lily. I told you that she was my second favorite OB...for good reason!

It was a surreal moment. The room was quiet. It was just Noah and me, my OB and a nurse. Not the hustle and bustle that you see on medical TV dramas. There was no drama at all. Just a teeny tiny and totally perfect baby. And a sunrise outside my hospital window.


I will admit that it took me a few weeks to really bond with Lily. And during those weeks I spent a good amount of time crying. And when my milk came in I was in agony. Neither Lily nor I took to nursing naturally. And because she was pre-term, and super jaundiced to boot, there was some kind of crazy amounts of pressure on me to nurse, nurse, nurse the baby. It didn't help that I was sick when she was born. I probably could have pushed her out in half the time had my head not been full of 900 gallons of mucus.


But I did bond with my baby, and quite frankly I've been in awe of her ever since.

Lily has a heart bigger than most and frequently expresses her love. For her family. For her friends. For the random girl she met trick or treating. Who she had never seen before. Who she hasn't seen since. Alexa -- wherever you are, Lily loves you! Not only does she have a huge capacity to love, but she's a kind person who is concerned about others. Even Mr. Charles, who parks our car, or Ms. Ross, who is a security guard in the Huck building.


She is smart. CRAZY. SMART. And wonderfully curious. I'm not just saying that because I'm her mother. Everyone tells me the same. When Lily was two you could have an adult conversation with her. Now that she's four, I have a hard time keeping up.

She's incredibly outgoing. The mother of a classmate sent me an email after Lily's party on Sunday. "I was so impressed with how outgoing and friendly Lily was. Quite a little miss you have there!"


She's funny. Anna thinks she's hysterical.

She's a beautiful child. Inside and out.


She's my first. She's my baby. She changed me.

So while the 2004 elections were a dismal day for me, November 2, 2004 was an amazing one. Not only did I give birth that day. Not only did I become a mother that day, and Noah a father. But that was the day that my priorities changed for good. Yes, I had left a dozen messages for colleagues while I labored away. And yes, I had promised to come in, wrap up a few loose ends, and clean up my office. Did I? Yes. 4 months later. The minute they handed that tiny baby to me, work melted away.


I have learned so much from Lily these past four years. FOUR. YEARS. I still can't believe that she's four. Going on 34. She woke up on Sunday and announced that she felt different. Taller. Older. Definitely different.


We had a wonderful celebration at the National Zoo this past Sunday, on her actual birthday. She got to pick the guest list. And while she thought about it for a long time -- someone as outgoing as Lily was tortured by the process of choosing only 19 friends to invite (BTW, I don't even think I have 19 total) -- she chose a wonderful group from her new school, a tiny handful from her old, her cousin, and her swimming partner in crime. Working with her on the guest list reminded me of the process of widdling down our wedding invite list. LORD HELP ME when it comes time for Lily's wedding. This child is way too friendly for my pocketbook to handle.


And now we're in the midst of another election day. This will be a far better one politically. I think and I hope. And for me personally. I get to enjoy it with my family. Noah and I get to experience this one, this moment in history, with our completely amazing gift. Happy Birthday big girl! Happy Birthday my darling Lily. Perhaps your best gift of all will be a blue Virginia and a President "A-rock" Obama!!