Baby May

About 8 months into Anne’s pregnancy, there’s been a discussion of how her and Ian will get to the hospital to have the baby. Will they make it on time? How long will it take to get there? What if there’s traffic? Will they have to deliver the baby in the car? You can imagine all the what if’s when you live in rural Kenya at least an hour away from a hospital, on a good day.

We all took bets on the day, weight, height, hair and eye color, the whole bit. I, for some reason, was the only person that guessed Anne would go into labor early. In the end, Anne decided to be induced, but contractions came a day before it was scheduled. So, I stayed with Lucy, Eli, and our volunteer team as Ian and Anne took off for Nairobi.

You can read more about this crazy experience on the May’s blog www.mayfamily.wordpress.com. Although they made it to the hospital in time, Anne progressed with her contractions so quickly that the doctor didn’t make it. The nurse was on the phone with the doctor telling her to come as Ameena’s head started coming out. Ian had to literally hold Ameena’s head while the nurse put gloves on. And, there’s something about Ian almost passing out from all the commotion.

In the end Ameena Olivia May was born on May 7th weighing 2.9 kg and 50 cm long.

She’s precious. Sounds like a cat when she cries. Is incredibly expressive, even when she sleeps. And is so tiny I feel like I’m holding a doll sometimes. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that she’s the quiet one out of all the May kids.

Everyone has enjoyed her so much. This is the first mzungu baby the Kenyans have seen and they’re going crazy over her. They think her skin is too red and she’s cold because she isn’t covered in a hat, socks, mittens, sweater, AND blanket. I think they forget that it’s 80 degrees here daily. Anne’s been very patient and a good sport about it all though.

Eli’s daily quote. “Mom, she just keeps getting cuter and cuter every day.” Agreed.

Congratulations May family!

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