The Pregnant Potter No More

She's here. 

After nine long months of waiting and then 37 hours of labor, my baby is here. We named her Annabelle Elizabeth, after me, Elizabeth Anne. We both loved the name Annabelle and it seemed like the perfect way to take my maiden middle name and make it into a new name for my little girl. We didn't plan to use my first name, Elizabeth, as her middle name but Jon loved it. I've always felt it was not "my" name since I go by Lisa and the only people that call me Elizabeth are those who do not know me. But it grew on me and turned out to be a creative reinvention of my name with a sweet ring to it.

Her ArrivalI found myself in my studio on the afternoon of July 22nd with very light contractions coming every 10-15 minutes, a week before my due date. I was highly energized, so ready to not be pregnant, and channeled my energy into cleaning up my studio so I would have a tidy workspace to come back to after baby. I recycled clay, washed tables, cleaned wheels, organized, put away tools, covered bisque to keep the dust off them and wiped, wiped, wiped every surface.

We went to the hospital late that night and went through more pain and insanity than anyone outside of a torture chamber could imagine. So not Monday, not Tuesday but Wednesday, my sweet healthy 7 lb girl was born. Let me say that again- I was in labor a WHOLE DAY between the start and finish of my labor. Almost no sleep or food in that time frame. We heard four different families have babies in the delivery room next to us while I labored. WTH mate. It was terrifying- I will stop there and just explain my feelings with this next photo.

This captures pretty much how I felt afterwards. Completely taxed but clinging to new life. I almost died during labor, I'm sure of it, so I figured I should cling to life as it was quite fleeting in that room.

Here is my hubby- he didn't sleep Monday or Tuesday night either- I actually got more sleep than he did between contractions and after life saving medicinal interventions. He was freaking exhausted. He had to be hospitalized as you can see here. But he was amazing during the whole thing. The nurses said he was the best labor coach they had ever seen. I surely would have died or run away if he hadn't been there.

My sweet baby. All worth it in the end. I wasn't too sure though while it was happening.

Well hot diggity, I look good here! This is on Annabelle's birthday after a shower and a few hours sleep. This is my "I'm not pregnant!!" glow. It shines way brighter than that supposed "I am pregnant" glow. And that is my awesome friend Wendy who babysat my sweet Daisy dog while we were at the hospital.

Annabelle and Mommy. So sweet outside of the womb.

Splish Splash! AB loves her baths.

So what is it like being pregnant and a potter? It is hard. I'm not being a wimp when I say that. Being a potter is physical. You use your body for everything you do. It is not a desk job where you use your mind and rest your body. It requires strength, energy and heavy lifting. It requires endurance. Nausea and throwing pots do not go well together. It was a struggle to be a pregnant potter. I felt like an alien in my studio, working around this odd growth inside me. Some days I would push myself and come back the next day and destroy the work because I could see the effects of my fatigue showing up in the pieces. I also had several ailments that inhibited my work. Many days I had to make myself not work to preserve my sanity and well being. That was hard. I felt severly disconnected from something so me- pottery- and it was sad to be distant from my art.

Luckily I have my health back for the most part now. I will be slowly getting into better shape as my sleep becomes more regular and I have the energy and time to get out and do more. I've been getting in the studio every day except Sunday and enjoying my time so much. Most of the time Annabelle comes to the studio with me which is awesome. I miss her terribly when she is inside! But, usually I have another party helping out with her so I can work without a baby strapped onto me. But sometimes we do that too.

Despite everything hard about creating a human being, my life is so beautiful now I can hardly stand it. I have everything I want and am able to create my day around my little one. I don't have to dread going back to work and leaving my child with strangers. Since I work in my back yard I can easily exclusively breast feed her. My dog can roam the yard while I work in the studio and someday Annabelle can become her partner in crime. Things are fresh, new and full of awe.

I give thanks to the Lord for my beautiful life of family, art and love.