Labor & Delivery Barbie

Ever since having the good fortune to attend the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with friends last month, Tai has been enamoured with the Rockettes. His playbill from the show is thoroughly tattered from being flipped though daily. He turns to the two-page-spread of Rockette head shots and pours over them. Many a night at bedtime he told us of his plan to dream that he, "went to the spec-tack-ee-lar show again and then had a playdate with all the Rockettes." (Side note: we figure this recurring dream either means he's really straight or really gay).

Lucky boy that he is, he was given his very own Rockettes Barbie doll for Christmas, complete with skimpy Santa-type outfit, white lace tights, and silver high heels. He named her Sarah (after one of the actual Rockettes in the playbill, of course). For the past couple weeks, Sarah has been living on Tai's headboard along with several small stuffed animals. She and Emmit seem to have become good friends.

Tonight, just before bedtime, Tai informed me that Sarah was pregnant and that the baby was coming *tonight*. "Well," I asked "does she need to get to a hospital? Or will she have the baby at home?" "Not at home," he said, "that's too messy. There would be blood everywhere."

So off to the hospital she went.

Upon arrival, Sarah met a team of several doctors ready to help her out. They included a turtle, a cat, a carousel horse, a snake, a lobster, and (of course) Emmit. Clearly, she was in good hands.

Sarah apparently breezed through Stage 1 of labor, because she was clearly ready to push. I found it extremely difficult to get Sarah into a Bradley-Method-approved birthing position, but did my best not to model flat-on-her-back delivery. So I propped her on some pillows and Tai said, "She has to open her legs" and grabbed her from me. But then he became frustrated with Barbie's in ability to spread her legs left-to-right. "She can only open her legs this way," he pointed out and he positioned one foot in front of her body and one behind. I assured him that was good enough for pretend, though in real life a woman would indeed need to spread her legs wide (and not just do a split).

About a minute later Sarah gave birth to a beautiful little fluffy yellow chick. She really is an amazing woman, as her figure seemed to bounce back instantly and she never even took her tights off. Barbie, you rock.