Miss C's Birth Story

Dear Baby Girl,

Every year Granny tells me all about the day I was born. We did started this last year and I did again tonight with you. You willingness to sit for the lengthy version of the story was not as good as last year because you wanted to sing A, B, C, D and Happy Birthday. So we did the condensed version at bed time. However, below is the full story.

It was snowing the day you were born. Big fat flakes that coated everything. I remember watching them swirl out the hospital window while I awaited your arrive. The snow was what brought us to the hospital because Mom was afraid if she waited much longer she would get stuck on the side of the interstate and I didn't want to deliver you on the side of the road.

I had been anticipating your arrival for many days as I missed my due date (2/16) and then had a false alarm (2/18) which both left me very sad because I was really looking forward to meeting you. You just weren't ready to make your arrival yet. I think you were waiting until Cousin Mia got here because the day she was born (2/19) Mommy started to see signs that you were planning to arrive.

Despite losing my mucus plug during the day, the evening of the 19th went pretty much as normal. It was a Tuesday so Daddy and I watched The Biggest Loser and he made dinner. I bounced for awhile on the exercise ball thinking that might coax you into coming and this time it seemed to work.

At around 11 PM I started to feel a little uncomfortable, but to be honest baby girl, Mommy was a little uncomfortable during the majority of her pregnancy so this didn't immediately make me think you were coming. By midnight the uncomfortable feeling was in Mommy's belly like cramps and in Mommy's back like a bad back ache. Sometimes in both places at the same time.

So I took a shower to try and easy the discomfort. I woke Daddy. We didn't know what to do. It was all so confusing and so exciting. I was nervous. Daddy timed my contractions for me and when we thought they were around 5 minutes apart I called the doctor.

The doctor on call told Mommy that she didn't think I should come in because she would likely send me back home. She didn't think I sounded like I was in that much pain because I was laughing. What she didn't understand was that Mommy sometimes laughs when she is nervous and I was very nervous.

Mommy listened to the doctor and stayed home even though she didn't want to. Mommy also didn't want to be sent home again either. So for the next few hours hours Mommy tried to relax as the contractions increased in frequency and pain. Daddy rubbed Mommy's back with Copper's slobbery tennis ball. It was gross but it worked a little.

I did all the breathing I had been practing for months. Calming counts of inhaling 1...2...3...4...5...all the way to 20 and then exhaling 1...2...3...4...5...over and over again. I then took a bath. After the bath I lay on Jake's bed and listened to the my labor and delivery music on my iPod.

Mommy is not going to lie to you, it was uncomfortable and there were moments when I'd bury my face in the pillow and scream a little. I tried my best to stay relaxed and breathe through the pain.

In the end I decided it was time to go to the hospital. It had started to snow and was approaching rush hour. Mommy's contractions had also started to become more severe to the point where I was throwing up.

No amount of relaxing breathing could change the weather, the traffic or the vomiting. So I woke Daddy and we got ready to go. Since we had our trial run a couple of days before and because Granny, Grampy, Nana and Papa had all been at the hospital in Louisville for Cousin Mia's arrival we held off on calling anyone in case it was another false alarm.We grabbed my bag, a puke bag and headed off to the hospital. By this time Daddy was tracking my contractions at 3 minutes apart and they were both light (more easy to tolerate) and heavy(the kind with puking).

I remember Daddy parking in the snow covered valet lot and commenting there was no valet to park our car at 5 AM. We opted to not take the elevator for expecting mom's that is decorated with a stork.

On the 9th floor of Good Samaritian Hospital we went to triage where they hooked Mommy up to all kinds of monitors and checked to see how dilated I was. The contractions were still coming. I was still puking and Daddy was amazing. He was there with me the whole time and it was so comforting to have him there.

I knew that if I was not 4 cm dilated they would send me home. Mommy so did not want to go home. Thankfully, when the nurse checked, I was 4 cm and they said I could stay! We started calling everyone to let them know you were coming.

We moved at this point to the labor and delivery room. This was the room we stayed in until an hour after you were born. Everything was done in this room. It was where I got my epidural at 8 AM, 9 hours after I first started feeling discomfort. It was where Nana Barb, Nana Sue and Papa and Granny all came to hang out with me and Daddy while we waited for you to come.

Most of the time Mommy just rested while listening to her iPod. The epidural made all the pain and vomiting go away and I was able to just enjoy the moment. Daddy watched the contractions come and go on the monitor and Jennifer, our nurse, got the room set up for your arrival.

Dr. Smith came in periodically to check on me to see how far along I was. He broke my water at some point and gave me pitocin to help speed up the delivery.

A little before 12 the room was cleared and it was just Jennifer, Daddy and Me. I started pushing which was extremely difficult because I couldn't feel anything from the waist down. But I pushed and Daddy helped me count. I pushed and pushed. Then Dr. Craig came back and at 1:01 PM you were born. Daddy saw you first but the moment you were delivered I felt this intense rush of emotions that flooded out in my tears. You were beautiful and Dr. Craig laid you on my belly so that I could see you more clearly.

Daddy and I loved you instantly and that day, that moment will forever be etched in Mommy's brain. I will never forget the way you sucked your little fingers almost immediately. I will never forget looking over and seeing Daddy with you while Jennifer got you all cleaned up and hearing him say how big your feet were. I will never forget you being placed in my arms and leaning down to kiss your sweet little face.

I love you baby girl. Happy Birthday!

Love,
Mommy

Baby Update

Had I not been sick on Sunday I would have taken my 28 week pregnancy picture. But alas, I looked like ass and barely made it up at all that day. I didn't want to capture that in a photo.

Now, I am 29 weeks pregnant and hope to get a picture this week to show just how ginormous I am. Everything is all good with Miss R (Yes, she has been named.). Her growth is right on track and we are trucking along to our due date.

I have been released from PT, couldn't remember if I said that or not. Left side of my pelvis doesn't like to move with the right side and that is causing all the problems. Good news is this isn't a new thing, had it before I was pregnant and know how to make it better. Bad news is can't do most of those make better things when preggo.

The pain is isolated (most days) to the evenings and when I am sleeping, or trying to sleep. And I am not going to lie, it's painful. Still, I'll take this over puking any day of the week. So, I will do what I can to make it feel a little better. I also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my husband even more for buying me a recliner to sleep in. That has helped a bit.

In other baby news I have started to prepare for her arrival. There isn't much we need. Just a few odds and ends. But still need to get the rooms ready and organized. Also need to get the clothes ready and all the toys cleaned up. Just because she gets hand-me-downs doesn't mean they can't be like new.

Check Up

Today we took Miss C for her 2 year check up. She's a little over 26 pounds and a few inches shy of 3 feet tall. 50 percentile.

I have to say she did wonderful at the doctor. We weren't sure if she would freak out or not but she didn't. We spent the ride over to the doctor talking about all that would happen while we were there. Not sure if that really prepared her or not. I am going to say it didn't hurt.

They asked us basic things about her development and our girl is right on track with everything. I think, even now, it can become quite easy to compare her to other kids and not always in a positive way. What else do you really have to go by than what other kids around her age are doing? I have struggled with that, moreso when she was first born than now, but still struggle from time-to-time.

If I have learned nothing else (and I have learned A LOT) in these last two years, it's that our child is our child. She is happy and healthy and moves at the pace that is best for her. In some instances she does things earlier than what most kids her age are doing and in others, she's a little behind. This, is all perfectly Miss C. I would not want her to be any other way than the way she is.

On Saturday we celebrate her 2nd birthday. 2 Years. AMAZING.

Snow snow snooooooooooooowwwwwwwww

I can only show you so many pictures of the snow. I am tired of looking at it and it's everywhere. Here in Cincinnati we have achieved a record total 21 inches in the month of February. This isn't an achievement I am proud of. I don't much care for the snow.

Ended up staying home on Monday with Miss C. This was due to the snow and to the fact that I was sick. Sick sick. Not preggo sick. I'll spare you the details on that but let's just say that it's not easy to be stuck in the house with a toddler, while pregnant AND sick. So I had to be creative.

One of the things we did was bring the snow to us. I filled a bowl with snow and let Miss C go to town. She spent a lot of time eating it but also moved it from bowl to bowl. When the thrill of that started to wear off we got out the food coloring and turned the snow in each bowl a different color. We actually did this twice in one day. Thankfully Miss C was entertained both times.

Sleeping

I find something absolutely peaceful about watching Miss C sleep. Pretty much every night I go into her room and just watch her. It used to be that I was making sure she was breathing when we first brought her home. Now, well looking at her beautiful face lets me know that there are some things in this world that are just right.

In this picture you can see a few of the norms for sleep in Miss C's world. There's Blankie which is her "lovely" and the most valued item in her arsenal of toys. We actually have 2 versions of Blankie here and she is smart enough to know the difference between them. There are also versions at Dad's and Mom's just in case. Blankie goes pretty much everywhere with us and we just go with it.

Other items of importance in this picture are the stuffed animals she's actually sleeping on. Every night the following friends sleep with her in the crib...Gapper, Wally, Fetch, Monkey, Elmo and Baby. It gets a little crowded in there and sometimes she chucks them out of the crib but most nights she puts them to bed and then falls asleep on them.

Snow

Over the course of the last week we've received our share of snow here in Cincinnati. SP took Miss C out to play in it. They tried out the sled and made a snow man. The snow man didn't last long because Copper ran off with its arms.

Rocking

The other night Miss C wouldn't fall asleep (I think she was still amped up from her visit to Louisville.) and none of my tricks to get her to sleep worked. So I got her out of the crib, wrapped her in her Dora blanket and rocked her to sleep.

There she lay in my arms head resting on my arm like we used to do when she was a baby. It's not as easy now to fit around my growing belly be we managed. As we rocked her eyes grew heavy and slowly, slowly, slowly she fell asleep in my arms like she once did as a baby.

We rocked there forever. The light of her nightlight framing her little face. She is perfect. Just like she was the day she was born. Perfect little nose and super long eyelashes. Smooth skin. Baby-fine hair.

We rocked and I thought about how soon, very soon, she will be a 2 year old. And, she will be a big sister soon after that.

So many changes for our little girl. Her world will be rocked but she is a strong little girl. I can see that even now in her. She will rise to the challenge of being a big sister and will be amazing at it.

But for now...for those precious few remaining moments where it's just her, we rock.