This Time Last Year

I'm not sure I ever shared much of my delivery experience. I was in so much shock that Little Miss arrived three weeks early it took a long time to sink in that she was here. This time last year I was in labor. I woke up about 7am with my water breaking. It wasn't a big event so I choose the denial option rather than telling anyone. I got a shower, shaved my legs, fixed my hair, and went to work. Luckily I was working from home so I didn't really have to drive anywhere. All day I worked away and felt that something was different. I told one co-worker, Tiffany, that I thought it was about that time and made sure she had detailed instructions and contact information to launch the new company website the following week.

By 5pm when I wrapped up work my contractions were coming steady every 5-7 minutes. I don't remember when Adam got home but I called him about two dozen times telling him to hurry because "I didn't feel well". I spent probably an hour or two tracking my contractions and on the phone with my friend Kristen trying to decide it this was the real thing.

By 10pm I called the doctor and he told me it was too early and that I should drink some water and go to bed. Hah! I'd been laying on the couch drinking water since 5pm. Adam went to bed and I continued to track contractions online until 1am when I couldn't stand it any longer. I still was convinced this was a false alarm but decided it was worth the humiliation to find out for sure. Adam was less than thrilled when I woke him up and informed him all our bags were in the car and we needed to leave. When we go to the hospital the nurses seemed quite skeptical of me. I guess because I was so calm and so early. Nobody seemed to be able to decide if my water had really broken and at 8am the doctor finally came to see me. Turns out I was going to have a baby after all and they finally let me settle in! At this point I'd been having contractions for over 15 hours and hadn't slept in over 24. They gave me an epidural about 9am and pitosin to speed things up. At noon I told the nurse something was happening and out Little Miss was here at 1pm.

The best part is the only people that new we were at the hospital were our bosses. We had chosen not to tell anyone when we went to the hospital. I couldn't stand the idea of having others waiting and wondering. That seemed like pressure that I wasn't interested in having. About the time they got Little Miss cleaned up we got to call friends and family and say fun things like, "I'm listening to my baby cry" and "Little Miss is here!" The reactions were priceless. So there you have it!

Here's a few pictures of our almost one year old! I can definitely saw my days of having her sit on the little piece of black fleece and pose for me are numbered. I'll need to learn some new photography tricks quick because she is ready to move!

Full of energy.

A beautiful profile.

Be still my heart.