A Birth Story

Mothers love to share their "birth stories" -- if you think about it, they are somewhere between a story of going to battle and winning the lottery... I have two, and one of them occurred 5 years ago today! I was pregnant with my youngest -- eight days past my due date. My husband had been off of work for two days and was getting ready to go into work when we decided that I should call the doctor because I was feeling a little "funky." I called my ob and he had me come in to the office. My husband and my daughter went with me and we arranged for my mother to meet us there, just in case! The doctor checked my progress and sent me right next door to the hospital. We said goodbye to Mom and my girlie (the only one at that point!) and drove two minutes around the corner to the hospital. I remember when I had my eldest, we got there at 9:00pm and it was dark (winter) and they had us go through the emergency room entrance. This time it was summer, 12:00pm and we went through an entrance in the back. I felt like I waited FOREVER for my husband to park the car, and I stood there in this entryway with 2 hospital workers hanging out on a break or something. No one offered me a wheelchair to sit in (unlike with my eldest daughter, where they met me at the door and whisked me off in one). I was beginning to think I might give birth in the entrance there waiting for my husband... I vaguely remember calling my friend Chrissy while I was waiting, and letting her know that I was at the hospital. Finally my husband came in and we went upstairs. I was so far along at that point that it was too late for an epidural. My doctor arrived, I pushed a little, and voila -- at 1:34pm my youngest daughter was born! It was such a strange experience compared to when I had my first daughter -- the length of time (I got to the hospital at 9pm and had her at 5am), the time of day (literally the difference between night and day), the people -- with our first daughter, my mother, father and stepmother were all waiting (from 11 - 5!) for their first grandchild to arrive. This time, my dad and stepmother were out of town and my mom was waiting at home with the big sister-to-be. It was so different, but a really amazing experience, feeling like it was just my husband and me.

Finally, our family is complete!

Happy 5th Birthday, Sweet Girl! We can't imagine our lives without you!