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| March 10, 2010 |
I've often wondered, through the years, how I would feel on reaching this milestone.
Because, though intellectually I've always known this day was coming - let's face it, I'm not a Duggar, and 6 or 10 or 19 children are definitely not in our future - I've had a hard time imagining that a day would come when I would ever truly feel that sense of closure over growing our family. Babies are a blessing, and I was pretty confident that a I would ever feel done.
Well, that was before adopting. Before regularly single parenting four children for large stretches of the year. Before having a pregnancy that has taken me off my feet for literally months. Before having two with special needs at completely different ends of the spectrum. One with trauma, one who is incredibly gifted. Plus, you know: soon-to-be three more.
This morning? I awoke with only a sense of joy and finality. I'm so ready to meet this boy. So ready to let him complete our family. I know that it is time to focus on the big job of turning really fantastic little people into kind, compassionate, awesome adults. I also recognize that this is no small task.
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| Eaaaarly, early morning, August 28, 2012 |
We had rather a lot to do before this baby arrives, and because of all our hospital fun, there is only one week between bringing Livvy home and embarking on our own hospital adventure. So we had to prioritize.
I took Leah on a date to see Beauty and the Beast yesterday, something I've been wanting to do since before the hospital.
We also needed to to stock the freezer, knowing that I'll have to be off my feet after surgery. Casey and I spent about three hours yesterday stockpiling food. We made 9 big meals - hopefully enough to feed even our big crew and still have left overs.
Because of the way our house is situated, the baby will have to share our room for the foreseeable future. Eventually, we'll have to finish the basement so Jake can move down there. Livvy will move out of the nursery and into Jake's room, and then the baby can move to the nursery. Hopefully (ideally... maybe) sometime this summer (HA! We'll see!). For now, though, there was significant cleaning and organizing that had to happen in the Master bedroom. Baby items that needed to come up from the basement, take a spin in the wash and get set up and ready to use. Just general readiness, particularly since I'll be spending more time in that room with the baby after tomorrow.
I'd also been wanting to get a pedicure since.... I don't know. Last year? I was going to do it when Casey initially got home, but then the world got crazy.
Luckily, Jess offered to have one last best friend outing before this baby is born, so we took this afternoon to do that.
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| August 4, 2014 |
Which is when all the BIG fun really began. Because, at about 2:30 this afternoon, I had a HUGE contraction. Or, you know, a contraction that felt huge to me, because I've only just come to grips with the idea of NOT having any. I was SO not in a space to have to have contractions!
I got through it. One contraction... no big deal.
And then, before too long, another big contraction.
And before I knew it, we were tracking them. 10 minutes apart, solid and decently heavy labor contractions. OY.
There was nothing left to do. They were either going to go ahead, or stop (remember days and weeks of prodromal labor with Olivia? Because... I DO!), so we went and did our toes. And I am pretty sure my best friend was on the edge of a heart attack the entire time as the contractions went from 10 minutes, to 9, 8, 6, and 5 minutes apart.
She is so much smarter than I am, because I would have been yelling, "YOU'RE IN LABOR, YOU CRAZY FOOL!!!" She kept her mouth shut until I actually asked for her opinion. It was both scary and reassuring to watch her eyes well up with tears when she told me how much she didn't want me to repeat Logan's delivery. She's been to all of mine. She knows what I've been through. I scared her four years ago when I couldn't get him out. I scared her even more in the aftermath, when I was hemorrhaging and they were talking about doing a blood transfusion or taking me to surgery. Luckily, neither of those came to pass, but she clearly remembers.
Yeah. If I had any doubts about taking him C-section, there was no greater confirmation than in my best friend's face.
I came home and Casey convinced me to get in the bath. I didn't know what to do. Call the hospital and tell them I needed to do a c-section tonight? Let it progress, wait and see?
My water hadn't broken, and I hadn't yet crossed the great divide into what I would consider to be true labor, so I decided to lay down and take a nap. I was still having some light contractions when I woke up, but they were noticeably less intense, although still coming about 6 minutes apart. By 8:00, they had disappeared altogether.
Crisis averted.
So we went back to it: packing hospital bags, finalizing schedules, writing notes to the kids and organizing the few little gifts we'd bought for them to wake up to in the morning when Mommy and Daddy are gone.
We're leaving for the hospital at 5:45... and there will be a baby very soon thereafter. And I am so, so exited I can hardly stand it!
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