Celebrating one year...

Then....

Now....

Today is Emma's 1st birthday. We've had cake and ice cream, opened presents, and played until she couldn't take it anymore. Oh, I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed!

I can still remember waking Karl up at 4 a.m. on March 1, 2009, and telling him "It's time to go!" I had woken up to visit the bathroom and that's when my water broke...not completely, but I knew the signs. I wasn't taking any chances since Corbin came so quickly after that happened during my pregnancy with him. Karl really wasn't interested in being the one to deliver the baby either. We got there, the nurses confirmed that my bag of waters had indeed ruptured, and admitted me. However, my labor was apparently "slow to progress"...they actually told me I wasn't in labor. We had to make a decision....I was NOT interested in going back home, for the same reason as mentioned above, and I don't think they were really too keen on letting me go anyway. When my contractions hadn't really started much by 11 a.m. (after walking up and down the halls repeatedly, too) they wanted to put me on pitocin. Let me tell you I have always avoided that stuff because of a lady I worked with during my pregnancy with Logan. Now she had her boys about 20 years before I had Logan and things are different today, but I didn't know that and she terrified me! So, when the doctor mentioned pitocin I had lots of questions...she was able to assure me that it wasn't "like it used to be" (causing one, huge, never-ending contraction!) and that they would have my pain medication right on the same floor so I wouldn't have to wait long at all if I decided to have it. That made me feel a little better...now to decide when to get it...too early and it wears off, too late and they can't give it to me. Well, it turns out it didn't matter. After an hour or so, the pain was getting fairly strong, but I was afraid of having my meds too early...they checked to see how dilated I was, only 4.5 cm, so I decided to wait. Just a short time later I asked Karl to get them to check again b/c I just didn't think I could go through much more. At that time I was only 5.5. However, the resident did tell me my bag of waters had completely ruptured at that time. I told them I wanted to have the meds...they left the room to get them, came back almost immediately. I told the nurse then that I was feeling lots of pressure...so much so actually that I could barely get the words out....for me labor pains take my breath away. She said something along the lines of "oh, that's normal, just go with it." Uh....okay. I told her again, then immediately felt as if the baby was crowning, and said as much to the nurse as she was putting the meds in my I.V. She checked to see and of course chaos ensued! I was right...the next few moments are a blur for me, but Karl says the nurse was yelling for the doctor who was with another patient on the same floor, the resident was trying to take her coat off and turning in circles in the process, and the RN proceeded to deliver the baby right there on the bed. They had no time to prepare anything...she just made her arrival. A beautiful, squalling, 7lb. 12oz. bundle of pure perfection. The doctor walked in just after the birth...yet she still signed the birth certificate. We may as well have stayed home longer..Karl would have been able to do what was needed. I actually know someone who ended up having her baby in her van....not on purpose that's just how it ended up....her husband delivered the baby and he got to sign the birth certificate. How cool is that?! Not something we would want to plan for, though. ;) As for the pain meds...they helped me not at all. I ended up dozing off and on during the first hour after her birth b/c that's what the meds do, help you rest between contractions, only there were no longer any contractions. It was kind of funny, actually. ;) We nursed, and enjoyed looking at each other. It was a very special bonding time with just the three of us...a wonderful thing that we didn't get to experience with the rest of our children. Such memories....and now she's 1. Amazing!