Thursday, December 13, 2007

Two Years Still Feels Like Yesterday!

I confess...I had flashbacks last night. They were briefer than the past year, though. About 8:30pm, as I was snuggling with Dear Daughter in her bed, I thought of the eve of Dear Son's birth. How I read Daughter stories as I tried to ignore the contractions that had me in intense pain for two days. My doctor told me that morning that it was latent labor and she would see me the next week. I'd been awake all night in some serious pain, and this was only latent labor? I had to withstand another week of this? Well heck, what did I know. I never even felt the contractions with Dear Daughter before they decided she had to come via slice and dice mode. Who was I to argue? But man, did this latent labor feel painful!

I timed the contractions and tried to hide my pain as I finished a few bedtime stories. By the time I tucked Daughter in and left her room, I'd had about 40 minutes of contractions at semi-even intervals, but getting closer together. They were now consistently five minutes apart. I called my mom, the labor and delivery nurse. She agreed I'd better go in. I will spare you a repeat of the details I've already shared here.

Suffice it to say that every year as Christmas draws near, I begin to have a few flashbacks of the trauma of Son's birth and the aftermath. The holidays were a blur that year. I don't think I came out of the blur, semi-conscious, until about March. The only thing harder than laboring with a baby and then ultimately going c-section and then doing the whole newborn thing, is doing all those things with a 2 1/2 year old to parent as well.

I survived it. And every year I pat myself on the back and after I breathe a prayer of thanks for my beautiful baby boy, I follow with another prayer of thanks that goes something like this, "Thank GOD that's over!"

He's beautiful. He wasn't planned--at least not at the point that he came to be. But he's loved and wanted as much as a child could ever be. I can't imagine our lives or our family without him.

Happy Birthday, "Bubbie!"

3 comments:

Tracy Rambles On And On said...

Awe, Happy Birthday Little Man!
I totally know what you mean. Caroline was only 15 months old when Em came along. It was exhausting!
And honestly, only a mother could be having bad, semi-regular, contractions and still read bedtime stories!
This post was so very sweet!

Nyssa's Mommy said...

Happy Birthday to the Boy!

Seriously..."slice and dice?" I could have gone the rest of this pregnancy without hearing that phrase! Feeling. A. Little. Faint. The whole giving birth part? Scares the bejeepers out of me! I figure at 15 weeks, I've got some time to adjust to the ending! LOL.

Too cute! They are so cute and getting so big!

MGM said...

wacquiejacquie, I think God made pregnancy 40 weeks long so that by the time the baby is ready to come out, the mommy is so miserable and tired of being pregnant that giving birth seems the lesser of the two evils! You know, "LET'S GET THIS THING DONE ALREADY!"

Keep reminding yourself that billions of women have done this before you. And then done it a second, third, fourth...time. You can, too!