The first time I saw...my daughter

Now that I have recovered (almost) from my trip to the UK, I will try to catch up on my Blog Dare posts!  I was with my sister when she had her baby. It reminded me of the first time I saw Miss M (my daughter, who's about to turn THREE!)! My sister's labor & delivery story was very similar to mine, which brought it all flooding back to me, not like I'll ever forget!

I remember being overdue. I remember going to church the Sunday after she was due and of course, in case it wasn't obvious, everyone asked where the baby was! I remember how I couldn't wait to meet her. I remember that I wasn't as terribly uncomfortable as most mommies-to-be, but I just couldn't stand the agony of not knowing WHEN she would arrive! That about drove me nuts, until...

January 18, 2009, around 4:00 p.m. I was on Facebook, chatting with my bestie, Michelle. She had recently moved a couple of hours away and it was killing us both! We were having a lovely chat, when...OUCH! What was that?! Chat, chat, chat! WHOA that HURT! Chat, chat, chat...uhh, I think we better keep track of how often this is happening...more chat, finally I had to go tell hubby it was time to get ready. I knew our little one would be here before long.

I spent some time in the tub to relax. I love the water and had read great things about laboring in the water. All through the night, I tapped on hubby's shoulder so he could document the start of my contractions. Great way to make sure neither one of us got any sleep! by 10:00 the morning of January 19, I was in so much pain I was throwing up. I had a pretty good feeling that things were going to get a lot worse, rather than better. I told hubby to get ready to take me to the hospital NOW.

Away we went. It turned out I wasn't quite "ready" for them to keep me, but since I was to be induced the next day anyway, they let me stay. Probably cuz I was such a cry baby. Contractions HURT, man!  I had been coached by my mental midwife to speak the word "epidural" every other word until they hooked me up. I did as instructed and got my epidural going lickety split. Once I knew I wasn't leaving that hospital w/out a baby, I relaxed a bit and could actually smile again!

Once they got the drugs going, I tried to rest between contractions as much as possible (yeah right). Fast forward a bit: Mom & Dad arrived. A little while later, my sister arrived too. They were just hanging out with me while I writhed in agony. Finally, it was time for the big show! I mean, really time! We went from "hopefully she'll be here before 10:00, I have an early morning appointment," (spoken by my OB) to mom telling the nurse, "I..I think I see her HEAD! (Miss M's, not mine!)" All of a sudden, the room was FULL of people. Doc was in the room next door, finishing up with another mommy and baby (the NERVE!). He arrived just in the nick of time to get me through the last few pushes.

They handed her to me...she was so warm and gooey and purpley...crying like WTF just happened!? I just held her and told her "It's OK, honey, we've both had a VERY big day!" Oddly enough, I think my sister, who is not the one with the front row seat to her nieces delivery, uttered pretty much the same thing to her son on January 5, 2012!

It was so surreal to finally hold her in my arms. I was in the deepest love imaginable and could not take my eyes off of her. That was the first time I saw...my daughter.