Has it really been one year?? I can't believe it! I have a one year old. She's crazy and fun and oh so loveable! And I already have to try to stay 5 steps ahead of her every minute!
She weighed in at a whopping 18 lbs 10 oz which was like the 15% for weight... and 28.5 inches long which was closer to 25% for her age. And her head was about the same range, which is miles above where it started when I pushed it out... her head was so tiny it wasn't even on the charts yet... but that was fine with me and my laboring! ;) Shortly after though, her head had a growth spurt and its been on track ever since.
I never knew I could love someone as much as I love her... Every moment of every day for the last year, she's given me something to love about her....her soft smooth skin, her big brown eyes, her cheesy grin, her soft sweet voice... and even her not so soft voice ;) Her unconditional love... her laughs, even her tears. She's constantly learning and exploring and anxious to take on this thing called life. I could learn a thing or two from her sometimes.
Milestones and memories this month:
*Really experimenting with walking... taking about 5 steps at a time
*Crawls faster than lightening so probably the only reason she's not walking YET...
*She got so sick with a temp of 104 for 3 days and had a febrile seizure that scared me to death
*She signs regularly the words that she knows (Milk, All done, More, Come here, Hi/Bye...)
*She waves Hi/Bye to everyone when we go out in public
*She stretches out her arms wide when I ask her how much I love her ("THIS much")
*She finally learned how to drink thru a straw
*She's getting better at sippy cups and even regular cups but still spills a lot
*She makes sounds for "LION" and "HORSE"
*She loves to sing and do horsey rides
*She started knodding "yes" but I don't think she always means it
*She has 8 teeth fully cut... 4 top, 4 bottom
*She loves to "brush a hair"... she brushes her own hair after her bath
*She also loves to let me brush her teeth (what a relief!)
*She is like her mother in one way... and LOVES books... She's pretty careful about not ripping pages and likes to turn them and even read to herself. She also points at pictures during the story.
*Still loves Nemo
*She talks a TON... she just started jabbering a ton in her own little language... sounds like "boyk-ta", "badoba", "ohooo","dyo" and "meena" she says all the time, over and over. She also says "mom" "da" and "deh" which translates to: "there she is!" for peek-a-boo
*Loves to play peek-a-boo with anything and everyone
*Loves Kix cereal for snacks
*She goes to bed really easily and sleeps thru the night for the most part
*She just started learning how to go down the stairs (instead of just UP)
*Loves to play "getchew" games and chase or be chased by people... especially daddy
*She understands way more than she can say and knows certain commands I say a lot
I could go on and on. And she learns so much so fast and just builds on it so I can't always keep track of exactly when she officially learned certain things. Might be some repeats...
Also, just for my memory's sake, I want to record my recollection of her birth. Its hard to remember all the details after only a year, and I'm sure it will only get worse. I didn't have a blog back then, so here goes: (a long one...)
I was due March 26 which was a Wednesday. I had just gotten thru kidney stones after many other problems and infections during my pregnancy. I was in pre-labor (not to be confused with pre-mature labor) for several weeks and my body was already ready to have her at my 38 week check up which was Wednesday. I was dilated to a 3 and fully effaced. Because of all the complications I had and all the pre-labor work my body had done, my doctor suggested I be induced within a couple days if I didn't go into labor myself. I asked to wait till Friday, the 14th to see what my body would do and to give myself a couple of days to prepare. Thursday, Doug and I packed most of our things and had our "last supper" which I didn't eat much of due to hormones and not feeling great. Doug went to work at midnight, and I went to bed. At about 5am, I half woke from my sleep from a "stomach pain", I thought. I rolled over and went back to sleep. Not long after, I woke up again from a sharp pain. That was enough to fully alert me and I decided to look at the clock and see if it happened again. 8 minutes later, it did. And again, 8 minutes after that, it happened again. I decided this might be labor. I texted Doug and told him might be going into labor on my own but that I know most first timers spend a lot of time in labor before they are really at the point where they need to go to the hospital, so not to worry. (Although, my doctor had told me that due to all the pre-labor I'd had, he thought my delivery might go faster than usual.) I told him I was going to get up and finish packing the things I'd left for morning and that maybe at my 9am appointment my doc would tell me I was in labor and we'd just head to L&D. So, I got out of bed, went to the bathroom, and immediately, the pains increased in speed and measure. I began writing down the times so I could keep track. They were roughly 4 minutes apart. I knew they had to be that way for an hour before going to the hospital was suggested. So, I tried to finish my tasks and told Doug to stay at work. After about 45 minutes, Doug called me on his break to see how I was doing. I was doubled over in pain and told him he'd better leave work. He rushed home right then! We packed up the car and headed to the hospital. By now, it was about 7am and I was in a lot of pain. We pulled into the parking lot at the same time as another couple. She looked like she was due, and they got out and started unloading their bags calmly. Doug asked if we should get all our bags and I snapped at him and said "NO. Just get me in the hospital. You can get bags later." As we approached the door, I had another contraction, and practically kneeled to the ground. Doug was pulling on my elbow and I begged him to just let me be. This "calm" couple passed us and went inside. When it ended, we followed them in and took the elevator. They were already at the desk when we walked in, and the nurse asked her if she could help her... the "calm" pregnant woman replied, "You better help her first!" (I'm guessing she was there to be induced cuz she was definitely NOT in labor!) The nurse took one look at me and just passed me through the doors to the nursing station to get into a room. Doug stayed out and filled out the paperwork and met me in the room. Upon admitting at about 7:30 I was a 3+. But my contractions were coming about every 2-3 minutes and I couldn't believe how painful they were....Usually, I have a pretty high pain threshold. They skipped over a lot and went straight thru the epidural papers and called for the epidural to help ease my pain. He came pretty quickly and happened to poke me during the only 5 minute window I had all morning without a contraction. It was fate. It was good b/c I didn't know how I was going to hold still if a contraction hit. When he finished, it was about 8:30am and they checked me again. By now, I was already a 5+. So that tells you how strong these contractions were. They were working overtime and making lots of progress quickly. I made it to a 6 before the epidural kicked in and I don't know why any woman would ever want to go natural, but that's just my opinion. The epidural was heavenly relief! After that, I was fine. My mom and sister showed up and I remember watching some special on TV about Patrick Dempsey. When I hit a 7, I puked... they said it was normal. They also called in a doctor to break my water. When she arrived, Doug went to lift my blanket, and it was soaking wet... my water had broken and I couldn't even feel it b/c of the epi! He was shocked :) At that point, they told me she was facing up toward my stomach and she should be facing down. I had lots of back labor that I could feel even on top of my epi and that was why. So, they prepared me for a long and laborous push. I went from 8 to 10 in less than an hour. But, they made me wait an hour before I could start pushing to let gravity do some of the work for me. They also found I had another hidden sac of waters that they had to break. And probably due to the intense labor, there was meconium in the sac from the stress on her. So, they had respiratory therapy on standby. My doctor was just across the lot at his clinic and had been told I was ready. Usually first timers push for an hour or more so he was in no hurry. They told me and Doug to start pushing and coached us. My mom and sister left the room for her birth, so it was just me and Doug. The nurse was darting in and out of the room getting supplies ready for the baby. Doug and I pushed 2 rounds on our own. At the end of the second round, I remember Doug saying, " I think I can see her head"... and right then, the nurse came in the room, looked at me, and said, "STOP pushing! You're crowning!" She then got on her radio and asked respiratory to come right away. I sat there for probably a good 15 minutes while we waited for everyone to arrive including the doctor. The whole time, her head was part way out. When the doctor came, he barely had his gloves on and a contraction hit and he told me to push. I had decided a long time ago, that I was going to make every push count. So I closed my eyes and pushed really really hard. I felt a huge relief in my stomach and everyone started shouting "look! look!" I opened my eyes, and the doctor was holding her between my legs, right in front of my face. It was amazing. I didn't even know she'd already come out. I had only thought that she was out of my stomach space and hanging out in the birth canal. One push, and she was completely out! He laid her on my belly and I just stared at her in amazement. I immediately started bawling.. from relief and from overwhelming joy. She was tiny. She weighed in at 5lbs 14 oz and 18 inches long. Barely 2% for her gestational age. She was just shy of 2 weeks early. Doug and I had reserved naming her until her birth to make sure that the name fit. And it did! March 14th, 2008... that is when my life began with this beautiful heavenly being!! I LOVE YOU my Koda bee! Happy first birthday!
Love,
Mamma
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