Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Happy Birthday to my Ten Year-Old Daughter

It is hard to believe that I have had a daughter for ten years.  She arrived earlier than her scheduled c-section.  She was planned to arrive on May 5, 2004.  She wasn't about ready to wait.  I went into labor on April 29 while at work.  I got to leave work early.  I went home and relaxed, as much as someone in labor could relax, and waited until morning to go see my midwife.

Upon arrival at my midwife's office, I was examined and told to be at the hospital by 10 am.  It was about 9:45 am and I had to go get my husband from work and then return to the hospital.  It was after 10 when I got back to the hospital, but that was okay.

Then the frantic search for someone to come and watch my 13 month 13 day-old son began.  I called everyone I could think of.  That day was a meeting where almost all the people I knew from church was attending.  Thankfully I got a hold of one person that was willing to come and watch my son so my husband could join me in the operating room.

My birthday girl today

At the birth of my daughter, I heard something I didn't hear before... crying!  Her crying set off my crying and my husband was crying too.  The sounds of a newborn's cry is an amazing sound, especially having not been blessed with that sound at the previous birth.  I saw something I hadn't seen before too... my newborn was shown to me over the drape and my husband was allowed to hold her so I could see her a little better after she had been cleaned up.

When my son first saw his little sister, although he was just barely over one year-old, there was an immediate recognition.  He had a big smile on his face.  He knew who she was and he knew one of his best friends had joined him on earth.

My children all have had amazing temperaments.  They only would cry when they wanted or needed something.  She was a mellow little girl.

She received an early birthday gift

Upon her birth, one of the nurses expressed concern that she might have club feet.  Her feet were turned sideways, with the bottom of the feet facing each other.  I guess that is the best way to express that.  I had noticed that when I was checking her over, so it wasn't too much of a surprise to me.  I asked the pediatrician about that when she came in.  She looked at her feet and moved them a little.  She assured me that it wasn't club feet and said it was likely how the feet were placed in the womb.  She told me to spend as much time as I could holding her feet stationary in the correct position.  Whenever I would nurse her, or just be holding her, I would hold her feet in the correct position.  I don't remember how long it took to correct the problem.  I believe it was a few months, but it did correct itself.  My next two children were born the same way and I knew what to do, although their feet weren't turned quite as much.

One of my memories with her as an infant is when I was talking on the phone with my mom.  She was still a newborn and I was nursing her.  I wasn't paying attention to her eating because I was paying attention to my phone conversation.  She just started to cry and cry.  I looked down and realized that my milk supply was emptying all over her face and head.  She was getting it in the ear, in the eyes (thankfully she knew how to blink and keep her eyes closed) and her face was just covered in milk.  I would have been crying too!  I have always laughed about it.

Another memory was while I was still in the hospital.  My brother-in-law brought one of his girlfriends to my room to meet me and see the baby.  Him and my husband left for a little while, and the woman stayed.  I had never met her, and I admit, I am not too talkative when meeting a person for the first time, generally.  Neither will I generally tell the new person that he/she is wrong about something.  This woman asked me if I was excited to know what color my daughter's eyes were.  I told her that I had seen her eyes and they are blue.  She then informed me that there was no way that I had seen her eyes, because babies don't open their eyes until they are at least three days old.

She was blowing us a kiss in a selfie today
 I could not believe what I was hearing.  My brother-in-law wasn't dating a pre-teen or a teenager... this was a woman.  She had to be, at least, in her twenties.  I was again assured her that I had seen her eyes.  She didn't believe me and restated her position.  I, then, explained that human babies open their eyes at birth.  I told her that kittens and puppies don't open their eyes for a few days after birth.  I had known for many, many years... since I was old enough to know anything, I imagine, that babies opened their eyes at birth.   I am so glad that woman didn't become a sister-in-law, I don't know that I could have handled it.

She has given me some scares in my life.  The most recent was last Friday when she almost ran out in a parking lot in front of a speeding car.  Thankfully, she saw the headlights.  Thankfully, the vehicle had its headlights on.  I didn't see her until it was almost too late.  The only thing I could have done was honk my horn and hope the vehicle would slam on its brakes.

She went through a period of time when she was two that she was sick for a long period of time, with high fevers.  It was frightening.  No one knew for sure what was wrong with her.  I would pray frequently that she would get better.  I would not get much sleep at all.  My prayers were answered a little after Thanksgiving and she recovered from whatever was ailing her.  We were never sure what it was.
My birthday girl and her little sis

I have been so blessed over the last ten years with my daughter in my life. I am so thankful that I was blessed to raise her.  She brings so much joy to my life.  She is an amazing singer.  She loves to read.  She enjoys helping others.  She loves to scrapbook.  She is a good friend to others.  She has always been outgoing.  We would go to softball tournaments ever since she was a newborn.  When she was old enough to start talking, she would make friends at the tournaments.  She has made me smile everyday for ten years.