The Greatest Gift

Miss A

Our daughter was born a week before Christmas on December 17th. We are in love with her and have thoroughly enjoyed these first 10 days with this beautiful, new life!

At nearly a week over due we decided with the doctor to induce labor on the 16th. It was a 19-hour day in the hospital, with about 13.5 hours of pain-med free go-get-em labor (while restricted to an oxygen mask and machines given bebe's propensity to move her heart away from the fetal monitor), I did not progress much in dilation (and not at all in the last 4 intense hours of contractions), so the call was made at 1am to move ahead with a cesarean section. A team was called in and assembled. My amazing doctor and her surgeon husband ran the operation which went as smoothly as could be. She was tilted in such a way that would not allow her to lower and engage for delivery. Plus, my pelvis was a bit small for her. Her being overdue and the failure to progress proved she would not arrive traditionally no matter what.

I don't know if the doctor wanted to make me feel better by saying so but she did state that in all her 22 years of OB work I was the toughest laboring women she encountered. As the surgery wrapped up Harry Belafonte's music played in the OR and we all sang along. I think I was delirious from the last 20 hours and for bebe to finally arrive! Andy was amazing and we never cursed--it was just a focused day of hard work as a team. And here's where that got us:

We love her hair. We love her alertness. We laugh when she poops on us. We love her sleeping on us. We adore her big hands. We marvel at her sounds and arm stretches. We strive to soothe her when needed. We feel all is right and we have our family.

I wasn't hit over the head with overwhelming feelings and emotions. Rather, this start to Motherhood has been like waves washing over me with its amazing meaning and love.

I'm sure we'll read more soon about our beginnings with Miss A from Daddy, but for now I need to sneak in a shower while I can and before she needs to feed.

*Amy

ps--it's amazing how quickly we have begun using the third person when addressing ourselves as Daddy and Mommy. No hesitation to embrace those titles!