Two Years Ago Today

I watched the sun coming up outside the window of the labor and delivery room where I had spent a long and uncomfortable night trying to sleep, mostly watching Scrubs on DVD and waiting for something to happen. My body had not responded well to the induction hormones, and my labor wasn't progressing. Thanks to modern drugs, I wasn't in pain, but neither could I get out of bed or really turn over to be comfortable. Through that long night, the nurses tried to prepare me that if things continued this way, I would have to have a Cesarean section in the morning, and somehow, my body finally responded to that- around 5 a.m., it was clear that the baby was going to be born the usual way.

At that time, there was a flurry of activity, as nurses began preparing the room for the birth. I threw up, which was really the only time after the drugs that I was at all uncomfortable. Mostly I just watched the sky outside the window turning pearly grey, blue, pink, orange, finally to bright sunshine.

At 8:00 a.m., the announcement was made- it was time to push. Chatting with the nurses and the doctor between pushes (which were still far enough apart to chat between), I almost could not believe that things were moving so quickly. I didn't focus on it- just on the task at hand. At 8:45 a.m., August sun streaming in the east-facing window, the doctor said to push once more and out she popped, like a champagne cork. And we moved into the world as three, instead of two.

For the first couple of weeks, I spent every morning marking the time, comparing what I had been doing at 8:45 that day to what I am doing on this. Then it was every Thursday. Then monthly. Now I mostly don't think of that day at all, unless reminiscing with girlfriends. Or on August 17 itself.

Happy birthday, my darling girl.