"On the night you were born, the moon shone with such wonder that the stars peeked in to see you and the night wind whispered, 'Life will never be the same.' Because there had never been anyone like you...ever in the world."
- On the Night you were Born by: Nancy Tillman
I would be utterly and completely remiss if I didn't begin my re-entry into blogging with the story of Amelia's official entry into our lives, her appearance in this world. I won't bore you with details or drone on; I'll give you the quick version. Don't lose interest in me, reader; you'll get your share of ramblings about issues outside of my personal sphere, but without this story, at this point in my life, in our lives, I'm incomprehensible. The night wind was right in its whisperings...life will never be the same.
It wasn't a dark and stormy night. There were no wishes granted or curses given or anything else that would befit the beginning of a fairy tale or a novel. Instead, it was unique and life-altering in the way that real life asserts itself. On the day before Amelia was born, at 7:00 in the evening, Adam and I entered St. Thomas Midtown Hospital, thinking we knew what to expect. I was being induced, as per doctors' orders after quite a few conversations. Without going into the details and in order to avoid all controversy about induction itself, I will just say that Amelia was ready. We checked in and were taken to a room. After quite a bit of poking and prodding, we were told that I was in fact already in labor. So far, so good.
We spent the night waiting and watching, like so many other expectant parents before us. In the very early morning of Thursday, June 5, 2014 I was given some medicine to speed things up and speed it up it did. I began struggling with the contractions and feeling the effects. Our families arrived at the hospital with more than enough time to spare. I will spare you the gory details, and suffice it say that one epidural, at least three movies, and a great deal of pushing, goo, and excitement later, she was here. Amelia was born at 4:51pm and weighed 8 pounds and 13 ounces. She was 21 inches long. See, I told you she was ready. At 4:51pm, on a bright Thursday afternoon in June, we became a brand-new family of three.
When my water broke, there were some observations made that prompted the inclusion of several NICU nurses and a respiration specialist in our delivery room. They immediately examined Amelia after her birth and after a quick vote, decided that she needed to be taken to the Transition Room. That room, which I had never heard of, is apparently a step down from the NICU, but is somewhere that they take babies who need a little help transitioning to the world. Amelia was only there for an hour and a half. While she was there, she did have some oxygen. It's easy to brush it off now, but it was most definitely alarming at the time. Adam did get to go with her and check on her. All of the nurses in the room left with Amelia as well.
That left me alone in the delivery room, wondering what was happening. So, I agonized over her condition and watched HGtv. Adam walked back and forth between my room, the transition room and the lobby where our families were waiting. Thankfully, my mom was able to come and wait with me after a little while. Once Amelia was returned to us, it was nearly time to move up to the room where we would stay until we took her home. Once there, we had a birthday cake for the new birthday girl. We sang "happy birthday" and took turns holding her.
That moment was exactly as I had envisioned it.
Now, seven and a half months later, in a way, it's almost hard to reconcile the active, social, adventurous, bright, determined little girl with that newborn. However, when I see those eyes, I can remember the first moments. She was alert from the beginning. Her blue eyes seemed deep even when they weren't as perceptive.
Since then, we've learned her current likes, dislikes, schedule preferences, how to stop her cries, how to make her feel safe, and how to make her laugh. We've struggled some with reflux and finding comfort in childcare. We've exulted in her growth and each day's new skills. You'll hear more about our struggles, our successes, our love story with our baby. We are learning and will continue each day to learn how to be her parents.
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