Happy Birthday AJ!

Today, we celebrate your eighth birthday. Technically, we only acknowledged your birthday today. But tomorrow, we will celebrate. We'll have cake and ice cream, and I'll give you the gift we bought you, but for now, it was low key and a perfect day.

 


                                                          HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Your original due date was January 29th, but there was a reason I asked to be induced early. Selfish of me? Maybe I wanted to be sure you had your own birthday, and didn't have to share it with anyone else. I know what it's like to have your birthday fall on another person's important date, and I was reminded how it was an inconvenience for years. Also, you were causing me pain from previous childhood surgeries, so an induction date was set.

The day before the induction was due to take place, I had a baby shower. I am forever thankful to the hosts as they absolutely did not have to throw one. Without that, we'd have had no shower and not as many nice things (Thank you 'P' family!!) After the shower, I had just enough time to go home, unpack everything, and head to the hospital. We arrived at 6, got set up in a room, and got the induction process started. Cervidil (I think?) was placed and I was left to rest. I'm pretty sure we had Sofia with us this night, but I'm not 100%.

The following morning, pitocin was started and we waited. And waited. And waited. It took a long time for anything to happen. I know we had Sofia with us during the day, as I remember asking Beepa to come and get her. We thought it would be nice to have her with us while you were born, and she was still young enough to not be TOO invested in the process. But, I kind of get a little agitated while in labor and we decided it was for the best for her to leave.

My times are off a bit, as I don't remember EXACT timing, but bear with me. I believe it was around 4ish that I asked to get in the hot tub. I remember them setting it up, and I stepped in and immediately complained. I am the type that has to have the water incredibly hot during my showers/baths, so this 98° they set the water as was not cutting it. I asked about it being hotter, and they told me they could make it a touch hotter. Score!! Until they told me 100° was as hot as it could go. Ugh. Forget it. They did turn the jets on, which did feel nice. Until the machine couldn't read your heartbeat. Again UGH ... forget it. I got out.

At about 6, I asked for the epidural. I really wanted to try a natural birth with you, but couldn't take it any longer. I did have Fentanyl, which made the borders spin and get me sick to my stomach. We also tried Nubain, which I think was fairly new for labor at the time. That did absolutely nothing but make me so nauseous. I decided that I would just go with the epidural. I am terrified of needles, and really did not enjoy it after Sofia, but it wasn't a terrible experience. After all, I wasn't paralyzed from it, as was my most concerning fear of the epi. After it was placed, I was finally able to relax and go with the flow.

At about 9, I noticed things felt different. An internal exam revealed I was at a 9 and almost there. My Midwife was not there, as it was not her on-call night. But, she is so awesome, and knew I wanted only her to deliver, so she did come in on her night off to deliver you! I was told she was in a meeting about an hour away, but she somehow still made it to be there. I will always appreciate her for that. At any rate, she arrived just in time, and in less than 5 minutes, at 10:00 PM, you were born. All 5 pounds and 14 ounces of you.

You were so little! Yet, you are my biggest baby. When you were born, it was suggested that you may not be only 2 weeks early. Based on how your skin appeared and other features, 5 weeks was the estimate. But you did well on your APGAR. Scoring an 8 the first time, and 9 for the second. You required no oxygen, no NICU stay, no medical attention indicating that you weren't well. You nursed well and breathed with ease the whole time.


Long story short, you arrived safely and perfectly. With a head full of .... peach fuzz! You had a receding hairline already, much like an old man. Now? Now you have a full head of hair, lots and lots of hair. We buzz it, mohawk it, spike it, leave it alone, and everything in between. It's usually a mess because you hate when we touch your hair. You've put us through heaven and hell, trials and tribulations, happiness and sadness. We've endured hospital stays and Chuck E Cheese visits with you. Doctors, therapists, school meetings and everything else.

I want you to know that even through the lows, we still love you with every fiber of our being. You may test our patience, but that doesn't mean our love for you is tested. I hope with every year you grow, you gain more patience of your own, and more self control. I know what you're going through is scary sometimes. It's scary for us as well. But we'll get through it. It is just taking some time.