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One year ago today, I gave birth to our sweet, sweet girl. A daughter. Our first surprise at birth. I somehow knew she was a girl, but to hear it for the first time....precious. It wasn't the birth we were expecting or wanting. Our little breech darling even refused to turn with an attempted version. Pretty sure she has a mind of her own. :) Even the timing of her birth--not what was expected. With her two free-loading older brothers taking their sweet time and then some, we were convinced she'd be late as well. Well, she didn't even wait for the scheduled c-section. No, at the stroke of midnight on September 23rd, my water broke much to my great surprise. We called our friend Grace to keep the boys, I headed in for a quick shower, and off to the hospital we drove.

Things happened pretty quickly upon confirmation that my water had broken and baby was still breech. I was very nervous about the c-section. Really didn't know what to expect. The hospital staff took really good care of us, but I still remember being so nervous that my teeth were chattering as I was wheeled down to the OR.

The surgery did go pretty fast, but not as neat or easy as it looks on TV! So they take her out and she's totally quiet. I could tell by the doctor's voice, something wasn't right. Someone called out that we didn't know what we are having and the doctor said, "I'm not concerned about that right now." Scary. Still no crying. Things were very tense for a few minutes. Finally....crying. I start crying; tears of relief. How helpless you feel lying there strapped to an operating table, split open and having no idea what's going on. Ronnie didn't exactly either, though he could see some, but he did an amazing job of comforting me. And then the announcement, baby's a girl. More crying (by me!) Wow....a daughter.

I only got to see her for about 30 seconds before she was whisked off to the nursery to be examined. The cord had been wrapped around her neck twice and she was a footling breech, so feet down. Her left foot was actually pinned up against her leg when she emerged and no one knew if it was broken, deformed, etc. She's fine, perfect in fact, just took some time outside of the tight womb for it to normalize.

Almost two hours after her birth, I finally held my tiny precious daughter. It was sweet. I thought I'd be so upset and disappointed that I didn't get to hold her right after birth like the boys. But when I held her for the first time, it didn't matter at all. Everything else just faded away.

I didn't like the c-section at all, at all. But I would do it all over again for her....without a second thought. And things really get put into perspective when a nurse who assisted with the delivery told us during recovery that 30 years ago or if we lived a third world country, neither one of us would have made it. Footling breeches can be very dangerous for both mom and baby without a skilled OB team. Lest I forget, God is always present.





We had a fun little celebration this evening, just our family and our friends, Tony and Grace and their two daughters, who are practically like family. Gaby had her first bites of cheese pizza, whole milk, and cake, of course. She didn't like the feel of the frosting on her hands and cried through most of it! So funny!

So amazing that a whole year has passed. The first birthday is always very sentimental for me. I sure love this little one. What a gift you are to our family. We absolutely would not be us without you. Love you, Bug. Happy Birthday.

Photos

I finally figured out why our computer has not been letting me upload any photos only to have to delete some of my favs because they were so blurry. Bummed! Oh well. Here are a few from the past few weeks.

There will certainly be lots more coming with a certain little girl's first birthday coming up in just a few days and the boys are off in Dallas this weekend celebrating their favorite team. (Yes, the lovely and more rational girls are spending a quiet weekend at home!) I really hope and have no doubt that they're having so much fun. Ronnie's grandfather was accompanying them to the game as well and the coolest part....the boys were more excited about seeing Great-Grandpa than going to the Cowboys game. That's something special.

Clay's first day of 2nd grade.


He really wanted a photo with Gaby too. She wasn't so thrilled!


Photos of Miss Gabriella at 11 months.


Waking up! Love her stretches!




Goofballs!

Second Grade

My camera or the computer (or both) are being finicky and they won't let me download my photos, so I'll have to get those up later, but Clayton started 2nd grade on Monday at his new school!

I drove him to school on the first day and Gaby and I walked him in. (Ronnie had to take Thomas to preschool in the opposite direction.) He jumped right in like he'd been there for years. Put his backpack down, went to play with kids he didn't even know (he does have one friend from his Pre-K and K days), and then when the bell rang, he lined up, did the pledge, 30 seconds of silence, announcements and headed off with his teacher and classmates to his room. I, of course, followed him to his room and peeked through the window as they got their first day started. He gave his teacher the couple papers I needed him to, put on his glasses, and just fit right in to a totally new place and routine. It was really neat to see and definitely made me realize how much he's grown and is growing up.

In the afternoon, he took the bus home. We let him choose. I was prepared to pick him up, but he really wanted to ride the bus. I was very, (OK--VERY!) nervous about it! He's never ridden a bus before and really, I was nervous about the lack of supervision and what can go on on a bus. We had some really good open, honest conversations about our concerns and after confessing my fear to him, (didn't mean to, it just kind of slipped out), he looked at me and said, "Mommy, I'm not scared." So I felt to not let him do it when he was ready, would be holding him back and then would be for me, not him. And it sure was fun to be waiting at the bus stop that first day and see him pull up, beaming and waving.

So what have I learned so far? That Clayton is way more capable and adaptable than I had previously ever seen or even thought. That he has more self-confidence than I've ever seen in him before. And that, that whole thing about helping your kids spread their wings; well, it's true. It's not always easy, but I don't think these beautiful qualities that I've seen flourish in him in just the past couple days would be there. At least, they'd probably be hidden somewhere, instead of blossoming the way the are. It really is quite a thing to see.