HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BIG GIRL!!

Since my last post was kinda heavy, I want to post something a little happier. Its my big girl's birthday today!!! So I thought I would tell her story. My pregnancy with her was my easiest one, but that's NOT saying much. I had gestational diabetes, and constant preterm labor. I also had a low-lying placenta early in the pregnancy where a small part of it overlapped my cervix, but as my uterus got bigger, it was higher up and out of the danger zone. But it was still easier than my first- where I had pretty much the same problems, but I was alone (hubby was deployed) I had no mother figure to call when I had questions, and I had no idea what was going on with my body and what was 'normal'. Plus the doctor I had with him looked and acted JUST like Bill Cosby (seriously he sang while he was giving me a PAP. I didn't know whether to laugh or run.) so I was a little hesitant to spill all my questions and fears. He was a great doctor... just... yeah. Anyway, long story long, I ended up having my son at 30 weeks and he spent a month in the NICU, and he had some major health issues for a while. My pregnancy with her started off kinda rocky with the severe morning sickness, but it kinda tapered off, and everything was calm for a while. I guess she was just resting for the Big Show. I was hospitalized for preterm labor ( and i was dilated to a 4) at 30 weeks. That time in the hospital was some of the worst of my life. I could not get up (not even to use the bathroom. sorry docs, I cheated on that one a bit) I was on a strict diet for diabetes. Hospital food is gross anyway, but add a special diet to that, and I would rather eat dog food. So I didn't eat much but I still ended up gaining more than 20 lbs in 3 weeks. A grand total of 60 lbs for the entire pregnancy. Yikes. I was also on this wonderful drug called magnesium sulfate. Which basically made me feel like I was having a heart attack in the Sahara desert. My heart would pound out of my chest, my head would spin, and I had the AC up full blast and several fans going all the time. Hubby was on the verge of hypothermia, and I was sweating my pregnant butt off. Bless him though, he took it like a trooper. So anyway, I went into HARD labor at 33 weeks. I had to deliver in the OR because she had her cord wrapped around her neck, and they wanted to be able to do an emergency C-section if anything went wrong. So I pushed for what seemed like forever, but I couldn't feel a thing bc of the epidural. Then her heart rate kept dropping. Since she was so close to being out, they used the vacuum and yanked her outta there. Turns out she had a double nuchal. When she came out she was completely gray, she didn't scream, and I was terrified. Hubby rushed to her side and I was so angry because he was blocking my way to see her. I only got to see her for a moment, and she already had a CPAP on her face, so I didn't feel like I really 'saw' her. Hubby went to NICU with her took some pictures for me to see, but it wasn't the same. I had some pretty bad bleeding (sorry those of you who are squeamish) and had to be on pitocin, so it was a while before I could see her. She was 5 lbs 11 oz, so she wasn't 'tiny' like some of the other NICU babies, but she still looked so tired and small in her little warmer bed hooked up to all those tubes. I knew what to expect from my son, and she wasn't as bad as he was, but its still shocking anytime you see your baby like that. She was in the NICU for 3 weeks, and did pretty well. She had a bout of jaundice, but did a lot better than most people expected. We brought her home on a heart monitor (again, just like my son) and we didn't even have as many 'scares' as we were expecting. She only used it for about a month. Its so funny remembering those times. We had to drag that monitor around with us everywhere, she had to wear it constantly. I remember being so angry at people who stared. I wanted to scream "what in the world are you looking at?! shes a preemie!" actually, she did most of the screaming for me. She made up for not crying at her birth, because she cried almost every second after that. She had colic so bad that she was actually hospitalized for incessant crying. (PPD much?? I think so.) And I don't think she had stopped since. Instead of crying now, its incessant whining. I'm starting to think her voice just naturally sounds that way. I know that's just her personality, something that I now find sort of endearing. Like when I was a little disappointed that my beautiful baby girl that I had dreamed about didn't have a hair on her head (seriously until she was two!)  But then it was okay, I LOVED putting bows on her little bald head. And now Shes my little strawberry blond girl, and stands out from my dark haired munchkins. Shes a such a cuddle bug, and a mommy's girl. She loves everything girly and shes shy and sweet and adorable. I look forward to watching her grow. I'm so blessed to have been chosen to be her mommy!