Time.
365 days can seem like a life time.
Or those days can pass you by in the blink of an eye.
The nine months I was pregnant with little Alana seemed like an eternity.
This morning though, she woke up and my baby was one.
How did a whole year pass me by? How is it that my sweet little baby is not quite a baby anymore?
This is the last time.
I will never again have a little ball of a baby that clings to my chest.
No more dimpled thighs and elbows. No more coos and baby sighs. No more pitter patter of little feet on unsteady, chubby, dimpled legs.
I know there is a lot a sweetness ahead. But my baby days are behind me.
I never wrote my birth story. Mostly because it was unremarkable. I was scheduled for an induction on September 15. From start to finish the whole thing lasted maybe 6 hours. I was in good shape. I had worked out consistently until I was 33 weeks. After that i worked out once or twice a week. I can't believe how much easier this made the delivery. I wish i had exercised with every single one of my pregnancies! Now that I think about it though, Alana did have the cord wrapped around her neck a few times, so I did have to stop pushing for a moment for the doctor to unwrap it. That explains why I didn't go into labor earlier even though I had some crazy contractions. None of my other children had that issue. But she came out safe and sound.
The only moment of not was that I had a really nasty episiotomy. The doctor cut through a muscle and a (ahem) hemorrhoid. It was difficult to stop the bleeding when trying to stitch me back up. I couldn't walk for two weeks. So the delivery was awesome. Recovery, not so much.
Alana is our only child who has a Hawaiian first name as opposed to a middle name. When she is five she'll tell me that she is unhappy about that. But what can you do. Her middle name is Sofia. Spelled the Spanish way for my heritage.
I love her name.
Happy Birthday to my baby!
A big thank you to my friend, Ashley, for taking my labor pictures. She is the only person besides Kai, I have ever allowed in the birthing room.
More tomorrow.
