Our girl is ONE and I could not be happier to say it! I refuse to admit, accept, or lament on the idea that time flies. It's a part of life and
I believe God keeps the time with our babies short so that we are forced to cherish each moment.
Each new challenge we faced was backed with the notion that soon it would be over. But now that the first year is over, I can't help but think "it wasn't so hard, and I kind of want her tiny again." Nature is a funny.
One year ago, we went to the doctor and learned I was 0% effaced and 0 cm dilated. Bummer dude. The doctor even scheduled an induction for two weeks out. We came home, walked two more freaking rigorous miles--and waited for my parents to land in the Springs. We picked them up around 2 pm-ish and headed back to the house. I was super worried they would be here staring at me for two weeks while I waited to have a baby.
At like 4:30 pm-ish, I decided to take an Etsy package to the post office, then head to Hobby Lobby. Before I left, however, I had a super upset stomach and was bleeding a little. I decided to go anyways because the Etsy order needed to be shipped and I would come home and rest later.
Halfway to the post office, I realize my stomach hurts pretty bad and maybe the Publix sub my parents brought me from FL wasn't a great idea. (Like honestly, zero clue that I was in actual labor.) My mom insisted we skip Hobby Lobby and I was fine with it because I thought I was having stomach probs.
We get home: more blood and holy cow my stomach hurts. Ryan comes in from mowing the lawn and I tell him I'm not feeling super great and want to get checked out. I repeat fifty times that it's probably nothing but I just want to be checked. My parents stayed back and we left pretty quick.
My mom kept telling me to "time the pain.." and I remember telling her, "I can't because the pain keeps happening so quick." So when we get to L&D and they hook me up to the monitor, apparently my contractions are two minutes apart. (You're supposed to labor at home until they're five minutes apart.) I literally started labor with contractions two minutes apart.
They checked me and I was 90% effaced and 2 cm dilated. In.Sane.
They told me that to be sure they could keep me, I needed to walk around and keep the labor progressing. I get up, walk five steps outside of my room and oh hey, I either just lost control of my bladder and peed all over the floor orrrrr....my water broke like in the movies. Haha. So they told me to go lay down and I was definitely staying. I remember we had the TV on Friends, but my brain couldn't even focus through the pain.
So I got into my official delivery room and they got me my epidural and let me just say: natural-birth-no-epidural-mamas, you're something else! I, on the other hand, am a huge advocate for the epidural. I want to go to on tour and spread the good news of an epidural. Game changer, y'all.
I was comfy-cozy laying in bed "laboring" while talking to my parents and Ryan. We snapped some pics, had some laughs-- fun was had by all. I had a giant peanut shaped exercise ball in between my legs to help get baby face down. I kept having weird pressure down there and asked my nurse a few times when they would check my progress/dilation. She kept telling me they don't like to check that often because it's not super great to keep exposing me to infection.
I ignore the pressure and assume that's apart of the whole labor thing. A little later at like 10:30pm-ish, the new doctor on duty came and checked me and said "woah you're 10 cm and ready to push.." My parents had just gotten back to the room with coffee and it was go time! They left the room and the real fun began, haha.
I pushed for like two hours or something before they plopped that precious little baby on my chest. (7 hours of labor.)
Amelia Elyse Vickers, gosh you were gorgeous.
The healing sucked, the breastfeeding was horrific, the hospital was awful, the hospital food was unreal; but I still think back on this day with so much happiness because it was the day we met our girl.
A year later and it still feels like Christmas morning every time I get her out of her crib. She is a gift, plain and simple.
The one thing no one ever told me about parenthood, is how truly sad birthdays are. It's a celebration of life and progress, but such also the sadness for the end of an era. My baby girl is growing up before my eyes.
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