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Saturday, October 29, 2011

Happy 10th Birthday, Bug!!

We have another birthday to celebrate!!
Our 3rd girl is turning 10 tomorrow.
So.... let's take a walk down memory lane....

10 years ago I was 10 days overdue with this gal.  I remember a few weeks before when I went to one of my Dr checkups, and the Dr asked me
"How are you feeling?"
"Pregnant!!" I replied.
"You should, because you are 8 months pregnant!"
He, he... He was this older obstetrician, with a dry sense of humor and a great personality.
So, the day before she was born, I felt very ready.  I had a a Dr's appointment, and he told me that if I didn't have the baby by Friday, he'd induce me then. (this was on a Monday)
Well.... Tuesday early morning I went in to labour.
My Hubby was already at work in the States, since this was only 6 weeks after 9/11 2001, it took a LOOONG time to cross the border in to the USA, so he'd leave from home at 4 am to make it to work for 5 am.  If he left any later, the same drive would take up to 3 hours.
So... I called him around 6 to let him know that he needs to come back to Canada.

My in-laws came over and picked up our 2 oldest, who were 3½ and 2 at the time.
Then Hubby and I went to the hospital.
Of course when we got to the hospital my contractions became less frequent, I think it's a rule...
But since I was 11 days overdue, they kept me anyway.
We had breakfast in the cafeteria, and were excited about what the day would bring.  It was sunny and unusually warm outside.  My contractions came and went, and when they came they were good and strong.
Around 1pm they decided to break my water, to help things along.
Turned out I had so much water, I had to stay in bed after that, or the baby might have flipped around = c-section.  I got a bit frustrated since walking around had felt so good.  But I knew things were getting closer, so that was exciting.  I had made a decision to try to go without en epidural, since after my 2nd one I had quite a few complications due to it.

I had a fantastic nurse at my side, who kept me believing that I could do it!!
Shortly past 2pm, things got bad.... I started to have really strong and painful contractions, and I remember looking over at my Hubby telling him I was scared!  His face looked so helpless, it hurt me.
Good thing for that amazing nurse!
After about 40-45 minutes of pure ****, we were able to welcome a beautiful girl to our family.
I was so out of it I couldn't even hold her...
But amazingly enough, I felt WAAAY better within a very short amount of time.
I took a shower only a few hours later, and I had all the energy I needed to care for our little pumpkin!

Almost 2 years later we just about lost her to undiagnosed diabetes.
She had been sick, and slowly gotten worse, for about a month and a half.
We had a newborn baby at the time, and my brain was mush.
I averaged about 3 hours of sleep per night for a few months straight, and for several weeks I kept bringing our little sick girl to the Dr's, trying to figure out why she was disappearing in front of our eyes.
This smiley, busy girl, turned in to a shell of herslef.  She finally quit walking, talking and eating, and her bowels stopped moving...
My mother's instinct KNEW that this was more than a viral infection, besides non of the other kids were sick!  We finally got her type 1 diabetes diagnosed, just a week before her 2nd birthday.
I was relieved to know that she'd be fine, but devestated knowing that our baby had a chronic illness, that would change her life forever.

For the next 5 years we managed her diabetes via insulinshots, about 4-5 every day.
When she was almost 7 she got her insulin pump, which has made her life (and ours) a lot easier.

So, what is she like today??
Well, she's our Angelina Ballerina through and through.  She has the looks and built of a dainty fairy, she's fun and smart and at times a bit ditsy.  She plays great with her younger siblings, and most of the time she carries a smile on her face.
Knowing how close we were to losing her, and knowing what she has gone through with her sickness in her young life, makes her a bit special to us.
It's also a reminder of how much we should appreaciate what we have when we have it, and how quickly things can change.  It makes me love all our kids even more, because they are merely gifts for us to care for, and there's nothing that's for sure in life....

Bug, we love you so much, I admire your strength, and how you almost never complain about what you have to deal with on an everyday basis.  Like I've told you many, many times,
                                                               "You are the bravest girl I know!!"


3 comments:

Sofia's Corner said...

Lots of love and Birthday hugs to the cutest Ballerina we know! <3

Pellerina said...

Cuuuuute! Birthday hugs from us too - my kids keep talking about you all!
"do you want to know who is my bestest?" they say. And I say "no", then they say "Angelina" or "Norah" (for example)and Jax is always pumped on Mika and Minna of course.

MeWoman said...

tnx sisters!! Writing about our kids is always a good reminder for me. It makes me remember what makes each of them special, and why we love them so much!