The Birthday Girl!

Dana's birthday was two weeks ago!  I had grand plans to post photos sooner after the fact, but such is life.  Either way, I can't believe she's 3 already. 

As with any milestone, I remember very clearly certain details about the day of her birth.  I had gone in the previous night to be induced, but nothing was happening.  I had a haircut that morning, and as I sat in the chair, I thought I might be starting to feel some very mild contractions.   I kept an eyeball on the clock, but the tightenings across my belly happened only two or three times through the course of my haircut. 

Soon after I got home, though, I was pretty sure I was in labor.  I called the hospital to say I didn't think I needed to keep my 2:00 appointment to try inducing again.  I made a few more phone calls, and was timing contractions, which weren't intense and were coming 7 minutes or so apart, but then I'd go 15 minutes or more without having any.  We called Jessica to ask her to head over to watch Abigail -- soon, but it's not urgent.  And then, all of a sudden, the contractions were 5, then 4, then 3 minutes apart.  I made Dan call Jessica back.  "Where are you?!?"   :)  :)  "I'm on my way!!!!", she replied, and seconds later she pulled up. 

At the hospital, things progressed very quickly.  About an hour and a half after arriving, our darling girl made her debut.  I had been so fervently hoping for another girl.  I had even secretly had Abigail practicing to say the girl's name that we'd picked out.  So as soon as baby was delivered, I held my breath...   "It's a girl!"  the Dr. said.  (do I even need to insert here the fact that of course I would have been delighted if "it" had been a boy??)  But I smiled, the pain of labor already a fading memory.  And the warm, floppy, fleshy, chubby-cheeked creature was deposited onto my belly, and straight into our hearts. 

And life has been fuller and richer (and definitely more interesting) ever since.

 Happy Birthday, Dana!  You are precious and dearly loved.