Five years ago I was engrossed in the final season of Friends on Thursday nights, and E.R. was a never-miss show for me as well. So, when I went into labor on a Thursday night, I insisted that we finish watching Friends, take our nightly walk around the neighborhood and then shower and clean up before heading to the hospital. I wasn't in a hurry, but I was ready. (At my 37-week check-up a few days before, my doctor told me I was dilated 3 cm. and could have her any day. The following day I hosted an exhibition opening at the museum where I worked, finished all the thank-you notes for baby gifts, packed my hospital bag and decided that the baby could come.) Although I did get to watch Friends that night, we had to head to the hospital before we got through E.R. Poor Daniel had just finished an overnight 24-hr. shift so he was exhausted, but we were having a baby!
We got settled into Tripler Army Medical Center (a wonderful birthing suite, to be exact!) and I eagerly took an epidural as soon as they would give it to me. I'd had pre-term labor for quite a while with Abigail and was ready for some relief. Daniel was hesitant, warning me about how it could slow down labor, but I resisted his warnings. Why would I care if it slowed things down if I wasn't feeling it?! The rest of the labor went smoothly until Abigail came. When she was ready, she came quickly with just a couple of pushes. It was so quick that I almost had to do it by myself. It was finally morning on the mainland, so Daniel had gone to call our family members and let them know we were having the baby. I was alone in the room when Abigail began crowning just as the nurse was coming in to check on me and Daniel was headed back in. Up until the end, it was just the three of us delivering her. The doctor arrived at the end of it, which was fortunate because it didn't go as smoothly as expected. Abigail had the cord wrapped around her neck and also aspirated in the birth canal, so breathing wasn't going too well. A team arrived to begin working on her and eventually took her to the NICU. After a few days of help with breathing, we were able to return home as our new family.
I'll never forget the ride home that day as Daniel practically idled the entire drive home. Before we had left the hospital parking lot, he had already lectured her on the necessity of seatbelts and the dangers of marijuana. That was just the beginning of the ride. The rest of that year is almost a blur, as it passed so quickly, but I'll share a few images and tidbits about our first-born's first year.
She was never much of a cuddler, but we did get a few chances to snuggle. It was usually out of sheer sleeplessness on both sides of the cuddling.
Abigail loved her swing. She would go from swinging to bouncy seat to playmat and then start all over. We tried to keep her occupied and wear her out so that she was tired when naptime hit. It must have worked because she was an excellent sleeper after the first two months.
At 8 weeks old, she made her first tourist stop at the USS Arizona Memorial. We were living in Pearl Harbor so it was just around the corner from us. Gran, Grandad and Aunt Kelly Ann came for their first visit to Hawaii and to see the first grandbaby so we threw in some sightseeing.
For the first year, when I was working, a friend took care of Abigail at our house during the day. Daniel almost always got home much earlier than I did, and this is what I would typically see when I arrived. Daddy and his princess loved to take afternoon naps together. (And, I was usually irritated at the idea that her sleep schedule had been disrupted and she may wake up in the night.)
Although we didn't get to travel as (pre-pregnancy knowledge) planned to Australia and Saipan while we were stationed in Hawaii, we never let having a baby stop us from staying busy around the island. Here is Abigail on her first hike up a volcano, Diamondhead near Waikiki on Oahu.
Of course we spent our fair share of time at the beach. I don't recall Abigail being a big fan of the water...
A year ago, Abigail's teacher mistakenly disciplined Abigail for "fibbing" that she was born in Hawaii. We were living in South Carolina at the time, so I didn't fault the teacher for assuming that Abigail was story-telling. But, we do have photographic proof such as this image from the North Shore on Maui!
Just shy of Abigail's first birthday, we got the chance to return to the mainland so we took it. How could we continue to deprive our families of seeing this adorable baby on a regular basis?!
1 comment:
Five already?!! Where did the time go?
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