Bella Turns 4!

Four years ago at this very moment I was holding my baby girl in my arms for the first time. At 37 weeks into my pregnancy, my doctor was feeling around my belly and looked at me and said without much expression, "Your baby is huge." He then scheduled me to be induced the following week.
I went into the hospital on a Sunday afternoon to get my labor rolling. I was given a pill to start dilation. Sometimes that alone will start labor and that's all you need. For me, contractions did start, just enough to make me uncomfortable and not sleep. Dale and I probably walked 10 miles around the halls of the birthing wing that night. Not much happened.
At 6:00 the next morning, my doctor came in and put me on Pitocin, which got labor going a little more.
At noon he came back and broke my water. Holy sh*t! I was really in labor then...and pretty much hating life. See, I had written this very detailed birth plan for how I wished things to go. What a joke! I actually laugh thinking back now. In the plan, I had actually written that I did NOT want any pain meds or an epidural, and that if I asked for them, to talk me out of it!! I really said that! I wanted to go au natural. Earth momma I was! My mom didn't have drugs, and if she could do it, by golly I could too. HA!
By 4:00 that afternoon I realized I had been in labor for 24 hours without any pain relief, sleep, or food. I thought that was an accomplishment in and of itself! And who was I trying to impress anyway? So I told the nurse that I did want an epidural, and yes, I knew what the birth plan had instructed, but I changed my mind and she could crumple up that dumb plan and use it to start her next campfire.
That epidural was HEA-VEN-LY. Such relief. I remember thinking that if I had ten more kids, I'd have ten more epidurals. It was that great.
By 7:00 I was dilated to 10 centimeters and ready to push, but my doctor dilly-dallied and didn't get there until 8:00 and then I could start the REAL work of getting the baby out. I pushed and pushed and pushed. I was SOOOOO tired. I pushed and pushed some more and at 10:47, after 31 hours of labor, our baby girl was born weighing 9 lb, 3 oz.



Bella,
You are growing up before my very eyes. In a flash you went from a baby to a little girl. Where has the time gone? Everything about you is a joy...from your bright blue eyes that one day turned green, to your spontaneous hugs, to your fierce independence, to the tenderness you give your little brother when you think no one is looking. Thank you for making motherhood a fun and exciting adventure. Happy Birthday, Bella Bear!
Love, Mom