Happy Birthday Monkeypants!

4 years ago today our sweet little Monkeypants was born. On his birthdays I like to think about the story of him being born. Someday I intend to tell him the story, but for now I just reminice to myself. Partially because they are such precious memories, and partially because I want them to remain crystalized in my mind so that I can tell him and he can someday tell his own children the story of how he was born.

I went into the doctor at 4pm on March 12th. I'd been having a small amount of protien in my urine and a slightly elevated blood pressure so they wanted to keep me pretty closely monitored. Turns out that was for good reason. At my appointment that day they determined I had preeclampsia and they rushed me over to the hospital next door to induce.

I had a little bit of a head start-I was 1cm dilated and 100% effaced. That didn't seem to help much though. They started the pitocin at 7pm and it took 15 hours to get to 4cm. The good news was that up until that point it really didn't hurt to speak of. I was generally just mildly uncomfortable. I had leg cramps though. That sucked.

Problem was that after 15 hours and dilated to 4cm I landed in limbo. I stayed there for two hours not progressing and my contractions were slowing. So they cranked up the pitocin to full blast and broke my water...and about two seconds later that I decided I NEEDED THE EPIDURAL RIGHT FREAKING NOW AND IF I DIDN'T SEE THE ANESTHESOLOGIST IN THE NEXT FIVE SECONDS I WAS GOING TO GET OUT OF BED AND FIND HIM MYSELF!

Luckily the anesthesologist came to my rescue soon enough. I thank God for choosing in His wisdom (and mercy) to give man the ability and knowledge to create the masterpiece that is the Epidural. It's just my opinion, but I wouldn't have a baby without one. After I got the epi I played the square game (you know, when you connect the squares to make boxes and he with the most boxes once all the lines are connected wins?) for the next 8 hours. After 23 hours and 40 minutes of labor the doc announced it was time to push.

I pushed out Monkeypants in TWO PUSHES. No small feat considering that he's my first and that child was born with a 14.5 inch head. Oh yeah. Who's the mom? I'm the MOM. Heck yeah. [I'll totally admit I'm cabbage patching in my head right now.]

Monkeypants was born March 13, 2004 at 7:47pm. He was 7lbs 15oz and 20 3/4 inches long. He was (and still is) the most beautiful baby boy in the whole world. He looked at me with his big giant eyes and my heart melted. I kept telling him how happy I was to finally meet him and what a good job he did being born. And, of course, telling him over and over how much I loved him. And I did-it was absolutely love at first sight.

It still brings tears to my eyes to think of how beautful and amazing it was to see my baby for the first time. To finally be a mother. Even as I think of it now I get that fuzzy achy happy feeling in my heart...you know, that feeling you get when you are just overwhelmed with love for your baby?

And today that baby is 4 years old.

Time flies so fast. It's only been a blink since I held my precious first born in my arms and told him I was his mommy. Only a minute since I nursed him to sleep the first time and felt his soft little cheek nuzzle into me. Only just a moment since I looked into my baby's eyes and knew he was the reason I was born. To give birth to him.

Okay, maybe it's the post partum hormones talking (from Baby Bug-not from him!), but I'm going to go have a good cry and then crawl into my baby boy's bed and have some snuggle time. Because I know it'll be just another blink until he's all grown up.