One Year Ago Today . . .

It was a year ago today that our precious little Julia was born. The night before she was born, I remember laying on the couch (where I slept because I was too fat to be comfortable anywhere else!) and I remember holding my belly and talking to her and telling her how I couldn't wait to finally meet her. I remember falling asleep with the comfort that I only had a week left before she was here.  I woke up a few hours later with the worst stomach cramps I had ever experienced. Of course, I had no idea I was in labor because it felt nothing like I had heard about in the classes or read about in the books. I just thought I had eaten something that didn't settle well. I never went back to sleep that night - I just laid awake oblivious to the fact that I was in labor and would be holding my sweet little girl in just a few hours. When Keith woke up to get ready for work, I told him that I was having cramps, but I didn't think I was in labor or anything. I took a bath and helped Jordan get ready for school. I was hurting pretty bad when Keith left for work, but I told him to go ahead and go to work and I would call him if I thought I needed to go to the hospital. At this point I still wasn't certain that I was in labor. We had been told in the childbirth classes that labor lasted many hours, especially if it was your first born. They warned against going to the hospital too soon and being told to go home. Plus, they told us that first babies usually come late - not early and our due date was November 11th. With those "facts" combined, I didn't think this could possibly be the real thing. I wasn't even feeling 'contractions' as I had imagined them. So Keith went on to work, but before he even got to the office, I called and told him we needed to go to the hospital. By the time he got back home to pick me up, I was doubled over on the floor and in severe pain. I started counting the time between contractions and realized pretty quickly that maybe I should have started counting hours ago. By the time we got to the hospital, my contractions were less than a minute apart. We signed in at the hospital at 8:50.  I was shocked to learn that I was too far along to have an epidural. A sense of terror rushed through my body when I heard those words.  What?  No epidural? I remember thinking that I just wasn't going to do it if I couldn't have an epidural.  But Julia had other plans.  An hour after we walked into the hospital I was holding my precious little girl for the first time. 

The first time I saw Julia was from across the room. They laid her on the scale and I remember just staring at her while she was staring back at me, both of us completely silent. Despite all the confusion going on in the room around us, we were fixated on each other. We had both just gone through a tramatic experience and neither of us knew what quite to expect next.

This is my very first image of Julia.  I will never forget that moment when our eyes first met.

Within a matter of moments, they laid her on my chest and I held my daughter in my arms for the very first time. It was the most beautiful and unforgetable moment of my life. Feeling her warm tiny body next to mine was the most comfortable feeling.

Daddy finally got to hold his little girl for the first time. She looked so tiny in his big, strong, loving arms. He fell in love with his little girl the moment he laid eyes on her. You can see the love and pride on his face as he looks at her.

And then it was time for the grandmas to have their turn. When they arrived at the hospital, Keith met them in the hallway and proudly began showing them pictures on our camera. My mom was so confused and didn't understand why he had been taking pictures of me in labor, but as soon as they saw the pictures, they were shocked to discover that little Julia was already here.

I have never seen a more proud and loving big brother. Jordan hugged and kissed on his baby sister from the day he first met her and has been taking good care of her ever since. He loves her so much and is so proud to have her join our family.

November 2, 2007 is a day that changed our lives forever.  We are so blessed to have little Julia Madison Skeen in our family.  Happy Birthday my little angel.