Baby Number One

Mimi, whale watching, Dana Point, California Summer 07

Most of you are probably on Facebook with me so I apologize that this is a repeat- but I thought it was awesome thinking back to Mimi's birth almost 9 years ago. It's made me all nostalgic, so am turning it into a journal entry here on my blog. Just to explain- the reason I didn't want to tell Justin first is because we were living in a basement and he was working nights, we had just moved from England to Arizona and a baby was a bit of a shocker. Turns out though that he was soooo excited (obviously) and the day Mimi was born is the only day I've seen him actually cry (he teared up with the other two but not the streaming kind of tears like the day he held his firstborn daughter...my favorite memory ever). What a blessing it is to be a mother, whether we give birth or adopt or just nuture any child when others cannot or will not....it certainly is a miracle to behold. This morning, as I tried to comfort our now almost 9 year old first born begging me if she could stay home from school (because she's having trouble making a new best friend at her new school), I remembered so vividly holding her as a newborn, crying with colic pains and rocking her for hours, but being filled with joy to hear the screams because it meant that I was a mother. I would do almost anything to turn back the clock and go back to those days...it's true what they say, children grow up way too fast.

First Born Survey
Here you go mommies - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about your first born! Just copy and paste it in a new note for yourself! Then tag some mommy friends! Let's see how much you remember!


1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? Nope, I was on the pill and went sand boarding when I was about a month along and didn't know (and threw myself off a sand dune).


2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes


3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Absolute wonderment and fright all rolled up together.


4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? Never


5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 24


6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? I started having morning sickness morning, noon and night


7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Tricia or Tatiana, anyone but Justin


8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Yes, I found out on my birthday it was a girl


9. DUE DATE? 2 May 2000


10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? on and off all day for a few weeks


11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Papa John's plain bread sticks


12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? The pitocin drip to actually start the contractions- thought I was dying


13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? girl


14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? No


15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? 10, I was so sick that I was skinnier after I gave birth than before (can't say the same for the rest of my babies)


16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes


17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? i knew


18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? yes, she was late and the meconium leaked- when my water broke it was neon green.


19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Chandler regional Hospital


20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? i arrived at the hospital around 2am and she was born at 5pm, so that was 15 hours just at the hospital but it was longer than that if you add in the home time. i pushed for 3 hours straight


21. WHO WAS THERE WHEN YOU GAVE BIRTH? Justin, the doctors and nurses and my mom somewhere


22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural, my epidural had worn off because they wanted me to "feel" what i was doing- nice eh?


23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? For a while yes


24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 6 lbs. 13 oz.


25.WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN? 5 PM on the dot, 9 May 2000, Dave Gahan's birthday which my sister was very excited about


26. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 8 going on 80, she's an old soul like her mom.