A Christmas {Birthday} Story

Smack dab in the middle of the Christmas season is my daughter’s birthday. Who ever thought it would be a good idea to have a baby at the end of December?? Certainly not me. 🙂

DIY Burlap Birthday Wreath

 But it is what it is and it really makes Christmas so much more special to me. {Obviously.}

Little Miss A was actually due at the end of January. I thought for sure that even if she was early, there’s no way she would be born too close to Christmas. Boy was I wrong!

Warning sign #1: The week of Thanksgiving, I was put on strict bed rest for high blood pressure.

I made my doctor promise me that he wouldn’t let me deliver the week of Christmas. He didn’t pinky swear, though.

That’ll get you every time.

Warning sign #2: It was the week of Christmas and not only was my blood pressure still sky high, but I was starting to have chest pains. Not good!

Sprinkles Party: Opening Presents

And so, at 35 weeks pregnant, I was admitted to the hospital for an induction. Let me just tell ya, an induction when your body isn’t ready to deliver a baby is not a fun thing. After 18 hours of pitocin-induced contractions and two epidurals that wore off quickly, lets just say I welcomed the thought of a c-section.

“Just cut her out of me!” might have been heard coming from my hospital room. And “where the **** is the anesthesiologist?!?!?!?”

When I final got my spinal, it was a welcome relief. Just minutes later, I saw my beautiful daughter for the very first time.

THE. BEST. MOMENT. OF. MY. LIFE.

The high blood pressure, month of bed rest, aches, pains, surgery. All so worth it!

She didn’t cry because she had some fluid on her lungs and was quickly weighed and taken off to the NICU. But not before they pressed her slimy face next to mine and told me to kiss her. {While I loved her very much, I wasn’t too keen on kissing my just-born and not yet washed baby. Is that terrible?}

Sprinkled with Love Birthday Party

Once I was sewed back up, they wheeled me into a recovery room where I think I had the oddest experience of my life. I had to lay on the bed and look at the ceiling for an hour while I “recovered” all the while Coach was taking our family members back, one-at-a-time, to meet Miss A. So strange being the one who birthed the baby and not getting to be a part of that process.

The next few days were a blur of learning how to care for our daughter while visiting her in the NICU. She was in the hospital on Christmas and that year we had a huge snowstorm. We were fortunate to live so close to the hospital and have a 4-wheel drive vehicle, so we could still visit her during the storm.

I’ll never forget the NICU nurses who stayed on duty for days, because they couldn’t get home in the storm and their replacement nurses couldn’t get to the hospital. They missed Christmas with their own families in order to take care of my baby. I know it’s their job, but I still get goose bumps thinking about those sweet nurses. They are angels, truly.

Sprinkle Cake and Cupcakes

Miss A was only in the hospital for a week. When we brought her home, she weighed less than 5 pounds. So tiny!

And it’s been a whirlwind ever since! I can’t imagine loving anyone more than I love her. Being a parent has got to be the most challenging, yet most rewarding experience I’ve ever had. I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

These days Miss A is communicating and understanding at lightning speed. {I may think she’s the most gifted child ever. But I am her mother.} The things that come out of her mouth are hilarious. It’s amazing how quickly they understand the world around them.

And you just sit back and wonder, “how in the world did you learn that?!?” {Like how to say “Oh Crap!” when I slammed on the brakes at a red light. Where in the world!?!? It could be worse, I guess.}

Miss A with Sprinkle Cake and Party Balloons

Her favorite toys are Doc McStuffins toys. She LOVES them. Her bed is piled high with stuffed animals. She prefers them to blankets and they keep her warm and cozy at night.

She hates to eat at mealtime, unless it’s steak or Chick-fil-a. But she’ll snack on anything and everything all day long.

She’s slowly, but surely warmed up to preschool, even naming her baby dolls after her teachers over the Christmas break. She must love them. 🙂 And she’s been asking to go back to “school” lately. I think she misses her friends.

Miss A has such a sweet personality, but knows what she wants and has been known to throw a tantrum {or a few}. All-in-all, she really is an easy kid, although I’m sure we’ll go through some trying years.

Mommy & Miss A Opening Presents

I’m so thankful for the blessing that she is. What a gift!

I chose to do a sprinkle birthday party theme because I thought it would be cute and easy, and it really was! I will share the details tomorrow. Thanks for indulging me in a little walk down memory lane. 🙂

Happy Monday!

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8 Comments

  1. I had a baby on Dec 23rd – she was a week late – I was lucky that I was able to go home on Christmas Eve – I can remember waiting for my husband to come pick us up after I made him go to Service Merchandise to get the last Christmas present I didn’t get – It was kind of good – I got a nice bracelet out of it. He picked us up and dropped us off at the house and went to pick up our 2 year old from his parents. He called me from their house and asked me what we named the new baby! We couldn’t decide the night before & I told him I would put what came to me when I got the form! Now my “baby” is pregnant with our first grandchild and I am over the moon ecstatic! It is really nice to go down memory lane every once in awhile – every child and birth has a different story!

    1. I went home on Christmas Eve as well! So funny about the extra gift and the baby name!! HA! congratulations on your first grand baby. How very exciting!!

  2. How beautiful!! I had to share my after Christmas b-day story w you all. My beloved Patrick who is now w his Lord and Savior in Glory had a b-day three days after Christmas. W a house full of kids and a dog and dad’s b-day more than not got over looked. One year I thought ‘ I am going to do something he will NEVER forget!’. So I ordered a belly dancer to come to his business meeting at work ( w the boss’ permission). Lesson#1 never hire a belly dancer over the phone!! LOL she was a little older and not quite the sexy thing I had in mind. Oh well we got a good laugh over it.. Blessings to all of you and a Very Blessed New Year!

    1. I bet it WAS a birthday he would never forget. LOL That is hysterical! Thanks for sharing and giving me a good “belly” laugh. {I just couldn’t help myself.} 🙂

  3. I’m all too familiar with the NICU – you are so right. Those nurses are angels on earth! Thanks for sharing your story and happy bday to your adorable Miss A. Loving the sprinkle cake – i want a piece!

    1. Our grandson Gideon was two months early and is now five. My amazing daughter in law Sarah and a few other NICU mom’s have every year made ‘baskets of goodies’ to bring to each NICU family that is there over Thanksgiving w/e ( usually about 30!) and feed the nurses. You can see there ideas to never forget these amazing nurses on ( Community North NICU ) Facebook page..these year they got so many donations from Walgreens etc. they also sis bags for families there over Christmas!

      1. I love it! I’ve thought about making that part of a service project we do now that my daughter is a little older. I think it would be a great for us to connect with her birth story and honor the people who took care of her in those first few days. Thanks for the nudge. 🙂

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