6-11-04

'Tis the evening of Isaac's arrival and I am near tears as I reminisce of this evening, 3 years ago already. How time has passed, and how much joy Isaac has brought to me.
For those who are interested, here are the thoughts going through my brain:
Three years ago tonight I weighed a whopping 141 pounds and was starting to swell from the heat of the summer. I stayed active - my mom and I walked religiously to help "stretch". I was a heap of emotions as it had been quite the pregnant experience... I never imagined that a person have to go through such amounts of pain to finally come to happiness. Those nine months of my life were off-the-charts emotional for everyone involved. I wouldn't change a thing.
I remember sitting at my brothers' baseball game and my back was killing me. I told everyone, half jokingly, "I think I am in labor!" I had gone to see Dr. Pete a few days previous and he confirmed that I was dilated to 4cm. His response, "Most women are begging for an epidural right now... why aren't you in labor?" I was like, why are you asking me? He scheduled the induction for Friday morning, but because it was my pregnancy and we should have learned to expect the unexpected, the maternity ward at Metro Hospital was full. I really thought the lady on the phone was pulling my leg. Did they not realize everything that I had gone through and the suspense was killing me here?!
Anyway, back to Friday evening: We decided to go down to the Start of Summer Celebration and watch the fireworks and because they rescheduled my induction for the next morning, I was all "Oh my gosh, I have got to get an elephant ear because I will be in the hospital all weekend and won't be able to have one!!!" HUGE mistake. Did I mention that I was 5 days late at this point and had tried Castor Oil to speed things up a couple days before - I was desperate! So, some people say to have sex, others say a glass of wine; for me, it was an elephant ear and fireworks. As we (my mom and I) were walking back to the car, we spotted the Ambulances and I mentioned that an ambulance might just be the best mode of transportation in this situation. However, because I had made two trips to Metro in May, thinking I was in labor (and was in fact having contractions 2 minutes apart for 48 hours) we thought, eh, let's just go home and try to get some rest before we go to the hospital in the morning.
I went over to the Kalemba's house and they confirmed in drunken tones that I was indeed in labor. I therefor decided that the only way I was going to know that it was real was to try to go to bed. It ended up being real. I tossed and turned and felt the most horrendous (up to that point) cramps I have ever felt. Nevertheless, I tried to sleep. As I lay there I reflected upon my entire experience and told my self that I was doing this for a reason. Everything happens for a reason. I knew that I was going to rely on my family for support and that was okay as long as they were willing to provide it. They truly are amazing for all that they have done (and continue to do) for us.
I won't bore you with the major details of the birthing experience, but I did stay strong and continued to deny medication. To this day I can not, for the life of me, remember the pain. It never ceases to amaze me how soon the mind can heal and in some cases mask various experiences. Can you imagine if we could remember the pain?! The population count would be significantly lower :o)
Several hours later, on a beautiful Saturday morning, a handsome baby boy was placed on my chest and at that moment I was assured that everything I had experienced in those nine months was worth it. Those amazing eyes and lips and ten fingers and ten toes and he was mine. That's all I could think about. The fright set in later when they had the nerve to kick me out of the hospital and send me on my way with this precious little thing that I thought I couldn't handle on my own.

As I remember thinking about how significant it was that Isaac was mine, I am truly blessed to have Rob in my life to share him with. I never in a million years thought that Isaac and I would ever be complete; Rob completes us. He has taken on a task that many would shy away from and he is amazing for that! He is away this week in Alpena and I know that he is heartbroken that he is missing Isaac's birthday. Isaac misses him just as much.
Luckily, this is just the beginning for us.