Birth Day

Dear Braedyn,



It has officially been 7 weeks and 5 days since your birth day and I feel like I'm finally beginning to breathe. I've been wanting to start this up for a while, and wish I started it the day I found out I was having you, but I always figure it's better late than never. So for this first blog entry I would like to recount the day of your birth.



It was an extremely cold day on February 4th. I woke up like any other day ready to go to work at about 5:40 a.m. I got out of the shower and started getting ready and began to feel some strong menstral cramp like sensations. I ignored them and continued to get ready. As it came time to put my boots on, I just couldn't bend over to get them up (yes I was that big, but more importantly I was in that much pain). So I woke up your daddy and he had to help me. I began eating my breakfast (the usual SpecialK Vanilla Almond Cereal) and just kept stopping from these cramps I was experiencing. Which, you will come to find out, very little gets between mommy and food. Daddy even said, "Maybe you should call in sick today." Wherein I replied, "I can't. I have conferences and I don't want to have to take more sick days than I already am going to." So off to work I went.


On my journey on the Edens these cramps started coming on a little more consistently. No way this is labor I kept thinking to myself. But I must've known something because I had brought my hospital bag with me, and I was timing these so called contractions. They were coming every 5 minutes. I decided to call daddy and told him to pack his hospital bag as a "just in case." Now, most people would also call their doctors to let them know what was going on, but I was still in complete denial.


So I arrive at school. Almost everyone who saw me said I was walking funny and that I should go home. "No no no, I'm in a little pain but I'm fine." Was all that I kept saying. I even met with a parent that morning who had said she thought today was the day. I just laughed her off. So the day began with homebase as usual and then onto block class where I needed to finish the slavery powerpoint from before. My poor students had to sit through the most boring powerpoint, especially since I had to keep stopping. So in order to get them to be quiet I gave them a quiz. I began to time my contractions...again...but this time they were coming every 3 minutes for 20 minutes. At this point most women would have called their doctors. Not me. Still in denial. So I decided I was going to go to your grandparents to lie down and recharge my batteries. My team refused to let me drive and insisted that they drive me there. I was kind of annoyed, but appreciated their gesture.


While I was waiting for my teammates to get their things together everyone kept telling me to call the doctor. Finally after 20 minutes of convincing I did. The doctor told me to come in and let's just get you checked out. Seriously? I thought. I'm just going to be one of those women they send home and I really didn't want to be that person. Fine. Going to the doctor with my teammates in tow. I call daddy to let him know I'm going just to get checked out, and he said, "I'll meet you there." Really? He's going to be so annoyed to come all the way up to Highland Park from the city to find out I'm having Braxton Hicks. Ugh. So off we go from Wheeling to H.P.



As soon I get to the doctor's office they take me in and check me out. "Alright, Ali, you're definitely in labor. You're 2-3 cm dialated, 100% effaced and baby's head is at 0. You're going to labor and delivery." What? I'm in labor? I have conferences tonight. Was all I kept thinking. So off we went.


We got checked into the hospital around noon, I got my epidural, by 5:20 p.m. I began pushing and by 5:41 you were out. I wish I could tell you more about the delivery, but really it was so quick and I didn't feel a thing except the feeling of unconditional love when you came out of me.


Baby girl, that was the most special and amazing moment of my life. When I saw you and looked into your beautiful blue eyes, I knew I was never going to let anything happen to you.

7 lbs 1 0z, 20.5 inches