My Labor of Love

At this time, almost 21 years ago, my hubby and I had just finished watching the movie, "Awakenings". I was pregnant with our first baby and I was due anyday now. I began feeling a little tightness in my belly, I thought it was gas due to eating popcorn and Good and Plenty candy, great combo huh? By the time we got home after visiting my inlaws, I was still feeling the gas pains. I told my hubby about them and we just laughed them off.

Soon it was dinner time so my hubby drove to Amigo's to get dinner, I was hungry! When he got home, I told him I thought the gas pains could possibly be labor pains. I think he was in shock. He asked me if I still wanted to eat the ood, of course, I was hungry! Plus, who doesn't want to eat Mexican food while in labor? While we were eating, the labor pains continued to come so I ate between the pains. Hubby was not happy with that idea, he was getting pretty nervous.

After we ate, we decided to really keep track of the labor pains to see if they would be consistent. We had no idea what we were to expect since this was our first baby. Finally, after the pains were coming in five minute intervals, hubby called the doctor's office. The nurse asked if we were sure that I was in labor...we didn't know, this was our first baby! But then I had been in the bathroom and sure enough, I had a sign, I WAS in labor! We grabbed the packed overnight bag and headed to the hospital. We got to the hospital around 8:00pm.

Upon checking into the maternity ward, we figured out we didn't bring the paperwork we had at home we were to bring to the hospital with us. How the heck were we to remember all of this stuff! So we called my inlaws, told them where the papers were and if they could bring them to the hospital. I got all hooked up to the machine and got checked out. The nurse asked me what and if I had eaten anything and when. When I told her I had Mexican food and two hours earlier, she didn't look too happy with me. Oh well, I was hungry and you don't want to try and stop a hungry pregnant lady!

A couple of hours had passed and it was 10:00pm. The nurses told my inlaws they should go home since this was my first baby and I probably wouldn't deliver until the morning. So they went home. I was still having labor pains as we watched Saturday Night Live. But soon the labor pains became stronger and hurt more so the nurse gave me stadol. What a great feeling that was, I wasn't feeling any pain and the nurse asked me how I was doing and I said, "If having a baby feels like this, I could have a baby everyday!" Yeah, that was the drug talking. About an hour later, I was feeling the pain again. I wanted an epidural. The nurse talked me out of it and said I did so well with the stadol, let's try that again, so I did. Nothing, nada, zippo, I was still feeling the pain and I told hubby I really wanted the epidural. No nurse could be found. I think I turned into the exorcist by this time and TOLD hubby to GET THE NURSE NOW. He went to the nurses' station and told the nurses I was really needing the epidural.

The nurse finally came in to check me out to prep for the epidural. Of course, I was already too far along and was too late to get an epidural. She would need to call the doctor now and that we should call my inlaws to come back, it was close to midnight. So the on call doctor came into my room, he still had his parka on, slapped on a glove and examined me. Sure enough, I was ready to deliver!

At 1:09am, my beautiful daughter was born! She was the first girl in the family on hubby's side, everyone was thrilled!! I can't believe my baby girl will be 21 years old...wow! Time has gone by so fast and she has grown into a beautiful young woman. Now that we know she is of legal age, do we have to worry more??? Oh lord, I'd better be prepared for more grey hair...

Happy Birthday to my beautiful baby girl, Erika!!! I love you! I'm so proud to be your mom!!

After Holiday Blues?

I am feeling off right now, I have for a few days.  I can't put my finger on it.  I love Christmas.  I love looking at all the decorations.  My mom and sister decorate my house as they have an eye for it.  Here's one tree that is in my living room:

 This is our front entry tree:

 The tree in the kitchen leading into the three season room:

I loved having all of these decorations in my house.  We also had a tree in the basement, the kids' yearly ornament tree.  Once the big office party was over, the next day meant it was time to put away all the decorations.  I wasn't liking that at all.  Now my house looks so boring and naked!  Every time I would walk into the living room, I would be shocked by how bare it was.  You would have thought I was used to it by the next day, but I wasn't, it just really hit me this year.

In Korea, I wasn't as vocal as I used to be either.  I'm not sure why, maybe because I hadn't been back there in two years, but still, I don't change my personality for anything or anyone.  The Gift Team trip is always an emotional trip, maybe this time it really got to me without me knowing it?  I feel like I'm missing something or something is undone...

I've been listening to more music lately too, which is very unlike me.  I even bought some music from iTunes and I don't like to spend money like that!  Every song I listen to, I feel very sentimental and some of the songs are up beat, not all slow songs which I usually like.  Today, as I was preparing my daughter and husband's birthday dinner, which took all day...one song was blasting from my iPad and my husband happened to come upstairs at that moment and one look at him and I hugged him and started crying.

I don't know what is going on, I've always been very emotional and can cry at anything, but this feeling is different...

Bring it on 2012!

I can't believe it is now the year 2012.  I can't believe how time goes by so fast nowadays...with that, I know I will do everything possible to make it a great year.  I want to travel the world more, I want to do more random acts of kindness, I want to see more people be happy.

These are not my New Year's resolutions, I don't make them.  I just do whatever happens to catch my fancy at the moment.  I hope all of you reading will do the same.  I wish you all happiness, contentment, and peacefulness within yourselves.