In my world, "It's the most mind-boggling time...of the year". OR "It's the most insane-and-crazy time....of the year". OR "It's the most bitterweet time...of the year".
The last two weeks of December are so incredibly full of activity at the Holen house. In previous years, I am quite certain I have posted a similar posting about how crazy this time is, with two kids' birthdays within 9 days of each other, one right before Christmas, and one right after. There are moments during these two weeks where the pure insanity of it all catches up to me, and I can feel my anxiety spiraling out of control. But, then, there are moments when I realize just how special this time of year is for me as well. I had two of the very best days of my life happen (birthdays) right around one of the best days in the whole year (Christmas).
Christmas, 1999:
Eight and a half months pregnant with my first baby. Due date: January 6 0r 9 2000. Everything had been going well with my pregnancy, with the exception of a bit of high blood pressure. I felt good, overall. A little huge, but good. Ed and I were living in our house in Becker, a perfect, brand-new house which felt like home. We had such a great, neat, and compact little life. We went to work, then came home and did....what did we do???? Well, whatever it was, I'm sure it was really fun and important. ***DISCLAIMER: This is not to insinuate that people who do not have children do not have fun or important lives...it is simply an honest reflection on the very fact that I truly have no idea what Ed and I did on a routine basis before we had kids. We didn't watch a lot of TV, I didn't read much at that point in my life, nor did I really have a hobby***We celebrated Christmas Eve at my dad's house, the first Christmas without my mom. I remember going up the stairs to use the bathroom as Jamie was coming down the stairs, and because my belly was so big, I bumped into him and fell down the stairs. I pretty much just slid down the stairs, but I have wondered if that didn't set things into motion. The next day, we celebrated Christmas with the Holen family, and used our NEW video camera! I hardly had any preggie pictures of myself, so it was neat to see the video. That evening, at the Backes (my mom's family) Christmas, my aunt told me I looked like I had five days left. Five days....oh, wishful thinking! At that point in time, I had 1.5 to 2 weeks left, and had no reason to think I would go early.
December 28, 1999
It was a Tuesday, and I worked until about 6:30 or 7. I work as an occupational therapist with children, and that evening, I remember working with a few kids who I lifted that evening. I remember thinking, "I maybe need to simmer down on the lifting, because I wasn't sure how much longer I could do it." I got home that night around 7:30, and sat with Ed and did, well, whatever it was we did in the evening before we had kids. I began not feeling well, and started vomiting. I was up almost the entire night throwing up. It was the only time in my life where I would take a tiny sip of water, only to have it come back out 10 minutes later. Sometime during the night, the contractions began...
December 29-30, 1999
Contractions intensified, and I went to the hospital twice, only to be sent home because I was in the "early" stages of labor. I labored all day at home (mind you, very little sleep the night before), and finally at 1 am my water broke. I labored all night and gave birth to little Alexander Andrew at 12:20 pm on December 30. Life would never be the same!
Fast-forward five years:
December 20, 2004
I went to work that morning, a Monday morning, so very miserable. My due date was tomorrow (12-21), and I had never gone to my due date before. My pregnancy was going well, other than being huge and miserable. I did have some minor tachycardia (racing heartbeat), which I was supposed to be taking medication for, but I wasn't overly compliant. I was so sure I would have had this baby over the weekend...my whole pregnancy, I thought the 17th or 18th would be the day. I began having irregular contractions on 12-15, and they would start and stop, start and stop. It felt like I would never, EVER have this baby! I didn't expect to be working that day, and I had everything done...all of my paperwork, all of my patients were being seen by someone else. There was no reason for me to be at work. Sigh. I left around noon, and walked around the mall...maybe walking will stimulate something. Nope. I went home. Ed was home with the boys, he was going to school at the time and was working evenings. So, we spent the afternoon together. By about 1:30, the contractions started again, only this time, they stuck around. We called the clinic and my Dr. could see me at 4:30. We dropped the kids off at Holen's, and were on our way. The contractions didn't let up, but my Dr. didn't want to admit me to the hospital just yet. We went back to the mall and walked around, and the contractions picked up in intensity while we were there, but by the time we got home, they slowed down. Frustrated, huge, miserable, I went to sleep.
December 21, 2004
I woke at 5:30 am, and the contractions were back. Intense. I got up and played computer solitare for awhile, and realized I was curling my toes during the contractions. At around 8, I woke Ed, and told him we should head for the hospital. He showered, and we were on our way. Long story short, after a perfect, non-complicated, and relatively easy labor, Lillian Diane arrived at 1:49 pm, right on her due date.
December 25, 2004
Christmas Day, our first Christmas with Lilly. The boys were so excited to open their gifts from Santa. I was so excited to be holding my daughter!
Well, maybe it really is the most wonderful time of the year!
