All my little blessings

Let me say that God has answered every prayer request I have had in regard to my daughter, even the ones I did not voice out loud. 

~The pregnancy was smooth. 

~My daughter is beautifully healthy. 

~She came on Memorial weekend when friends and family could easily come visit.
~She came when my husband was at home and could easily get me to the hospital.

~My water broke with my not having had a single contraction, guaranteeing that they would keep me at the hospital. 

~I got the on-call doctor I wanted. 

~I had the best labor/delivery nurse. 

~And, relatively speaking, labor/delivery moved pretty quickly. 

Bearing all this in mind, I have graciously decided to cut God some slack on all the prayers about my school/career that He has not quite answered to my satisfaction. :) I am beginning to think that He may have known best... known how much she would change me... how instantly and intensely my heart would be knit to hers... how much she would heal me... how much I would want nothing more than to be with her...

I had a wonderful time (minus the pain) in the hospital and it truly was one of the best weeks of my life. Here are some of my favorite memories that I have packed away in my mental scrapbook:


~I was having a nice lunch with my friend and didn't think too much of the fact that I was "raining" in my seat the whole time... 'cos you know on TV it always comes on like a thunderstorm.


~When the contractions were the worst, C.(hubby) was whispering his favorite memories of our life together thus far into my ear.


~Ms. P and L. scouring the hospital cupboards like a couple of excited pirates making sure that I went home with a bounty of goodies for the baby. They both did it at the same time, with no cues from each other. Ah, genetics. :)


~The best kind of friends... for staying... with no regard to my puking, the lateness of the hour, the long wait or uncomfortable chairs. (Thanks, B, Ms.P and L!)


~Having my husband tell me what an amazingly strong person I was to go through all of that pain, and how proud he was of me. And for all the ways having a child together has deepened an already strong love.


~After the labor nurse gave me my first IV painkiller, she told me it would feel like drinking three Tequilas. When the drug hit my system, it confirmed for me why I made the right decision by never drinking. 


~In order to comfort me that the baby was coming soon (and faster than they expected) my labor nurse told me that the doctor was putting on her "ball gown."


~Nurse (after the baby came): "Congratulations, you just ran a marathon."
Me: "No. I have actually run a marathon and it was by far easier."


~The Oprah Effect 
After too many years of anxiety about the question of having children, and far too many episodes of Oprah listening to mothers who had formed no attachment to their children, I was amazed at my instant, immediate, intense love for my child.

~The knowledge that everything worth savoring in this life is sweeter, more exquisite with Jesus.