Happy Birthday Finleigh

One year ago today, I was not quite 8 months pregnant and sitting in a hospital room...very confused. I was hooked up to a monitor and my baby wasn't doing too well...neither was my placenta, which we found out later was hardening to the point that oxygen was having a hard time getting through to my baby. I was supposed to go in at 9am, just for a non-stress test, to see how baby was doing. It was supposed to take about 15 minutes, then I could go home and let my husband - who was with the boys - go to bed as he'd just gotten home from a night shift and had another one that night. I had all sorts of fun things to do with the boys for Valentine's day and my house was a mess.

Well, by noon, I was heading down to get an ultrasound and by 4pm, I knew that my baby was going to be born that night by emergency C-section. Here are my husband and I waiting for the procedure.






She came at 10:20pm and was beautiful, though I didn't get to hold her until about 4am. She was born 5lbs 1oz, 18 inches long. A far cry from my boys who were both over 10lbs.





Here are my boys meeting her for the first time.






She spent a day under the light to help her with her jaundice.





She didn't open her eyes much those first few days.




But she was able to come home with me after the regular 3 days recovery from a C-section. It felt so weird to be out again. I kept waiting for someone to come and tell me we had to go back into the hospital.


That's my story. And now she's 1 year old! She still has a long way to go until she's caught up to where she should be, but she's doing great...and I love her so very much! If she hadn't come out when she did, we may have lost her. I'm grateful for the events of Valentine's Day 2007, even if they weren't as planned. For me, Valentine's Day will always mean life.