Nine.....

Nine months. That's how long I carried her, how long I waited to hold her in my arms and memorize every little feature. It was nine of the happiest months in my life.
Nine years. That's how old she turns today and how long I've watched her grow and change and just BE. The shortest nine years of my life. But also the happiest nine years in my life.
Nine years. That's how long I have with her before she's grown and ready to go out in to the world on her own. That's how many years I have to dread the next nine birthdays while I watch her grow and change and just BE.

She was the most laid back baby ever. She hardly ever cried and slept almost all the time. I called her Dolittle. Affectionately, of course. As long as I live, I'll never forget the day she was born. I realized that I was really in labor at around 3 am. We waited until 7 or so and then we went in to labor and delivery, but they checked me and sent me home. I came home and did some last minute cleaning to kill some time. Bobby decided it would be a good time to change the oil in the car. Ha! Not the brightest idea in the world. What's that old saying? Hindsight is 20/20. While he was working on the car my contractions started coming about every 3 minutes. I think he set a record on the short time it took him to finish changing the oil! In just a few minutes, we were on our way to the hospital. Or so we THOUGHT.....
Just a few miles down the road, we ran out of gas. Poor Bobby, he was so nervous. We were really close to a gas station so Bobby gets an idea. He tells me, "I'll steer and you push!" Ha! I wish I was joking. Then, when we got to the station he looked at me and said, "I'll pump, you run in and pay!" My honey, he's got such a sense of humor. I offered to just go ahead and push the car on to the hospital. He actually had to think about it:)

We got to the hospital and they admitted me this time. They checked me and I was at 4. We had plenty of time. The nurse said get comfy, it was going to be a LONG day. We settled in and just waited. My contractions were pretty regular, but I wasn't in too much pain yet. The nurse said we could do the epidural whenever I felt like I needed it. I told her that I wasn't going to have anything, I wanted natural med-free labor and delivery. She laughed and said, "you'll change your mind soon enough!"

The rest of the day was uneventful until around 8 that night. I was in alot of pain and really uncomfortable. The room had a big tub so the nurse suggested I soak in the tub to try to ease my back pain. We ran the water and I was so relieved that it helped a little. I still was insisting that I didn't want anything for pain. I stayed in the tub until it got cold then I asked the nurse to check me again. She said she would as soon I got settled in the bed. She left to get a few things ready for the delivery. As I was walking back to the bed from the bathroom I felt this horrible pain and this really strong urge to push. Truth be told, I'd been feeling a little funny for awhile, but this was my first baby so I had no clue what I should be feeling. I really just thought I needed to use the bathroom. Big mistake eating that hamburger earlier in the day! The nurse came in to check me and the look on her face was pure shock. She said, "oh no honey, don't push! I need to find your doctor, we've got a baby coming!" Turns out, she was rather new at the whole "baby delivering thing" and was terrified. She opens the door and yells out " I need some help in here, she's having a baby!!!" She sounded like it came as a shock to her (Gosh, I thought that's why I was in the hospital to begin with.) My doctor had been called, but she was too far away from the hospital. A midwife came rushing in and made it just in time. The nurse was telling her about my labor while she was instructing me on pushing. Destiny Ayn McNabb came into the world at 9:42 pm on February 19, 2001. Weighing in at 6 pounds 8 ounces, she was a tiny little angel with a headful of thick, dark hair and she was worth every single second of the pain that I felt that day. I fell instantly in love. She was born "en caul" which means that my water never ruptured and she was actually delivered with her amniotic sac still intact. The midwife said that's rare and that some people believe that it means the baby is blessed. I like to think that I'm the one that was blessed that day.

Nine years, wow! The time flew by in what feels like a blink. Everyday with her has been a blessing and there's never been a night that I didn't get down on my knees and thank God for blessing us with our Destiny. Here's to the next nine years of watching her grow and change and just BE.

Happy Birthday Dolittle! I love you ever so very much sweet girl and it has been an honor to be your momma.
~~~ If I could sit across the porch from God, I'd thank Him for lending me you ~~~