Let me see. Where to begin? Well, thirteen whole years ago...I became a mother. Really, by this point 13 years ago I had been a mother for almost a full day. You see, the day before (around 3:00 am on November 7th) I woke up with a contraction. I was so excited! After a full week of living the life of an over-due pregnant lady labor was finally starting. I tried not to wake Will up but failed miserably. He was on pins and needles anticipating my every move so when I got out of bed he was wide awake. We tip-toed out into our kitchen for a bowl of cereal. My mother-in-law, Judy, and sister-in-law, Emily, had been out from Montana for a week and were leaving in a day or two. They were sleeping in the shared kitchen-living room space of our little condo. Will and I didn't want to wake them. We ate some breakfast and tried to lay back down. By 5:00 am we couldn't contain our excitement. I had been having real contractions every 30 minutes or so, this was the real deal! Little did I know it would be a long day before we would get to meet this little baby.
We spent the day counting contractions and waiting for things to progress. Looking back on it now I see that it was a pretty regular labor...just long. Some time late in the evening (I think around 9:00 pm) we decided to go to the hospital. My sister, Jennifer, and my Mother had left their homes in Maine and New Hampshire and made their way to the hospital in Boston. Once I got checked in (and got an epidural) I got to see my mother. She was kind of a wreck. It is hard for her to watch her children do hard things. She cannot help and she really wants to. My mom and Judy took turns being the second visitor in the labor room. By chance, Judy was in the room when it was time to push. It didn't take long as far as pushing was concerned and at 1:26 am on November 8th our little baby was born.
We did not find out the gender of baby #1 until the moment she was born. Will said something like "It's out, it's a girl! Oh it's a girl!" I remember being stunned as this wriggly, beautiful baby was placed up on my chest. Amazing. She was so beautiful and so perfect. I called her princess.
And so it began. Motherhood.
Now, fast forward two years. I am pregnant again but not expecting a baby to be born. This little guy isn't due until the end of November. I've been having contractions every couple of days and I even sent Will to get his brother to stay with Lorien one day when I thought we were going to have this baby. Nope. So, on the day of Lorien's second birthday we threw her a little party. Friends came over, presents were opened and cake consumed. After her party I took a nap. When I woke up...ta-da the contractions were back and coming along quickly.
Somehow, a couple of family friends stopped by late to give Lorien her birthday present. We said something like "Thanks for the play-dough she loves it. Now can you stay with Lorien while we go to the hospital?" Good thing they said yes.
So at this exact hour 11 years ago I was at the hospital waiting to birth baby #2. I couldn't believe he decided to come on Lorien's birthday! I thought maybe I could wait a few more hours and he could be born on November 9th but Wyatt had other plans. He waited until nearly the last moments of November 8th...but he wanted the 8th. At 11:44 pm Wyatt James was born.
And now, here we are. I am a mother 5 times over and these two darlings are my oldest children. They get my worst mothering. I make most of my mistakes with them. Somehow they are still thriving. Somehow they still love me and each other (most of the time). They are good friends. They rely and confide in each other. I am so glad they will have each other (and their other siblings) forever.
Happy birthday my loves!
