Your Story, Annalina!

Seven years ago today Annalina joined our family. Due to her size we went in on the 15th of December to be induced, though she was not due until the 28th. I have big babies, and while they are always big and healthy too, I did not want to give birth to a 4 month old sized infant. It was a long pregnancy, I was on bed rest for the last 20, YES 20 weeks due to some health issues. I read a LOT during that time, and watched a lot of movies thanks to my sister who manages a Hollywood Video Store. Anyway, we went in that morning expecting a baby with a birthday of December 15th. It took the nurses quite a while to get things ready, and labor did not really take off well as it had when I had Jacob. Finally by late evening I was starting to really feel it. Yikes! You forget how bad it really is and there were some very panicky moments of doubt, could I really do this again? I had Adrienne with no pain relief whatsoever, there, I did it, not doing it again!! Jake I really tried to get some relief, but the epidural failed and he came quickly after that. I was assured that the best anesthesiologist was on call that night, so about 1 in the morning, he came in and he was fantastic! I remember looking at the monitor in awe, it was registering a HUGE contraction, but I was NOT feeling a thing! That was way too cool, so I decided to get some rest, they assured me she wasn't coming anytime soon. It felt so good to be able to sleep while my body was still working so hard. I wish other things in life could be like that, you know, like working out...

I woke up at about 5 am and my vision was weird, I could not see around the edges and I felt like I was floating away. The blood pressure alarm went off and I remember wondering if I was dying. Richard was laying nearby on the sofa bed and he woke up when the nurse rushed in. Apparently I was flat on my back and Annalina's sweet little baby body was flattening some key blood vessels. My BP was something like 55/30. My nurse Heather, who was so great, propped one side up with a pillow and I began to feel much better. A very surreal experience though.

I was checked at about 6am and I was only at a 5, which I had been stuck at all night long. Annalina was an obstinate little thing. She had her head tipped in such a way as to stop her progress. By 6:30 I asked Heather to check me again, everything had changed. She said it was too soon, but I told her she really needed to check and sure enough I was at 10cm and ready to have that baby! We figure Annalina turned her head back into a normal birthing position and that pressure caused me to finish dilating. Dr Brown was paged and got there shortly after that. I only pushed a couple of times and out she came. It was a very relaxed birth. On the video we are chatting and joking with the doctor in between pushes. It was so different than the chaos that accompanied my two previous births. Annalina was born at 7:10am. Adrienne was there with my mother and my dad got stuck in the room during the birth as well. Poor guy, but I loved having him there, he took over the video camera while Annalina was wisked over to the incubator to be cleaned up. Richard was a wonderful labor coach and made sure I had everything I needed. After Annalina was born, Richard stayed with her almost constantly. If they had to take her out for a test, he tagged along. Her guardian!
Annalina was 8 pounds 14 ounces, just like her older brother Jake had been. And she was almost two weeks early. My Dr tells me I could easily birth a ten pound baby, but YIKES, the 9 pounds ones really hurt, why would I want to delivery a 10+ pound baby!! She was 21 inches long and had lovely soft brown hair. This was VERY unexpected as my first two had been so blond as to look bald at birth. I remember asking the doctor during delivery, "Can you see her hair?, Can you see her hair?" and the Dr said, yes, lots of dark hair and I couldn't believe it.

I was not thrilled to learn Annalina was due right at Christmastime. I have heard all the stories and have since experienced people forgetting all about her birthday due to the holidays. Kids with December birthdays really do get a bit gypped. My job is to make it all the more special. But back to my story...having Annalina in December was really special for me. It was an emotional time and thinking of the birth of Christ, I think I related to Mary in a way I had never done before. I was so grateful to have a safe place to have her with the comforts of home so nearby! And everyone is always so happy at Christmastime! The festive spirit in the hospital was impossible to ignore. Beautifully decorated trees and tinsel hanging everywhere!

We had Annalina on a Sunday morning. Thursday Richard's parents and his sister were able to come to Oregon for a visit. They were with us over Christmas and it was special to be able to spend that time with them. I have lots of fun pictures of them with little Annalina. She was so tiny!!

Annalina was such a happy baby. She slept in our room for the first year of her life. As she got older and wasn't so frantic for food when she woke, she would wake up happy and cooing in her bed. We often brought her into bed between us to play with her in the morning. She has grown into such a loving sweet girl. She has a wonderful amount of compassion for someone so young. She genuinely cares for everyone. I am so grateful that the lord entrusted me to raise this sweet little spirit. I am looking forward to seeing what she will do with this life she has been given and am so glad that I get to be part of her life! Happy Birthday Annalina! I love you so much!