30 Days of Happiness, Day 28: The Difference a Year Can Make

September 24, 2008



September 24, 2009



When those pregnancy tests above came out positive one year ago, it was truly one of the most surreal moments of my life. That moment, in our bathroom at our old apartment in the wee hours of the morning, set into motion the most amazing year of my life.

Food aversions. Nausea. Insomnia. Exhaustion. Extreme thirst. The sweetest fetal heartbeat. Glowing skin. Shortness of breath. Emotional overload. The sweetest baby kicks. Exhaustion. Swollen everything. Extreme hunger. The most painful baby kicks. Sprained ribs. Screwed-up back. Extreme discomfort. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Induction. Hours of hard labor. C-section.



Finally, the sweetest, most perfect baby. Worth every single moment of heartache, uncertainty, fear, sickness, exhaustion, discomfort, trauma, and recovery.





I love my sweet boy. There's not a day that goes by where I don't think of how lucky I am.

***

Charlie weighed in at a whopping 19 lbs 5 oz at his doctor's appointment today. We were shocked, especially because he weighed in at 17 lbs 10 oz on September 11. He just decided to skip over weighing 18 lbs, apparently. I can't even begin to understand how it is he so easily packs on the pounds!

Last night Charlie was very, very cranky and very, very feverish, and it soon became obvious that he was not going to go to bed in the normal way. So we ended up taking him for a two and a half hour car ride. We got home at 11:30 PM and settled in for a long night.

As it turned out, it wasn't that bad. The car ride did its thing, and he was able to sleep "normally" for the rest of the night. He woke up pretty much every hour, I think, but he didn't eat much. Most of the time he just wanted some physical contact. When he woke up this morning, I could tell instantly that he was in a better place. He was smiling and was much less fussy - and his fever had gone away.

We took him to the doctor anyway, and sure enough, our boy has a virus. Not much we can do except keep him comfortable. Knowing that he's sick hurts my heart, but I have to admit that I am loving how much he wants to snuggle. He's fallen asleep on me several times today, and instead of trying to develop good sleep habits and get him to sleep in his bed, I've let him stay there. I remember what a source of comfort my mom was to me when I was sick as a child. Nobody could take care of me the way she could.

There is simply nothing that compares to being needed this way.

Except for a healthy baby. So we're feeding him often, supplementing with Pedialite when necessary, and giving him lots of love. Keep us in your thoughts, would you, please?