Land of Bing: Happy 1st Birthday

At midnight on July 8, 2009 my water broke in my bathroom as I was getting ready to go to bed. Did you know that only 15% of women experience their "water breaking" prior to active labor? Well, it happened to me and it freaked me out! I had no idea what was going on because there was no TV-like "gush" of water. I screamed for Matt and we spent the next hour trying to decide if it was, in fact, amniotic fluid that was slowly coming out of me (ummm... denial?). I called my friends, I called my midwife (she said "call back in 30 minutes and you'll know for sure) and I called my parents to tell them to get on a plane.

My midwife told us to take our time but to head to the hospital. I decided to bake some cookies for the nurses, I took a shower and packed half of my house before we finally left. For most of my pregnancy we worried that I would go into labor in the middle of rush hour traffic, but at 3am it was just me, Matt, the Holland Tunnel and, by this point, a ton of amniotic fluid gushing out onto my car seats. Lovely, I know.

We arrived to the now (sadly) defunct St. Vincent's Hospital in about 10 minutes and at around 4am a nurse confirmed that my water had broken and I would have this baby sometime in the next 24 hours. She was also a little rude and, at one point, she said "he's doing fine" and we still didn't know what we were having. Luckily I was so completely convinced that I was having a girl that I didn't pay her any attention.

Matt quickly fell asleep and I laid in bed waiting to feel something that resembled labor and wondering what my life would be like the next day. Would my labor be easy and safe? Would I instantly fall in love with my baby? Would Matt help me through labor? Will they really move me to a better and bigger room like they kept saying?

My midwife checked me around 8am and found that I was only 2cm dilated but fully effaced. I had yet to have a contraction so she put me on Pitocin and my hopes of a totally natural labor were over. Pitocin, however, turned out to be a good thing and within an hour or two I was in active labor with contractions coming every 3 minutes. Matt was a rock star birth partner and he did everything he needed to make me feel better. I will never forget how strong he was and how well he took care of me.

Long story short, I wimped out and got an epidural but I had to start pushing immediately after I got it and it never really kicked in... so I ended up feeling everything and loved it. While pushing, my midwife informed Matt that he had to be the one to take me through delivery because I literally stopped hearing her. I could only focus on Matt because I was scared to death and didn't know how I was going to handle the pain or pressure. I remember exactly what it was like when the baby crowned. Matt told me he could see the baby's head and that it had a lot of hair. My midwife asked me if I wanted to touch the head... I said "no". I remember thinking that touching the baby would make it all too real.

When I finally was able to push the baby out, Matt told me that it was a boy and I laughed (remember I was convinced I was having a girl) and then I cried.

My "active" labor was a total of 4 hours and Daniel's quick entrance into this world is truly indicative of his personality: impatient, determined, curious. He just couldn't wait... just like me.

I'm beginning to understand what parents all over the world mean when they say that their greatest creation is their child. I am amazed by Daniel and what I know he is capable of and I am honored to watch him grow.

So, what's my one-year old up to? Well, he...
- is tall and thin (not a Rosen trait): 22 pounds, 31.5"
- is almost walking but still won't let go of the one finger that he hold onto
- faces forward in his car seat and loves it
- is finally sprouting 2 teeth (his front ones!) so now he has 2, almost 3 teeth
- loves climbing into things/getting into things and he's starting to correctly sort shapes (brilliant!)
- has a toothbrush and likes to brush his teeth and mine
- knows his nose, my nose, his teeth, my teeth
- just started shaking his head "no" and laughing
- crouches on the floor, picks up the bedskirt and looks under the bed when I ask him to where the cat is
- drinks whole milk out of a sippy cup (bye, bye formula. hooray!)
- started making a roar sound when he laughs - which is hilarious
- tries to feed himself with a spoon - which is messy but super cute
- climbs up and down the stairs (though we don't encourage the down part)
- plays catch and throws balls
- still doesn't say any real words but talks all day long (just like me)

Daniel's birthday week was the best and he rocked it hard as you can see in the MANY pictures below. We had an early birthday party at the shore with our families and friends and Daniel let us know that he is a water baby through and through... he absolutely loves the ocean, beach and pool (even after I dunked him a few times). We visited Poppy (Daniel's great grand-father) in Philly on his actual birthday and then we spent the following weekend in Hoboken with the Holsapple clan. Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate because it was really amazing.

I hope to be a better mother every year, but think I'm doing a pretty good job so far. Daniel is the light in many people's lives what I crave most in this world. His laugh makes me laugh, his cry makes me sad, his kisses fill me with joy. He allows me to walk into my house and shed my day and love him all up. He is such a good baby... he's chill, he's happy, he rarely cries, he sleeps like a champ and he's so cute that I nibble on his ears. Now if only he would say, "Mommy"