My mom started a tradition in our family to tell us our birth story on our birthday, every year. I always loved listening to mom’s stories, even if it wasn’t my birthday because my mom is an amazing storyteller. I loved hearing about how she felt when we were born and how much she loved us. Today is Jocelyn’s birthday and per tradition I want to write down her birth story for her.

Baby Girl,
Your dad and I were so excited about you coming into our family. We would talk about you with Jason since he was just little. He couldn’t wait to have a little sister to play with.

The night before you were born I felt a little bit of water leaking but it was only a little bit so I went to bed to get some sleep and decided we would wait to see what happened when I woke up. The next morning I was still leaking so we took Jason to the Hemminger’s house and went to the hospital. The doctor checked my body to see if you were going to come soon and she said that we could either stay at the hospital so she could break my bag of waters or we could go home and wait. We stayed at the hospital. This part was a little fun because we knew you were coming soon but I wasn’t having contractions or anything. The nurses brought me to a room where I was going to stay while I was in labor. It was the same room that I had when Jason was born so we felt more comfortable.

I walked around because I was bored and I don’t like to wait for things that I don’t control. You were going to come when you wanted to and I didn’t want to force you to come. Pretty soon my stomach was starting to get hard and painful. It was a little bit of pain at first. A little bit later there was more pain so I jumped into the shower. The shower felt so good that I didn’t want to get out. Dad stood on the other side of the door where I could see him. When a contraction came it would hurt and it helped if I looked at your Dad and we breathed slowly together. After the contraction was over it didn’t hurt anymore so I would drop my head and try to relax in the shower.

I didn’t want to talk to anyone because I was concentrating so hard on helping my body get ready to birth you. I thought about how beautiful you were going to be and how much I wanted to hold you. I would think about what your face would look like and how tiny you would be. I was so happy!

I stayed in the shower until the nurses told me I should get into bed before the birthing started. I really didn’t want to leave the shower but I did what the nurses said. When the nurses checked me after I laid down they told me that I was ready so they brought in the doctor. I pushed a couple times and you started coming very quickly and pretty soon your head was out. The doctor wanted to suction all the goop out of your nose and mouth so she told me to stop pushing but I couldn’t. My muscles weren’t listening to my brain. They knew what to do and they kept working. You came out so quickly that the doctor almost dropped you!

She laid you on my stomach right away. You were warm, wet and covered in vernix. I snuggled into you and stared at your little face. Your eyes were open and looking at me. You were a very smart and calm baby. You nursed so well that I turned the nurses away when they tried to help. I just wanted to spend time with you and not talk to anyone else but your Dad. We took turns holding you, singing to you and counting all your fingers and toes. You were perfect!

Dad left to pick up Jason so he could meet his new baby sister. The two of you were so cute. Jason didn’t want to put you down. He would stare at you and smile and want to kiss your face when you were sleeping. You didn’t like that very much! I was anxious to get home so Dad and I left as soon as we could and the nurses were mad at us because they wanted us to stay longer. They were worried because you were a little jaundiced which means that your skin was a little bit yellow colored.

When we got home I would lay you to nap in the bassinet. I rolled the bassinet into the sunshine and the Sun helped your skin go back to normal. You loved the warmth of the Sun and you were such a good little sleeper. Jason would ask me if he could wake you up because he wanted to play with you.

You are growing up and you have grown into such an amazing little woman. You are so smart and curious. I love how thoughtful you are. You really care about other people and you are a great friend. I’m so proud of you! I love being your mom!

For Jocelyn’s birthday she wanted to go bowling. These are some pictures from the birthday party. I’m not showing any of Jocelyn’s guests because some people don’t want to have pictures of their kids on the web. I know, weird.