Mondays with Momma: Round One

Thirty-five years ago today I was officially introduced to motherhood.

I believe that one becomes a mom or dad the moment a pregnancy is announced, but the official part of actually parenting a child starts with their birth.  I had been out and about Christmas shopping when I noticed some changes that made me tune in a little more to some cues from my body.  Mandy was “due” the following day, but I knew from all of the material that I had read to be cautious and stay near the birthing center when contractions started.  Sure enough, they got closer and closer … and stronger … as the day progressed.  We were so excited about being parents that we went to the hospital as soon as the contractions were five minutes apart.  They did a quick exam and sent us on our merry way back home with the announcement that “this could take awhile” and instructed us to just relax and take it easy.  Before we left the hospital, Mandy’s father could not find his watch (which he was using to time my contractions) so we looked around for a bit and eventually discovered it was still attached to his arm, just pushed up and hiding under his jacket sleeve.  Yep, we were that excited!  Feeling the need to go to the bathroom, I made a quick dash into the nearest stall and then right back out when my water broke before I could sit down.  So… we didn’t have to go home after all!  Once we were settled into our room, I expected that she would make her due date after all, but Mandy arrived quickly and easily with hardly any pain or pushing shortly before midnight.

Here’s a glimpse of my first year with this precious first born.

While it is true that all my life I wanted nothing more than to be a mom, I must say that this first born had me hooked from the very beginning.  She lives up to her name “worthy of love” in every sense of the word.  I could not have asked for a better introduction to Motherhood.

Happy Birthday, Mandy!!!