Twenty seven years ago I was in the hospital having my first baby. The Doctors didn't do many ultra-sounds then and so they were guessing it was a boy. I however was privileged to know all my kids before they were born. I had told them all along it was Amy coming, they begged to differ. At one last appointment the nurse said "Mrs. Woodard, I hope you aren't going to be disappointed, because by listening to your baby's heart beat we are almost for sure it is going to be a boy" then she added "and I think it is going to be a big boy at that!" My confident remark was " Well, I hope he is going to be real big so that he can defend himself, because we are going to name him Amy!"
I went into labor on Sunday morning and by that evening we thought Amy would be here. No such luck, I had the labor pains and contractions go off and on for over 20 some hours. Around 2:30pm the doctor comes in and tells us that he thinks the baby is just too big. After a few more exams they realized that the baby was no where in sight. After explaining all the options to us (which weren't many) he said " I think you are going to have to have a C-section." I was so upset, one because he was a jerk of a Doctor and was so rude to us, he was put out because he had to deliver this baby on Memorial Day and he had planned to go golfing, plus I was upset to have major surgery. I had never been in a hospital for overnight at all. I was terrified, we went to all the Lamaze classes and this isn't how we planned it. The last straw was when they told me that they would cut me from hip bone to hip bone for the C-section, I cried...scared yes plus, I never even got one stretch mark and now I would have this enormous scar. ( I soon realized later that would be the least of my worries.)
They put me asleep for the surgery, so around 3:30pm or so, I remember Jeff trying to wake me up to tell me that I was right, it was Amy. He then told me she weighed 10 lbs 1oz and had lots of dark hair! I was thinking that maybe he is the one that had the drugs... how could I have a 10 lb baby, isn't that consider a toddler? Plus, where did the dark hair come from, we were both blondes?
Next thing I knew they put this huge beautiful baby in my arms and I was amazed. After imagining for 9 months what she would look like...I was still surprised. I couldn't believe that my Amy girl was finally here, safe and sound. Having been asleep when she was born, I was a bit concerned, what if they gave me the wrong baby, how would I ever know? Then Jeff told me to look at her little feet, she had webbed toes, just like mine. Yes, surely this was my Amy girl that I had been waiting for! :)
Now here we are 27 years later and I sometimes still look at her ( as well as all my kids and now my grand-kids) and I am amazed that they are really mine. How grateful I feel to be able to be their mother and Nana. Amy is a beautiful grown woman, with a family of her own now. Where did the years go? How thankful I am for Amy, she is one of the happiest people I know. She truly loves life to its fullest ( a great lesson for me ). She is a hard worker, a true friend, a talented lady in music, art and just about anything she decides to do. She is a bit O.C.D. but that works out pretty well for me because I am a bit A. D. D. It is a good balance. She was our first and so likes she likes to put it...she was our guinea pig. Ok, so we did learn a few things that we would or would not do again after trying them out on her. But remember we were new at this parenthood game! She was a little mother to all the rest of the kids and still to this day can organize anything and anybody. She has been the love of our life for over 27 years. How grateful we are that she is our Amy girl! Happy Birthday sweetheart, we love ya!
"A parent's love is whole no matter how many times divided." ~Robert Brault
"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone
"Growing up is a process, not an event."
