Letter to Delaney

*This is the start to the letter to Delaney.  I will continue in another post and finish it by tomorrow.  This is the piece that I plan on turning in, so any feedback would be great!  Thanks!

Dear Delaney,

As I sit here thinking about your second birthday, I can’t believe that it was two years ago when we welcomed you into the world.  For 10 months, I was able to bond with you while you were tucked away in my body; selfishly, I wanted to keep you there forever.  While in my belly you never stopped, especially when I was trying to go to sleep; I would feel you rolling around, kicking and even hiccuping.  I had a feeling that you would be a very active little girl and boy, was I right!  Soon, you will be turing two, but it seems like yesterday when we found out I was pregnant, you made your entrance, and we started creating memories as a family of three.

It was Veteran’s Day 2007 when I found out I was pregnant.  At first, I didn’t believe what the home pregnancy test was telling me because we had been trying to conceive for over a year, without any success.  I remember looking at the test, smiling, and feeling overwhelmed with emotion.  Then, I had your Dad look at the test to make sure that I was reading it correctly, which I was.  This was the first day that I started loving you.

Looking back now, I loved being pregnant. I loved hearing your heartbeat for the first time.  I loved seeing your little heart, fingers, toes, hair and all of your qualities on the ultrasound. I loved feeling you move around and I loved watching my belly grow.  There were also some things that I didn’t love about being pregnant.  I didn’t love how big and swollen my ankles got.  I didn’t love the heartburn that I got every day.  I didn’t love the three hour glucose test and I didn’t love the sleepless nights.  Even though there were a few things that I didn’t love about being pregnant, I loved knowing that someday I was going to meet you.

That day came on July 11, 2008, one week before your original due date.  I ended up being induced because my blood pressure was a little high when I went to the doctors on July 9th.  Dr. Hughes wanted to play it safe, so she scheduled me for an induction on the 11th.  I had to call the hospital that morning to see if they had room for us, but they didn’t.  So, the waiting game started.  This was one of the longest days because I was anxious to meet you, but nervous about having you!  After waiting all morning, I finally got a call around 2pm from labor and delivery saying they had a room for us. 

After checking in and getting settled in our room, they started the potosin (which was going to start contractions) around 3:30pm.  After a few hours of contracting and less than an hour of pushing, you joined the world at 9:06pm weighing in at 6 pounds 13 ounces and 20.5 inches long.  Emotion instantly took over me and with tears falling down my cheeks, I held you for the first time.  You were wide-eyed, screaming and perfect.