Fifth of November

Before I was married, before I was even dating her Daddy, I knew I wanted her.

In 1999, I needed to have some uterine fibroids removed surgically, and this surgery guaranteed that I would need to have a Cesarean section if I ever became pregnant.

I started dating Ed, married him, and in 2004 I was pregnant with Lily.

I had an easy pregnancy; no morning sickness or other aches and pains. Ed never fails to remind me of one whole week when smells bothered me. I cooked dinner one night and had to run out of the house because the smell was so horrid. I made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while tormenting Ed. “How can you eat that disgusting food?” I asked him. It smelled and tasted just fine to him.

My C-section was scheduled for November 15. On the morning of November 5, Ed left at 6:00 for work as usual, while I slept in. I woke up with cramps. I called Ed, and he came home. The cramps stopped. I called the doctor’s office anyway. I already had an appointment scheduled for 11:00, and the nurse said I could wait until then. Ed went outside to rake leaves and clean up the lawn; it was a beautiful fall day, and was the last day of leaf pickup for the year.

We went to the doctor’s office, and I was hooked up to a fetal monitor. When the nurse looked at it, she said, “Here’s a contraction!” I had no idea I was having contractions; they were so mild.

Since the doctor didn’t want to risk me going into labor as my uterus might rupture along the old scar tissue, he told us, “You’re having a baby today!”

Words cannot describe the joy we felt when we saw our little Lily for the first time. I burst into tears when the doctor said, “It’s a girl!” We were unprepared to have a baby that day; we didn’t have a camera or an overnight bag with us. No one in our family knew we had gone to the hospital to have a baby that day, so we had no visitors. I had always wanted to have a natural birth, so the surprise of Lily’s arrival was wonderful despite the need for the C-section.

That first, precious day when we became a family of three holds a special place in my heart. Happy birthday, Lily!