All day yesterday I would look at the clock and think, "a year ago at this time, I was doing *this*". At 6:00am I began experiencing some cramping. Around 11:00am, because the contractions had stopped earlier in the morning, I had the brilliant idea that if I did laps around the block, pulling 2 kids in a wagon, that it might jump start labor again. When that didn't work we went back to the house to relax. (Maybe resting would do the trick!) At 2:00pm I was sitting on the couch, trying to nap but spent more time whining about how I was going to be pregnant FOREVER because nothing was happening and it was all just another false alarm. Around 3:00pm I decided that the cramping that had come back was definitely turning into regular contractions about 10 minutes apart. "But surely this would not last either so let's just take our time packing up the kids and head into to town to wait things out."By 4:00pm we were racing through traffic in order to make it to the hospital before I had the baby in the front seat of our car. And by 4:45pm, I was admiring our new son who had made his entrance about 10 minutes prior and had already managed to pee on the nurses several times indicating that his one kidney was working perfectly.
Although I think this way on the kids' birthdays every year, it really doesn't have the same impact as it does for that first year. It all flies by so quickly that the sleepless nights, crying fits, sickness, etc, which at one point felt as though they might never end, now feel to me like they flew by in a blur. And in reality, they probably did.
The first year is the hardest and so far one of the most rewarding for me. The kids change and grow so much that it feels like I'll miss something if I happen to blink for too long. And although the years are definitely not slowing down and the kids are growing up far too fast for my taste, I know that with the first year hurdle down, we can begin to relax a little as Robert turns from a baby into a toddler. The growing and changes that seemed to have taken place before our very eyes now begins to slow down to a steadier pace. To a pace that seems more manageable for our day to day lives. From here on out the obstacles become a bit bigger but perhaps it's the simple fact that we are sleeping through the night (most of the time) that makes it easier to breathe. (Amazing what sleep deprivation can do to a person's perception!)
So after a full year of topping off the growth charts, dealing with snot, more snot, wheezing, doctor upon doctor visits, a hospital stay for good measure, more wheezing and tons more snot, Robert is now a normal, (relatively speaking - he is a Baker remember) healthy 1 year old. He weighs 24lbs, 12 1/2 oz and is 30" tall. He's cruising furniture now, has two teeth with two more only mili-seconds away from popping through on top, and although the only word in his repertoire right now is Da-Da, he says it with a vengeance. He's a happy kid and rounds out our family perfectly. I can't imagine life without him.
Happy 1st birthday Robert Paul Baker!
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