One Year

It's hard to believe -- nearly impossible -- that one year has passed since Anna joined our family.

I remember some of it like it were yesterday. I was SO done being pregnant. She was riding so high I could barely breathe. My back hurt. My knees ached. So on Wednesday, April 9th, I piled Lily in the jog stroller and set out for a hilly 2 mile loop through our neighborhood. I had heard that walking could induce labor, and since sitting on my yoga ball for 2 weeks straight hadn't helped, nor had the spicy food or, um, other "activities" that OBs recommend, I was game to try walking. Briskly. Very briskly.

The walk did work, as it turned out. Like many other nights, I feel asleep on the couch that Wednesday evening, probably watching some terrible Discovery Health TV show. About childbirth. I woke up at about midnight to move to my bed, and wouldn't ya know it, but my water broke when I got up from the couch.

The next few hours are somewhat of a blur. We took our time packing things in to the car, waiting for my mom to come over to babysit Lily. We got to the hospital where it was confirmed that yes, indeed, my water had broken. Which was a good thing. Because the alternative would have been urinary incontinence. No, my water doesn't gush when it breaks. As with my first labor, my waters prefer to trickle out. Gross, I know.

As I did with my first labor, I got an epidural. Which was awesome. Completely amazing. Unlike my first labor, I DID experience contractions this time around. Which were not awesome at all. They sucked. Big time.

Anna was born at 7:15 a.m. Right after the shift change. In fact, Noah almost had to deliver her himself. I'm afraid that the combination of shift change, "rush hour" of deliveries (I think that every pregnant woman in Arlington, Va. delivered within an hour of me), and "second time mom" label meant that I got the bare minimum amount of checks. And because my epidural was so incredibly awesome, I didn't fully realize how close to delivery I was. When the nurses finally checked me, Anna had already crowned and was on her way out. The scene that ensued was, honestly, hysterical. I started laughing. Her little head started bobbing from the laughter. And one bob lead to another and she slid right out. Suffice it to say, my doctor and nurse weren't fully prepared; I think my doctor only had one of her two gloves on when Anna was born.

I didn't hit me at first that I was a mother of two. Well, more accurately, I didn't fully realize then what being a mother of two meant. I do remember staring at my brand new baby in my arms. The baby I had carried for 38 weeks. The one that I had almost lost to a subchorionic hemorrhage at 9.5 weeks. The one who's hiccups and stretches were so completely familiar that I was, well, shocked that the little person in my arms was a stranger. Because I was having another girl, I (naively) assumed that she would look, and act, just like Lily. But in the place of the tiny, fair baby I had held 3 1/2 years earlier, staring up at me was a tiny bundle of darkness. Dark hair. Dark eyes. A baby who looked nothing like my precious Lily.

I'm embarrassed to say, but I think I spent the first month of Anna's life comparing her to Lily. Would she be as funny? Would she be as loving? Would she be as smart? Would she be as outgoing? Would she be as pretty? It took me time to bond with my second daughter. But when I fell for this little girl, I fell hard.

The last year has been incredible. Full of chaos. And WAY too many trips to the pediatrician's office. But equally full of joy. And love. And laughter.

Anna is not Lily. She is her own little person, and a pretty amazing person at that. I can't wait to see her personality blossom as she continues to grow.

At one year of age, Anna has seven teeth (all the better to BITE you with, my dear!). She's got the best darn belly laugh I've ever heard, and no one can bring it on quite like Lily. She can say "mama" "dada" "bye-bye" "uh oh" and "ba-ba" (bottle). She can do the sign for "more." She can blow kisses on command and claps loudly and proudly when you holler "Bravo!" She can whistle. Amazingly. She's stubborn as a mule. She's a screamer. And a squealer. And, when flying on a plane, she's both a screamer and a squealer (whoa is me...). She's also a complete love, and she gives the best darn snuggles I've ever had.

I have more grey hair than I did one year ago. And I'm much more tired than I ever was during my tenure as a mother of one. I am slowly learning how to parent two incredible, but very different, little girls; it's taking a lot of "on the job" learning. But -- and I think that Noah would agree -- we wouldn't change the last twelve months for anything. So big birthday hugs and kisses to our darling Anna Lake. Much love my sweet baby!

PS -- many thanks to our Atlanta host and official vacation photographer, Steve, for these wonderful pictures, which I adore. If you're matching outfits to yesterday's post, these were taken when we visited Stone Mountain Park.