As I sit here this morning bonding with my daughter and enjoying our first “official” day alone together (Harley’s 13th day of life!), its hard not to reflect on the past two weeks and all the amazing people that helped us along on our journey.
On August 6th, Harley’s birthday, I woke up at 2am to my first round of contractions. Not knowing what they were, I dismissed them as my ongoing back pain and fell back asleep. At 3:30am, the contractions were nothing to ignore. As I watched them go from 20 minutes apart to 10 to 5 to 3 in a matter of two hours, my husband gathered his senses, our bags, called the doc, and got me into the car for a memorable drive to CPMC, our hospital.
Nothing prepares you for the emotion and excitement you feel going into something so foreign and unknown. I remember watching the sun come up beautifully through the financial district as we sped (VERY!) quickly through the tall buildings and realized this was the morning my daughter would be born and I would become a mom.
Labor was an amazing and beautiful experience for me on so many levels. A time to watch my hubby Greg shine as a coach, support, love, and friend. He was instrumental in my feeling calm throughout the day and the constant smile (as he witnessed the birth of our daughter) kept me motivated and inspired. His smile will be forever implanted in my head.
My mom and best friend, Maria, were with me too throughout the whole adventure. Having two strong women (who mean the world to me) there to guide and assist me, gave me the strength and confidence to power through. I can’t even imagine doing it without them. The last hour before I pushed, we all sat around telling stories, cracking jokes, and laughing. I will never forget this moment and all the moments that we have shared since Harley’s arrival.
And as Harley came into this world, my feelings of exhaustion and pain dissipated. With my daughter on my chest, I took one look around the room and felt all the love that surrounded us. I realized at this moment, I was ready and able to take on this adventure!
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