365 Days of Everything Georgia: June 23, 2010 - Oh My Gosh

You know that confusion when you want something so bad, but at the same time you don't want it too soon? Maybe it's all the warnings from other parents I've received that has led to this dilemma, those "enjoy it while it lasts" and "don't wish for it too soons" I've heard tossed my way. I get them every time I say I can't wait until Georgia starts crawling. I mean, I know it will be the end of our quiet, stay-mostly-in-one-place babydome as we've known it. And I know as soon as I'm chasing her around the house, watching her discover things we missed in our baby-proofing frenzy, I'll be cursing the day we tried coaching her on the finer points of crawling. But darn it, she'll be so cute when she's zooming around on all fours!

Well, despite my confusion, here's what I looked down and saw today:

Georgia up on all fours, rocking back and forth like she was about to do something big! And then..... she moved her legs and face-planted into the floor. OK, so we're not there yet. And we were not happy when mommy wanted us to try again.

I give my remaining sanity a week. Then, well, any recommendations for a good pair of running shoes?

My darling always ends with a smile for mommy.

Georgia's Birth Story

The timing of Georgia's birth, in a way, came out of a journey to death. I'd like to think with every death comes new life, and for me, Georgia is that life. She is my saving grace and has kept me breathing when my lungs were screaming to stop, screaming to drown in my own self-pity.

My husband and I decided to try for Georgia just a few months after our walk down the aisle. You see, my mom had been diagnosed with incurable Ovarian Cancer, so I wanted a baby soon. I wanted a baby while there was still time to have my mother there as I brought a new being into the world, to see my mother hold her granddaughter, to ask my mom which of my baby features my daughter bore, to lean on my mother when I had those "new mom" questions and for so many other moments I had played out in my thoughts over and over again through the years.

My husband and I were thrilled to soon find out our little Georgia was growing inside of me, rounding out my belly day by day, pushing tiny feet into my sides, entertaining us with a neverending chorus of hiccups. We went to the doctor's appointments, the baby classes, took the hospital tour and had everything ready for the day we brought our darling home in Omaha, Nebraska.

It's funny though, life seems to fight our planning and always chooses its own course - and so it did. When my belly was just shy of 38 weeks round, the day came. After a 52-year-long life, which was as bright as they come, my mother faded away. She died on Sunday, October 11, 2009.

Early Monday morning, with my doctor's permission, my husband and I got on a plane to fly home to Georgia for my mom's funeral. We got off the plane in Atlanta around 3 p.m. Twelve hours later, at 3 a.m. on Tuesday, I was sleeping at my parents' house. As I lay in the home where my mom had been just days before, that journey toward life took a leap. My water broke and the contractions started coming within minutes. We were more than a thousand miles away from our doctor, our hospital and our house.

So off to the local hospital we went in the dark of night, my husband driving my mom's SUV and not having a clue where he was going. I had to give him directions between contractions. We arrived at the hospital and didn't even know what entrance to go to. We found locked doors twice before finding the right entrance, and yeah, I floundered up to both locked doors!

We checked in and by the time we got to a room, I turned around and there were my sister, brother and cousin in the room with my husband and I and my other sister and father were on the way. We had thought we'd be delivering in Omaha with just my husband and I and the calming classical CD's I'd burned. I guess my mom had other ideas.

So there we were, in the hospital where two years earlier they had cut cancer from my mother, in the hospital where my two nieces were born, in the hospital where my delivery nurse had also been my sister's bridesmaid - there surrounded by those who love me most and the memory of one who just couldn't stay long enough to make it. I delivered Georgia Katherine at 10:46 a.m. She weighed 7 lbs. and 8 ounces.

We left the hospital on Wednesday with a borrowed car seat, a bag full of borrowed baby clothes, a lot of flowers and hearts bursting with every emotion you can possibly imagine. We arrived at my parents' house to a borrowed crib, borrowed baby supplies and relatives arriving in town with funeral clothes and baby gifts packed in their suitcases. On Friday, my daughter and I looked down on my mother in her casket, and on Saturday we buried her. It's the only time my daughter every saw her grandmother.

My mother fought hard to live long enough to meet her granddaughter and in the end, she missed the date by two days. But life doesn't stop, and it's the beauty of my daughter's life that keeps me smiling. And oh how her life makes me smile. I like to believe whenever I'm holding my daughter and she's starring off into the distance, over my shoulder, that she's seeing my mom - a guardian angel for both of us - and that they are already the best of friends.

Schnauzer girl – (June 25, 2010 at 10:53 PM): Hi there. I've never posted a comment before, but I've been reading your blog for a little while. I think I found you through a comment that you had left on Kelle Hampton's blog- I hope you don't mind. I also have a daughter born in October, so I guess that's why I took interest in reading and following your blog. What prompted this comment was looking at your baby girl's front teeth. OMG! I remember when you posted about the pediatrician noticing her top teeth coming through. I can't believe how much they have grown since then.
All the best!
Nicole (from Canada!)
P.s. The story of your daughter's birth was very touching (and the events revolving around your mom).
Jaime O. – (June 28, 2010 at 1:25 AM): I know! It seems she has a mouth full of teeth already, even though there are only seven. But my how they've grown. It makes me realize that much more how quickly she is growing up.

Congrats on your daughter! So much fun.

Jaime

Linkbar

June 23, 2010 - Oh My Gosh - Not Yet!!!

Post a Comment

About this Blog

Who's Following us:

Georgia's Birth Story

Blog Archive

Blogs I'm Reading:

Visitors (since 03.02.10):

Labels

Linkbar

June 23, 2010 - Oh My Gosh - Not Yet!!!

Post a Comment

About this Blog

Who's Following us:

Georgia's Birth Story

Get New Posts!

Blog Archive

Blogs I'm Reading:

Visitors (since 03.02.10):

Labels