Happy Number ONE!

I cannot believe that today, our sweet little baby Basil turned ONE! Was it really a year ago that she was born? I held her tonight, before I put her to bed, and I thought about all those nights I fell asleep with her in my arms--one, because I was too tired to put her back to bed, or two, because she was having a hard time sleeping. She is growing and maturing; she is no longer that little baby. But we love her now just as much. She brings so much joy into our home. 

Basil had her one year check up today. She is actually on the growth charts! All our other girls are in about the fifth percentile, while Basil rocked it with the thirtieth percentile of her weight and seventy-fifth percentile of her height. This is definitely an exciting day!

We had a wonderful day, singing "Happy Birthday" to her repeatedly. The first time we sang it, she looked at everyone like, "What in the world is going on?" And then a big smile came across her face, and she loved it every time after that.

We made a chocolate cake for her birthday. And when I say chocolate, I mean CHOCOLATE! I'm doing a food storage challenge, so I made it from scratch. It was so chocolatey that we each had a piece, and then we gave the rest of it away! 

Though we didn't catch her smiling while she ate it, Basil sure enjoyed it.

 Trying to figure out how her new sippy cup from Andrew and Maria works.

 I guess now would be a good time to share her birth story. For some reason, I've had a hard time writing about it. But it is important to record it for her. So I will try to recapture it all now.

We were invited to the Sheneman's on Sunday, April 21, 2013 for dinner. Our neighbors, the Hymas' were there as well. Dinner was yummy and fun, but as soon as we were done, I was ready to go home. "I'm having this baby tonight, and I need to get some sleep!" Call it coincidence or intuition or whatever, but we headed home and got to bed at a decent time.

I awoke around 1-to-2ish. I was having contractions--not too hard, and not too close together. But I was very uncomfortable. I tried taking a bath, but it didn't help. I called Cathy, my midwife, and she told me she was on her way. When she arrived with her assistant, Gerrie, they went to work washing the dishes, while Rhett and I labored in the bedroom. It was strange because I knew I was in labor, yet I was only having contractions every twenty minutes or so. I would pace and pace and brace myself for the next one, but it was long in coming. It was kind of stressing me out! Finally, Cathy said, "Why don't you just rest while you can?" Haha. Good idea! So I laid on the floor and when a contraction came, I braced myself against Rhett, worked through it, and the laid back down to rest. For a while, I was stressed. Cathy and Gerrie were out on the couch, chatting away in their pajamas . . . it was the wee hours of the morning . . . was this really labor? . . . was I wasting their time? . . . would my aunt feel bad that she missed the delivery . . . (she had been visiting and left a few hours before our dinner at the Sheneman's) . . . In between all this stressing, I would have a contraction here and there. Finally, I called out to Cathy, "Am I in labor???" She came in and reassured me, "Yes, and you're doing great. You're making progress. You're working hard." And so I continued.

I started realizing that I needed to simplify things for the delivery. I didn't need to worry about inconveniencing my midwife! haha. It's her job to be here at 4 am! She's getting paid for it! I didn't need to worry about my aunt--she would understand that this is when I went in to labor, and not hours before! Each time a new worry or stress came, I would sweep it away until I was completely calm. The fifteen to twenty minutes in between each contraction became very valuable. I relaxed. I was calm. I rested. I even fell asleep a few times. And finally, I knew our sweet baby was ready to come into the world. She began moving closer to the "exit" and Cathy and Gerrie joined us in preparation.

Per Rhett's guidance, I'll be quick and leave out the details here, but I pushed for a short time, and then there she was. Slippery and slimy and beautiful. I held her and held her. So precious. So perfect.

 chewing on the side of her binky

 working on a piece of pineapple licorice

 swapping binkies with a church buddy

 feeling pretty big as she leans forward in her carseat

 helping me with the groceries

cat-napping