9

Today, Arlington turned 9 years old.

Could it be?  Could almost a decade have gone by since we met her?  I can't believe it.  I sometimes have a hard time remembering what she was like as a little toddler.  As a baby, well, you don't forget that.  Especially when they think it is fun to hang out wide awake most of the night those first few weeks. 

She liked to party.  She didn't cry - she was just.....awake.

I do remember the details of the 15th of February, 2003.  It actually all started on the 14th.  It was supposed to be my last day of work.  I was going to take my last week of pregnancy and get ready for the baby, relax, enjoy some time with Mat. 

We were having a birthday party for one of my co-workers.  We were laughing and carrying on at the end of our day.  That is when my water broke.  Although - I wasn't sure that was what had happened.

You are kind of dumb those last weeks of pregnancy.  Almost in denial that a baby is going to come out and you are going to take care of it.  I look back now and think "what else could it have been woman?"

All stop in the office.  The girls - who had already had children, and were clearly smarter than I was - directed me to call my doctor.  I called thinking - "but I still have a week left.  This is silly".  The doctor asked if I was having any contractions.  Nope.  So SEE?????  No labor!!!!  I should go home!!

"no no" said the nurse.  "you should come to the hospital to make sure".

Great.

 I drove myself.  Against co-worker advice.  I was 30 minutes from the hospital.  Honestly people - I was fine.  No contactions.  Maybe my water hadn't broken - I think it was just from laughing too much.  You know......normal stuff.

So off I went.  I called Mat and told him what had happened.  I told him to stay at work because it was probably nothing, and I would call him to let him know later.  He was only about 2 minutes from the hospital, so he could come over if necessary.

I got to the floor, and the nurse asked if I could just have a seat in one of the monitoring rooms.  I asked if I could use the bathroom because my pants were kind of wet.  She looked at me and said "never mind - let's find you a labor room".

Eyeroll.  These people are SO overreacting.

She tested me and yepper - water had broken.  I was goin' nowhere.

Crap.

Called Mat and had him come over.  At this time it is like 6pm.  Still no contractions.  We are just hanging out in the hospital.  I am only 2cm dilated and bored.  Ladeedah.......  If this is labor, I am going to have 100 kids!

About 10pm, the contactions decided to show up.  At this point I am finally 3cm dilated, so I got my epidural and went back to having no pain.  And I can't really say I ever had labor pains because I think I had 3 contractions before the epidural was placed.  I was a lucky girl.

At 12pm I was checked and I was 5cm.  The nurse said it was going to be a long night so we should get some sleep.  We got settled, lights out, and started to rest.

About 1 1/2 hours later, I was 9cm.  so much for rest!  At 2am, I was ready to have Arlington.  We were bleary eyed and in denial, but it was time.  At 2:25 in the morning, Arlington was born.  All 6 pounds, 8 ounces of her. 

She was screaming her head off and continued to do that for 3 days.

Arlington changed our lives forever.  Until 2:24am on Feb. 15th, I was a selfish person.  I only wanted to do what I wanted to do with my time, and enjoyed my freedom.  But that all changed in the middle of the night when a black haired, screaming pink munchkin entered our lives. 

She made me a mother, and a better person.  I love her more than anything.

As I sat at her 3rd grade program this morning at her school and thought how long ago those days seem - sleepless nights, diapers, bottles......I relish in how far we have come.  How she taught us so much over these last 9 years.

She taught us to be parents, to be partners, and to be a team. 

And today, she is an amazing girl.  She is fun, smart, caring, loving, funny, and just plain amazing.  She had a big heart, and a great personality.  She is a nice mix of Mat and I, and I can't wait to see what the next 9 years brings.  And while year 8 was the "age of drama", and I am sure 9 will be too, we wouldn't change it.  Because she is becoming her own person, and figuring out who she is.  And we are here to guide her and help her figure it out.

Today she got to take presents to her class.  They don't have food parties for the kids at school (promotes healthy eating, which I totally support) - the teacher makes their day special.  But we can donate something to the class.  We donated her favorite game (Quirkle) and some books her teacher had wanted for her class.

We took her to her choice restaurant for dinner - Olive Garden, and she opened the presents from her brother, sister, Aunt Carrie, and family friend, Carol.  She had a good day.

This weekend, we are taking her to New York City, which is her big birthday present - so stay tuned!

Happy birthday Arlington Monkey Princess Pletcher.  We love you so much.