Happy Birthday Olivia

Happy 2nd Birthday My Sweet Olivia!

When I found out I was pregnant, I admit I was intimidated by the thought of having a girl. Somehow having a girl meant that I would finally close the circle on my own birth mother’s abandonment. Not yet experiencing the infinite love a mother has, I naively thought it was easy to leave a child and this terrified me.

We did not find out the sex but I knew Liv was a girl all along! It was meant to be.

My labor lasted 15 hours and pretty relaxed for the first 6 cm. I accepted my waters being broken after about 11 hours and this is when I began to really feel the contractions. I was determined from the beginning not to have any pain medication. So, from the beginning of my pregnancy, I put it out of my mind. My perspective at the time was “I accept pain, it will make me stronger.” (If you’re following my HypnoBirthing series, you’ll see my latest realizations on this and other ways we view birth)

During the transition phase however, I accepted a few huffs of gas and immediately felt that it was wrong for my mind and body. Instead of helping me focus, it activated my dormant anxiety and provided little to no pain relief. Live and learn! After about 1.5 hours of pushing, I delivered Liv and they gave her to me seconds after her arrival.

Our lives were forever changed by that little squishy face looking right back at me.

I was determined to be as green as natural as I could. The cloth diapers were ready to go, breastfeeding was off to a good start, peaceful music playing in the house, I was getting the hang of a sling and slowly trying to make my way around the block, stitches and all. I was a very eager new parent. Perhaps a little too eager.

We found out Liv had eczema and thrush within the first 10 days and the search for the root cause of these issues began. I learned all I could about environmental sensitivities and a search for non toxic alternatives to everything in our home. I did not realize it at the time but I was also starting to reel from Postpartum OCD that would last for about 10 months.

Liv was kind to me at night, only slightly waking for sleepy feeds. The days were another story! It took months to establish a daytime napping routine because this sunshine did not want to miss a minute. Even in the hospital the nurses said I should be able to get some rest after the birth. She stayed awake for nearly 24 hours before having her first big nap. We saw right away that we were blessed with a strong and determined girl.

Liv has always enjoyed being on the go and loves change. She has also become quite the seasoned traveler. Road trips and plane rides? Bring ‘em on!

Olivia is a born leader, conductor and organizer. We are certainly kept on our toes! She has a beautiful sense of other children and how they are feeling and what they are doing. She often holds her arms open to us saying “family hug.” Aren’t children amazing?!

She loves to dance. Just ask her to Hula, Tap or Latin dance for you!?? She also loves to sing Raffi, my childhood favorite. Somehow we don’t get sick of him, just yet.

Nearly Two has been very exciting times. Words are becoming more descriptive and we continue to get a little glimpse into her world. The first year she would cry the moment a stranger looked in her direction and now we have a chatter box who is all too eager to share her latest discovery. She is a natural negotiator so as long as we have a semi mutual trade off..things generally go pretty smoothly.

She is very excited for “her baby” to arrive and makes an extra place at the table. No, she tells me, “Baby won’t cry ever! Baby will be happy.” Yes sweetie, baby will be very happy. She is also excited for mommy’s tummy to be small again so I can do forward rolls with her.

Happy Birthday Olivia. Thank you for being such a  bright light in our lives. You teach me every day about life and inspire me to be the best mom I can be.

Tagged as: Babies & Kids