Paloma - Part 1

It is that time....
You know, where as a mom, you look at the calendar and realize a very special birthday is coming up. It makes you both happy and sad to see that day circled in red on the calender. Makes you even a bit weepy. For me, it is that time.
My little baby, Miss Paloma Rae is turning 3 tomorrow.



It all started here back in May when we realized we were expecting our second child. I remember thinking to myself that morning when I woke, I am pregnant. Having had to work that day, I sat in curiosity all day until I was able to stop at the drug store and find out for sure. Yep, it was positive. I didn't need a test to tell me though, I already knew.



Both excited and overwhelmed with this pregnancy, I made sure to document just about everything - for in my head I had told myself this would be the last.



The day my baby was delivered was like a scene right out of a book. Literally, a snow storm had hit Albuquerque and the city was experiencing record snow fall. I think Dave and I were the only people on the road that morning. But we made it safely. A few hours after arriving, a few walks around the hospital, and many intense contractions, my sweet Paloma entered the world.



We had the honor of having one of my fellow nurses from the NICU attend her birth. Maybe I was overreacting or maybe it was just job hazard, but I was convinced I needed another nurse in the room to focus solely on my baby. Plus it was just comforting to know somebody was skilled enough to take care of her in case the need arose. And it did. Entering rather quickly, I think Paloma just didn't get the time she needed to squeeze out all the excess fluid and therefore she did have some minor respiratory issues.



Weighing in at only 6 lb 7 oz, she was small and sassy from the beginning. Nothing has changed.



Call me crazy but I chose to spend 2 days in the hospital - having nothing to do with the room service or the terrific menu, I knew that once I got home to a rambunctious 23 month old, I would literally have no one on one time with my newborn. So I chose to cuddle, sing, nurse, bond with my baby at the hospital. It wasn't all bad. I had a million visitors - many friends and coworkers who would stop up on lunch breaks. It was actually kind of nice.



Of course from the moment Mattea laid eyes on her, a bond formed. A bond that to this day has not been broken. Although they fight, bicker, bite and hit each other, they are truly in love with each other. Mattea is so protective of her little sister. I love the relationship that has formed and will do my best to nurture that in the years ahead.

That is the 1st part of my walk down memory lane. I loved getting out the photo albums and digging through pictures for these next couple of posts. Literally, it was as if it was just yesterday - but sadly enough, it wasn't. It has been 3 years. So with that, I will flip through my albums, re watch my birth video, and smile as I think of how wonderful (yet exhausting) these last three years of been. I wonder what the next 3 will be like?