Reflecting on the day I became a Mother

9 years ago today I had my first baby, a sweet tiny girl whom we named Samantha Rose...I liked Sydney, Daddy wanted Samantha...you can see who won! Despite the fact that she was 6 weeks early & just a small peanut (5 lbs 7.5 oz, 18.5 inches) she came out hollering & in that moment I knew she would be ok. The midwife had warned us of all the things that could be wrong or go wrong with her coming that early but in my heart when I heard that lusty, hearty cry I knew she was ok...& she was & would be.
She spent the 1st week of life in the NICU but I was there on a daily basis, doing as much as I could for her as they would allow...I was able to pump & it made me feel better knowing that even when I left her for the night I was going to be able to nourish her. When the day came for her to go home (Leap Day 2000) her Daddy & I were a basket of nerves...I still remember that trip home from the hospital, what normally took a half hour turned in to almost an hour but we got there safe & were ecstatic to bring Sammi home.
It is hard enough being first time parents but then you throw into the mix a preemie & a Daddy that was working third shift & well I was overwhelmed, overjoyed & exhausted all at the same time. I sometimes have to stop & pause to think how very teeny she was to now being not only one of the tallest in her class but also one of the smartest. I am in awe of God's miracles & the natural progression of life itself. The way that a tiny baby who I once held to my breast & fed is now reading at a fifth grade level...that the very baby I rocked in my lap now barely fits in it...that this wonderful person that came into my life is turning out exactly as I had imagined her to be...or at the very least had hoped she would be...thoughtful,intelligent, beautiful, & caring. It is funny, when Sammi was little I would always wish for her to "hurry up & grow up"...now I am feeling the opposite...slow down, slow down Sammi...you are growing up much too fast now!