this time a year ago

Amazing to think that this time a year ago, I was 22w2d pregnant. Gaby was still tucked up safely inside my belly - and I was getting excited about SLOWLY approaching the 3rd trimester! Everything was going pretty smoothly, I was still at work, but was looking forward to starting my maternity leave. Gaby's kicks were starting to get stronger, and my belly was starting to look more obviously pregnant. The reality of giving birth was starting to set in, and my little worries were beginning to come to the surface. The day that I would meet my daughter loomed in the not so distant future, but it felt like a lifetime away.

And now? Everyday passes so quickly. Gaby is 7 1/2 months old, soon enough she'll be ONE. And this time last year I was only just half way through my pregnancy. I am absolutely in awe of how much my body has achieved - and how much Gaby's body has achieved, in such a small amount of time. I have been reading back on my birth story, and I cried reading it. I had forgotten certain things, and I was taken back to that night..... losing my plug, my waters breaking, being wheeled down to the birthing suite, the prostin pains, feeling such a massive connection to my Mum., the c/s decision, saying goodbye to my Mum, being wheeled into the theatre suite... walking into theatre, the epidural & other assorted jabs & pricks & pokes, the doctor explaining what was happening, time standing still, hearing Gaby cry for the first time, seeing Gaby for the first time, Stu holding Gaby for the first time, me holding Gaby for the first time...... God I loved all of it.

I really think I could fill up 1000 pages in a book on how I feel about my pregnancy, birth & being a Mum - and that is only after the first 7 1/2 months of being a Mum, and 9 months of pregnancy. I am contemplating writing a book of some sort. Not necessarily for publication, but more so that I don't forget everything, so that I have something to pass on to Gaby when she's older, or (shudders at the thought) when she gets pregnant with her first baby.... Life never really held any meaning for me, until now. Gaby has made life REAL for me.