Sunday, May 23, 2010

Ten Years Ago Today...

I'm going to try really hard to get through this post without crying. It was ten years ago today that I gave birth to my mirror image. Madison Taylor was born at 1:27pm at Good Samaritan Hospital in Babylon, LI. I was on bedrest with her for four months so that by the time I actually went in to labor, I couldn't get an epidural and she was born within 28 minutes.

I'll never forget that day. Being my first child, I swore up and down to the head nurse and my mother that I was in way too much pain. They shrugged it of with a patronizing laugh, "First baby, what does she know?" My water never really broke, it trickled, and by the time I was screaming for the doctor and any kind of drugs, the doctor walked in, took a look and said, "Too late, you're crowning, it's time to push!" Talk about wanting to hurt somebody! She was a pain then and a pain now...I kid, isn't that the joke?

But seriously, those that know us personally know that it has been a hard road with Miss Maddy. She was a magnificent baby, sweet, loving, and to this day, if I sneak up to her in the middle of the night and whisper, "Who loves you?", she still responds, "Mommy loves me." Then we hit the terrible twos and stayed there for about 5 years. In her 10 years of life, Maddy has had about the same amount of therapists as I have as an adult. None of them really helped get the tantrums under control. (And I'm talking doosies, fall down-kicking-screaming-lash-out-at-anyone-or-anything-hurt-myself-and hurt-others kind of tantrums). It was bad.

I'm happy to say we haven't had one of those types of tantrums for a while. We still get the occasional let-me-cry-really-loud-for-30-minutes tantrums, but that's about it. She was tested up the wazzoo, and all doctors said the same thing, "She's an only child, and it will either get better or worse when she has a sibling". Well, now she has a sibling, and I don't know how parents do it with children close in age, because Big Sister Maddy gets it done. She loves playing with her brother, entertaining him (unless she's trying to have fun and then he becomes "boring"), feeds him, reads to him and more. I can't wait to see how their bond will be when she reaches those dreaded teenage years or when she's off to college.

This 10 year old small version of me is intelligent, bright, loving, talkative, playful, creative, and well, she's mine! The past 10 years have been both hard and wonderful and I can't wait to see what the next few months will bring. She'll be entering middle school in the fall, and that will bring about new friends, new habits, old insecurities, and plenty of growth spurts. Did you know most nights she eats more than her dad? She is going to eat us out of house and home soon, and already her feet are a size 9!! She's 10 and her feet almost match her age! I look at her now with a quickly forming body and I'm amazed! While my mother deprived me of the first, we recently went bra shopping...I KNOW! My poor husband is already set to get a shotgun for when boys start showing up!

I'm not ready! From this day forward, she can never go back to the single digits. Childhood is fading into adolescence or dare I say "pre-teen", and I am so not ready!

Alas, let us all raise a glass and toast my forever first born, the child that looks as though I literally spit her out, and the gift that God has given me.

Happy Birthday Madison, Mommy loves you!

Sweet 4 year old goodness!

...And now she's all grows-up!

4 comments:

Shana said...

Happy Birthday Maddie! I feel very lucky to have been able to watch you grow and to have been a part of your life for all these years. I cant wait for you to babysit my kids soon so your mom and I can go out on double dates. I love you!
Love,
Shana

Joshua'sMommy said...

WOW I can't believe Maddie is 10! I remember when you brought her into our classes. She looks even MORE like you now; she is beautiful.

Being closer in age to one of my sisters and further apart in age to the other; I probably had a better relationship and an easier one with the younger one! Stephanie & I have had to work hard to put the past behind us and just grow up; learn to be sisters.
It's so cute that Maddie is that good with the little guy :)

Happy Birthday Maddie & Best of Luck to you both with Middle School ahead of you.

LeonX said...

Wait a second. You have a girl named Madison and a boy named Lincoln. If you have another child and name him Jefferson I'm gonna disown you.

Chocolate Mom aka Blupoetres said...

Thanks guys!

@Leon - Yes I did but I assure you it was purely coincidental. I didn't realize that until someone said it to me months after Lincoln was born. They'll be the future President and Vice President!!