Three years ago today, I got to meet Caleb for the very first time. For nine months he grew inside me waiting for his grand entrance. And grand it was. It was Mother’s Day. I had contractions all day long. We went to brunch with my mom, my grandma and my Aunt Candy like we usually do. I was trying to hide the fact that I was having contractions. (1) If they were just Braxton Hicks I didn’t want anybody trying to convince me to go the hospital before I was ready. And (2) even if they were real contractions — which they certainly were — I didn’t want to disrupt our brunch. I wanted everybody to be able to enjoy their Mother’s Day without worrying about me. So instead I just stood in line at the buffet. And when I contraction would come I would stand very still and try to smile. Do you know how hard it is to smile when you really want to grimace and grab your stomach in pain?

After brunch we went home. And I tried to study for my final. I had a final on Monday, May 13th that I never showed up for. Studying wasn’t going so well. By that point I was having contractions every 10 to 15 minutes. And they were starting to get stronger and stronger. My contractions never did get to the five minutes apart stage that they usually require you to wait before coming in to the hospital. But by 7pm I couldn’t walk or talk through them so I decided to go in.

When I got to the hospital and explained to the nurse that my contractions were only 10 minutes apart, she gave me a look that said “What the hell are you doing here? You aren’t supposed to come in until your contractions are 5 minutes apart.” And then she proceeded to take her sweet time hooking up monitors and letting me lay around. I was there at least 20 minutes before she finally decided to check me. I was 6cm and they were going to admit me. I wanted to yell “See I told you so,” but I didn’t’. Those nurses always think they know it all

The whole pregnancy I swore this baby was a girl. Everything was different from my first two pregnancies. I craved sugar. Anything sugar with this pregnancy. And I felt like I carried him different too. Plus I had a lot of morning sickness in the beginning (which I did not have with Keaton, but did have with Skyler & Spencer). But as Dr. Barker pulled Caleb out I quickly found out my girl was in fact a boy. And if that wasn’t shocking enough for me, my girl boy had a cleft lip.

So three years ago today, it was Mother’s Day and I spent the whole day in labor finally meeting my new baby at 11:50pm.

The last three years have been a roller coaster ride of adventure. Caleb has already gone through two surgeries for his lip. And in recent months quite a few visits to the ER. He is a very adventurous child. And extremely spoiled. And he can scream like a banshee. But he also can be the sweetest child. He gives the most awesome kisses and the warmest hugs. Plus his smile is the cutest you’ve ever seen. And when he climbs up on the coach with his Batman blankie to snuggle with me, that’s when I really realize how lucky I am. God gave me some the greatest gifts I could ask for; four of them.

I can’t believe my baby is already three years old. It’s crazy how time flies by. And that was my final pregnancy. My final baby. It’s sad that I will never go through that experience again. I loved being pregnant. And I loved getting to meet my children for the very first time. And watching them smile and turn over and crawl and walk…all for the very first time. But I know my family is complete. And I don’t want any more children. I’m so happy with the four great kids I get to share the rest of my life with. And we have many more “firsts” to enjoy.