Great day and one of the best gifts ever

This week is off to a great start. We had a BPP and growth scan yesterday and our little girl is finally 3 pounds! Music to my ears. She still looks great as far as not having any prolonged drops in her heart rate decel wise and my contractions are definitely tolerable on the procardia still. Still every 5 minutes or so, but tolerable. Sleep has still been going well because my contractions are under control and as before I've been able to only get woken up maybe 4-5 times with stronger ones. What a relief and a big difference getting some sleep makes these days!

Brynn currently has decided that her most comfortable position is the frank breech (butt down - feet up near her head) position. We all joke about this because she has been nestled in this position for quite some time now and despite my uterus's nasty attempts to expel her from inside - Brynn seems quite content resting in this position and not wanting to leave her sleeping quarters, lol! I think Brynn is also happy that if she is going to be stuck in one position in my small uterus - at least she got stuck with both her feet and her arms near her face. She seems to love to still suck on her feet and now she has 24 hour access. No wonder she is happy staying put - she probably is as satisfied with having access to her favorite treats 24 hours a day in the same way I get this rush of happiness over Starbucks that are open 24 hours.

I got the nicest surprise from my mom the other day. Growing up - I was very close with my godparents. My godmother was my mom's best friend from childhood, they then went to high school together, both became nurses, and our families grew up around each other as well. Both my mom and my godmother worked as labor and delivery nurses over the years side by side at the hospital I now work at as well. It's also the same labor and delivery department that I've spent several weeks at during this pregnancy. My mom has long since retired, and my godmother no longer works there either. But part of this things I feel blessed to have is to be cared for by nurses and staff that worked with both my mom and godmother over the years - people who knew them both. About 10 years ago my godmother lost her battle with cancer. Watching her struggle with that battle was difficult for everyone, but of course I know most of all for her. She had just seen the last of her four children grow up and complete college before her passing. It's almost like she felt her job as a mom - the job she valued over any other job she did - was somewhat complete and it was okay for her to go now. Not that a job as a mother ever ends, but she maybe felt satisfied knowing her youngest was done through a major point in her life.

My godmother cared for me as she did all four of her own children. She was truly like having another mom to me. The other day my mom gave me a package that my godmother had put together for me when she was sick, near the end of her battle with cancer. Inside I found a baby blanket she had made for me, along with a note, and a photo. My godmother had wrapped all of them up to be given to me when I had my own child one day because she knew she wouldn't be around when that time came. The blanket is beautiful - but the note and photo is what I will cherish most. In the photo it is her holding me when I was born because my mom was very sick for a few days after delivering me. My mom had uterine inversion with me and had lost a lot of blood in the delivery with me requiring her to go to the OR and have a few rough days following my birth. In her note, my godmother wrote how even though she wouldn't be around when I had my first child, she would always be watching over us and to know that she would always be with us.

I don't think I could ever put a price tag on this package my mom gave me from my godmother. I have felt so many times over the last few months that we had a little guardian angel or someone watching over us, and I know she is one of those people. When I first needed to pick an OB as a teenager because I had a problem with ovarian cysts that I ended up needing a surgery for - my godmother quickly told me who to go to. Since she had worked in labor and delivery as a nurse and knew the doctors like the back of her hand - she recommended a "great new OB, just out of his residency who hopefully I could see for years to come." She described him as both a very good doctor, but more importantly one of the nicest most caring ones she had seen come through in years. So of course this is who I started seeing, and this is the same doctor who I so fondly talk of now and is my current OB through this bumpy pregnancy. I often wonder if part of why we have gotten so far is at least partially due to my OB being on top of things from day one. Once again, kind of like she has continued to help me long after she passed away.

Most of all, I now understand that what she gave me also is a great example to try to follow. There is nothing she didn't do for her family and her children. Anyone who knew her knew all about her children even if they had never met her kids. My godmother talked constantly about all four of them - so anyone she met felt like they knew her kids as well. I know I will never be half the mom she was - but she has left me with a great example of what one can be.