Julia Corrinne

Today, my oldest child, my beautiful daughter turned 9 years old... seems like there is no possible way that she is nine already... seems like just yesterday...

Julia's story really begins during Christmas of 1999. Joe and I had decided to take a trip that year and we headed off to Magic Mountain and Disneyland the week before Christmas. It was a great trip- we had so much fun- and really just enjoyed each other's company. We spent a lot of time talking about what the future was going to hold for us. We came home on December 23rd- just in time for all the Christmas festivities. On Christmas Eve, Joe gave me my present. He told me that he thought he was ready to 'start trying' for the baby that I so desperately wanted.

Needless to say I was over the MOON with excitement... I couldn't wait to go to my mom's house the next morning and tell her that we were ready to start trying!!!

It took a few months, but the green beer must have done it, because based on all calcuations, Julia was conceived on St. Patrick's Day! The due date was December 7th... I just couldn't wait. I was on the internet NIGHT and DAY talking to other pregnant moms, checking websites, and reading all that I could. Morning sickness was a huge challenge... I'll never forget the day I threw up all over myself in the car on the way home from work (it was like 115 degrees outside- not good!). The pregnancy was going along fairly well until I started having contractions- at 32 weeks. Since it was still a little early and Baby JC (we had decided not to find out the gender) wasn't quite cooked, I went on bedrest to try to keep him/her in for just a little while longer. Nana and Grandma Paulette stepped in to help out and keep life going. Everybody from work sent food and good wishes! About this time, we also discovered that the cord was wrapped around Julia's neck. This meant extra testing, extra monitoring, and extra concern. But we hung in there, knowing that the prize would soon arrive! I had two wonderful showers- one with folks from work and one with family. We got all of the the things that we would need (plus some!).

The doctor took me off of all of the drugs I had been taking to stop my labor on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving- telling me that the baby would be safe to arrive now- but not to expect anything to happen right away....

I woke up early on Thanksgiving morning and was having contractions. I moved downstairs to the couch and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and *thought* about waking Joe up- but eventually the contractions went away. Later that day we stopped by my mom and dad's house just to say hi and I told my mom about the contractions earlier in the day. She just smiled at me (she knew that I was probably going to have a baby that day, but didn't say anything...) We went to Joe's mom's house to spend the day. I was hanging out on the couch, reading a magazine and just generally being lazy when I decided I had to go to the bathroom. I stood up and .... my water broke. I went off to find Joe to tell him. He was sitting around with his step-dad Steve and his brothers talking math. (I know, only in our family). I stood at the doorway to the room for a few minutes, hoping to catch Joe's attention, but to no avail. Finally, Steve looked up and asked me if I needed something. I told them all that my water had broken and we were having a baby!

Having done Bradley classes, I knew that I didn't need to head to the hospital right away, so I decided that we should wait to go until after Joe had eaten his Thanksgiving dinner (figuring it was going to be a long night). I was having contractions- staying fairly relaxed- while the rest of the family just buzzed around. Paulette kept checking the turkey- and kept saying that she didn't understand why it wasn't done yet... till she figured out that in all the excitement she had turned the oven off! Needless to say it was a few hours before everybody sat down to eat. :)

I sat at the dinner table with everyone, but by this point I was having CONTRACTIONS. I remember just sitting there, looking at Joe, wondering if he really just couldn't chew FASTER. Eventually he finished his dinner and we were off to the hospital. My mom and dad met us there- after my dad had enjoyed his pie!

Labor with Julia was pretty quick and fairly hard. I was determined to skip the drugs and do it the natural way. Pre-eclampsia meant magnesium sulfate (which isn't pleasant) and that I had to stay in bed rather than walk around during the labor. My doctor was out of town and we ended up with a doctor who obviously didn't want to be working on Thanksgiving night. Let's just say that if I never see that man again, life will be wonderful. We had great nurses though, and Joe was a wonderful coach.

Around 10:30 p.m. things really started to change. Joe went out to get a nurse, but they were in the middle of shift change, and the nurse told him that someone would be in after awhile. Joe came back in the room with me... and a few minutes later I let out a scream that brought the whole nursing staff running. Joe had been right- I was in transition and ready to push.

It didn't take long to deliver Miss Julia- all 5 lbs. 13 oz. of her... and it was a her... so nice to finally know the answer to that question... I was so excited and proud to have delivered her without any drugs or intervention. I remember saying to Joe, "I did it!"

Julia had a rough go of it for the first few weeks... I just don't think she was really done cooking. She had jaundice and had some major breastfeeding issues. But... by the time she was about 6 weeks old she was growing and thriving and we haven't looked back since.

Since then I've had the joy of watching her grow and change each and every day. Julia can be a challenge for me sometimes... and truthfully that is usually because we are just a little too much alike! But I cannot IMAGINE my life without the blessing that she brings to it. So, on this 9th celebration of her arrival into the world... Happy Birthday Miss Julia Corrinne Furedy... you are loved more than you will EVER know.

Night all-
C