Happy Birthday Baby Girl : )

Every pregnancy is different...as is every child.

John and I , Tessa, Tia and Joshua had just moved into the house on Wehewehe Loop. Josh was still a non-verbal toddler ( seriously, with two older sisters who could translate every coo and grunt he did NOT need to talk!) of 13 months and I was in the process of trying to move into a "fixer-upper" with a mango tree , hanging fruit and rotting on what should have been a sidewalk ( those came later ), multiple spiders, cockroaches and green shag carpeting with a red dirt path from the front door to the back.

Then I found out I was pregnant ( it wasn't 'we' who were pregnant back in the day and although I think the sentiment is cute, it was just me). Josh sat on my belly --sorry Lisa--throughout the entire pregnancy. Since Josh had been 9 days late the doc decided to induce.

Oh joy.

Apparently Melissa Anne was less than thrilled with the idea too. We had to get up at O'dark thirty and be a Kapiolani Women's and Children's Hospital at approximately ( who am I kidding...even after all these years I still remember EXACTLY what time!) 4:30am on 22 October....1981. Since I was a multi-para, they assumed it would be quick...usually was and no problem. Ha Ha Ha Ha....

For over 12 hours John and I watched insipid game shows while Melissa refused to cooperate. The nurse would come in every hour or so, see that I had had exactly one..at the most two contractions, turn up the pitocin and leave. Repeat, ad infinitum, or at least for 12 hours. The doctor finally showed up, told me that if there was no active labor shortly, I would be released to go home and we could try again soon. Really?

Melissa Anne Wyman was born shortly thereafter....and I dont know if it was fear or exhaustion on her or my part but she arrived safely. Pictures of her immediately after birth show a child not happy to be where she was ( out of a warm, safe comfy place and into the scratchy, blinding, loud light). I seriously doubt any of us remembers our true " birth day " better than our mothers. As a mother, every child's arrival is indelibly etched into our souls, isnt it?

We are very grateful for the gift of Melissa and proud of the wife and mother she has become. Happy Birthday Baby girl....and yes, you will always be our baby.