April Fools!

Or as we like to call it, Natalie's Birthday! My baby is 4. This may require that I spend tomorrow in bed with a carton of ice cream reminiscing over her baby pictures and trying to figure out how to actually slow down the passing of time.

I remember very clearly 4 years ago today, when I had called the hospital to be induced and the nurses said "no thank you, maybe later." Which made me wonder what they'd do with me if I just went into labor. So I rehashed with my doctor, and he pretty much said don't ask tomorrow, just go, if you're sure you want to have the baby on April Fool's Day.

Do not leave it up to the enormously pregnant woman to choose the birthday. It falls in the IDon'tCareJustGetItOut category. When should the baby be born, Really Pregnant Lady? ASAP, thank you. April 1 was a Friday, it was that or wait til Monday. So because I wanted her out, she will now live the rest of her life the butt of April Fool's jokes. Love you, Nattie. Mommy was not in the right frame of mind.

Scheduling induction with my doctor was a little like scheduling getting tires changed. Let's just pick a day we're both free near the due date, April 9. Did I need to be induced that early? Probably not. I was uncomfortable -- sure -- what outrageously pregnant woman isn't? Honestly, I fought for early induction because I was absolutely petrified of going into labor and all it involves.

Oh, and my feet were swollen. Or something. And I have a vague memory of Natalie settling in on my sciatic nerve. But it's faded with time. Which is, I think, how God gets us to have more babies. Selective memory.

But thank you, sweet Jesus, that my doctor was for random inducing because little Natalie was 8 lbs. 2 oz. Another week and she would have broken me.

So I went in for inducing, I got the same room I'd had with Ella and the same nurse. I remember meeting her when I had Ella. I almost died. She's a sweet tiny YOUNG little Barbie Doll. She had no business helping me with what was about to happen and all that...stuff... But to my surprise she was Super Nurse. So very awesome. Almost worth having another baby. Don't tell Captain America.

Anyway, pitocin around 7:30 or 8 a.m., Natalie born around 12:30 p.m. Short & sweet. Then Super Nurse said they needed to move me to a C-section recovery room so somebody else could have a baby. And so Natalie and I hung out mostly by ourselves for the next couple days watching the Catholics get a new Pope. The nurses were busy with all the other mommies traipsing through, and Ella was only a month out from an overnight in the hospital for dehydration from the flu. She had NO DESIRE to set foot in the hospital. We didn't want her to feel abandoned, so Captain America stayed home with her, what with her not even being 2 and all. And Natalie and I watched for the smoke signal while I ate peanut butter toast to my heart's content.

Keeping it real, Natalie was not scheduled in for less than 2 years after Ella was born. And for TMI, it was sort of surprising what with all the fertility drugs required for Ella. But our schedule sucked. God's schedule was good. Really good. She is a treasure and a delight and oozes sweetness and a little trouble to keep us honest.

And I will spend the rest of my days apologizing to her for her April Fool's Birthday in addition to being named after a dead tormented actress and a baseball player.