February 14, 1996 is the day I found out I was going to be a mother. I was 24, unmarried, and just started my career at the Rutland Herald. I became sick almost immediately and had no idea what to expect. I bought books, went to classes and my boss at the time who was pregnant herself, was very helpful. It was pretty overwhelming at times since we didn’t have very much at all and I was far away from my family.
On October 17, Elizabeth was born after 7 1/2 hours of labor. She was beautiful. My family was coming up to visit the next day so I made the mistake of leaving the hospital a day early. I was beyond exhausted by the time they left! I couldn’t wait to share her with them and I’ll never forget those first moment when my mom and grandparents held her. After the first few days she became pretty colicky and cried for hours at a time at night. The night before I went back to work she slept through the night for the first time. I praised God all day.
We moved back to Plymouth after her first birthday. I knew I could get a better job in graphics after seeing the Boston Sunday Globe’s help wanted section. I ended up getting a job at Community Newspaper Company on the Cape, and we started our life back in Plymouth. Her father and I didn’t work out and eventually he made the difficult decision to move back to Vermont.
I was a single mom for a long time. I went to as many school activities as I could, baked cupcakes for her birthday every year, and volunteered as often as I could. I loved it when I got my job in Boston because they allowed me more freedom to attend parent/teacher conferences and do what I needed to do for her.
I loved it when she learned new skills such as jumping in our backyard as a horse, drawing, and piano. Her laugh would make my day, and my favorite time of the day was when I would read her a bedtime story snuggled on her bed. When I found out I was expecting Adeline with Chris, I was over the moon. Another chance to enjoy those little moments.
Adeline’s labor and delivery were the complete opposite of her sister. She took her time. She had to be evicted. She had a hard time nursing. She cried even more than her sister. I suffered post-partum and began wondering why did I do this to myself? Thank goodness when I went back to work and got back into a routine I was able to enjoy myself again. Addie proved to be a funny baby. She had a boisterous personality that she still has today. She adores her older sister, and followed her around the house.
Adeline is very bright and is already recognizing words. She is the most like me out of the three. She is emotional, very distractible, but has an imagination like I have never seen. One of these days I am going to write down her sayings because half of the time I can hardly believe what I am hearing! She loves to run around and spend time with her cousins chasing each other around. Addie is an awesome helper in the kitchen, and I look forward to making more goodies with her for the holidays. I can’t imagine my life without her and when I think back to those first few weeks, it seems like such a small time period in comparison with how long it felt at the time.
Isabelle’s impending arrival was also very different. We had been told she would need surgical intervention to live. It was hard to enjoy pregnancy after that. I was working at a conference at the Intercontinental Hotel when she decided to make her appearance. My manager at the time got me a cab and everyone wished me well as I went over to the Brigham while my husband made his way into town from Braintree. We tried to go the natural route but my body didn’t get that memo and we ended up having a c-section. The OB was so kind and apologetic, I didn’t mind that we ended up with a c-section because he made such an effort to help us have what we wanted.
Isabelle has the most easy-going personality out of all my girls. She loves being around everyone, and enjoys just about everything. It’s almost like she knows how lucky we are and loves being here. I love watching her walk around the house and follow Addie around. Adeline is okay with it most of the time, but she certainly has her moments. My favorite is when Liz has BOTH girls following her around. Teenagers love that.
Liz is a huge help with the girls and is a great big sister. I am so proud of her and am thrilled when I can get them all together for a picture. It’s very rare when that happens!
All of my girls are named after some very special people in our lives. Elizabeth Marie is for my great-grandmother Elizabeth, and for Gordy’s grandmother Marion. Adeline Sara is for my beloved Nana Adeline, and Sara is for Chris’s grandmother. Isabelle Faith is for my dear grandfather Harry. His name was Israel but hardly anyone (if any) called him that. The ‘Faith’ is to remind me to have faith in spite of adversity.
I am so blessed to have these amazing girls as my own. The only regret I have is I wish I had them a little closer in age, but it works out just the same. I used to tell Liz that I was the luckiest mommy in the world and I still feel that way today.
Fami
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