Julia is 10

On Monday Julia will be 10. It's always hard to realize how fast they grow up. In fact how fast they turn 40 and have kids and stories of their own. But today I'm reminded of those so frightening months when Luisa was pregnant with Julia. At six months Julia thought about being born. A routine check up which happened to be at the hospital took Luisa from the exam room to a semi intensive care hospital bed and a series of drugs to stop contractions and effacing of the cervix. The drugs were strong, Luisa had hallucinations, and at one point her breathing capacity was in danger. She was very scared and so was I. We had a conversation with the doctor specializing in very premature babies telling us to think about what we would do should she be born so early - there was little chance of survival and potential problems with brain development, among other concerns.

Luckily things stabilized and then Luisa stayed in the hospital for 5 weeks and more or less so did I, having driven from Carlsbad to San Diego every night to stay with her in the evening. Once she came home it was total bed rest for the rest of the time. Then of course Julia decided to make things still difficult by refusing to put her head down which necessitated a C section.

Now though, Julia is 10 and a beautiful, bright and healthy young girl. I'm thinking about her and the first time I saw her little heart beat on the ultra sound monitor and the great love and sacrifice her Mom made to bring her to life. I'm reminded also of how mothers everywhere do so much to create the miracle of life.