Today is my birthday. I'm 37 years old today.
What has come to mind most frequently over the last couple of days is this:
The risk of having a baby with chromosomal abnormalities increases after the age of 35.
I knew this a year ago. I worried about it a year ago, when I was still in my first trimester of pregnancy with Elliana.
Elliana and I are now part of that 'statistic'. I was 35 when I got pregnant with her, and she was born with Tetrasomy 9p.
But I wouldn't change it. I'd do it all over again. Every day of carrying her, every moment of holding her - I'd do it again.
She was worth it. Is worth it. :-)
This is sort of random, but it's come to mind several times today, since it's my birthday...
I'm not much into the Chinese zodiac, except when I'm sitting in a Chinese restaurant looking at the zodiac calendar on the paper placemat. Elijah's favorite place to eat is a Chinese buffet (well, any buffet, really), so we took him there for his birthday lunch last month. While we were there, we looked at the calendar placemat and figured out the animal sign for each member of our family.
According to the zodiac calendar:
Jason is a monkey.
I'm a dragon.
Elijah is a goat.
Levi is a pig.
Missy is a rat.
Seth is a tiger.
And Elliana is a dragon. Like me. :-)
It feels strange to say "happy" birthday, but I do wish you a happy birthday, and a birthday full of love.
ReplyDeleteBurning Eye
Thank you. You're sweet to wish those things for me. :-) Parts of it were happy. Parts of it were excruciating. How is it possible to experience such a wide range of emotions in a day? Or even in a matter of hours?
DeleteI hope your birthday was peaceful. Another one of those "firsts", isn't it? My children are monkey, rat and dragon. I'm a snake, and my partner an ox.
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice that you and Elliana are both dragons, especially because she's your only dragon child.
Thanks for the birthday wishes - yes, another first. And... I went to my first (maybe first?? Still not sure if there will be a 'second') 'grief counseling' appointment yesterday. Then I went to the cemetery - really wanted to do that on my birthday. When I pulled into the cemetery, I had one of those 'did this actually happen?' moments. When reality struck me a different way, and I thought 'How is it that I'm visiting my daughter IN A CEMETERY on my birthday? How did I get here?'
DeleteI'm so glad Elliana and I are dragons. And I'm glad to share that with your little one, too. :-)