slightly belatedly
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Yesterday was Maggie's third birthday. She was born three years and a day ago, in Wellington Hospital, by c-section, some time after 8 am; I can't remember the exact time because I was too busy gazing at her in awe and wonderment. In the first ever photo of her, she's being held triumphally aloft by the surgeon who delivered her, and looking none too happy about it. Several photos later, she's in the incubator being Apgared by the midwife and looking thoroughly appalled by it all. Her life began to improve once the surgery was over and we were reunited in the recovery room; I held her on my chest and felt her skin against mine, and after a few minutes was able to roll onto my side and offer her my breast; she latched on like a pro and nursed vigorously, emitting little sobs of relief.
She was born with a thick cap of black hair that amazed everyone, and eyes that were bright and penetrating even on her first day on dry land. Over three years, her hair has grown out into abdundant coppery ringlets, and her eyes are a bright, clear blue and as piercing as the day she was born. She has a low, almost guttural throaty chuckle, a prodigious capacity for mischief, and no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. She is bright and wilful and funny, and the light of all our lives. Happy birthday, little Margaret.
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