The Beginning....

I have never had a blog before and decided now was a good time to try doing one. I am on maternity leave so I have a little extra time and it is also the most exciting time of my life to date, so why not take the opportunity to share with family and friends?
My goal with this blog is to connect with everyone and keep people up to date on what is going on in our lives. So much changes every day with Leda and it is such an exciting journey. I want friends and family who are not close by and who do not get to see Leda often or have not even had the joy of meeting her yet, be able to share in her milestones and little adventures.
I also want to share my own personal interests with you. I want to share my first experience of being mother with you and look forward to hopefully getting some feedback and advice from people. I want to post recipes, information and share other areas of interests. I feel like the best place for me to start is at the most important moment of my life...the day we welcomed Leda into our lives.

LEDA DEVON MCARTHUR

Leda joined us on September 17th, 2010.

I loved being pregnant. I loved every second of it and was not ready for that part of my life to be finished. I started timing my contractions at 4:55 am and was in complete denial for a long time. I kept thinking it would stop, it wasn't time yet. Leda was 10 days early. I was not nervous. I was ready to give birth and meet my daughter, but at the same time I loved the security of having her safe in my tummy. I adored every kick and wiggle. I remember that on the day she was born I could not feel her move at all until I was in active labour, but I could feel her hiccup and I found that very comforting.

I laboured at home until 4:30 pm, until my contractions were anywhere from 4 minutes to 1 minute apart and we decided it was a good idea to make our way to the hospital. 

Giving birth is an amazing event. I felt well supported by Andrew, my Doula, the nurses and my doctor. I felt that people respected my choices and did their best to follow my birth plan. Although I think I would have accepted an epidural had anyone offered it, I managed to have a natural birth and I consider that to be a great accomplishment.

Leda was born at 8:38 pm and she came into this world very health and well loved. Time goes by to quickly and even though she only arrived 4 1/2 months ago, part of me feels like she has always been here. Becoming a mother was the easiest adjustment I have ever made. Nothing feels more natural or right to me then loving my daughter and being her mama.

* If anyone is curious "The Calm Ninja Turtle" came from a blog name generator. I filled out a survey about me and it told me if I ever had a punk rock band, this is what it would be called.