Double digits

Ten years ago I was panicking in a hospital bed in the maternity hospital in Cambridge while Mr DC tried his best to look excited rather than terrified. It was the due date for our first baby and we'd been booked in for a Caesarean owing to her predicted size compared to mine (I refuse to call it elective since that sounds as if I wanted to have one, took a LONG time to get over the guilt of that!). We waited and waited until finally going up to theatre at lunchtime where I breathed my way through the mahoosive needle in the back moment and tried not to weep (and therefore wriggle) or throw up as she was delivered. We waited breathlessly for the cry, as all new parents do, and then wondered how on earth I was going to hold on to her on the journey to the recovery room while I couldn't feel my legs.

Now here we are 10 wonderful years later.

She was, and is, perfect and gorgeous - and tall! At this rate she'll be taller than me by the time she's 11, but there's still a long way to go to catch up with her father.

Today we have home made smiley faces to take into school, and the now traditional mega card - an idea originally from Chez Beeper Bebe which we have made our own. Ten cards numbered 1-10 with an appropriate number of small gifts on each one, and which was the only thing the birthday girl actually requested. She did receive many other presents, but it is getting harder and harder to shop for her. She says she's too big for toys now. Sigh.

Love you, little big one!