Sophie Beth

Sophie, at 4 days old

Sophie, 5 years later

It's funny - because I'm pregnant with my third child, our family has been talking about what life was like when the girls were in my uterus (yes, that's how they describe it, we're that sort of family!) Today this led my five year old to pretend to be tunneling down my vagina, pulled by the surgeon's forceps, before 'whooshing!' back up and being delivered by a C-section. I'm glad she visualises it so positively - I wouldn't want to put her off childbirth or anything.

Then again, it's not funny - because I still remember that traumatic time like it was yesterday. I remember being so excited and desperate to get baby out (at 41 weeks) and disappointed when the 'natural' birth didn't happen, breastfeeding didn't come easily and she didn't nap by my side like Dr Sears said. But mainly I remember this being who smelled of sweet biscuits. Who we didn't name for a few days, and then called Sophie Elizabeth, or Sophie Beth. We often call her Sophie Bonkers now, because she's definitely cut from a unique cloth. She's a thinker, an artist and very physically active. She has a sophisticated palate for a 5 year old. She has such a big heart, is kind and good at sharing, and hardly ever hits back. The way she looks at the world is an education to us all.

So, mainly, I don't think about how she came out. I think about who she is, and how she is already making her mark on the world, and how we can help her fulfil her potential as the person she was created to be. Despite the impatience & frustration I experience in parenting on a daily basis, I mainly just try to love her; imagine what it is like to be her; and try and help her understand the crazy world around her, from her unique point of view.