Our Miracle baby turns one!

We woke up on Sunday, September 13 to a dark sky.  The sun had not yet come up by the time we got on the road.  We had our bags packed, the car seat installed, her coming home outfit ready – we were going to have our baby!

An induction had been scheduled nearly a month in advance, due to my chemotherapy schedule.  The doctors didn’t want to risk letting me get too close to my due date for fear of delivering when my counts were low and I was at greater risk for infection.  As scary as it was knowing she would be born 6 weeks early, I knew that it was a better plan than having no plan at all.

I had been looking forward to maternity pictures throughout my entire pregnancy, so once we had an induction date, I scheduled our pictures – putting a mere two day gap between the pictures and induction.  I wanted to be as pregnant-looking as I could be for those pictures!

We arrived in Springfield at 7 AM on the 13th.  We took a final pregnancy photo as we were walking into the building, still a little groggy-eyed but oh-so excited!

We settled into our room and all of the routine stuff was started – IV, hooked up to the monitor, getting vitals.
Unfortunately, my hemoglobin was running too low to begin induction.  This meant I had to get a blood transfusion before anything else could begin.  This setback caused everything to be pushed back one day.

As unfortunate as this was, it also gave us a chance to really settle into the fact that we were about to have a baby!  It’s something that you plan for and get excited about, but when it’s actually happening, your nerves kick in, too!

About 24 hours after arriving, we were finally ready to start the induction process.  Our parents and my best friend joined us at varying times throughout the day on Monday.  I had an early epidural put in to keep my heart rate within normal range, so I wasn’t allowed out of bed after Monday morning.

We were just waitin’ on baby…

And she definitely made us wait!

By 10 pm on Monday, still no baby.  My friend was torn on whether or not to head for home because of work the next day.  Barely any progress had been made all day, so I told her she’d be best to go back home and I’d keep her updated.  My doctor had finished her shift at 7 pm and on her way out, she joked with us.  “I know it’s selfish of me, but I hope this baby doesn’t come until I return at 7 am tomorrow.  But for your sake, I hope she comes tonight.”  My mom followed up by saying, “She’ll probably decide to come at shift change!”

Around 4:30 on the morning of the 15th, I remember calling the nurse in to help reposition me due to some pain.  I fell asleep again by 5:30, and by 6:30, it was time for another check.  It was the same doctor from the day before, grinning as she walked into our room, since our child had clearly heeded her advice 🙂

When her check was over, she looked at me and said it was go-time.  I was fully dilated and there wasn’t any time to mess around.  Michael was a few feet from me, still snoring on the couch.  The doctor woke him up and told him we were ready.  He asked, “Do I have time to go get coffee?”  (She let him.)

As he got his coffee, he made phone calls to our parents and they came over from the hotel across the street.  He was back in the room by 6:45 and it was time to get started.  The room was a bit crowded, to say the least.  We had overnight nurses staying to help, the day nurses just coming on, a NICU nurse or two and a medical resident, plus our family.  It was a packed room!

A few pushes was all it took – at 7:15 am, our beautiful baby girl entered this world!  She weighed 5.5, which was wonderful, considering we didn’t know if she’d make 4 pounds.  They let me hold her for a few minutes, but then took her upstairs to the NICU, as is protocol for any babies born earlier than 36 weeks.  Michael followed her up to the NICU and I had to wait two hours until I could get out of bed to visit her.

We expected, at minimum, a week long stay for her in the NICU.  When I went up for her noon feeding on the 17th, I was pleasantly surprised when they told me she was getting discharged that day!  We figured out our new plan of action and prepared to go home!

We arrived home very late on the 17th.  Her daddy had created a nice welcome-home experience for her.  He led us through town with flashing firetruck lights and a nice surprise when we arrived home!

As quickly as the last year has gone, I have been incredibly blessed to have been able to be at home with her and watch her grow every single day.  I realize that our blessings could not have been as abundant as they were.  The fact that she was, and is, perfectly healthy is truly a miracle that we thank God for everyday.

So today, on her first birthday, I want her to know how much she is loved.  There is nothing in this world holding her back from making her dreams come true.  Her future is so bright – and Michael and I were the lucky ones that God chose to be her parents.

 

There’s nothing better in this world.
Happy Birthday, my beautiful baby girl!