Delivery Day

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

With nine months of a nearly textbook pregnancy completed, March 28, 2003 was set to be one of the most exciting days of my life! I knew I’d be induced with our second daughter at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital in Fountain Valley, CA…where my mom is a nurse in the post-partum ward of the hospital. (That’s the place you go after you’ve brought that “adorable-to-only-the parents” new person into the world and you’re “recovering” from the all-natural birthing process.)

We dropped our older daughter, Lauren… nearly 2 at the time…off at Grandma Bev’s and Grandpa Russ’s for the day. We figured we’d call Bev when the time was close so she could share in Taylor’s arrival. We also figured Mike would be picking Lauren up and having the night at home with her while I shared the first night with Taylor. Things change! Taylor didn’t seem to really want to start her life in the “real world.” I figured, “Second baby…this will go fast!” Labor is nothing fast (except for my mom who had eight kids, and by baby number five… it really was fast!).

Anyway, I was induced and was under great care with my nurse who happened to be a good friend’s sister-in-law. It’s amazing how quickly a delivery nurse can bond with a nearing delivery mom-to-be! And mine was absolutely the kindest, gentlest, most wonderful nurse on the planet. I had no idea just how invaluable she’d become.

Mike and I spent the day “enjoying” our anticipation. The pitosin was dripping, Mike and I were laughing with my mom, the nurses, visiting with family who would stop in, and things were slowly getting ready for Taylor's big arrival. Now, this was child #2 so I knew when to ask for the epidural, and believe me, I wasted no time in taking care of that! My wonderful nurse held me so tenderly. I will always remember just how nurturing she was and how confident I was in her arms. Even with that gigantic belly (well, I was never really gigantic, but I sure felt it!) I easily trusted her.

The day really did seem to go exactly as I thought it would…except of course, I figured I’d be drinking a vanilla milkshake at lunchtime with Taylor comfortably resting in my arms. It was getting closer to delivery time, Taylor giving in to the idea that she was coming out like it or not…into the light as I thought.

Finally, it was time! Two pushes, and Taylor was here! I remember asking Mike over and over, “Isn’t she beautiful, Mike? Isn’t she beautiful?” She had a folded ear and was kind of "different" looking. The thought never occurred to me that anything was seriously wrong. I just thought she looked a little different because of the entry gate into the "real world." I didn’t realize it right away, but she also had a 10-cm umbilical hernia which we later nicknamed Mount Vesuvias. It was gigantic! I remember my mom quietly asking Dr. Fraser, my OB-Gyn, a few questions. It never really dawned on me until much later that my mom was asking the doctor some specific questions, and I do mean MUCH later.

No one quite realized what we were dealing with in Taylor right at her birth.We had no idea what was going on at the time. Taylor’s APGAR scores were in the normal range, and she was screaming loud and clear, “I’m here, people! Now I’m hungry!” What a gift! (I had told myself from the third trimester on that if Taylor wasn’t a nurser, it would be OK for me to do my best and not force the issue.)

That hour in recovery with Taylor was the best gift God could have given us. Mike and I sat in the room enjoying our precious new gift. She came out suckling like no other, and nursing was what I had envisioned it to be. It was actually easy! The bond was instantaneous which I had thought about from early on in this pregnancy. I just didn’t think there would be any possible way to love a second daughter the same way or with the same amount of love I had for Lauren. How wrong I really was!