Another Life Changing Day

In the hopes of not missing any of the wonderful and monumental events of the last month, I'm going to go back to November 12th and bring everyone up to speed slowly. Look for more posts this week.

On November 12th I was scheduled to start my maternity leave. On the 11th, I played piano for the morning service and then led worship for the youth that evening. Before going to bed I remember crying as I was processing all the events of the day and how things were going to be changing. I was exhausted.

At 12:30am I awoke with stronger contractions than I had been having during the previous two weeks. After a few hours we called Christy to come stay with Isabelle. I was a little more eager to get to the hospital this time because it was now a 30 minute drive, instead of 1 minute for our last birth, and I wanted to make sure that someone was here for Isabelle.

We arrived at the hospital around 4am, but I was not admitted until 8am. I wasn't as far along as I thought, and they also did an ultrasound to make sure baby was doing okay. She wasn't very active, and one solid memory I have is of the ultrasound tech poking my belly very hard with the wand, trying to get the baby to move - meanwhile, I'm having a wicked contraction and the poking is NOT helping.

The hospital was brand new and when they ushered us into the birthing room we were not disappointed. It was large and spacious, with space for the baby's bath and examination all in the room with us. Last time Isabelle was sent to the nursery for that stuff and it seemed to take so long. Anyways.....the day progressed, but I didn't. It was long and slow, ending with the worst four hours of pain of my life. Ben got me through it.

And as soon as she came out at 8:21pm, it was the greatest feeling. No more pain! No more pregnancy symptoms! No more belly....well, not nearly as big anyways! It was all worth it.

In the hours and days that I spent at the hospital, I really felt like I already knew this lovely creature, Charlotte Beth. We had been through a lot - a tough pregnancy, a hot summer and a long hard labor together. We had some great bonding time at the hospital. I felt like I was on vacation - food made to order, a 37" plasma in my room and a cute baby to cuddle with. It was instantly apparent that she was calm and easy to soothe.

Charlotte was named for two very special people. Charlotte Gammon Saunders was my mother's paternal grandmother. She was an amazing lady who lived into her 90's, still baking bread and washing the kitchen floor. She faced a great deal of adversity in her life and lived with grace and kindness. She passed away in my first year of university so I was blessed to know her well as a great-grandma.

Beth is my middle name, but I too was named for a special great Aunt Beth, my mother's sister. Beth was my surrogate grandma, having lost mine too young when I was 12. She was a painter, a music lover, a great cook, an outdoor enthusiast and the kind of person who always remembered your birthday or anniversary.

Even though the pregnancy and labor were very difficult, the after part was much easier and smoother than last time. Stay tuned.