| Meredith's birth When Jerry and I were 23, and I realized I was expecting again. I was happy as usual but was alittle shocked this time as I wasn't really expecting it. I knew before I even took a test, but took one anyway to confirm it. I figured I was due May 25th. I got in touch with my OB who had delivered Heather, WHY I DONT'T KNOW! She proceeded to insult me several times at my first visit and I never went back. I guess for some reason I had forgotten her terrible treatment of me during Heather's birth. I called the OB who I had wanted the last time and he was taking new patients now so I made an appointment. I liked him very much. I discussed with him the things I wanted to avoid this time like pitocin, I.V., episiotomy. He said fine to all my requests. We heard the heartbeat at my first visit, 8-1/2 weeks, we assumed that is. I didn't want a routine U/S so we never had one, if we had we might not have gotten the surprise we did later on. I began to wonder when I got to 34 or 35 weeks in the pregnancy why I felt SOOOOO ready to deliver. I thought, I can't possibly do this for 6 more weeks. Well, I didn't have to. On the morning of May 1, I was presumably 36-1/2 weeks along, I woke up crampy, having contractions, and bloody show. For some reason though I ignored these signs as anything important and was just generally in denial. I went about my day as much as possible. I thankfully had an appointment that afternoon and also thankfully Jerry just happened to be meeting me there after he got off work. I arrived at the Dr.s office and told the nurse I was starting to feel alittle funny. She asked if I was in labor. I answered I didnt know. Dr.Cothren checked me and told me I was 5 cm dilated and to go straight to the hospital. Now, I had both the girls with me and Jerry had shown up by now, shocked that we had to go to the hospital. I had no stuff with me for the hospital stay, I hadn't even packed or washed any of the baby's stuff or anything!!! By the way this is that surprise I was telling you about. I called my mother to meet us at the hospital to watch Heather and Alicia. This all happened about 4:00p.m. We arrived at the hospital and were admitted. Dr. Cothren met us there soon after and decided I was just not hurting enough, so he said he was going to break my water. (I now think he just wanted to be sure he was home in time for supper!) I labored for less than two hours from that point and was then fully dilated. I was this whole time alittle dazed and shocked that I was even here in labor, and so couldn't quite get it together when pushing time began. One interesting point I'll take a minute here to note is that I had the same wonderful labor nurse I had had with Heather's birth 19 months before. She was so nice and helpful! Anyway, I was having trouble remembering how to push for some reason, and Dr. Cothren decided to give me a episiotomy. I hated that! I was glad, however, when the baby was born. She was vigorous and pink from the moment she was born. I don't think she was purple at all. It was another girl of course! We had been thinking all along it was a boy, and had only picked out a boy name in fact. We named her Meredith Jane, I had always liked the name Meredith, and my mother's name Jane seemed to go good with it. She was born at 6:58 p.m. on May 1, 1990, 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 19-3/4". The Dr. assessed her as being definitely full term, so some how my due date was off by a month. Probably because I was breastfeeding and was starting to wean Heather but had not yet had a period. We bought our first home and moved into it three weeks after Meredith was born, actually the closing was on my due date, May 25! Good thing she was already born early enough for me to be fully recovered. This move lead us to meet some very special friends through whom we found our church home. This marked a new phase in our lives which I know now was directed by God for that purpose. |