 |
| I wondered as I gazed at this photo if this baby realized that it was me singing all of those dumb nursery rhymes to her through her mommy's tummy as her mother reclined and studied? Angela's doctor recommended that they try to turn Mary-Catherine. He felt sure it would work. So, we went back to the hospital at thirty-eight weeks. They began the procedure by placing fetal heart monitors on Angela's belly. Then together the nurse and doctor reached into Angela's pelvis from the outside, and began to lift and turn Mary-Catherine around. This was not pleasant for anyone. I squeezed Angela's hand and held my breath each time the medical team reached to turn the baby. Angela lay there like a soldier, trying not to show fear or pain, but the agony was all over her face. The baby wouldn't budge. In fact at one point the heart rate went so low that I asked the doctor in fear, "Please stop." Again, I just couldn't live with myself if anything happened to this baby now. We had no choice but to have a C-section. ~ We were to arrive at the hospital at six in the morning. All of the child birthing classes were left at home since we wouldn't be using any breathing techniques. They were waiting for Angela, and they quickly got her prepped. She was taken to the operating room. Outside, pacing up and down the corridors were Angela's father, brother, and Shawn. I gowned up since I was going to be present at the birth. I never saw the epidural they inserted into Angela's spine, but from all she said, it wasn't as bad as she imagined it would be. They called me in after they had already made the cut, and the next thing I knew, the team of doctors was reaching inside my daughter's womb, and presenting me with my granddaughter.I will never forget her face and how hard it was to get her close enough to Angela for her to touch in those first moments of life. She had to be completely strapped down for the surgery and the only part of her that was exposed was her fingertips that she used to stroke the baby feebly. Mary-Catherine was now born in the 39th week, on February 24, just after eight in the morning. She surprised the doctors by weighing in at over six pounds; six pounds, four ounces to be exact. I carried her out into the hall where her Papa, Uncle Jonathan, and her tearful daddy Shawn greeted her. When he saw her, he cried to think of the decision that he and her mommy might have made. Nobody knew at that moment how this perfectly formed, innocent child would change our lives and fill it with a refreshing love we didn't realize was missing from our hearts. |
|