On March 14 of last year, my husband and I welcomed our beautiful little girl into the world. It was not an ideal arrival, and we certainly were not prepared for the inevitable chain of events that would occur. I remember the setting with such clarity and precision that it seems somehow unreal; a figment of an overactive imagination. It was around 11:20PM and I had been in labor for 17 hours. We were anxiously awaiting the moment we would finally get to meet our little girl. At 11:46PM, the doctor told me to give one more big push. I was so exhausted but determined to do my best, there was a reward at the end of this marathon. A nurse pushed my husband out of the way and jumped on top of my stomach. It was such a dramatic event, it seemed …show more content…
I had a lump in my throat, my stomach was all in knots and I was fighting back the urge to scream with rage. My husband and I knew our daughter would have a cleft lip from an ultrasound I had at thirty two weeks pregnant, we did not know the extent of the birth defect. We also knew what an imperforated anus was. His brother was born with a rare association, VATER's. It is an acronym for a variety of birth defects. "V" for vertebrae, "A" for anal imperforation, "T" for trachea and "R" for renal. We both assumed our daughter had this as well, even though statistics state it was less than a one percent chance of being a genetic disease. His brother had twenty two surgeries before his second birthday, so I knew we were in for a long road. I was so upset, I couldn't believe this was happening to us, to my sweet new baby girl. I kept asking God, "Why her? Why would you subject such a sweet innocent child to this? Isn't putting Josh (my husband's brother) through this enough?" I knew I had to make a choice, I could be bitter or I could be strong for my daughter. I chose strength and asked my husband to please meet the care flight team at OU Children's hospital. I stayed up and prayed all night for my sweet angel. The next morning, I was discharged from Norman Regional hospital. My doctor completely understood
The nurse cut my umbilical cord, and I was placed on my mother’s chest. I was weighed at 7 pounds 3oz and 18 inches. With tears in her eyes, my mother met the new love of her live. Me! She thanked God for blessing her with a healthy baby girl. I was surround with love from family member at visited. My mother stated, “ I wouldn’t change a thing, giving birth was the best experience of my
This was not my first pregnancy , but it would prove to test my faith like it has never been tested before. I spent many nights in that old recliner pounding at my thoughts. Maybe, If had done something that GOD was angry at me for, or maybe he turned his back on me. I try to live my life right that was pleasing to GOD. I prayed daily. I walked by faith and not by sight. I gave my last to help a fellow man. I prayed for my family more than I prayed for myself. So when, the doctor told me 5 months ago that my twins had Spina Bifida I didn’t understand. Not one but both girls had Spina Bifida. Spina Bifida is a birth defect where there is incomplete closing of the backbone and membranes around the spinal cord. I even blame myself because as an License Practical Nurse for 11 years I was aware that Spina bifida was linked to an folic acid deficit. My doctor quickly reassured me that this was not the case. All my lab work was okay. My faith taught me that GOD don’t make
Baby Smarika was born approximately after 8 hours of labor. Smarika began to go into distress, which made doctor to perform a C-section of my wife. My eyes rolled into tears when I hold her after 10 minutes. I was amazed when I held her in the delivery room. My partner and I felt the biggest surge
Z cut the cord. The NICU Dr was there and said he was perfect. She took some blood and handed him to us. Oh he was perfect! Z yelled "I'm a father" with the most pride I've ever heard. I went to recovery and fell asleep. When I woke up I got to hold Wy but they were telling me he had to go to the NICU a few floors up. Z and I had taken the hospital tour and knew there were two NICU's. The one on the third floor was more severe than the one on the fifth floor. He was on the fifth floor. That was a relief in that moment. I was taken to the maternity ward. I kept dosing off that night, and Z was up and down the elevators between us. I could hear babies crying but not Wy. It was truly
A few years ago, a person named Chris Carrington published details of a 2011 report written by a government consultant named John Kappenman commissioned by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (1).
Right after the last wedding, Micah had an appointment with a genetic specialist. Our new pediatrician had changed us to a doctor whom we could see in the local area so we would not have to travel to Nashville. Micah had developed more cafe-au-lait spots and his diagnosis of Neurofibromatosis Type I was confirmed. Because Micah walked on his toes, an MRI of his brain was ordered to rule out tumors. The MRI was completely normal. As I sit here typing, I think back to those days in awe. God carried me through. I was peaceful and confident of the outcome. I knew Micah would be diagnosed, but deeper yet was the confidence in my heart of the covenant I had with God. I knew then and am even more confident now that NF will never touch Micah or his children. I know Micah will grow whole!
It was a gorgeous, warm day, and I was scheduled to be induced at 8pm. My husband had decided to spend the day at home with me, and it was both lovely and surreal. We sat on the porch in the sunlight and drank beer. I propped my feet up on the concrete wall and we watched trucks pull in and out of the Devon Market receiving area. We may have talked . . . or perhaps not much. All I can remember is sitting in the glow of the afternoon sun with that strange feeling of “my life is about to change forever” surrounding me like a cloud.I kept hoping I’d go into labor naturally, but even though there had been a few evenings with patterns of contractions, they died out after an hour or so. Time was running out, and I had tried all the methods of natural induction I could think of (except for acupuncture and membrane stripping). Pressure points on the heels and wrists, using a breast pump, sex, spicy food, and long walks home from my appointments at Swedish Covenant Hospital, where they were monitoring my baby with nonstress tests since I was overdue. But nothing seemed to kick labor into gear.
January 22, 2016 was the hardest but the most beautiful day of my life. The night before, I began to have pains, and I knew it was going to happen. I was finally going to have my baby. I was brought to the hospital, put into a delivery room and as the time passed the contractions came on stronger and stronger. The next thing I remember is the doctor and nurses telling me to push! My husband by my side looking scared as ever. I pushed and pushed as the tiniest little body came out, voice wailing then they put her in my arms. I knew, the minute they put her in my arms I knew she had Down syndrome. Why? Why my baby? I began crying out of joy but mostly out of fear and sadness, while my baby girl
I went into the hospital on February 15, 1991 at 7am and they popped my stitched and made me walk the hall for 8 hours to see if I was going to have any type of labor pains, but nothing happened so they did an emergency c-section. Due to complications, no one was allowed in the birthing room. Your father remained in the waiting room with brother, grandmaw and grandpaw, and your nanny. I honestly didn’t prepare for your birth due to the fact that I was on strict bed rest and your father was busy working and tending to your brother so life was pretty hectic. We just did what we had to do in order to get by. In fact you didn’t even have a nursery because we didn’t have the time. I couldn’t leave the house to pick what I wanted, so all we had was a baby bed in our bedroom until we were able to get situated. The only medication and procedures involved during your childbirth was an epidural and a c-section. My whole pregnancy consisted of
On March 30, as of three thirty in the morning, my life has officially changed. The labor pains had set in and it was time to have a baby. I had never felt a pain so excruciating in my life, and I thought that cramps were terrible, labor pains do not even compare. I climbed the stairs to my aunts room to let her know that it was time to go to the hospital. After watching her run around the room frantically she finally was able to rush me to the hospital. She zoomed through street lights rushing for fear that I may have the baby in the car and she would pass out. Had
Between 6 AM to noon, I attempted taking a nap, but kept waking up from stronger "cramps". Since taking a nap seemed impossible, I decided to call my mother to tell her everything that was leading me to think I was in early labor. She assured me I was, and told me I would have our baby very soon! Thanks to my mom, I finally came to accept that I was indeed experiencing contractions and was in early labor. Especially since they were happening every 5 mins! After hanging up with my mom, I called Chris and told him he needed to come home right away because we were going to have our baby very soon. He was so happy and left work immediately to meet me at our house. In the meantime, I paced back and forth in my house and bounced on my exercise ball
Mother: I have a case of moderate arthritis from playing tennis and gardening, so my doctors were concerned about my body's ability to carry the pregnancy to full term and handle the full ordeal of the delivery. The birth of our child took a long time. I was in labor for nearly four days. We hired a lovely midwife who has specialized knowledge in handling special births, but after the second day, we decided to load me up in the car and head for the hospital. It was frightening, I suppose, but I also felt a clarity of purpose. I really wanted this baby and I knew that the baby's best chance and my best chance for survival was for me to stay calm and coherent as possible, for the sake of my family.
As I lie there I remember the motion of my heart going “thump thump”, I remember the anxiousness that filled the room. I laid thinking that it felt like just yesterday I was outside riding my tricycle and now as of February 2012 my life would change from being any normal young adult to a young lady with a lot more responsibilities. The tears, and the joy took part in my mixed feelings and I just could not wait to see what the next step in life would be for me. Not many women can say that they have lived through that very special moment of childbearing or even labor, but I can tell you that seven months later I could not be anymore happier then I already am.
I will never forget the moment my labor began, the moment that marked that step in my journey into motherhood. I can remember everything about it so clearly. My mom, fiancé, and I woke up early Friday morning to make our way to Western Missouri Medical Center. I stood in front of the mirror looking at my belly knowing it would be my last time standing in that bathroom with my baby inside of me still. It was a bittersweet moment that I cherished as long as I possibly could. I was set to be induced that morning and very excited, yet a little bit nervous. I had no idea what to expect. I’d been waiting a very long 37 weeks to finally meet this precious human that had been growing inside me. I had ideas of what he might look like, and what the experience might be like, however nothing could have prepared me for what was in store over the next few days.
Losing a child is something that few really understand. Even a brief life offers so much that is special. My daughter, Jorden Courageous Allred, died February 3, 2007. She was just 1 day old. I held my daughter after she died, I will never forget Jorden as a person or my daughter. Jorden was born with a rare syndrome that caused her deformity and ultimately her death. I realized how little information the professionals had about the syndrome, also their lack of compassion and understanding. It was difficult to cope with the loss of my daughter, not knowing why it happened to her. The coldness of the professionals made that heartache worse.