Different than expected

Different than Expected

This is the second post in a writing prompt series by Ellen Stumbo
http://www.ellenstumbo.com/writing-prompt/



When we got married we knew we wanted to have kids, not necessarily RIGHT away, but we certainly were not preventing it.  We thought that it might take a while and that was okay.  When we found out we were pregnant, less than three months after we were wed, we were excited.

We did not want to know if the baby was a girl or a boy and were happy talking about both boy and girl names. We did not have great expectations, we were content to be pregnant and enjoying the journey.

We agreed that we would decide whether or not I would go back to work when the baby was here.  We both subconsciously knew that I would not got back to work, but hey we are pretty much never say never people.

I did not expect to become so SWOLLEN with my pregnancy.  Having been an avid runner I thought I would continue to run throughout pregnancy.  This did not materialize.  Weight gain, edema, back pain coupled with the desire to eat whatever I wanted did not lend themselves to a fit pregnancy.

Many women complain of cankles late in pregnancy, I had tree trunks for legs by the middle of the 8th month.  I was never diagnosed with pre-eclampsia but had I gone to term I probably would have been.

16 days before our due date I went into labor.  Labored at home over night, went to the hospital got sent home, went back in the early morning, was admitted, got an epidural, was getting comfortable with my mom in the room, Jerry had just left to go get some coffee and breakfast...

Whoosh, POP POP! went the monitor.  Simultaneously, the bed sheets were soaked.  My water had broken and my mom and I were kind of laughing about it when the monitors started beeping.  4 or 5 nurses came into the room at once, turning me from side to side, not really talking to me but to each other.  I could see the seriousness on their faces.  One of the nurses asked my mom where the father was and my mom went to go get him.  I began to understand the medical lingo and that they could not find my baby's heartbeat.  The doctor came in for an internal exam and said they would need to take the baby via c-section.  

We learned about c-sections in our birthing class and like most women I was hoping against that option.  

Flashback....

As we readied ourselves for our second trip to the hospital that September night, I grabbed the bag in the hallway by the front door as another contraction gripped my insides and randomly said "We are going to have a c-section".  There was not discussion or further explanation.  Just a statement.

Back to the birth...

As we prepped for surgery, my mom said a prayer for our baby and we were whisked away to the OR.  My whole body convulsed with shakes and my teeth were chattering, my arms were strapped to the table making my body into a cross.  The anesthesiologist became our guide.  Telling us what was taking place behind the white sheet.  As the Ob tested my numbness, she warned me to stop trying to move my legs.  Within 10 minutes our baby was free from the womb.  It's a girl!  Jerry took one look at her and said "She's Erin!"  Wrapped in warm white blankets and stocking cap I saw her blueberry eyes for the first time.  She was nothing I had expected.  She was so much more.

As fast as they brought her too me they took her away.  I still had some business to take care of, a few organs and tissues to be situated and put back in order.  Jerry left to be with Erin so I was alone in that operating room with my new BFF, the anesthesiologist.  I was no longer cold and could feel the weight of the blankets on my chest and the warmth of the morphine in my veins.

The birth of my first child.

Erin Kelly Bryl

6 1bs 6 oz, 19 inches, 12 noon, September 7, 2005.

It was not how I expected but once I held her in the recovery room, she was everything I never knew I wanted.