Our Sweet Arrival, Hannah Grace!

 

On April 2, 2004, I remember thinking I was in labor. With this being my ninth labor, each one was different and had a mind of their own. My labors could start and stop and have no real pattern until the very end. So, it was hard to say when the first pain woke me up that morning what was going to be expected. I got the kids ready for school and put off calling my midwife until after I got back from taking them that morning. At the time we had three kids in private school where my husband was the Pastor. It was a 30 minute drive on the Beltway from our Laurel home to Forestville, and I remember being afraid to drive, but ended up doing it anyway. I prayed the whole time not wanting to be in labor on the Beltway and God answered that prayer. Our oldest daughter was at home asleep. We had two little ones not in school, one in public school, and one along with our oldest, who were out of school, but no one expected her on the day that she came. We were transitioning from our 6 1/2 years of being Pastor and Pastor's wife at Forestville Baptist Church during a recent merge when ours and another Church came together. Pastor Thomas joined his new congregation to Forestville's older congregation and took over as my husband stepped down believing God had something else He wanted us to do...

I guess it all happened so fast that we didn't take any good pictures for me to share. I tried to find a good one, but either I was uncovered or it was a blur.  Here is her story...I got home and decided to call my midwife and let her know this could be it. She asked me some questions and decided she would come to check on me later that afternoon. I hung up the phone and began cleaning the house when my friend, Patsy stopped by and decided to stay. I told her I needed to take a shower before the midwife came and and started thinking I hadn't made much progress for this to be true labor. It all happened so fast after that and while I was taking my shower, I had one big pain that wouldn't stop. It felt like I went from a few centimeters to 10 all at once and I began calling out to our daughter and Patsy! Jim was at work when I was in the shower...he was the first one to arrive! I remember wanting him to call 911! He was on the phone with our midwife and she said don't call them, she was on her way!
You would think after having birthed eight babies before, we could have done this all by ourselves. Determined as I was to have help, I held her in! It wasn't the first time the midwife almost didn't make it! Happy to see her, I pushed her out easily when the midwife arrived. She had a short cord and I could barely hold her until the cord was cut. I remember being overjoyed at the speed of her delivery and thinking, that was easy! She needed a little oxygen, but was fine after that. She looked beautiful. I loved her tiny features. I was so proud! Sometime after the cord was cut, I was encouraged to take my second shower. It wasn't until I held her close enough with no more cord between us that I met her eyes looking into mine. That was when I knew she was different. Her eyes gave it away, but no one else suspected it. She had Down syndrome! Not until the next day when we routinely took her to the pediatrician's office for a newborn check-up, did they know, or at least discover she was in some kind of trouble...
To find out more about our story, please refer to my book, Chasing a Dream Where the Sunflowers Grow. :)
I linked up with Ellen Stumbo's writing prompt: Holding my child for the first time www.ellenstumbo.com/holding-my-child-for-the-first-time/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EllenStumbo+(Ellen+Stumbo)