I Have Joined That Special Club!

The Grandmother’s Club

I know I left everyone hanging on that last post. And I heard from a few people wondering if I had become a grandmother yet.  Well, the answer is obvious from the title, I am now a grandmother!

I told my best friend Donna, and she sent me an e-card welcoming me to the special club known as "The Grandmothers’ Club". After initial hesitation, and much speculation, I happily accepted.

Continuing my daughter’s labor story, she had a rough time of it. The potocin never worked. They broke her water which caused her to go into labor but she couldn’t dialate past 4 centimeters.

She asked for an epidural but the doctor botched it up and gave her way too much. Her blood pressure bottomed out and we almost lost her there! Really scary! They got it up and at least the botched epidural knocked her out and allowed her to sleep for about 3 hours. She needed the rest since she ended up being in labor a total of 36 hours!

Her doctor told us he would go ahead and do a c-section if she didn’t start dialating soon, but then he went off duty and a young doctor who didn’t look to be out of high school, came on duty. I didn’t like him at all. He had this total arrogant and uncaring attitude about him. He said he would wait til the next day (even though it had  been 24 hours since her water had been broken) and see if she progressed.

At this point I totally lost it. I’m normally very laid back but the lack of sleep and seeing my daughter in pain for so long, brought out the mother bear in me. I told him that I was holding him personally responsible if something happened to April or the baby. I also told him it was cruel to make her go 3 days without food and  water (she did have an IV but was still thirsty).Did he really think she would have enough strength to push the baby out after 3 days of  this?

Anyway, he left and came back 15 minutes later with a different attitude and decided that maybe a c-section was the best way to go. Turns out it was the only way she would have delivered the baby. The baby’s head was in the wrong position and with every contraction, the baby was knocking her head against Apri’s pelvic bone. Poor little thing had bruises all over her head!

Here’s April and her sister Shannon getting ready for the C-section

Here’s little Maylynn Hope, born at 8:44pm on August 16, 2009. She was 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 20 3/4 inches long. Isn’t  she beautiful???

Here’s me holding my new granddaughter for the first time!

One of our dogs, Roxy thinks she’s the baby’s mother. She whines if the baby cries. She wants to "supervize" everything we do for the baby. Here she is supervising April changing Maylynn’s diaper.

Reflections of a soon to be Grandmother

It’s 4 a.m. and I’m watching my 2 baby girls sleep. Mind you my 2 babies are in their 20’s. But they are still my babies, none the less.

My middle child, April is a week over due in her pregnancy. So the doctor wanted to induce her. She was supposed to come in Friday night, have a drug inserted that would soften her cervix, sleep all night and then in the morning she would be given potocin to induce labor.

Unfortunately, the maternity ward was packed Friday night so they told us to go home and they would call when a bed was available. They did call about 10 Saturday morning so we went to the hospital at 11am, April had the drug inserted. At midnight, they took the drug out and at 1 a.m., Sunday they gave her potocin.

So far, the potocin hasn’t done much. April is sleeping, Shannon her sister, is sleeping in the recliner/sleeper. And I’m sitting in the rocker watching both my girls sleep and marveling at how innocent they look, like little angels when they sleep. Just like they did as babies.

And, I’m remembering my own deliveries with them and their younger brother. How soon they grow up.

If I could give April any advice about becoming a new mother, it would be to cherish every moment. Even the difficult ones. I remember at times, I would get so frustrated that I would just wish they were at a different age. I was sure that an older age would be much easier to deal with.

Looking back, I now see that every age has it’s own challenges. Each age also is so very special. Treasure it. Imbed the memories in your mind. Embrace everything about it. It goes by so fast.

I know there are times as a young mother that you wonder if you will ever sleep again. Or ever have any semblance of a life of your own back. You will. But you will never get those sweet, little innocent kisses back. Or the cute little baby giggles. I guess that’s what grandchildren are for. To soften the blow of losing your own children to adulthood.

Still, no matter how old they get, and despite the fact that they tower over me now, they will always be my babies.