Just Hang On: 20 Years ago....

It doesn't seem possible that 20 years ago, my first child was born, but it's true. There she is. So tiny and perfect. This is the story of her birth, mostly for her.

I woke up the day she would come in to world very tired. The night before, I attended my baby shower, and I felt good, but not quite right. I slept in later than usual and when I woke up, it was almost lunch time. I thought it because of all the activity the night before. I was excited about the gifts for the baby, and anxious to unpack them.

Jeff and I lived in a condo in Virginia Beach, on the second floor. He went to work that day, and I decided to eat something before I braved the stairs to unload the car. I made a tuna sandwich. Isn't it strange to remember that?  Later, I thought that a tuna sandwich was the last thing I ate before I became a mom. Irrelevant, but still, that's what happened :)

After lunch, I drove my car to the dumpster at our complex so I could throw the boxes away. It was the middle of May, and beautiful outside. Hannah wasn't due until the end of June, so it didn't occur to me that she could be born that day.   You can imagine my surprise when I leaned over to pick up a small box out of the back seat and my water broke. I was stunned and looked up at a man throwing his trash away. I told him my water broke, and he ran. Seriously. LOL!

I went back to the house and called my doctor, who told me to come to the hospital. Jeff and I had just started Lamaze classes and knew that labor could be a while when water breaks first. I called him at the radio station to let him know what was going on. I didn't want to drive myself the 35 minutes to the hospital. Jeff couldn't leave until someone else got there, and I thought I was fine for a little while. It should have been about an hour before he got home.

I called my mom and family. Jeff's mom was actually driving in that day, and we had no way to get a hold of her. We changed our answering machine message to let her know we were at the hospital, and that's how several people found out I was in labor. I wish we could have saved that recording.

Jeff seemed to take forever to come home. It was well over the hour I was expecting. I began having contractions, and it finally occurred to me that I was six weeks early. I started getting scared being at home alone. Finally, he came up the stairs, and I was relieved, until I saw that he was holding a Taco Bell bag in his hand. He actually went through the drive thru on the way home to get me. If you know my husband, this makes perfect sense. "What? You said we'd probably have hours before the baby comes!" Turkey.

Anyway, we finally made it to the hospital and family began showing up. We all hung out in my hospital room and waited for baby. The first sign of trouble came when I tried to move from my left side. I'd been laying that way for a few hours because that's the best position for blood flow to the baby. When they said I could turn over, I'd just gotten comfortable before a few nurses came running in to tell me to move back over.  Little Hannah didn't like being on that side.

I was having mild contractions, but nothing major. The doctor came in and explained that with even mild contractions her heart rate was dropping. They decided to do a c-section at that point.

The epidural wasn't very effective, so I could feel a whole lot more than I should have been able to. My heart rate was high, and I thought I might be dying. I wasn't, but it wasn't pleasant. Hannah came screaming in to the world at 7:25pm, exactly 7 hours after my water broke. She was a 4lb 10oz, 17" little pixie baby. Tiny, but perfect in every way. I fell in love.

She stayed in the hospital 10 days, mostly just to learn to maintain her own body temperature. We brought our tiny daughter home, and life began.

Hannah, I have loved the 20 years I've had with you. Even when it's been a challenge it's been a privilege. You're a great sister, daughter, and friend. I still hope, pray, love, and dream for you the way I did when I held you for the first time. I'm as excited about seeing your life unfold now as I was then. I pray you continue to seek the Lord with your whole heart, and watch HIS plans for you prosper.

The first 18 years of Hannah from her graduation video: