Two beautiful babies. Two totally different births. One boy. One girl. One date: February 3rd
On February 3, 1972, my first child was born. My due date was the 10th, but he just didn’t want to wait that long. I woke up at 4am, with a really strong urge to pee. In fact, I do believe that I left a trail on the way to the bathroom!! Once I got there, I just couldn’t stop!! Every time I tried to stand up–it just kept on coming. Finally it dawned on me!! Hmmm, perhaps my water broke?! Yikes!!
I had no pain, I just couldn’t stand up without leaking!! I grabbed a towel and went back into the bedroom to wake the dad! “John, wake up—I think my water just broke!!!” John said: ”Wake me up, when you know for sure”, and he rolled over and fell back asleep!! After I got over the shock of what he had just said, I woke him again, and finally convinced him that it was time to call the doctor. We were told to go right to the hospital. Back in those days, when the water broke, that was the thing to do. So, away we went!
It started out all so easy. I was having my first child, and I was soooo excited! I was in the hospital for hours before the pain actually started, and when it did, it really wasn’t that bad! But as the day went on, the pain got worse. I remember that I was all for the whole “natural child birth” thing, but I think I may have asked for the drugs toward the end. But my mind is a bit foggy about whether or not I ever got them. After all, that was many years ago!! What I do remember is the joy I felt when the doctor said: “It’s a boy”!!! Forget the pain. When the doctor said those 3 magic words, I felt like the luckiest woman in the entire world. I had a beautiful 8lb 8oz baby boy!! My life was complete!!
At the time, I thought that child birth was much worse than I ever could have expected. the pain was horrible, but I did it! Little did I know that Kevin’s labor and birth would be a piece of cake, compared to the other 2 deliveries!! Also, I thought that 8lb. 8oz. was a huge baby!! It turned out that my (now) 6′5″ son was the smallest baby I had!! Go figure!! Kevin. I loved you the moment I saw you, and every day since. You have brought such joy to my life, and I still consider myself the luckiest mom ever.
Before I had gotten el-prego with Angela, I had 3 miscarriages. It was a very difficult time in our lives, but that made this pregnancy so much more wonderful. Needless to say I was thrilled to be having this baby!
On February 3, 1983 my last child was born. I really don’t remember my exact due date, since my babies never seemed to pay much attention to that number anyway. Unfortunately, as the time approached, my doctor warned me that my blood pressure was too high. She told me to rest more and not to lift anything heavy. The problem was that she never really shared with me the danger I would be in if I didn’t listen. Since Sara was just 4, my life involved lots of running around and lifting. I tried to rest, if Sara did, but that was the best I could do!
On Feb 1st I went to bed as usual. But in the middle of the night, I woke up with weird pains. They weren’t labor pains, but the next morning I felt the need to call the doctor’s office to describe what I was feeling. I was told to meet the doc at the hospital, since she would be there anyway, and she would examine me.
Apparently my BP was out of control. She immediately admitted me. I was attached to monitoring machines, drug drips, and blood pressure gadgets. It was time to have a baby!! The pains came fast, frequent and never ending!! I continued the hard labor through the entire day. It was just before midnight that I was finally taken to the delivery room. The doctor was on the verge of doing a C-section, since they knew things could not go on any longer with out danger to me.
But, there was one nurse in the delivery room that coached me through. She kept telling me that I could do it!! And with her help, I got it together and out came our beautiful miracle daughter. It was now Feb. 3rd. Apparently she was waiting so she could share her birthday with her big bro! I was so thrilled to finally meet my baby girl. Angela Rose weighed 8lbs. 15oz. She was officially my biggest baby! I held her in my arms, smiling down at her beautiful perfect face.
But the drama continued. There was a problem. There is this after-birth thing that is supposed to happen after the birth!! But it just didn’t seem to be happening fast enough. My baby girl was taken from me. Jerry was escorted out of the room, and told that surgery would have to be preformed. A folding chair was set outside the operating room for him, and he was handed his daughter. There they waited until the doc was through with me. When I finally woke up, I was in the Intensive Care Unit, which is where I spent the next couple of days.
At the time, I never really knew how close to death I really was. In fact, in my mind, death was never even considered! I later realized how close it really was! From the time I arrived at the hospital, on the morning of Feb 2nd, my doctor only left my side for a short time, to deliver another baby. After I thought about it—I guess that was pretty unusual!! Usually the doc appears just in time to catch the baby!!
I had developed Pre-Eclampsia, which apparently is a very serious thing. It was not until my 6 week check-up, that the nurse told me how fearful the doctor was of loosing me. Hmmmm, and I just thought I was having a bad day! Thank you God, for keeping me safe.
Angela. You will always be my baby girl. I loved you from the moment you were conceived. Even though you were my most challenging birth, you have proven to be worth every uncomfortable moment, and I love you so much, my BFF!!
Three wonderful children and only 2 birth dates to remember!! You see, remembering dates is not my strong suit, so 2 for 1 is a good thing! I’m just sayin’
