WARNING: Graphic pregnancy related talk to follow. If you are easily embarrassed about that sort of thing just skip the rest of this post and scroll down to her cute little picture.
I got up that morning and there was a little bit of water coming out where it doesn't normally just flow out of. I used the restroom and took a shower and it was still coming out. I told David I thought my water had broken. (In my defense, I wasn't really sure it had. I thought it would gush out, not trickle). He said, "Wow, really, well, let's call the doctor, I'll call work and tell them I won't be in today..."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold your horses," I instructed. "They are having my going away lunch today and I haven't even had a contraction yet, plus I still have a lot to get organized at work for my replacement. I'm going to go on in to work."
Of course, he thought I was crazy (and rightfully so) but there's no arguing with a full term hormonal pregnant lady, so he let me go on in to work and he went to work as well. I got to work and my dear friend, who also happens to be a nurse and mother of 3 herself, could tell something wasn't quite right with me. She followed me into the hall and cornered me so I told her what was going on. She grabbed me by the shoulders and calmly said, "Kristen, your water has broken, you need to call your doctor and go to the hospital."
I called my doctor, then sheepishly called David and told him to meet me back at home because we had to go to the hospital. (It was only 8am in the morning). I was still in denial for some reason and as we went up to the desk at the entrance I gave them my name and said, "My doctor just wants me to get checked out." The lady behind the desk called back to the nursing desk and said, "Mrs. Hollaway is here and she's in labor." "I DIDN'T SAY THAT!!!" I corrected her.
It was a loooonnnngggg day after we got settled in our room. It all seemed so surreal to me. I couldn't believe in a matter of hours I was going to be meeting my precious little girl face to face. (David and I found out we were having a girl months before, but decided to wait and let our friends and family be surprised. At first we weren't going to find out what we were having, but we had our sonogram tech write it down on a slip of paper and put it in an envelope in case we wanted to know later. "Later" was all of about an hour. We looked as soon as we got home that day.)
That night, Reese made her way into the world as a tiny 6lb 6oz bundle. While the nurse was assessing her my doctor said "Wow, you had a velamentous cord insertion", and called all the other medical staff in the room over to look at the spot where the umbilical cord connected to the placenta. I had no idea what that was and actually put it in the back of my mind until my sister, who is a labor and delivery room nurse, came to visit. David mentioned it to her and she had the same reaction as the doctor saying, "Wow...I've only seen one other of those in my 9 years as a nurse." So, of course, when I got home, I looked it up on the internet and after reading about it, I realized what an even bigger miracle had happened that day.
As we headed home from the hospital, David was driving like a little old man and was barely going 50 down the freeway as well as being extra cautious with merging, turning, etc. He said it was because of the new little bundle we were carrying in the backseat. "She's been with us the past 9 months, inside of me, and you've never driven like this before," I reminded him. "I know, but I didn't actually see her before so it was different," he explained.
We talked about how for the first time, it really hit home about how much God must truly love us, to be able to sacrifice His only child for our sins. David and I were so amazed that we had only had our little girl for 3 days and our love for her was already indescribable.
Parenthood is an exhausting, trying, 24/7 job but we wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. The rewards of eskimo kisses, watching your little girls dress up in your clothes, and feeling tiny little hands clasped around your neck in a good night hug far outweigh any other experience this world has to offer.
Happy Birthday Sweetie!
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