Kearyn's Story...
Kearyn's Story....Part 1
Kearyn's Story....Part 2
So, I shared with you all how we decided to try again for our fourth child despite losing our son just months before. I also shared what a dark time it was for me as I walked along the pregnancy path. Each day was a battle and each day I just tried to be okay so I could get through to the next day. After nine long months of just existing I joyously knew that it was getting close to the arrival of our baby girl.
On May 30, 2010, which happened to be a Sunday, I began to feel that "feeling" despite my due date not being until June 11th.. If you haven't ever had a baby I don't think there really is a way to describe it. In fact, I really didn't know how to recognize this "feeling" until I had my third child. It is just something you have to experience to know. I knew that I was getting close. Jason suggested that we just stay home from church that day and I said no, it would be okay if we went. At least we would be in town if something did happen. (We live about 30 minutes from the hospital.) Jason gave me a funny look and knew that it was getting close. When he saw me put my hospital bag in the car "just in case" it really heightened his senses.
We went to church and I made it through the service without incident. While back home we continued about our day. I remember thinking that I absolutely had to get my garden planted before she arrived. (Funny how you think of those types of things especially since my garden didn't do worth a darn this year anyway.) So I worked in my garden until right at 9pm that night. The only reason I stopped was because it just got too dark to continue to work. I had no idea how exciting the next 12 hours of my life was going to be.
We headed in and Jason went to bed and I watched movies as I just couldn't fall asleep. About 1:30 or 2:00am the contractions started slow at first like they always do. I decided to jump in the shower to determine whether those suckers were the real deal or not. Sure enough, they didn't go away. Around 2:30am Jason woke up and looked at me as I was quietly timing my contractions. Because I was doing it with my iPhone he could tell exactly how long each contraction was AND how long in between each contraction. (Darn iPhones!) They were 3 minutes apart at that point and at least a minute long. "Andrea," he said in his Jason voice, "don't you think it is time to go in?" .......................................................................................................................................................................................(this is me saying nothing....I know, it rarely happens. In any other circumstance he would have been happy about this, not so much this time though.) Jason just rolled over, got up and started getting the boys ready to go to Grandma's house.
After loading everyone up, taking them to Grandma's, and then heading to the hospital it seemed like it took forever. (Amazing what 3 kids does to you.) I can't tell you exactly what time we got there as I wasn't really paying that close attention to the clock. I remember the nurse giving me the same instructions as all the times before and me answering a thousand questions.
Nurse: "Has your water broke?"
Andrea: "No."
Nurse: "How long have you been timing your contractions?
Andrea: "About an hour and a half or so."
Nurse: "But your sure your water didn't break?"
Andrea: "Yes. I mean, no it hasn't broke."
Finally the nurse checked and with a surprised tone......"Huh? You ARE in labor. You are actually at a 5. Wow! By the way you looked I was going to send you home. I would have never guessed you were in labor."
Andrea: "Okkkaaayyyyyyy........."
(That was just a little dialog to show you how things got started. Don't worry, it gets funnier from there.)
So, I did the whole hot tub thing. (My labors are generally so fast that I have never gotten to do that before. That was pretty neat. We don't have a hot tub at the house so it is kind of funny to me that you have to go to the hospital and actually be in labor to enjoy this little perk.) Then I walked the halls for a bit. (I am telling you that they totally need to re-think the design of the maternity ward. Next time think "circle track" or maybe even an "obstacle course" not "long, straight, boring hall.) Around 5:30am I was pretty tired so I decided to lay down and take a nap. (At this point I was at a 7 and keep in mind my water still hasn't broke. This is typical as this happens with each of my babies.) The nurse asked me if the doctor came in and broke my water if I thought I would have the baby. I said, "Yes, in about 30 minutes." So she kindly went to call the doctor for me.
We waited for the doctor for about an hour and a half and during that time I slept to save up my energy for the final stages of the delivery. The doctor came in and said that the nurses were doing their shift change and it would be just a few minutes. So we waited....and we waited....and we waited. Finally someone came in and let us know that the nurse coming on duty had received a phone call from her husband. He had locked his keys in the house and she had to run home and let him in. (No, I'm not kidding.) So we waited.....and we waited....and we waited. Finally the nurse arrived, the doctor was there and everything was ready to go. He broke my water and said he was going to make some rounds. I told him not to go too far as I would be ready in a few minutes. Sure enough, exactly 30 minutes later I delivered baby girl Gressman. Sure enough, the doctor got there late, wasn't dressed from head to toe in latex yet, and the nurse had to reach over and catch the baby.
All funniness aside, when they placed my baby girl on my chest everything that I had gone through over the past year suddenly melted away. My heart overflowed with joy. She was so beautiful with all of her black hair and her intense eyes. She had the tiniest little cry. My little princess.....
Kearyn Jaedance Gressman was born
May 31, 2010 at 9:00am.
She weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces
and was 18 1/4 inches long.
Within 20 minutes there were over 20 people in our hospital room. That day over 75 people came to see the long awaited for baby Gressman. I had no idea how many people had been praying right along with us for her healthy and safe arrival. I will never forget that day. Not just because it is her birthday but because of all of the people who joined us in the celebration of our little miracle.
Stay tuned for more of Kearyn's story.....
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