Expecting

Twenty-two years ago today I was in very much the same place as my dear daughter finds herself now. In fact James and I spent part of the day walking the halls of Genesee Hospital wondering if our new baby would soon arrive. (Bethany is NOT in the hospital now, but did make a trip there on Saturday evening.) The doctor then decided that my labor was not progressing fast enough to keep me at the hospital. Knowing that the contractions I was experiencing were eventually going to deliver the baby I was carrying, I asked her "How will I know when to come back?" Her answer was not very encouraging. She didn't know either. I went home determined not to return unless the birth was immanent. The day passed and the evening dragged by too. The contractions continued to intensify. I lay in bed timing contractions which didn't want to be spaced evenly. No surprise to me, this was my third baby and the last one had done the same thing. Finally, some time in the middle of the night I lost my mucus plug and we called the hospital. Our two little boys were shuffled sleepily into Grandma's house and put to bed on the couch. When the doctor on call at the hospital first saw me he said "You don't look like you're in hard labor." But when he found I was 5 centimeters dilated he decided maybe I was. We were at the hospital little more than an hour when our beautiful little girl was born. Soon she will deliver her first baby. It seems just "yesterday" that she came into our lives but already she is a tiny bit older than I was when she was born. I am very much looking forward to meeting my first grandchild, kissing that soft baby head, and breathing in that sweet baby smell. It won't be long now... Get doing those jumping jacks, Beth!