Kelsey's Birth Day

It is hard for me to believe that Kelsey arrived into this world three years ago today. She did arrive two weeks early, so we were a bit surprised, but when I think about her birth day, it really is proof to me that God cares about the little details.

Prior to our April 2008 nuptials, my baby fever was at an all-time low. And understandably so, being a (legally) single mother and all. Shortly after Jake and I got married, it started to kick in. But I said I didn’t want another child until Averey was potty-trained. Lo and behold, she was potty-trained within a weekend in mid-June. Baby fever was in high gear. Jake was content to wait awhile before we thought about having another child, but somehow my powers of persuasion (and the fact that I wanted one more child before I would turn 30 on May 28, 2009) influenced his decision to say that I didn’t have to fill my birth control prescription anymore that August. His adoption of Averey would be finalized at the end of that month, so perhaps in knowing that she would be his (legal) child was an influence likewise. Plus, it could take awhile before I got pregnant. In my mind, I figured since it didn’t take longer than 6 months to get pregnant with Averey when I was married to someone who didn’t really care about me, it would figure that it would take a long time (or not happen at all) for me to get pregnant to my nice husband.

One night in September, I went to Target with Averey to pick up a few things. Among those items was a pregnancy test… just in case. I would need it eventually, right? After I arrived home, I asked Jake if he could get Averey in her pajamas, saying I urgently needed to go to the bathroom. I doubted he would think twice about questioning that excuse. I unwrapped a pregnancy test, whispering to myself how ridiculous it was for me to be doing this as I hadn’t even missed my period. I placed it on the counter and removed my contact lenses. When I put my glasses on and picked up the test, my heart skipped a beat when there were two definite pink lines. By this point, Jake seemed a little concerned over my time in the bathroom and knocked on the door.

“What’s going on?”

“Guess what?” I asked him as he entered.

“What?”

“I’m pregnant,” I blurted out, flashing the evidence in front of face. (I imagined his response: he would get an excited look upon his face and wrap me in a hug.)

His real response? “Why didn’t you tell me you were taking a test?”

Okay, so much for my little dream response. Poof!

As the night wore on and we talked in bed, I knew he was happy, but I think both of us were in shock. I honestly had no intuition that I was even pregnant. I knew it was a possibility, and I figured that if I took a test this month and it was negative, I’d still have two more for later. But to a woman that could possibly be pregnant, having a pregnancy test in the house and not taking it is like chocolate in the house and not eating it.

Well, at least that’s how it was for me.

The next day I was on the phone to the OB-GYN’s office. Since I didn’t really have any recommendations from anyone, nor were Jake and I revealing our news for awhile, I called one of the bigger groups in town. It just so happened that during the summer, I saw an ad welcoming an OB-GYN back to the area; it just so happened this was the exact same doctor that delivered Averey in Harrisburg. I joked to Jake that if we got pregnant, we could have the same doctor deliver the next child. What I didn’t realize is that I would have to see all the doctors in the practice, so the chance of her delivering my second child seemed unlikely.

At eight weeks of pregnancy, we had our first check-up, first ultrasound, and then we could start spreading the news. My pregnancy went pretty well, much like my first one. I was even going to be a bridesmaid in one of my best friend’s weddings nearly two weeks before my due date. When Erin first asked me, I wasn’t pregnant. When I told her the news and my due date, she seemed a little unsure that I would be able to perform my bridesmaid duties in that state (her mom is an OB nurse, so I’m sure she was well aware that I might not make it through the wedding, let alone to the wedding) and let me know that if I didn’t feel I could do it that I could still be a part of the wedding in another way. I told her I’d wait and see what happened at the 20-week ultrasound, and we’d go from there.

Twenty weeks approached quickly, and Baby G (as we referred to our unborn child) appeared to be healthy. We also decided not to find out the gender, much to everyone’s dismay. While I had known that Averey was a girl (and am glad I knew her gender due to the situation I was in), I had always imagined giving birth and the doctor announcing, “It’s a…!” Jake was happy not to know also, as we both agreed there are few good surprises in life, and we could wait until Baby G was born to know. So I told Erin I still wanted to be a bridesmaid. After all, she was in (both of) my wedding(s)!

Aside from sciatic pain, a bout of bronchitis, failing my 28-week glucose test, and having people tell me just how huge I was (“You look like you’re about to pop!” “Oh really? I still have 20 weeks to go, thankyouverymuch!”), I still enjoyed being pregnant as much as I did with Averey. When I had to do the 3-hour glucose test, I passed with flying colors, and eventually my weeks started to coincide with how big I was actually supposed to be.

On May 23, 2009, I was perhaps the most pregnant bridesmaid EVER. While my feet were starting to swell, I was thrilled to be a part of Erin’s special day. I didn’t let being hugely pregnant get in the way of having a great time at her reception, which meant I danced. A lot. I told people I was going to dance this baby out since at my 37 week check-up I was not dilated one little bit.

We arrived home on Sunday afternoon, and since the following day was Memorial Day, we had plans to get lots done around the house. We went out to eat, but I didn’t have much of an appetite. Afterwards, we headed to Target. I opened my big mouth to Jake and said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if we had the baby on Memorial Day because I was born on Memorial Day, but we wouldn’t have the same birthday?” He didn’t seem to think it was the coolest idea. I also called my parents—on their cell phones, on their home phone, and no one picked up. When they called back a little while later, I said, “This is only a test, but if this had been the actual delivery of Baby G, you would have missed it.”

We went to bed that night around 11, super tired and geared up for the next day. At about 2:45 Monday morning, a little leak woke me up. I just figured it was typical pregnancy yuck (and many of you will know exactly what I’m talking about), so I went to the bathroom, added some feminine protection, and went back to bed. A few minutes later, I had a contraction. I whispered, “Ow ow,” and went back to the bathroom. I sat on the toilet, leaking, but not actually peeing. Jake came in and asked if everything was okay. I said, “I think my water broke, but I’ll get back to you on that.” I was afraid to get off the toilet, so I had him hand me a pad and with much trepidation, went back to our room. We called the doctor, and since I had tested positive for group B strep, I was to come in and get started on antibiotics if my membranes had ruptured. Jake tried calling his parents, who were at their campground about 30 minutes away. They didn’t answer right away, but thankfully, they soon picked up and were headed to our house.

We arrived at the hospital a little before 4 a.m. I was fine heading up to the 4^th floor on my feet, but some crazed orderly practically shoved me in a wheelchair. I ended up in the LDR room with the big tub that we had seen on our tour of the hospital. I got all set up in the room while Jake called my parents, informing them that it was NOT a test, and Baby G was on the way. I don’t remember how far dilated I was, but the doctor that saw me was the ONLY doctor in the practice I hadn’t seen. However, she informed me that Dr. Patel would be in during the next couple of hours. Dr. Patel was the one who delivered Averey—and she really would be delivering my second child! Unreal!

After bit, I was told I could walk the halls. I was a little grossed out by the idea since I was leaking fluid, but they gave me plenty of goodies to ensure I wouldn’t leak on the floor. We did so many laps that morning, but it did not progress my labor enough, so they turned on the Pitocin, much to my dismay. At first, the contractions didn’t feel that much worse, but as they kicked it up a notch, and another notch, and another notch, I was squeezing Jake’s hand pretty darn hard. With the breathing and squeezing, I figured I could make it without the epidural. But when I was in enough pain to not want Averey to see me that way (and not want our parents in the room anymore), I decided I needed that epidural.

Around 12:30 (and nearly 10 hours into labor), I finally felt some relief. It was short-lived though, as my blood pressure plummeted just like it did when I had the epidural with Averey. The baby’s heart rate dropped, just like Averey’s did. With Averey, they were able to stabilize everything with ephedrine and oxygen. Unfortunately, this time, nothing worked. I felt extremely exhausted and fearful to close my eyes. They even said that my diastolic pressure was down to 33. Yikes! The only solution was to turn off the epidural. What a waste.

By 2 p.m., I felt the urge to push. Jake preferred I waited until the Dr. Patel came in the room. And then it was lights and action (no cameras involved)! Unlike my previous birth experience, I could feel EVERYTHING this time. I just hoped that our families could not hear me down the hall in the waiting room! Fortunately, the pain was great motivation to push, and the baby was out in less than 10 minutes (or maybe less than that—I wasn’t watching the clock). Dr. Patel told Jake to call it, and he looked at me with a small smile and said, “It’s a girl.” The baby whose gender that we hadn’t known, and the name we had kept secret (Kelsey Kaylen) was wailing in front of us. It was just how I imagined giving birth, with my dear husband next to me. Although he’ll never admit it, I know there was some emotion in his voice and eyes.

Jake went to announce Kelsey’s birth to our families and brought Averey back to the room to meet her sister. Her sister! Jake and I both have brothers, so this was all new for us. I couldn’t believe I was the mom of two sweet girls. I thought for sure that Averey would be the bossy big sister of a little brother, just like I was. Jake was pretty convinced all along that we were having a girl. So much for my motherly instinct!

So Kelsey’s entrance in the world ended up being a pretty awesome day for her to be born. We named her Kelsey (because we liked it), and her middle name Kaylen is a combination of Jake’s mom’s middle name KAYe, and my mom’s middle name HeLEN . She was born exactly two weeks prior to her June 8^th due date, which meant I had another child before I turned 30. She was born on Memorial Day, just like I was. She was born on Jake’s late grandfather’s birthday, and we live in the house that he built. She was also born on the same day that my great-grandmother passed away at age 99 in 2007. I also found out I was pregnant with Averey on May 25, 2005. Then the fact that Dr. Patel delivered Kelsey here in State College, while she had delivered Averey in Harrisburg. What were the chances?

Kelsey was truly meant for May 25, 2009. She surprised us for sure, but God’s plan for her to arrive into the world on a day that ended up having so much meaning in both of our families proved to us that it was more than just coincidence.