Today, I am going to take you back in time to this exact day five years ago. It was Wednesday, October 13th. We were packing our bags and getting ready to go to the hospital the next morning for my scheduled c-section.
I had already called the hospital to verify that I could not fix my hair and could not wear makeup in the morning. I remember the poor nurse that I spoke with… she sounded like she had answered that question a few times in her career.It was a cool evening and we had the house opened up and were enjoying the breeze as we packed. As Aaron and I walked into the kitchen, we noticed our cat Gracie at the back screen door. Now, this is where you will begin to understand that when I say that the craziest things happen to us, I am not making that up.
As we walked closer to the screen door, Gracie started to hiss and arch her back at a stray cat that happened to be standing on the back porch. Aaron stomped his foot to get Gracie to move. Apparently, that was the wrong thing to do. I watched as Gracie turned and grabbed on to Aaron’s bare leg for all she was worth. There was a sudden flurry of activity as Aaron yelled, while jumping up and down and kicking his leg and Gracie howled, hissed and clawed before finally fleeing the room.
I turned to check on Aaron and to my horror, saw blood running down both his legs. My poor husband hobbled over to the couch as I waddled to the bathroom for a towel to staunch the blood flow. I grabbed our first aid supplies, which consisted of a new box of band-aids, a bottle of peroxide and Neosporin. He had claw marks, bite marks and even a tiny hole in his leg. It was horrible. I wound up using the entire box of band-aids and peroxide on his legs.
Now, we look back at that and laugh. Well, I laugh. He remarks about how Gracie is lucky to be alive. He still has the scars to show from the attack and he was the only husband on the maternity floor that had bandages from his ankles to mid-calves.
We did manage to finish packing that night and eventually fell asleep before our big day.
I don’t really remember being nervous on the way to the hospital the next morning. The nerves didn’t come till later. We made it to the hospital and I changed into the lovely gown that accompanies a hospital stay. I climbed onto my bed and they strapped all the necessary equipment to my body to monitor her heartbeat and all the many other things that get monitored on a pregnant woman.
As the nurse began to strap the equipment on, she felt my belly to locate Kiera. She laughed and said, “Oh, honey, this is going to be a big baby! I bet she is eight or nine pounds.”
I laughed and told her that it was just because of the cyst things. I smiled as I explained to her that Dr. Stewart had told me they would grow with the baby. She smiled, shook her head and replied, “We will see.”
A few minutes later, Dr. Stewart popped into my room. He was great as always. He explained what was going to happen and then he left to check on a few other things. My family prayed for Aaron and I and then they went to the waiting room. That’s when I started to get nervous.
Aaron, decked out in scrubs, held my hand and reassured me as we waited for the nurse to take me back. And then, all of a sudden, it was time. They rolled me back into the operating room where I was greeted by two nurses and the anesthesiologist.
They were amazing. I was so nervous by that point. Aaron was not allowed back until they had given me the spinal. If you have never had one before, it’s really surprising how quickly it takes affect. A young nurse cradled me against her chest and rubbed my shoulders as the anesthesiologist gave me the shot. After the shot, they quickly laid me down on the bed and I felt nothing from my armpits down.
Dr. Stewart and Aaron came in the room and the anesthesiologist moved up to my head. He was so nice. I’ll spare you the details of how I lost the contents of my stomach. Aaron sat on a stool by my head as they began the c-section process. I remember hearing Dr. Stewart ask for certain instruments and then… I heard her.
She cried and screamed as they wrapped her in a blanket. I heard the nurse pick up the phone and let someone on the other end know that she had arrived. Aaron and I both smiled and laughed as we heard her continue to scream.
Then the nurse brought her to me and laid her on my chest. I stared in awe at the little baby that lay on my chest and a few tears rolled down my cheeks as I gaped at her. The anesthesiologist snapped our first family photo as she lay there. I finally spoke. “She’s so tiny.” I said in wonder.
The nurse laughed as she leaned in to pick her up. “No. Not really.” I learned later that my 4-week early baby was 8 pounds, 3 ounces and 19.5 inches long. By the way, I did apologize to the nurse who had said that Kiera was going to be a big baby.
I was wheeled back to recovery to sleep off the spinal medicine effects while Aaron followed Kiera to the nursery to take lots of pictures and video. Once I woke up and was able to wiggle my toes for the nurse, which I have to say, is actually a lot harder than you would think, I was taken to my room where they brought my tiny-to-me munchkin in.
They wheeled her in and handed her over to me. She was asleep but I could immediately tell she was every bit perfect. I cradled her close to me and began to check her over. She had the chunkiest cheeks, a beautiful bow mouth and little nose with a tilt at the end. Her fingers were long and she had her Daddy’s toenails. Her hair was dark and thick and I fell even more in love with her than I ever thought possible.
This tiny little being lay in my arms and changed my life forever. I was a Mother. I wasn’t sure that was something that God had planned for me until I had Kiera.
Five years later, I am still in awe of her. She has grown and is such a character. I love to see how she changes from day to day. She is a split of Aaron and I. She has all my good characteristics and all of Aaron’s bad ones. I’m kidding!
God blessed us with an amazing child. She is independent, stubborn, smart, caring, beautiful, talented and just in general… awesome. And I can’t believe that she is going to be five years old.
Tonight as we drove home, Aaron was teasing her about turning five. He said, “You’re not really going to be five!”
She responded, “Yes I am! I am going to be five. The number that’s in my heart, that’s what’s waiting for me.”
Happy early birthday, baby girl. Mama and Daddy love you.
