Sunday morning, we received a text from my oldest daughter (step daughter, but I claim her as mine) Moriah. She was letting us know that she was back in the emergency room. Sadly, it wasn’t a surprise. She was expecting her first baby and had an extremely rough pregnancy with lots of sickness. This time was no different. She was unable to keep food, water and medicine down.
After church, we made our way to the hospital to check on her and her husband, Clay. While we were visiting with her, the nurse came in to let us know that the doctor had decided since she was 38 weeks that come Monday morning, he would induce labor. And so the phone calls and planning began.
Kiera has been so ecstatic to become an aunt. As we stood in the room discussing the upcoming birth of baby Carson, Kiera tugged my pant leg and motioned for me to lean in close to her. She whispered in my ear, “Mommy, I will let you be an aunt with me.”
I smiled at my sweet little girl and said, “Thank you, baby, but Mommy is going to be a grandma.” You should all be proud of me. I managed to tell her that without stuttering or stumbling over the “G” word. Don’t take that wrong. I am excited to be a grandma. It’s just strange. I know. I’ve had almost nine months to adjust. I’m working on it.As the day progressed, Kiera became a little more worried about her Sissy. We made another trip to the hospital to visit. She didn’t hesitate before climbing on the bed with Sissy and laying her head on Moriah’s belly to try and listen for Carson’s heart beat.
That night, I climbed in bed with Kiera to read her bedtime stories. I turned the light out and begin to say the prayer. As I began to pray, I felt a hand tap my face. I ignored the tapping and continued to pray. It was something similar to this, “…and thank you God for friends and family *tap, tap, tap * thank you for loving us, *tap, tap, tap* thank you for… *tap, tap, tap* “What is it, Kiera?!”
“Don’t forget to ask God to let me know when they are going to cut Carson out so I don’t miss it.” She said.
“Umm…Ok…” I quickly finished our prayer, knowing that I was in for an interesting bedtime.
There was a brief silence and then… “How does the doctor get him out?”
I internally face palmed and wondered why it seemed on my nights to put Kiera to bed we have to contemplate life’s mysteries. Aaron never gets these kind of questions! Ok. That’s not fair. I do my fair share of snickering as he answers weird and random questions in the car. Back to her question. I considered my options and went with the “play dumb” option.
“How does the doctor get what out?” I asked.
“How does the doctor get the baby out?” She asked.
Well, there went the “play dumb” plan. I laid there weighing my options. I like to be honest with my child. She is extremely smart and I want her to have knowledge. At the same time, I do not want to have the conversation about babies and *whispers* vaginas. I could just imagine the conversations at daycare the next day. No thank you.
“Does he cut him out?”
Oh thank goodness! She remembered our conversations about the doctor cutting her out of my tummy. I almost jumped for joy. Almost.
I must have paused too long for her. “He does, doesn’t he? He cuts him out!” She stated emphatically.
“Yes.” I replied. “He cuts them out.”
“I knew it.” She said. “I knew he cuts them out.”
I’ll explain one day. Thankfully, from there the questions were a little easier. They ranged from questions like, “Are they going to give him a ducky to play with?” to statements such as, “I hope Sissy gives him a bath and changes his diaper.” I think she was worried he would come out dirty and needing a diaper change.
She has been an amazing and protective child today while we waited for Carson to make his appearance. She had several offers to go to houses to play. Not once did she say yes. She wanted to stay and see Sissy and wait for baby Carson.
After a couple of trips to the cafeteria and many rides on the elevators, Carson made his appearance. Kiera beamed as she watched him through the nursery window. After a few moments of watching, she was ready to see Sissy again.
We waited until Sissy had a few moments to rest before we went in to see her. Clay wheeled baby Carson in the room and handed him to Moriah. It was awesome to watch the tenderness that passed between the new Daddy and Mommy. As I paused to watch them, Kiera clambered up the bed and peeked at Carson wrapped in the blanket. Her face lit up with so much joy as she examined the tiny baby in front of her.
Tomorrow, we will go back and she will get to hold her new baby nephew. I can’t wait to take those pictures. Tonight, as I type this, Aaron is putting Kiera to bed. She’s had a big day waiting for Carson to get here. Maybe she has had plenty of time to come up with a whole new round of questions.
Now, here is where I ask all of you for help. This is my first grandbaby. I need a grandma name! In the words of Kiera, “Ready? Steady… GO!”
