Expecting Chapter 55

Richard said that since I wasn’t working, we needed to have more money coming in, especially since we were expecting a baby.

Richard got a job working some evenings at 7-11. Even though I was sick, I still made sure to get up with Richard in the mornings, make his lunch, and see him off to work.

Richard was excited about becoming a dad. On some of the evenings that he wasn’t working, he did what he could to help me around the house. He has been so good to me. It made me feel so hopeful for our future together.

During this time, Richard and I were called to be the CTR 6 teachers in our ward. Even though it wasn’t easy, I did what I could to prepare the lesson each week and go to church.

As the baby grew, I had less and less room and would wake up in a lot of pain in the middle of the night. But I did what I could to hold still so that I wouldn’t wake up Richard.

Tuesday, July 16, 1985

I went to my doctor’s appointment today. The doctor says even though I am not feeling well, the baby is growing as he or she should, and everything looks good.

Richard’s mom wanted to host a baby shower for me, but after what happened at my wedding shower, I was relieved I could let her know that a lady from my ward was already planning one for me.

The shower was scheduled for this evening at our house. Richard took the evening off from work so he could help me clean the house and have everything ready for the baby shower.

I was so pleasantly surprised to see how many people showed up for my shower. There must have been at least 26 ladies. I feel so loved and grateful for all the presents I received! Now all I needed was the baby to arrive.

Tuesday, July 30, 1985

The baby’s due date is August 5th. I keep getting pain as if the baby is about to come, but then the pain goes away again.

I had my weekly doctor’s appointment. The doctor said the pain is normal and that it’s just my body getting ready for the baby to come, and that I could expect the baby to come any day now. He also told me that when the contractions are 5 minutes apart, to call the hospital to let them know I was on the way.

Sunday, August 4, 1985

I didn’t sleep very well last night. The contractions start, and just as I can start to time them, they go away again. I thought for sure the baby was coming today! The baby’s due date is tomorrow. I sure hope he or she arrives soon! Since I didn’t feel well, Richard prepared the lesson for our class at church while I stayed home and rested.

Monday, August 5, 1985

It was another rough day, with contractions that didn’t seem to progress. At 9:00 pm. I was so ready for the baby to come! Richard was at work, and Beth was in Canada visiting her dad, so I asked Mom if she would go for a walk with me to see if it would start my labor. She was more than happy to, since she seemed excited for me to go into labor.

We walked for an hour and a half. As we were walking, I could feel the baby drop. But it didn’t get the labor started. By the time we got home, it was 10:30 pm. I waited up for Richard to come home from his second job. At 11:00 pm he was home again, and we were able to go to bed. Even though I was miserable from the pregnancy, I was glad to be able to get some rest.

Tuesday, August 6, 1985

I am still having contractions, but nothing consistent. A couple of kids from my CTR 6 class came over, and we looked at some of the books that I have bought to read to my baby. They are twins and such sweet girls. They help distract me from the pain.

Wednesday, August 7, 1985

The baby is kicking so hard. It definitely seems like it wants to come so that he or she can finally stretch their legs!

Thursday, August 8, 1985

I am so tired and uncomfortable. Still, no signs of the baby coming.

Friday, August 9, 1985

I’ve been having contractions all night, but still nothing consistent. I can’t get proper sleep because I am so miserable and uncomfortable.

Finally, tonight at 9:00-10:00 pm the contractions were 5 minutes apart. Off we went to the hospital. Mom insisted she came too. When we arrived at the hospital, they were swamped. They checked my stomach and inside me. Then the doctor told me that, since it was my first baby, I still had plenty of time before it arrived.

The doctor gave me a sleeping pill. He told me to go home, take the pill, get a good night’s rest, and then come back in the morning. I couldn’t believe it! I did as I was told. As I got up from the hospital bed, it was as if something snapped inside me. I was in more pain than before.

I asked Richard to help me go to the bathroom, hoping that would relieve some of the pain. But it didn’t help. I felt as if I was going to die on the way home. I could feel every bump in the road! I couldn’t stop crying.

When we were halfway home, Richard stopped at a gas station and called the hospital to let them know I was in a lot of pain and that we needed to come back. The doctor assured him that we just needed to go home and get a good night’s rest. Then he told Richard to tell me the key was just to relax, go to sleep, and come back in the morning.

When we got home, Richard helped me into my pajamas, then gave me the sleeping pill. I was in more pain than ever. I honestly thought I was going to die! I felt so much pressure, it was as if my insides were going to burst open at any minute! Richard then gave me a blessing. It did nothing! I tried to lie down and relax, hoping to fall asleep. But I was in too much pain. My body started to shake. No matter how hard I tried, I could not control the shaking.

Richard called the hospital to let them know I was shaking uncontrollably. The doctor said he should bring me back in.

By now mom had gone to bed. Before we left, we let her know we were heading back to the hospital and said we would call her if there was any progress with the baby. The ride back to the hospital was worse than the ride coming home. I thought for sure I was going to die.

By the time we got back to the hospital, it was 2:00 am. The doctor examined me and said I was ready to give birth. He then broke my water. By now, I was in hard labor. I was still shaking uncontrollably. Richard kept trying to get me to breathe as we had learned in the classes leading up to the birth. But there was no breathing as we were taught. I tried, but felt I was lucky if I didn’t die.

I wanted to go naturally, but the doctor said that my body was unable to relax to let the baby out. I was so tired. I had hoped to go natural, but knew at this point it wasn’t possible, so I agreed to having an epidural. The doctor gave me the epidural at 4:00 am. It took another 30 minutes to work.

Once the epidural kicked in, my body was finally able to stop shaking. But there were still no signs of the baby wanting to come.

Richard called his mom, dad, and my mom to let them know we were having the baby. Mom didn’t have a car, so she called her home teacher to give her a ride to the hospital. Richard’s mom and my mom were allowed in the room where I was to give birth. The home teacher and Richard’s dad were told to wait outside. Which I was so grateful for! I wished no one would have been allowed in except Richard.

I was in labor all night. When it was about 9:00 am, the doctor told me the baby had the cord around its neck. The doctor then cut the cord and told me to push again. I was in mid-push when the doctor yelled, “Wait!” The cord was wrapped around the neck two times. The doctor had to cut the cord a second time. There was a lot of tension in the room because they could see that the baby was dark purple and seemed lifeless.

The doctor knew he had to act quickly, so he got some tongs and pulled the baby out. When he finally came out, there was dead silence. It was a boy. Jared had come into the world at 9:37 am. He was dark purple and lifeless. My mom stood there screaming, “He’s dead! He’s dead!” over and over again!

The doctor held him upside down as he proceeded to hit his bottom. I thought for sure the baby had passed away, and it didn’t help that my mom was standing there screaming hysterically.

Then, finally, after some tense moments, Jared let out a faint cry. There was a sigh of relief in the room. The doctor put him on my stomach. I said, “Hi Jared, so it was you inside my stomach this whole time!’ Jared tried hard to open his eyes to see who was talking to him. When he was finally able to open his eyes, he looked right at me.

Then Richard said, “I am over here! This is Dad!” Jared turned his head to see who was talking. Everyone looked on in amazement!

I am grateful that both Jared and I are alive. I am sure if I had given birth before the epidural had been invented, we would not have made it.