Kate's due date was on April 21st, two weeks before our move on May 5th! While I preferred not to be induced, I wanted it as an option since it was hard to plan when my mom should fly out to come help, and the move made me want to get her here as soon as possible. My doctor told me early on that he would induce me anytime after 39 weeks but knowing how David's birth went, I was mentally prepared for the doctor to say that he wouldn't induce me when the time actually came. (With David, they wouldn't induce me the day we had planned because I wasn't dilated or effaced enough.) So it didn't surprise me at my 39 week appointment when they couldn't strip my membranes and said that she couldn't give me the go ahead to be induced on my due date (Friday, April 21st). My doctor told me to come back on Monday and she would check me again to see if I could be induced because she knew that I was moving and that we needed to get her here as soon as possible!
After my appointment, I happened to pack up a box of journals and came across a journal entry from January 30th, 2014 when I was pregnant with David and it made me smile.
"After my doctor appointment on Tuesday, I found out that I am not dilated at all and that I can't be induced Friday. My cervix was so closed that my doctor wouldn't even strip my membranes! I have not been able to stop stressing out about it. My mom is coming tonight and I'm afraid that the baby won't come by the time she leaves! Last night, I couldn't fall back to sleep after 4:30 in the morning because I was so stressed and then I realized that my life in this regard has become unmanageable!"
And then I wrote down some quotes from one of my favorite books:
"Don't be afraid of tomorrow; for God is already there."
"Faith is not knowing what the future holds, but knowing who holds the future."
"Gratitude helps us stop trying to control outcomes."
"By placing ourselves in the care of God, we put ourselves in much more capable hands."
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
That same day that I wrote that journal entry, I went into labor and had David the next morning :)
Reading that journal entry gave me a lot of peace knowing that things would work out regardless of when my baby would be born and reminded me that stressing out about it wouldn't change the outcome. Honestly, Kate's birth, our move 14 days later, and everything after that couldn't have gone any smoother considering the circumstances and I'd like to think that in the last three-and-a-half years I've gotten a little better at learning to let go and surrender my life to God. His plan is always better than my plan anyway :)
We went to my doctor appointment on Monday and my body still wasn't ready to be induced. My mom flew in late the next evening. Wednesday the 19th, was my mom's birthday and we went to another doctor's appointment to see if they would induce me, and I was shocked to learn that they would! We could go in first thing the next morning to have the baby, so on my mom's birthday, we got to play and pack all day long :) We got a lot of packing done that day and that night, we went out to dinner for my mom's birthday. We went to a hibachi grill and it was so fun and funny! My mom partied hard on her birthday evening :) Jack and David didn't know that the fire on the grill was normal, so when they saw fire for the first time, David buried into Spencer's chest and Jack dropped to the ground because stopping, dropping, and rolling is what you are supposed to do when there's a fire ;)
Spencer and I went to the hospital on Thursday morning the 20th to have our baby! I had never been induced before and things went really slow the first 4 hours because I had to be on antibiotics the first four hours (I tested positive for group B strep). After that, they broke my water and things got moving. I wanted an epidural shortly after that and the anesthesiologist was so mean! He had a hard time getting the needle in my back and kept yelling at me to hold still but wouldn't tell me what was going on. He had to put the needle in three different times so my back was a lot more sore after giving birth this time. I was almost in tears just getting my epidural so I can only imagine what a wreck I would be not having one ;)
A couple of hours later, Kate's heart kept dropping every time I had a contraction. The nurses started to get concerned and started to move me in different positions to see if that would help move the umbilical cord if that was what was causing her heart to drop. For about an hour, they couldn't get her heart rate up. They were whispering to each other, calling the doctor, and they had me sign C-section papers just in case, and I was so scared. The nurses kept reassuring me that things would be okay, and I knew that c-sections are pretty standard procedures these days, but I had never had any complications with my previous labors and I was so worried about our baby. Spencer and I said a lot of prayers in that delivery room and miraculously her heart rate went up and the next time they checked me, I was dilated to a 10! My mom dropped off Jack and David at a friends house and she came just in time to see our baby GIRL born at 6:40 pm. I don't know if I've mentioned this before on this blog (ha!) but I was shocked that she was a girl! Our beautiful Kate Elizabeth.
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Kate Elizabeth is named after my sister, Elizabeth. Elizabeth came to our family through the miracle of adoption when I was 11 years old. I wish that I had time to write more about my love for Elizabeth and why Kate has her name but currently Kate is crying and David is throwing a tantrum and I need to get them to bed ;) So instead, here is a letter I wrote to Elizabeth in 2013 when she went to girl's camp for the first time:
Dear Elizabeth,
Twelve years ago, I was almost twelve
years old. I was a 1st year at girls camp and having so many fun,
memorable, and spiritual experiences. I remember singing camp songs and
going on hikes and hanging out with friends and having testimony meeting
around the camp fire. The thing I remember the most though, is hoping
and praying for you. We knew that you were going to be born soon and we
were so excited for you to join our family! When we went to the beach a
few weeks later, mom and I went to the mall and I'm pretty sure we
bought every boy and girl outfit at the Baby Gap and Gymboree because we
didn't know if you were a boy or a girl yet, and obviously, you had to
be the most fashionable baby out there!
Elizabeth, I hope you know how much I love you and
how special you are to me. I think one of the reasons Heavenly Father
made us sisters is because there was so many important things that you
needed to teach me (even before you could talk!) Because of you, I know
and knew at 11 years old that God answers my prayers, that His power is real, that families are eternal, and that our
Heavenly Father is a God of miracles.
I perfectly remember when you were sealed to Mom and
Dad in the temple - we were all dressed in white, kneeling together as
a family, and I was overwhelmed with so much peace and joy and love. I
was so grateful that you were my sister forever! Because of you, I
decided right then that I would always live my life in a way so that I could always go to the temple.
I know that you were too young to remember, but I
hope and pray that you learn and believe and know what you taught me
twelve years ago.
Elizabeth - my sister, my friend, my teacher, my miracle - I love you forever!
Love,
Annie
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