Truly A Miracle
Harper,
You are
truly a miracle that has been sent to us from heaven. We feel so blessed to have you in our family.
We love you and are so glad you were born. Your birth was wonderful! It was
almost picture-perfect some would say. After waiting nine months, we were
anxiously awaiting your arrival. We were happy you decided to stay in mommy’s
tummy till Grandma Bonnie Zollinger got to Tennessee. We knew it could be
anytime, since I had been dilated to a 3 for the past week and a half before
you were born. I went to my Doctor, Dr. Paul Neblett, Monday November 21st
and we scheduled my induction for Wednesday, November 30th at six in
the morning. Mommy felt good but was starting
to get very uncomfortable. It felt like this next week was going to last
forever! Grandma Bonnie flew to Tennessee the night before mommy had you. I was
so glad Grandma Bonnie was here. Now it was ok if you come anytime.
That night
I had some labor pains but nothing to intolerable. I was up and down throughout
the night. And finally got up at 4:45am and jumped in the bath. I got all my
stuff together to take to the hospital. We left our house at 5:30am and got to
the hospital at 6:00am. I filled out some forms and we waited in the waiting
room till 7:00am. They took me back to my room by myself to change. I waited there
for a few minutes before the nurses came in to give me my IV. For some reason,
the veins in my left arm were not working. They pricked me twice in the forearm
and then finally got the IV in my left hand. It hurt pretty badly. In fact, I
started to get light headed and very dizzy. At that moment your daddy and
Grandma Bonnie came in the room. Daddy held my hand and kissed mommy’s
forehead. Mommy started to feel a lot better.
The doctor
came in to check me to see if I had progressed any more. I was now dilated to a
4. They started the Pitocin and the doctor said he would be back in a a half an
hour to break my water. While we waited your daddy got mom’s IPod out and
turned on some Christmas music. It was so nice and festive! It made our room a
lot more comfortable and helped distract mommy so she wasn’t so nervous. Then
the doctor came in the room to break my water at around 9:00am. They broke it
and all of a sudden it felt like mommy was peeing all over herself. The doctor
said everything was moving fast and it wouldn’t be long before we would see
you. When the doctor broke my water, you immediately dropped and mommy dilated
to a 6. Daddy quickly called Grandmother
Suzanne and Pop Pop Roy Stambaugh and told them to get to the hospital fast
because you were on you way. Mommy then started to feel some strong labor. The
nurse asked me if I would like to go ahead and get the epidural. I said,
“YES!!!” It took about 45 minutes for
the nurses to get everything situated and ready to put the epidural in. As they
went to put the needle in mommy’s back I got a contraction at the same time. It
was pretty painful for me but mommy’s nurse Susan took really good care of me
and held me tight. Finally it was over
and I was able to relax. In fact the epidural started to work immediately! It
only took about 15 minutes before mommy couldn’t feel any labor at all. The
epidural was very nice, not only because it took away the sharp pains but still
allowed me to have some feeling. I liked this very much! The next two or three hours
went by fast. Grandmother and Pop Pop, along with Aunt Erika, all got to the
hospital. They got to come in my room and visit with us for a while. Then
Grandma Bonnie helped mommy relax and take nap while she rubbed mommy’s feet.
At about 12:30pm. The nurse came in again to check to see how far along I was.
I was at a 9. The nurse said she would be back in a half an hour to check me
again to see if it was time for pushing. Mommy all of a sudden got really
nervous. Mommy had been shaky the whole time but now I was really shaky. Mommy
knew it was close and was nervous. Daddy and Grandma Bonnie held each of
mommy’s hands and helped calm me down. 1:00pm came and Susan, the nurse,
checked me and said everything was ready to start pushing. I was dilated to a
10! It was time!… Ready or Not!
Susan
called Dr. Neblett and told him we were ready. While we waited for the doctor
to get there, Susan explained to mommy what to do. She told mommy to take a
deep breath and push really hard for 10 seconds, then to take another deep
breath and push really hard for 10 seconds, and to do the same a third time.
After three hard pushes, I could take a break and relax until I had another contraction.
They were coming nearly every two minutes. We practiced a few times before another nurse
came in with a huge cart full of supplies and tools. Mommy had to look away
from it because it was making her nervous. Then all of a sudden the nurses
started to reassemble mommy’s bed. They had me lie all the way up at the top of
the bed and then put mommy’s legs in the stirrups. It was 1:25pm and Dr.
Neblett came in the room. It was time! Dr. Neblett has been a great doctor
since day one. He is so laid back and fun. When He walked in the room, mommy
was so happy to see him. He made the room exiting. He said, “We’re about to
have a BIRTHDAY PARTY!” Mommy was no longer nervous. I was just ready to get
the pushing over with so I could finally hold my baby girl! I had your daddy on
the right side holding my leg and Grandma Bonnie on the left side holding my
leg. Grandmother was sitting on the couch waiting and watching from a distance.
Finally, your daddy told her to come closer so she could see better. She did
and was happy she did. Susan then told mommy on the count of three to take a
deep breath and push. Susan counted out loud while mommy pushed with all her
might. Mommy pushed for a good twenty-five minutes and was starting to get
really tired. Then Dr. Neblett said,
“She’s is almost here… Give me another really big push!” Than all of a sudden
mommy felt you come out and the doctor and nurses set you immediately on mommy
chest. You were born at 1:52pm. I couldn’t help but tear up. All my hard work
was paid off. I was finally holding my
precious baby. It was the neatest thing… IT WAS SO EXCITING!!! Words can’t
describe the feeling that was in the room at that time. It was so spiritual! A
miracle in fact! There is no way you couldn’t believe in God after experiencing
something like that. A feeling of
gratitude came over me. I felt so blessed to be healthy and to have had a
healthy baby and to have the support of both your daddy’s and my wonderful
family. I was also amazed at how well
the birth went and how it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
While I was holding you, the doctor had your
daddy cut the cord. Your daddy was a little nervous but did great! In fact your
dad did awesome through the whole birth. I was very impressed! While the doctor
and nurses were cleaning mommy up and while you were still lying on mommy’s
chest, Daddy got the camera out and started taking pictures. Before long, I was
all cleaned up and finished. Susan then took you and wiped you off better. She
got your weight and your height. You weighed 7lb 12 oz and were 20 inches long.
You were a good healthy size. Susan swaddled you and handed you over to your
daddy. He held you and looked so proud to be your dad. Then Grandmother went
and got Pop Pop and Aunt Erika from the waiting room and brought them to our
room to come in and see you. Everyone was so happy you were here. It was funny
because all of us were on our phones putting pictures on facebook and texting
pictures of you to our friends and family. So many people were waiting to see
what Miss Harper Jo looked like.
We stayed
in the labor/delivery room for about two hours before they brought us up stairs
to our main room where we would spend the night. With the help from the nurse,
I fed you for the second time. After I was done feeding you at 6:30 pm, the
nurses took you to give you a bath. By that time, Aunt Erika brought the rest
of their family to hospital to see you. All of us went to the nursery to watch
you take a bath. You didn’t seem to like it very much. You were pretty upset! We
were still watching you when Mommy’s friends Mandy, Anne, and Mary came to
visit. I was so happy they came! You finished your bath and were so nice and
clean for everyone to hold you. You were so good and just slept the whole
time. It was about 10:00pm when everyone
left except Daddy and Grandma Bonnie. They were so sweet to stay the night with
Mommy so she didn’t have to be alone. We brought in an air mattress which daddy
slept on and grandma Bonnie slept on the couch. We were all cozy. You got a little fussy
during the night so the nurses took you for a little while so we could get some
sleep. Then next morning mommy felt great. I took a shower and good all cleaned
up and felt like a new woman. The pediatrician came in first thing and looked
at you and said you were healthy. She discharged you and said you were good to
go by three that afternoon. Daddy filled out your information for you Social
Security card and birth certificate. We were all ready to go except mommy was
waiting for her doctor to come and discharge her. While we were waiting our
friends the Tromblys stopped by to see us. While they were with us, mommy’s
doctor finally came. It was around 5:00pm. The Doctor said everything was good
to go. We packed up all of our stuff and headed out. We stopped to get one last
picture as we were leaving.
Our hospital experience was great. It was hard
to believe so much happened in about 30 hours.
We came in as a couple and left as a family. Your daddy and I love you
more and more as each day goes by. We are lucky to have you. You are such a
good baby! Thanks Heavenly Father for our miracle!
Love,
Your mommy
Beautiful story Jerrica and thank you for sharing!!
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