Elizabeth's birth story

As promised, here is Libbi's birth story....

It was December 8th, I was at Dave's work Christmas dinner and I took out my calendar to look at something and it occurred to me that I was late starting my period. I am normally almost like clockwork, and once I got to counting, I realized I wasn't just late I was a WEEK late! We weren't trying to get pregnant. In fact, I had stopped taking pills and was in month 3 of giving my body a break. We were going to start trying to get pregnant later that coming spring, and figured it would take a long time like with Abbi. Never did we even begin to imagine.

So, I sat at that round table and recounted the weeks. In the car on the way home, I told Dave what was up. We stopped and got a pregnancy test, but waited until the next day. So, that afternoon I did the test behind a closed door, fully expecting it to be negative and figuring I was just late. However, two line appeared and Dave knocked on the door and I showed it to him and we cried a bit and realized how relieved we were to not have to go through months and months of trying. It was the best surprise ever! That same Sunday evening, I had to sing at church for a huge performance of the Messiah, and I couldn't kept it a secret! Those choir ladies and I just celebrated away!

Like with Abbi, I got a nasty cold and was quite tired. BUT, since Abbi was just 16 months old there was no rest for the weary. I was teaching music at an elementary school at this point in time and we had just moved into our first house that we bought. I was scared to death on how I was going to take care of a baby while caring for a newborn too. I worried about that for the entire nine months!

With Libbi, we wanted to find out what she was, so we made sure to tell them at the ultrasound. I was thrilled to find out it was a girl. I know that is probably selfish, but I am terrified of boys and just do not want to deal with boy stuff and the roughness of boys..that just isn't me. I'd have taken whatever I was blessed with and loved it, but I was happy it was a girl! We named her early on. I decided since I had overturned Dave's first choice in baby names for Abbi that it was only fair for him to make the final choice. We both absolutely loved the name Elizabeth and he knew he wanted Corinne in there somehow. His niece/Godchild is Corinne (along with several other long ago relatives of his). It also turned out that Elizabeth was his mother's middle name and his Grandmother's name was Corinne Elizabeth. Now, we know our last name starts with a Z, and even before we had Abbi and spoke of names then, it was determined we'd never pick an E name because then the initials would be "EZ". Well, the more we thought of it, we just fell in love with Elizabeth Corinne and Dave made the final decision. I'll get back to how the LIBBI plays into things later....

I felt Dave chose a PERFECT name for her, and actually any name he would have chosen I'd have agreed to since it really was his turn to name.

It was an easy pregnancy. I was due just two weeks after the HS band camp (I was just on staff then, I was not yet the director). I felt well enough to teach the band camp and the kids were so scared I'd go into labor there. Don't ask me how I did it, it was over 90 degrees out, it was miserable. I think it helped that I had something to focus on other than me and being uncomfortable. Every time I said ouch or moved strange, it sent the rest of the staff and kids into a flurry though, thinking it was time. I made it through camp with no problems and was then home with Abbi making final preparations. It was a Thursday, and I was about 4 days overdue. I remember that I just felt something was up. The night before, I told Dave I wanted to walk in the cool somewhere so we went to Walmart and I walked and walked. I even bought some castor oil and was about to drink it to bring on labor (I'd heard a rumor) but I didn't have the guts to. Anyways, the next day I cleaned the house, and that afternoon took a shower and washed my hair and shaved my legs...I just was at the point I knew it'd be soon and I wanted to be clean. Around 4 pm, I started feeling a little uncomfortable. BUT, I had felt a little like that before...I'd had a few Braxton-Hicks this time around...just random pains that had me bent over...nothing regular. But, at 4 pm, it was clear that something was going on. I called Dave and he was on his way home from work. I made sure everything was ready and got online and sent out emails and talked online to some friends. By the time Dave got home, things were more uncomfortable and I called the doctor. This hospital was not just 2 minutes from home...it was 20 miles in rush hour traffic! The doctor never got my page, so at 6:15 pm, we left home. It is probably good that we waited a bit, because there was no traffic. Good thing, I sure was feeling things! I got to the hospital and no one was at the check-in desk. There were workers laying new tile in the lobby there and I asked them if they knew where the desk people were and one went to find her. I had a contraction at the desk that had me saying ouch and feeling really hot all over. I hated that I was in that lobby with those workers at a bad moment. The desk lady came and by 7 pm we were taken to a room and getting comfortable. Things got rough REALLY fast. I was checked and at 4 cm and such. My doctor was called, and I told the nurses I wanted an epidural...so that was ordered. I thought they would come quick to do it...but they did not. We settled in the room and Dave took his place at watching the contraction number on the monitor....each time it would go higher and higher as he pointed out. Well, DUH...I could feel it. As it got closer to 8:15....I asked the nurse about the epidural and they said he was on his way. They broke my water and things went very fast. My friend came from choir practice...I'd asked her to be in with me since she could not have her own children and would never experience this. I put her in charge of the video camera. This was odd....no doctors running all over this time, no death in the family we were dealing with, so I must say it was a MUCH more enjoyable experience. However, that epidural guy was LATE! I was barely making it through the contractions....as Dave would say, the number got high and I just couldn't be quiet. I would sit up on the side of the bed and babble and talk and tell him I could not do it. Couldn't tell you if he talked back to me or not. Well, at 8:45, the epidural guy showed up and started that...OH MAN....you want to talk about instant relief. He said it would take 15 minutes to work, but it took less than 5! I started feeling absolutely no pain and no contractions. Just after my epidural (like right after), the nurse came in to check me and I was ready to go. If they had checked me just prior, the epidural would have been cancelled and I'd have had to go at it natural. THANK YOU GOD!!!! I am not kidding when I say I did not feel anything. The nurses said I could rest for a bit, then we'd get started....are you kidding????!!! I could rest? Well, I then joined in the number game and we all watched that number go so high, and we watched my stomach move all over with the contractions, but I felt absolutely nothing. HAPPY DAY, I love my anesthesiologist! After a bit, the nurse came back and said ok, let's push. I must have done a great job the first time, because they mad me stop and went to get the doctor. I wondered why. He came in and asked if I was ready to have her...and I said yes. Well, on push number six....out she came. It was so easy, I felt nothing and was not in pain like with Abbi. It was such a great experience! Of course, I had asked my friend to video tape the birth...BUT she got so excited, she laid the camera down on the table right before she was born to watch and it did not make it to video...we have all the sound, but the picture is the wall LOL.

Elizabeth was born at 9:40 pm on a Thursday night.

I got to hold her immediately. There was only one teeny tear on me the doctor needed to repair and took just a few minutes. Libbi was perfect! She was so sweet!

This time, I knew to sleep, that I wasn't going to miss anything by sleeping, and everything just was so much calmer. Not dealing with a death, a move and so much new like we were with Abbi really helped! I remember holding her on my chest and she was so strong...she'd push herself up and raise her head and look around. She was so beautiful and sweet! This is how a birth experience was supposed to be! Elizabeth did get the hang of breastfeeding, and we did that for several days before we had to stop because it just was hurting me too much. I would cry and have to put washrags in my mouth to not scream (and I am NOT a screamer type gal)...it was bothering Abbi to see me so upset and even locking her out of my room didn't help. Tis ok, Abbi thrived on bottle feeding and Libbi would too.

She did not have any problems at all and went home on the evening before Abbi's birthday. We had a great transition into being home and this time around things were easier, I was calmer and it just was OK. By the second week of her life, she was sleeping for 5 hours at a time, she rarely cried and was just so happy. I had learned to sleep when she did so that gave me the strength to also deal with a 2 year old. We did get her back in daycare quickly though. Abbi loved her little sister! She was so helpful in getting clothes or diapers or such. Libbi was just so easygoing.

Now...her nickname. Dave and I could not agree on what to call her for short. I wanted something without the E so that she stood lesser of a chance of being teased for the initials EZ. But, we just could not think or agree. When Libbi was 3 months old, my mother's lung cancer was deemed terminal, it had moved to her brain. Right after Thanksgiving, she was moved to Hospice and all of us kids went home to see her. I had the baby to deal with, so I took her with me. A friend bought me a plane ticket to fly home (using her frequent flyer miles) and we dropped everything and went...just Elizabeth and I. I had spoken to my mom, she knew I was coming and Dave and I decided that she would make the final decision on what we would call our daughter for short. So, I got there and visited with Mom, and Elizabeth spent many hours in my Mom's arms or sleeping on the edge of my mom's bed...it was sweet. My mother and I spoke for hours and hours and we both had a hunch this was the last time we would see each other. We talked about the name...and she told me a name I had yet to hear, she said "call her Libbi, because when you are mad at both girls you will get tongue tied saying Abbi and Libbi". She said "besides, Libbi is a solid old name that is not around much anymore and she will stand out in a crowd and she was so dainty that it just fit her". Well....that was the day that our Libbi became Libbi. Dave liked it too.

I knew that in a few short days, I would be saying goodbye to my mother for probably the last time. I was so happy she had a chance to spend time with her Libbi, it made her so happy. The doctor had said Mom may have 6 months left, but one doesn't take any chances when saying thank you and goodbye are concerned. Two months earlier, my parents had both traveled to TN to visit us and BOTH grandchildren...Mom did not look well then and I made sure we took pictures of her with BOTH grandchildren as I sensed it would never happen again. So, with just Libbi in my arms, I went to Mom's room just before Dad was to take us to the airport, I started crying and my Mom told me not to say it...she knew I was going to say goodbye forever. I think she knew that day her days were very numbered. I turned into a blubbering mess and put Libbi in her arms. I had planned to say thank you for everything and how much we loved her...but she started crying too. I started talking a mile a minute and crying.....as she smiled. I think I got out what I wanted to but I did NOT want to leave her side. I had to though, I had a flight to go on. Libbi was just full of smiles and that made my mom happy. I grabbed Mom's hand and Libbi's hand and said goodbye and took my baby and left.

Mom died 2 days later. I will one day tell Libbi that she said goodbye in her own way and that her name is indeed VERY special not just because of Dave's family names, but because it was the last thing my mother did for her in calling her Libbi. Again, having a baby at my Mom's funeral brought back the memories of having baby Abbi at Dave's mom's funeral...strange, but calming.

So...my sweet Elizabeth, you are headstrong like me and my mother, but you have such a tender side too, when you decide to let go of the headstrong side. You were such a happy baby and I felt I really knew what to do with you! You started kindergarten this week and are such a big girl! You stand almost a head higher than your peers (we won't even talk about how big your feet are!). You rode the school bus this morning for the first time, and Abbi was being such a helping big sister! I did not cry as I watched you jump onto that big bus full of grins! I love you so much.

Libbi will be our last child. Last summer I had a tubal ligation and cannot get pregnant again. After my pulmonary embolism in 2006, I was told to never get pregnant again. That's another story for another day.

We are extremely blessed to have two beautiful and healthy girls! I couldn't have asked God for anything better. Even if they had both been boys, I'd still have loved them and figured out what to do with them.

Another very long post. This one is for them, and the day I print it off and give it to them to have forever. I've noticed as you get older...one of two things (or both) happens....you become forgetful. Maybe it is from getting older, but maybe it is from your head and heart filling with so many memories that it wants to dump some and make you forget. Well...typing it out makes it stay forever! I know the days will only race by faster, and my hope is to have a snapshot in words of the days so they will forever be here.

Signing off......