When K's birth mother, birth father and birth grandparents arrived at the hospital we were so excited to see each other. We know that it was a time of fear and unknown as well for her. The whole crowd (six of us) marched up to the Labor and Delivery floor in anticipation of the arrival. I don't know what the hospital staff thought of our entourage, but I thought it was pretty cool to have so many supportive people surrounding the birth of the baby! K's birth mother got all settled in and the wait began. Derek and I were unsure of how the night would go so we offered to retreat to my parents house for the night and return in the morning. The whole family quickly said that they wanted us there for the duration of the time so I went downstairs and brought up our necessities.
That night was quite entertaining. Again, I think the hospital is used to one, maybe two people staying in the delivery room overnight. There were five of us, one hospital bed and a couch. We weren't sure what we were going to do for sleep, but honestly I didn't care. I was feeling so blessed to be experiencing this time with them. Around 11 PM the nurse came in and realized that we were all planning to spend the night. She graciously brought us the "mattresses" from the delivery beds to put on the floor along with pillows and blankets. At this point we all attempted to sleep. Let me say that the birth father and Derek got plenty of sleep including some snoring and talking in their sleep. K's birth grandmother and I were jumping at every need that K's birth mother needed along with the nursing staff coming into the room every couple of hours to check on her sleep was not something we enjoyed that night!
By 8 AM everything was rolling to have the baby. K's birth mom was a champ with the contractions and the pain. She had said that she wanted to forgo the epidural as long as possible. Honestly, I know I will never know, but I am pretty sure I would have told the doctors to put that sucker in upon admission (not an option, I know)! We spent the morning chatting about life, laughing, smiling, texting our loved ones and playing Scattegories. I was so glad that I had grabbed the games on the way out of the house because they were a great distraction for our wait. I also had Derek pick up a couple of movies to pass the time. If there is one thing I know how to do it is how to pass the time in a hospital!
There were so many great memories packed on top of the thousands that we already had with this wonderful family. I probably should have been writing a play by play so I could remember it all, but I like being surprised when I am doing something and one of those memories comes to mind. Derek and I spent the day filled with love, elation, anticipation and unknown.
Once the evening hours arrived I think all of us were becoming antsy. The nurse came in around 6 PM and said that the hardest part was about to begin. At some point our conversation turned to peaches and Palisade, Colorado. The nurse, Brook, piped in and said that she was born in Glenwood Springs and adopted by a couple in Montrose. She said that her adoptive father was a pastor so they had lived a lot of places during her childhood with the final place being Cheyenne, WY. Of course I piped up! I told her that I was from Cheyenne and asked the name of her parents. Sure enough, I knew her parents. They are best friends with my Godmother who also happens to be the grandmother of my childhood best friend. It was an AMAZING connection. Brook was due to complete her shift at 7 PM, but chose to stay with us until Kearsta made her appearance. All of us were so grateful because all we wanted for K's birth mom was a smooth delivery without extra anxiety and tension due to the unknown.
During the hardest part there were four of us there to support her. At one point we all looked at each other and realized that K's birth mom was the only one on her coaching team (both birth grandmother's birth father and me) to experience birthing a child. That quickly changed our perspective and the words we said to her. It was a trying time, but K's birth mom was amazing. She did all of the hard work and experienced all of the pain to give her family and our family the best gift in the world, Kearsta Annaliese born September 6, 2012 at 10:34 PM. She was 8 pounds 13 ounces and 21 inches long.
Kearsta's first photo op!
She was a BIG girl! I had a moment of "oh no" because I didn't think she would fit into the newborn clothes I had packed for the hospital time. Luckily it all worked out!
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