Happy 7th Birthday Sweet Bean

Seven years ago today started out like any other morning. It was a Saturday and Larry worked on Saturdays so he was up and off to work. Kailey was 5 and Dillon was 2...awwwww. Kailey was playing on a soccer team that did indoor soccer on Saturday mornings. So, we bundled up and headed out into the frickin' frigid Maine Winter in January. "Brutal" just doesn't even describe it. I remember this day all so clearly. The sun was shining despite the frigid temps, and, it was my due date. Now, despite the fact that I had been contracting since November and had already had to have labor stopped on New Years Eve I still was not expecting anything to happen on this day. While we were at Kailey's soccer game, which BTW Dillon used to love watching as he cheered her on from the sidelines, I started contracting again. Like I said, I had been doing this since November so, nothing new. Her game was done and we headed home for lunch and to work on Kailey's school project that was due the next day. Once we got going on her project the contractions were coming on stronger and with more frequency. Did I mention, Dillon was two at the time, AND that Larry was working? Yeah, fun day! I called Larry to let him know what was going on but to stay at work for now as it wasn't time yet anyway and the kids really were being good that day. I think it was around 4 or 5:00 that I called the midwife on call to talk to her and let her know what was going on. Long story short, mine was out of town and the one I got was useless. She told me that if I was able to go on with my day to day routine that I wasn't in labor. Lady, this is my THIRD time on this carnival ride, I know the ride pretty well. I told her that SHE could stay home, WE were heading to the hospital. At this point Larry was on his way home from work and Nanny and Umpy (my parents) were either on their way over or already there to stay with Kailey and Dillon. After having many trips to the hospital that sent us back home I told Larry this time to leave the bag in the van. Oh wait, my Mother was with us. My Father stayed with the kids, alone, WOW. Anyway, so we go in and the get my big ole belly hooked up to be monitored. "Oh yes you are definitely in labor, let's monitor you for a bit while we get a room ready." An hour goes by before the nurse comes back. I was still pretty comfortable so no big deal. Then the world stopped. "There is something wrong with her heart but we don't know what. We have called the OBGYN and she's on her way. You aren't dilated enough to deliver but we are afraid that to push your labor along will stress the baby more. You may need a C-Section." From this point on a lot of things are blurred for me. I remember that I started to shake violently. The nurse, bless her, was wonderful. She was pregnant too and she was so good to me, so soothing, so reassuring. Poor Larry was a hot mess. He was sent out to get the bag while my nurse and my Mother moved me to a room. I could NOT stop shaking. Larry came back in and I asked him to get the camcorder ready. Remember how I said January in Maine is brutal at best? Well, apparently camcorders don't like the cold. It was dead. *sigh* So anyway, meanwhile another woman was having issues that apparently were more serious than mine so the OBGYN said to gently push some pitocin and watch the baby carefully while she tended to the other woman. Meanwhile, remember the midwife that said I wasn't in labor? She showed up. Oh joy. "Hey turns out I WAS in labor! Good thing we came in huh?!" Can you just imagine if I had stayed home? Shortly after getting settled into my bed, her heart....nearly.....stopped. It was awful and remembering it now still makes me cry. It slowed, and slowed and slowed some more and was barely beating. Larry ran towards the door and collided with my very pregnant nurse as she was running in. She yelled at me, "Pick a side!" HUH?! WHAT?! "QUICK! Pick a side and roll to it!!!" HUH?! I was so out of it at this point and STILL shaking violently. She grabbed my arm and yanked me toward her putting me on my left side. Slowly her heart began beating again. *PHEW* Everyone blew out a breath and the nurse looked at me, smiled and said, "I hope your comfy, don't move." What the frack, what else?? Within less than an hour that little push of pitocin got me fully dilated and ready to roll. Trouble was, I was beat. I had nothing left in me to push. The midwife was of NO help. She just kept yelling at me. The ONE good thing she did was she told the nurse (and this scared me too) to get the pediatrician on call there NOW. The nurse said, "Now? But we don't know when she'll deliver." The midwife repeated, "NOW. I don't care if he has to wait 5 hours I need him here when this baby comes." WHAT is going on?! Then he showed up with all of his heavy duty equipment. Yeah this is all very motivating, thanks. Meanwhile, midwife is still yelling at me to push and that I need to get the baby out. Really?? Oh see I didn't know that!!! She was really annoying me. When my water broke we discovered one of the problems. POOP and lots of it. Looking back at pics today she even had it in her mouth poor thing and she was SO blue :"( So let's wrap this up. I finally get her out with minutes to spare ON her due date. She is whisked away to the waiting pediatrician and poor Daddy was in the middle of the room not knowing who to be with :"( I assured him I was fine, go be with our baby girl, let her know that Daddy is there :"( The doctor got her all suctioned out, cleaned up, checked her over and she was just fine :) Aaaaaahhhhh....relief.

So it seems as though Jenna "Bean" has been a turd since before she was even born. She also has scared us and kept doctors on their toes since the very night she was born. She's our baby girl, the last of three. These 7 years have gone by so very quickly. I wish that I could stop time. Happy birthday my Sweet Bean. I love you so very, very much.
Last night we received a phone call that gave her probably THE best gift she will ever get. I have been praying for God to please help me, please show me a way to get my girl and I to the JA Conference this coming July. I want so badly for her to meet these other kids and know that she is NOT alone. We simply don't have the money to get their ourselves so I was hoping to receive a scholarship from the Arthritis Foundation. Well, it turns out that someone we have met once, emailed once, has been touched and moved by Jenna's story. This individual shared Jenna's story with their church and after praying on it all of them together, they decided that they want to help get Jenna to the conference. Words simply cannot describe how much this means to us. Thank you isn't nearly sufficient. God heard my prayers, their prayers and then He put them together in such an amazing way. When Larry got home this morning he said, "Kind of funny how Ryan talked about God's Grace for yesterday's service huh?" Yep, God is funny like that.

John 1:14-17 (New International Version, ©2010)

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.