We're Having a Baby!

It's been a wild ride. Ups. Downs. Some very sad downs. And the past three months have been crazy, trying to get all the logistics in place so that I'd be there for this baby's birth.

Until just a few days ago it was all a guessing game. Mandy and I have been on the phone almost daily, for weeks, discussing the results of her latest exam (she's had way more exams than most expectant moms do)and worrying about the difficulty of scheduling an Amtrak trip (severe flooding around Omaha affected train schedules for weeks upon weeks), and trying to figure out how to make sure I was there for this long awaited grandchild's birth. It was a worry because the Amtrak trip is eight hours long, leaves Grand Junction only once a day and all that time could make a world of difference as to whether I'd be there for the birth or not.

To miss this would break my heart. My daughter has struggled so to have a baby, it's just not thinkable that I would not be there.

I'll be there. :)

Because nothing about this has been easy, of course Mandy has full blown placenta previa. It was iffy for a few months and her doctors thought she might be able to scoot by, go into labor and deliver her baby.

Well, of course not.

And so...Jayden will be delivered via c-section on Monday, October 3rd at exactly 5 o'clock in the afternoon. And not only will I be there, I'll actually be in the operating room with them. :)

The name is for sure. The day and time are for sure. And my presence is for sure. :)

I love it that the hospital where Mandy's having her baby strongly believes she should have two support people with her during the delivery. When Jayden is born, and taken to the neonatal unit, Aaron will go with him. I'll stay with Mandy.

Something that makes me smile is that Krissy, who had both her babies (my sweet Cameron and Avery) via c-section, told me if she'd known how boring it would be to lay in recovery all by herself for a few hours, totally alone and totally numb from the waist down, she'd have brought a good book with her. LOL

I'll be honest with you. I'm nervous. I've been in operating rooms but you know what? I was asleep. I'm a bit nervous about this but I figure if Mandy can do what she has to do, I can stay on my feet and support her.

Mostly, I'm so excited about being there and witnessing the miracle, I almost can't stand it.

The past few weeks have been amazing. I went to Denver for my brother's wedding and two weeks later I went back for the baby shower Krissy gave her sister. I got to visit with family I hadn't seen in two years. It was a fantastic weekend.

And now I'm going back. This time I'm going for three weeks. In the thirty-three years we've been married, I've never been away from Rob that long and Cameron and Avery are going to have a hard time understanding why Nana is gone so long. I've never been away from them for more than two days. Seriously. They're just too little to understand and I'm going to miss them terribly.

But a miracle is going to happen next Monday afternoon and I'm blessed enough that I'll get to witness it.