Dear Ones,
I am writing you on Easter evening, back home again after ten days in Houston spent waiting for then welcoming my granddaughter Lucia Carolina Buendia to this beautiful world. I had taken my laptop and journal along with me in hopes of writing blogs posts and diary entries but never seemed to find the time. But I kind of think that was okay because it meant that I was busy living life rather than writing about it.
I received the text below when I awoke on Wednesday, March 16 as I prepared to go to work.
I immediately texted my principal to tell her I would be leaving for Houston. Then I scurried around nervously throwing a few more things into my already packed suitcase while calling Southwest airlines to change the date on my previously purchased ticket (had made a reservation for March 23, thinking Lauren would probably go beyond her due date with this first baby).
I arrived that afternoon. Lauren was having contractions and spotting. When the contractions began coming five minutes apart, and it seemed that her water might have broken with a trickle, her husband Francisco and I talked her into calling her doctor’s office. Lauren’s obstetrician was on vacation but the on-call OB instructed us to get to the hospital.
She was admitted to Labor and Delivery Testing, hooked up to monitors for her heart rate and baby’s, and they began monitoring Lauren’s contractions. After several hours, it was determined that Lauren wasn’t really in labor, hadn’t dilated beyond 1.5 centimeters, and Lucia was only 60% effaced (I have looked that word up at least three times and cannot remember what it means exactly – something about the baby not being totally in position for birth?). We were sent home.
But not before stopping for Indian take-out which we ate while watching “Brooklyn”, the movie. If you haven’t seen it, please consider checking it out on Amazon or Netflix for now, or as a DVD rental/purchase in mid-April. So good. Read my review, here.
Oh, I forgot to mention that Brennyn and Cady drove down to Houston from Ft. Worth as soon as they got the same text I had received on Wednesday morning. Along the way, Brennyn had begun feeling bad. Sore throat and headache early on. But by the time they arrived, Brennyn was feeling awful, had a fever of 103, very sore throat, body aches, ear ache and chills. She had to find an urgent care clinic immediately while Francisco and I took Cady and Lauren to the hospital on Wednesday. My sister Valerie met us there and watched Cady for us while Francisco and I took turns in the room with Lauren. Brennyn was diagnosed with strep throat (what timing), given an antibiotic and cautioned that she would be contagious until she had been on the medicine for 24 hours.
Lauren woke me up the next morning shortly after Francisco had gone to work, saying the baby hadn’t moved in several hours and that her contractions had changed from close to a dozen an hour to one strong contraction every hour on the hour. She was pretty upset, adding she wanted to check the baby’s heartbeat and scrambling to get her Doppler heart monitor. Lauren had used the monitor throughout her pregnancy to listen to Lucia’s heart but on Thursday morning, she couldn’t locate the baby’s heartbeat at all. She tried several times to no avail and as you can imagine, became frantic. She called the doctor’s answering service while I threw on some jeans and a sweatshirt. We were instructed to get to the hospital, 10 minutes away. Lauren insisted on driving because she knew the way but was contracting and crying and panicking. I was crying and panicking from the passenger’s seat.
Lauren was told to report to Labor and Delivery. When we got to the third floor, I ran to the nurses’ station to get help, telling them that we couldn’t pick up a heartbeat on the baby. We were ushered into the C-section waiting room where fathers wait to be called back for their wives’ C-sections. I couldn’t believe it. No one came to check Lauren or the baby. No one paid any attention to us except the expectant father in the waiting area, who tried to comfort us. I went back to the nurses’ station and pleaded with someone to come. They told me they didn’t have a room for Lauren, I told them we just needed a heart monitor and a bed, in the hall anywhere. A few more minutes passed and finally a fairly casual nurse approached us saying she would take us down to Labor and Delivery Testing.
OH MY GOSH!
After many more minutes, a very kind nurse was assigned to Lauren and got things going. She attached the heart monitor to Lauren and praise God, she found the baby’s heartbeat. I cried, Lauren cried, the nurse had tears in her eyes and poor Francisco (he is an anesthesiologist and was in surgery when we called him) walked into the room to find us all crying, assuming the worst. But prayers answered, the baby was alive.
It was a very long Thursday before the doctors decided to keep Lauren. The baby was still not moving – one OB explained that she was probably just sleeping. I had a duck fit! This baby had been extremely active for months. When she stopped moving the day before, she had not just fallen asleep for the first time. Something was wrong. Lauren’s contractions were stronger and coming more frequently again but not registering on the monitor. I tried to help her breathe through them but they were almost more than she could bear.
Sometime close to midnight, they determined Lauren was not progressing and gave her a Pitocin in hopes of inducing labor and an epidural for the pain. She was finally comfortable. The nurses assured us there wouldn’t be a baby until morning so Brennyn, Cady and I went back to the kids’ apartment and Francisco stayed with Lauren.
I received a text from Lauren about 7:00 am Friday saying she was going to have to have a C-section. She had dilated to 7 cm but had remained “stuck” there while the baby was 100% effaced (there’s that word again). Let me look it up, one last time. It means the cervix has thinned as a result of the baby moving into the pelvis. Well, that’s exactly what had happened. Lucia had moved into the pelvis and gotten stuck. Francisco donned his operating room paper clothing, we kissed Lauren for luck and at about 10:45 am, it looked like we were finally going to have a baby.
Brennyn, Cady and I went to the C-section waiting room where Lauren had been sent the day before waiting for someone to try to find the baby’s heartbeat. What a difference a day makes.
At 11:02 am, Lucia Carolina Buendia arrived, weighing 7 lbs 9 oz and measuring 20 inches. We had taken bets on her weight and date and time of birth. PC was closest to the correct time and I was closest to the correct weight. Yay, for Grandma and GrandPaul!
And at about 11:30, Brennyn, Cady and I finally met that baby girl.
Celebratory snuggles back in the waiting room until Lauren and Francisco and Lucia are taken up to postpartum.
Cady was a little uncertain about this whole new baby business. She has been the only baby in the family for five years. I don’t know if it was jealousy or if it was just another change in her life she would have to adjust to. But after seeing Lucia, after our celebratory snuggles, and a little pep talk of reassurance, Cady was excited to get to know her new cousin.
Finally, after a tumultuous couple of days, all was well in our world. I think all of us experienced the full spectrum of emotions in those long 48 hours. But when things looked the darkest, we prayed for God’s mercy and support and strength. We prayed for Lucia’s safety and health. We prayed for the ability to handle whatever was coming. And our prayers were answered. God is good.
Because of the length of time that Lucia was effaced with her head and neck lodged=stuck in the birth canal, she has a condition called infant torticollis. Lucia has a tilted head, with the muscles on the right side of her neck shortened, causing her chin to point toward her left shoulder, and a slightly flattened ear. She will begin physical therapy this week and Lauren and Francisco have begun doing stretches and massages on her neck at home. We are hopeful, prayerful that this condition will soon be improved.
But in the meantime, I couldn’t ask for a sweeter, more beautiful second granddaughter to go along with my equally beautiful and sweet first granddaughter Cadence Ellie. Please help me in welcoming Lucia to the world.
Thank you to my Prince Charming, my sister Valerie, brother Kevin, my mom, BFF Sharon, sister-in-law Metra and brother-in-law Roby, and in-laws for sending up prayers during this past few days. My emotions have been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs and ups. Thank you to my friends, virtual and IRL, who were thinking of us. I have always known it takes a village to raise a child but sometimes I guess it takes a village to get one born.
Hugs and kisses,
Deena
Aw, what a beautiful story…loved reading every behind the scenes minute. Congrats to your family!
Christy
Congrats grandma!!! What a great story of your granddaughters entrance to the world. Welcome Lucia!
Sharon
Congrats again to the entire family for that sweet beautiful baby girl! So thankful everyone is healthy and doing well! Prayers were surely answered Friday! I hope to see you all in the next few months somewhere in Texas! Love you Mimi! You are the best! Loved our talk from Target too! 😊
Lana
What a story! So glad that everything turned out okay. Your new granddaughter is so beautiful! Congratulations grandma!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Lana. Look what you have to look forward to in a few years. Grandmothering is fabulous.
Morgan
Congratulations! She is beautiful! So happy it all worked out okay. Keep those photos coming! They grow up so fast!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
They sure do grow fast. I want to share with Lauren the way you took pics of Hudson each month. Need to remind her to get
a black board. He has grown up soooo fast. Such a doll. Will order my KEEP this weekend! 🙂
Elements of Ellis
Congrats grandma! She is perfect!
http://elementsofellis.com/
Leslie Roberts Clingan
She is kinda cute, huh? Thank you, sweets. Love when you stop by.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Come join me for the next Style Perspectives link up. Pretty please? Our prompt is a spring sweater, jeans and flats. Come play! April 6!
Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom
Oh my goodness! What a birth story! I was on the edge of my seat (ok, couch) the whole time reading this! I am so glad you were there to help push things along. And, what a gorgeous baby girl! Congrats!!!!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Ha, love that you said “push things along” – pun intended? You are so cute. Love my new baby girl. Thank you for your sweet comment.
Carrie
Congratulations, Leslie! So sweet!
Mary
Whew! I’m exhausted from all your turmoil. Congratulations on your new granddaughter-she’s as cute as a button!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Hi, Mary! So glad you stopped by. That Lucia is a cutie, if I do say so myself. I am just so relieved that everything worked out. It was a trying couple of days, for sure. Hey, Mary, play dress up with me!!! Send me a pic of you wearing our next TBB Style Perspectives prompt…spring sweater, jeans and flats. Would love to share it on my blog on Wednesday, April 6! Pretty please?
Sheila @ Making the Most of Every Day
Oh Leslie! How scary! But I’m so happy for you and your daughter! And Lucia is BEAUTIFUL!!
~Sheila
Making the Most of Every Day
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Sheila. I am blessed with beautiful daughters and granddaughters. They take after my Ex. Ha!
Sarah @ Foxy's Domestic Side
What a scary 24 hours you had! So happy to see that beautiful baby! So sweet. I love reading birth stories and such a treat to read it from someone other than the mom’s perspective 🙂
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Sarah. I have been fortunate enough to be there for both Brennyn and Lauren’s first babies. Very special time.
SusanF - ofeverymoment
I missed reading this until now, but it still brought tears to my eyes. The photos show your family’s range of emotions – from concern right to before the c-section … to beautiful smiles of happiness. What a pretty baby ( and cousin!) Best wishes to you all.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, love. I guess all good things in life come at a price…a little hard work, sweat and tears.
Grammy Dee
Thank you for linking up at the #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty. I shared this post on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and Twitter.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Yay! Thank you!
Clearissa Coward
What a journey and what a beautiful baby! Your family is truly blessed. Thank you for sharing with #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty. I’ve shared your post on social media.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Aww, thank you, thank you. So glad to find you gals and to join in your fun. I have been blogging with a group of youngsters so it is refreshing to meet up with gals more my own age. Hope you will come back again.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you for taking time to come by and comment and share my post. Our family has truly been blessed by the addition of Lucia to the bunch. She is one crazy baby. I am so glad to have found this feisty group of grandmas! Hope we can do something all together again very soon.
Grammy Dee
I’m back again! Aren’t grandbabies just the best thing ever? They surely enrich our lives. And I meant to tell you earlier, I just love the name of your site 🙂
Lori Hill-Smith
The birth of a grandbaby is a miraculous and wonderful thing! Congratulations!! Thank you for sharing at BloggingGrandmothersLinkPartyi’ve shared on social media.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you so much for stopping by, for commenting and for sharing my post. We grandmothers need to stick together. Power in numbers!!!
Christie Hawkes
What a scary story, but with a happy ending. Congratulations to you and the family. What a beautiful girl! Thanks for linking up at #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Christie, for coming by, commenting and sharing my post. Lucia is now a rambunctious year-old toddler. And I get to babysit her for one whole week toward the middle of this month. HEAVEN!
Donna
Lucia is absolutely adorable!
Thank you for sharing!
#BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Donna! Lucia is a very busy one-year-old these days and she is going to be visiting grandma in two weeks. Woo hoo!!!
Carol ("Mimi")
Congratulations on your beautiful grandchild. Thank you for sharing at #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty. I’m sharing your post on social media.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, friend. We are lucky ladies to be mimis.
Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
Congratulations Leslie and family! Lucia is gorgeous and I love newborn babies so vulnerable. I enjoyed meeting your family through this post and it was so wonderful for you to be there. Thanks for sharing with us at #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Sue. I think we all become much closer when we ‘meet’ one another’s families and learn a little more about our backgrounds. So glad to be linking up with you gals.
Amy Johnson
Oh wow, did this post bring back from the memories for me! Her labour sounded a whole lot like my daughter’s! As for the hospital staff, sometimes I think they get so used to seeing worried moms and grandparents they don’t take anything seriously anymore. Thank goodness everything was alright. She is beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing your story with me and linking up!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I hope you will continue this series. Maybe we can rotate hosting the Grandma and Me posts? I will send out an email about my idea for a Grandparents’ Day post in September. Have a couple of gals interested but the more the merrier, if you know anyone who might join us.
I had both of my girls through natural childbirth without anything pain. The doctor wouldn’t even wait for a local anesthesia to kick in for the stitches to my episiotomy. Watching my daughter experience such terror at the thought that something might be wrong with Lucia, then pain waiting for the doctors to finally get the show on the road, was very difficult. But our reward was a darling baby!!
High five, grandma!
Nikki
What a gorgeous baby she was! It is SO much harder to watch your daughter go through something traumatic than it is to go through it yourself.
🙂 gwingal
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, I would have gone through the labor for my daughter, if I could have. But our reward was that chubby baby girl. Thank you! She is a doll and just seems to be getting cuter everyday. XO