Where does one even begin to write “The Baby Story” for the
third child? I honestly didn't think I’d
be writing anymore of these, but I must say that I am sure glad I am. Annie Lamar is sweet as pie and has stolen
our hearts. Let’s start at the beginning…
Trey and I sold our house we had lived in for 7 years, had
begun building our forever home, and moved into a rental house in late April of
2014. At the end of June I took a
pregnancy test on a whim, not expecting to see the plus (+) sign, ohhhh but it
was there. My first reaction was, “NOWAY!” Then I panicked, cried, and immediately got
on the computer. I put all the necessary
info in and it determined my due date to be February 27, 2015. I couldn't call Trey. You just don’t call your husband and be like,
“SURPRISE!!!!”. Instead I panicked alone
for 1 ½ hours. John Brantley was napping
and Ford had a friend over. I’m pretty
sure I didn't think straight the next little bit. After the friend left and Bitty woke up, I
loaded the boys up and we headed to see Daddy.
I sent the boys to talk to Ms. Judy because she gives suckers, and I ran
up the stairs to Trey’s office. I had
the pregnancy test in a zip lock bag and chunked it at him. He looked up and me like, “SHUT UP!” and then
I cried. He, unlike me, was positive
about it from the first. The date was
June 26.
Fast forward and in late July we found out that Annie was a
girl by doing a genetic test called MaterniT 21. And the rest of the pregnancy is nicely documented
in the pages of my blog. By January things
got “real”. I was bigger, it was only a
few weeks until sister arrived, and Trey left for his 4th term as
State Representative in Jackson. I
worried. I tried NOT to worry, but God
wired me that way. I honestly didn't
worry as much as I should have under the circumstances at hand.
By 36 weeks I was going to the doctor every week to be “checked”. I never dilated and was always told, “See you
next week”. Unlike many other females, I
did NOT want Annie to come before her scheduled induction date of February
23. I knew that if my water broke there would
be pain. I knew that if I went into
labor at night there would be panic of who would keep the boys. I knew that if Trey were in Jackson he would
miss the birth. I just couldn't worry
about all of that. Instead I prayed and
trusted that God would make Annie come on 2/23 and her daddy would get me to
the hospital.
The week leading up to her birth was bad. Not for me, but weather wise. There was snow. There was ice. There was inclement weather all over the
place and school was canceled for FOUR days.
Four days!!! I needed my last
week to nest and do stuff that you do before you bring a new addition
home. Instead we had ice. That brought on more worries for Gran, Boom,
Puddin, Pops, and most of Mayberry who worried about me traveling the 1 hour
distance to the hospital. See with all
those people worrying, I didn't have to!!!
My last appointment was scheduled for Wednesday, February
18, but I canceled it due to “inclement weather”. So the final weight gain count was 35
pounds! Please hold your applause. I kept telling everyone that since I had made
it this far Annie wasn't coming out. I
will be honest, there were times I would get a pain and be scared to move because
I thought my water my break, and I did not want that to happen. Last Sunday we went to church and ate at
Puddin’s house for lunch. We knew that
snow and ice was in the forecast for Sunday night so I convinced Trey that we
should go to Memphis Sunday night and stay in a hotel by the hospital. He didn't love that idea, but I am pretty
sure he was tired of hearing about it from about 10 people so he caved. After lunch I came home and nested like a
fool. I washed, cleaned, packed, and
organized stuff. I didn't want to come
home to a mess and be faced with multiple chores and all that I would have
going on after birth.
We dropped the boys off at Puddin and Pop’s house, and left
for Memphis on Sunday night at about 5:30.
Our first stop was dinner at Benihana’s.
It was delicious and I know my body appreciated all of that sodium. After supper we checked in at the Hampton Inn
which was only yards away from the hospital.
In true Joe and Suzanne (my parents- Gran and BoomPa) fashion, they were
the most panicked about the weather and had themselves a hotel room at the
Hampton as well. Since I had 35 pounds
of extra insulation, I was toasty warm in that room. I finally turned the AC on 62 degrees and
attempted to sleep. Between bathroom
breaks every 30 minutes, feeling like I was having menopausal sweats, and
restless leg syndrome at an all time high, I think I slept 4 hours. I woke up Monday morning, February 23rd
at 4:10 AM. I showered and got all
dressed. At 4:46 I was trying to get
Trey up because he is the slowest human being I know. We were supposed to be at the hospital at
5:30 AM. We were definitely still at the
hotel at that hour.
We road to the hospital (through parking lots basically)
with my windshield completely iced over.
Trey dropped me off at the front door and I walked inside. He went and parked the car and together we
headed up to the second floor of the Baptist Women’s Hospital.
To be continued…..
