And Then There Were Three. Sherri Grace's Birth Story: Part 1

I am so sorry this has taken so long to post, but I will thank you now for giving me the time to adjust to three. I can't believe it...still. I am the mother of three.....THREE! And honestly, it's not too bad. It helps that our little girl is just heavenly, but I skip forward.

I went to the doc at 40 weeks and 3 days to find out that our baby wasn't going anywhere. She was way too snug and had no plans of coming out anytime soon. I really, really, REALLY wanted to try a v-bac and was so blessed to find a doc willing to do one. But at 40 weeks, even the doc was getting a little uncomfortable with the idea of a v-bac and suggested we just get her here(although, at the time we didn't know if she was a he or a she). With our experience with Chase, I didn't hesitate. I was ready to have her in my arms and know that she was a-okay. So we planned to have her the next day. But come to find out, the OR's were booked for the following day, but they did have an available room that night! All I could think was: "Alright, here we go." So November 3rd was going to be our baby's day....her birthday.

We had time to go home and pack, prepare the boys, and just settle into the fact that our little was going to be here in just a few hours. I packed the baby's bag with the going-home outfit and realized I never got an outfit for a boy because I was so confident it was a girl. But when I realized this, I started getting nervous. How terrible of a mom would I have been if it was a boy!?

I gave my boys some good-bye sugars (okay. A lot.) and realized this was the last time it would be just my two boys. It was really gut-wrenching for me. The last two and a half years were all about them. They were my life source. They were my everyday, my whole world. What was going to change now with a new baby? Would I be able to give them all the love and attention they so very much deserve? Would one feel left out? I felt like I had to give them a lifetime's worth of loving in that one little moment.

We got to the hospital and the prep and waiting flew by. I couldn't believe how fast it was going and how calm I was. Mom, Dad, and Nana all got there right before they rolled me in.

They rolled me into the same operating room Chase was born and emotions began to just flood my mind. This room was such a bittersweet, intense memory for me. The same room my new little would be born.

I had prepared a playlist on my iPod with all these emotional, meaningful songs to listen to while my third child was being born, but it turns out you can't bring your own iPod into the OR. The moment Chase was born, Shania Twain's "From This Moment On" was playing on the OR's radio. Such an appropriate song for him. Such a dear song to us. I wanted the same for this little. So I asked them to turn the radio on, just waiting for the "right" song to play as she was being born.

My husband came in after they put in the epidural. At this point, all the motions were becoming sluggish. I didn't remember it taking this long with Chase. I was nervous, but as soon as I saw my husband's excited face all the nerves went away. My knight in shining armor had arrived. I still don't know what goes through his mind during these moments, he doesn't much talk about it, but the bliss is written all over his face. He sat down, held my hand and asked, "are you ready for this?" with a smile on his face that would match that of a child walking into Disneyworld for the first time. You'd think this was his first rodeo....not the third!

They started the surgery, which again seemed to take a lot longer this time around. Randall never let go of my hand. He would look down at me, look over the curtain, look back at me, kiss my forehead, ask me if I was alright, with that gentle part of him that I love so much. The doc said she was almost done and I reminded her to tell me immediately what it was. She said, "how 'bout we let your husband tell you." This really got Randall pumped.

I heard her cry before she was even all the way out and I heard Randall yell, "It's a girl, baby!!! It's a girl!!!! We got our girl!!! Sherri's here!!!!" I didn't have words. I knew it was a girl. I always knew. But to have the confirmation was too much, and then to hear that name. That name. I couldn't speak. All I could do was cry. I knew this feeling. I've felt it two other times before. Just never to that name. I've been waiting for her, and she was finally here. Sherri's here.

To be continued....