I know that I've said that A LOT lately, and I can't tell you how much I'm loving it. This summer we've gone from being the only people with kids to almost all of our inner circle having kids. We're loving it!
Thursday morning, I made my way downtown to the Wishard to settle in for the induction of baby Walroth. Sara and Todd's families were there as well and it was evident that never has a baby been more loved.
At a little after 10:00 am, the party started and the waiting began. We watched the monitors obsessively. We told Sara each time a contraction began to climb its hill, (in case she didn't know) Sara's dad and I kept good track of the little one's "TOCO" score... We still have no idea what that is, but we know that it was always somewhere between 4-40 :)
As the day went on, we scrabbled, we uno'd, we read, I crocheted, and Sara labored. In the early evening, things began heating up. Sara's labor intensified, and eventually her water broke. As she labored harder, her mom and I talked and worried. We snuck to her room a few times just to be near. Just to know that she was okay.
At 1:00 am, Sara was fully dilated. They gave her an hour to "labor down", and then she did a couple of practice pushes. About a forty-five minutes after that, she started pushing again. This time for real. As she pushed, I sat at her doorway. My breath catching in my chest. Then the "team" showed up. I saw them coming. It seemed as though there were twenty of them. When Sara's water broke, there was meconium present which means that the baby could have aspirated bacteria into her lungs. The NICU team needed to be present to assess the baby immediately. There were just so many of them. Seeing them arrive, the tears started flowing. There were so many of them. There was so much equipment. The silent prayers were constant at that point. Only a few pushes later, I listened to the cheers of the people in the room. A baby girl was born. Choruses of, "She's beautiful." and "You did so well." and "Congratulations!" filled the air.
One thing was missing though...
A baby's cry.
Sobs wracked my body as I waited for that precious sound. Seconds melted into hours, it seemed. It was an eternity in less than a minute.
Then I heard it. First a squeak, then a whimper, then a small cry.
The sobs turned into tears of joy and relief. I heard Todd introduce her to the world, "Alexa Grace". It was a miracle. My best friend was a Mother.
A few minutes later, I got to meet her. Allie was precious beyond words. Sara was glowing, beautiful, and confident. We all admired the sweet miracle as she looked around, taking in her new world.
Hugs were given. Tears were cried. She was here.
A short while later, I was driving home bleary-eyed and grateful to the core of my being. Grateful for the miracle that had taken place, grateful to have been a part of it. She's the niece of my heart, no blood relation required. I love that little girl with my heart and soul.
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