Blessed

            About 3 weeks ago, my sister-in-law who's been living with us for the past few months, had her baby.  She had decided to place the baby up for adoption through LDS Family Services and picked out a fabulous family for him!  She had him about 2 and a half weeks early and it was an incredibly smooth delivery.  I typed in my journal the next day the story about the whole birth process (leaving out the gory details, of course!).  I debated for a while now whether or not I would share this, because it isn't my story, but I've been feeling that I wanted to acknowledge how blessed we've been and how many miracles we've seen throughout the whole process by sharing it with friends and family (which are the only people who read this blog anyways).  So, here it goes...
            "My sister-in-law had her baby last night (Mar. 2nd) and so I didn't get to sleep until about 7 this morning.  I slept for about 3 hours and then came to work.  Everything went very smoothly and wonderfully!  It was the fastest delivery (from the time her water broke until she had the baby was only 5 hours, total)!  I got a call on my way home from work letting me know that her water had broken.  Chris was closer to home so he hurried home to get her and then drove her to the hospital.  I met them there.  They were just getting ready to take her up to the room when I got there.  We went up to the labor and delivery floor and they checked her in.  They put her in a room to check her and see if she was actually in labor and she was already dilated to a 5!  Needless to say, she wasn’t going anywhere!  They got her all hooked up and settled in and then gave her the iv and epidural about an hour later.  As soon as my mother-in-law heard that it was for real, she and my father-in-law jumped in the car and headed down here.  At first we were thinking that we might be able to wait for them to get here, but everything went so quickly that wasn’t an option.  I got to be a surrogate mother for the night! As soon as she got settled into the room, Chris and our cousin Matt gave her a blessing that was really special.  It definitely helped bring the Spirit and ease some of the anxiety of the situation.

Around 9:30 p.m. she was totally dilated and they called her doctor to come for the delivery.  Her doctor was amazing!  He’s been so great with her throughout the whole process.  He has 3 adopted sons himself, so he’s had a great perspective to bring to the table.  (The labor and delivery nurse we had was also amazing!  She was so helpful and calm and attentive the whole time.  She definitely made things easier for all of us!)

Once the pushing started, things went even faster.  I think they said she only pushed for about 25 minutes.  The baby was born officially at 10:12 p.m.  He was 7 lbs and 18 inches long.  He has really dark hair and eyes.  (He even has dark hair on the back of his ears and on his back!  Hahaha!  I’m sure that will fall out…I hope!)  I held her foot and "helped" her push the whole time! I had a front-row, sideline view! It was kinda gross, but also very amazing.  I totally know that I was blessed beyond my abilities because hospitals usually make me uncomfortable and nervous (and I also really hate feet! Hahaha!), but she needed someone and since her mom couldn't be there, I knew I needed to step up.  I’m sure the experience is tough enough without having to feel like you’re doing it alone. 

After the baby was born, I got to cut the umbilical cord.  That was crazy!  I never thought I’d get to do that.  Then they took the baby to clean him up and take all his measurements.  I took lots of pictures.  I was fighting back tears so many times throughout the night.  I think it was a mixture of exhaustion, love for this new little person, love for my sister-in-law, and pure joy for the adopting parents!  I finally got to meet them last night!  My mother-in-law called them to let them know that my sister-in-law was in labor, and then they got to come down to the hospital to help give the baby his first bath and hold him for a bit.  I was glad that my sister-in-law agreed to have them be a part of the whole birth process.  They can’t have their own children so they will never have the hospital experience.  With their first child (also adopted) they just picked her up from the hospital a couple of days after she was born.  I know they really appreciated being able to be a part of the baby’s birth.  They are such an amazing couple! I'm so happy for them!  I almost cried like 50 times last night, especially seeing them hold the baby for the first time!

Through all of this my sister-in-law has done really well.  She wants to have every minute possible with her baby, so she’s kept him in her room and has pretty much held him the whole time.  When I left the hospital this morning at about 6:15 she still hadn't slept at all.  I think she’s running on adrenaline.  She's so cute with him!  I know it's going to be hard for her to let him go, but she said she thinks it will be a little bit easier knowing that she's doing the right thing and knowing that they're the right family for her boy to be with. 

             Looking back now, it’s amazing to see the way things have turned out.  As her doctor said, “The Lord makes miracles out of messes.”  I never would’ve imagined that the mess we were going through when this all started could’ve turned into such a beautiful miracle for us, for the adopting family, and most importantly for for my sister-in-law.  We have been very blessed!"
             Well.... that's it.  More time has passed now and the little guy has been with his family for almost 3 full weeks.  The night they took him home was a very emotional night.  My sister-in-law is very brave and probably one of the strongest people I know.  It has truly been a blessing to have her in our home.