On becoming a "new" grandma...again!

          In February, I was shown just how quickly life catches up with all of us and tries to make us all sentimental fools at any given time.  My first daughter, Melissa, was due to have her first child on January 25, 2007...and, although her pregnancy did not have a lot of any severe problems---complications of a different type presented themselves on February 1, 2007 when the midwife and doctor tried to induce labor since she was almost 14 days overdue with her baby.

          Melissa went in to the hospital the night before, and, the doctor and midwife tried to induce labor the whole day of February 1.  However, my grandson just did not want to be born that day---and Melissa wasn't having severe enough contractions or even dilating significantly enough to even have the baby.  So, the doctor and midwife gave Melissa a choice: she could try again the next day, or, make an appointment with her midwife for Monday (the 5th of February) to see what they would have to decide after the weekend.

         Melissa was scared due to the whole days' events---and, so, she made the decision to consult with her midwife and the doctor on Monday...she wanted to go back home and think a lot of things through before making any drastic decisions that she wasn't necessarily in agreement with.  She spent the weekend talking to me, her aunts, and any other female that had had to go through childbirth just to get moral support and a little more information. 

         On Monday, during her appointment with her midwife, she learned that having her first child was gonna have to be by cesarean section, since the doctor believed that she was too small to give birth naturally.  They set up Melissa's surgery for the next day, and, Melissa and her cousin Kari  went down to the hospital that night.

          My significant other and I awoke at five a.m. that morning---I promised Melissa I would be there at the hospital for her before she went in to surgery---our car ride would be about an hour long and we also needed to pick up Rob & his mom Teresa (daddy & paternal grandma).  We left out of Pontiac around six a.m. and arrived at the hospital around seven a.m., before central IL became the scene of the first snowstorm of the winter.

         I was truly scared for my daughter:  I knew what it was like to have to have surgery, and, I could understand why she looked so terrified that morning before they wheeled her away to the OR.  Rob accompanied Melissa into the OR to be there with her when she had the baby, and, the rest of us waited in the hospital waiting room---watching the clock, pacing back & forth, trying not to wear a path into the carpet.  Even though I had been through it before---I began to worry as I watched the clock: It was close to eight a.m. and the hospital staff, doctor, midwife, Melissa & Rob had been in the OR since 7:30 a.m.  I kept trying to tell myself that I shouldn't be worried, I should try to keep positive, that Melissa was very healthy and that even though she is a lot like me, she's not gonna have the same experiences that I had. 

         At 8:17 a.m., my grandson Trent Alekzander was born---and, they brought him out to the nursery, with daddy Rob following behind him.  The nurses weighed & measured him, took his temperature, and all that other stuff that the nurses hve to do to record his birth properly.  At the time he was born, he weighed seven pounds, ten ounces and was nineteen and a half inches long.  Melissa was still in the operating room. The pictures I took after they brought out Trent were very darling---I even have one of Rob and Teresa sharing a happy tears moment together over Trent's arrival.  However, I was still very worried about my daughter---why was she still in the operating room??? What is going on with MY baby?

          I found out around ten a.m. that MY baby---my daughter Melissa---was having a bad time with the morphine that was given to her during surgery and was not in a good way.  The nurses asked us all if we could leave for a couple of hours, so as to allow Melissa to rest and possibly get the nausea she was experiencing under control.  Ed and I left for a little while so we could get Melissa & Rob a gift basket to congratulate them on Trent's birth.  It didn't take too long, so, we decided to just sit out in the car to pass the time by instead of possibly dealing with negative feedback from the hospital---but also saving us an hour drive.

          When I was finally able to see my daughter, she still was having difficulties--she had inherited my weak stomach in regards to morphine, and, she had turned white as a ghost on top of it.  Both Teresa and I finally got to hold our new grandson---but I still felt awful for my daughter.  After visiting with my new grandson for about ten minutes, giving Melissa & Rob their Congratulations gift basket, we all left for the day.  I was very concerned, but, obviously, I had to give my daughter time to recover from her ordeal on her own.  On the way home, the roads were very hazardous and it took 2 hours just to arrive home safely.

          The next day---we all packed up again and drove down to the hospital---and, I am glad to say that my daughter was beginning to recover from the problems of giving birth the previous day.  The color was back in her face; she was even feeding, holding & taking care of Trent as well. 

          Although it's been a month since Trent arrived...and my daughter has really come a long way from the day she had Trent....being "Grandma" again is such a beautiful & rewarding life experience.  It's enough to bring tears to my eyes just because I see my daughter grow as a woman as well as experience my newest grandson Trent's growth in all areas.  And wow, he is definitely a growing boy---he now weighs nine pounds and twelve ounces and is twenty one inches long!  Melissa's stitches have healed, and, it's only a matter of time before she goes back to work.  However, to wrap it all up:  I am a very blessed person---I have not only my new grandson, Trent---I also have my children---Jason, Melissa, & Erin; I also have my oldest grandson, Ethan; and I have a very kind & caring better half---Ed, and I have found that being blessed isn't just being part of a family.  It is changing with your family, no matter what life throws at all of you---and being thankful for the grandchildren & children that are part of my legacy on this earth.