Happy Birthday, Meagan!

It was a warm, sunny morning, 38 years ago. After a good night's sleep, I rolled out of bed at 7:00, and immediately had a contraction. That was nothing new; I'd been having contractions off and on for a month. But since we had already waited for five days beyond my due date, I was hopeful that this contraction was signaling the start of real labor. I was really hoping that this baby wouldn't make me wait as long as big sister, Erin, who had been born 10 days late.

I got dressed quickly, and helped three-year-old Erin get dressed, as well, before we all sat down for breakfast. I doubt if I ate much.

I don't remember where Bill was working that day--perhaps he was doing a repair at one of the apartments he managed, or he might have been working at a construction job somewhere. Either way, in that time before cell phones, he promised to call me every hour throughout the morning to check on me.

Mom had flown into the Scottsbluff airport a few days earlier to help after the baby was born. I had warned her that this baby might be late, thus lengthening her stay, but she was concerned about my elevated blood pressure, so I guess she thought she would worry less if she was close by. I don't remember if she slept on the extra trundle bed in Erin's room, or on the pull out couch in the living room of our tiny, two-bedroom house.

I had just finished my second and final year of teaching music out at Cedar Canyon School, a large country school located four miles southwest of Gering. Even though it had been a mild spring, I hadn't gotten around to planting any flowers yet, so Mom and I had bought some petunias and marigolds the day before. We spent the morning planting the flowers in the backyard, stopping whenever necessary so I could breathe through a contraction, while Erin played on her swing or in the sandbox. It was a beautiful, sunny day!

By the time Bill came home for lunch, I was having regular contractions, although they weren't very close together yet. After he finished eating, Bill suggested that we should walk around the block to see if that would speed things along. Mom stayed behind to put Erin down for her nap, and Bill held my hand as we slowly made our way around the block. By the time we got back to the house, Erin was asleep, and it was obvious that I was in full-blown labor. 

I called the doctor's office to let them know, and the nurse insisted that we should stop at the clinic before heading to the hospital, so Dr. Klein could check to make sure I was really in labor.

I took my time gathering up a few last-minute items to add to my packed bag--or maybe it just seemed to Bill that I was taking too long, since I had to stop for each contraction. They were definitely increasing in intensity and duration. Bill hustled me out to the car. I remember crossing the railroad tracks, which jostled me more than I liked that day.

When we arrived at the clinic, a nurse ushered us into an examination room right away, so I could lie down, if I needed to, while we waited for the doctor to come in and check my progress. So I lay there, with a soft pillow under my head, breathing through each contraction as Bill timed it. This was our second baby, and we had taken various childbirth and Lamaze classes during both pregnancies, so we knew just what to do. I was certainly "in the zone," just concentrating on breathing as I had been taught. 

We waited for more than an hour as Bill grew more and more concerned that no one had checked on us. As I recall, he finally poked his head out the door, flagged down a passing nurse, and told her quite firmly that the doctor had better come and see me right away, unless he wanted to deliver the baby right there at the clinic.

Finally, the doctor arrived, took one look, and told us to head across the street to the hospital, tell the nurses "No prep!" and that he would be right there. I still remember the shocked look on his face when he realized we didn't have much time to spare.

Bill was feeling more than a little nervous when I insisted on using the restroom before we left the clinic, but I was feeling rather desperate by then. I didn't dawdle. 

Meagan Leigh Bauer was born 20 minutes after we arrived at the hospital, around 3:30 on the afternoon of June 3rd. Dr. Klein made it just in time. And I was certainly grateful for the lack of "prep," which meant no enema, among other things.

Meagan was our second miracle baby. Actually, she may have been even more of a miracle baby than Erin was, because she was conceived without any assistance from a fertility specialist.

When Erin met Meagan

It would be an understatement to say that we were pleased to have a second daughter. I still remember an older woman at church who tactlessly commented something like, "Oh, you had another girl. That's too bad." I remember looking at her in disbelief before assuring her that we were very happy God had blessed us with another daughter.

 

Dad drove out a few days later to take Mom home, bringing his mom (my grandma) along so she could meet the baby, too. 

It didn't take us long to get used to being a family of four.

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. 
Psalm 127:3

A proud big sister holding a sleepy baby