The Penelope Story

Last Wednesday, the 28th, I was busy being pregnant and taking full advantage of my state by planning on not going to the Young Women's activity that night. However that afternoon when I found out some of the girls needed rides to get to the activity, I agreed to go after all. I believe my actual words were, "It's not like I'll be having the baby tonight..." So, I spent an hour or so that evening chauffeuring girls to and from the activity across Houston's notoriously bumpy, potholed roads.

Fast forward to later that night (or actually 4 am in the morning): my water breaks. I blame the bumpy roads--either that, or the Lord blessed me for my righteousness in doing my calling by letting me have the baby right away. I stood in the bathtub shaking and trying not to panic while Roo finished packing our hospital bag, my due date was still 2 1/2 weeks away after all. I called the doctor and was told to come on into the hospital and they'd see what was going on.

We arrived at the hospital around 5 am, got checked in, and waited. Apparently, Penny decided to be born on the busiest day of the year at the hospital--they couldn't even find any pillows for my bed and we had to wait a long time to see anyone. I meanwhile was having strong, but not too painful, contractions.

By 11 am, we'd confirmed that I was well on my way to having the baby, and I was well on my way to wanting an epidural. The thing about my epidural was that it only ended up working on one side of my body. Ugh! The next three hours were agonizing, except for a brief respite brought on by an extra dose of painkiller on top of the epidural. (This made me loopy and nauseous and had me clinging to a plastic throw up bucket like it was Wilson from Cast Away.) Thankfully I didn't throw up, and thankfully the agony only lasted until 2:30. By then I was ready to start pushing.

I pushed for two hours when I had Esmé, so I was expecting another crucible like that. Yet, after only four or five contractions of pushing, Penny was born at 2:49 pm! I was so wonderfully relieved and Penny was so, so beautiful! I couldn't believe she was actually here!

She is so lovely! I was worried that my heart couldn't hold so much love for two little girls--that I'd have to take away some from one in order to have some for the other, but this wasn't the case. I so immediately felt my heart grow to encompass the new little being I'd just met, and it also made me long to see and hold my dear little Esmé.

Pregnancy, labor, and motherhood is a long, painful, hormonally-charged business. So why do we do it? For me, this is why: