Kalysa Glori

Well it was 6 years ago, January 24th 2003, I was home and had been trying to clean house all day. I was 26 weeks pregnant with my 3rd baby. All day long I just did not feel right. I kept trying to clean to take my mind off of things but it was not working. I just did not think the baby was moving around as much as normal. Things just felt weird. I had bladder infections and vaginal infections and yeast infections and kidney infections all through out the pregnancy-that is the only time I have ever had them-so I thought that had to be the reason I didn't feel right. Every hour or so I would go and lay down kinda on my side kinda on my stomach just to make this tiny baby mad so that she would move around in protest to my position and in turn reassure her mama that she was doing ok. I had not had any pains but I knew something was not exactly as it should be. Then around 8pm I started having contractions and the feeling that something was not right left me. NOW I KNEW FOR SURE! I did not know what to think! I had gotten pregnant when my baby-this babies BIG sister-was only 3 months old. I was not ready to have another baby! It would rob Keslee of her own babyhood. Monty and I had taken steps to prevent getting pregnant again. We had decided that our family was complete with one daddy one mama one son and one daughter. I was not happy and excited the day I found out I was pregnant but I had changed my mind. I loved my baby and knew Keslee would be a great big sister at 1 year old, but now, 26 weeks into it, I thought I was about to be punished for seeing the blessing that God was giving us as a burden instead. I called mom and she came right over to take me to the hospital. The ride takes about 30 minutes and by the time we arrived the pains had gotten pretty bad. The hospital I was planning on delivering at was not equipped to deal with a 14 week premature baby but they did do a stress test and a few other things. The baby looked good-her heart rate was strong-she was strong-she was moving all around even though I could not always tell it. I had another bladder infection. That must be what was causing the pain. I needed antibiotics, lots of water and some rest. On our way home we stopped to get the medicine filled and I did not think I was gonna make it! The pains were getting worse. We stopped and got a hamburger because I had not eaten all day(I just had not felt like eating at all) and a jug of water. Before we got home I had to have mom pull over so that I could throw up the hamburger. It never dawned on me that is a sign of active labor!?! I finally got home, Kenyon was staying the night with John(my brother) and Keslee was already asleep so I settled in to get the prescribed rest. About midnight, after tossing and turning and not sleeping but not having as much pain, I went to the bathroom and that is when I saw small spots of blood. I called mom and she rushed back over. Monty was still at work but I called him and gave him an update and let him know we were heading back to the hospital. He was gonna meet us there this time. This time the nurses checked me and I was dilated to about a 3. They hooked up an IV with the proper medicine to stop pre-term labor and sent me by ambulance to Mercy hospital with a full NICU unit. The pains had stopped for a while but by the time I got to the other hospital(around 3am), they were back. I was taken directly to a room and I don't know how many nurses started to work. I had shots to stop the labor, shots of steroids for the baby in case they could not stop it, the foot of the bed was raised so gravity would be on our side and not against us and the on call doctor was called in. around 6am I was dilated to an 8 and the doctor told me we could either keep doing what we were doing and she would probably be born within the hour or we could go ahead with a c-section that was safer on a pre-mature babies tiny soft skull. We opted for the c-section and around 7:20 am on January 25th 2003, our 2 pound 4 ounce 13 inch long baby girl made the tiniest squeaking cry that sounded like a newborn kitten. The NICU team started working on her right away and I was taken back to my room to pray and call everyone I knew and wait. By noon God had let me know everything was gonna be alright, even though the doctors had not told me anything. I was at peace and knew that God was taking care of everything and I was ready to see my baby. Of course c-sections moms never make it all the way down to the NICU the first day or two after surgery but I had made the nurse that was with me all morning promise to take me before her shift ended. She did not believe it would happen but I kept hounding her and around 3 pm I climbed into a wheelchair and went down the long hall to see my baby. She was stabilized and on a ventilator and the tiniest little thing I had ever seen. Pictures can not do justice to how tiny she really was. I talked to her and held her little hand and sat with her for a while until the nurse made me go back to my room. That evening I made that long trip down the hall again for the second time within 12 hours of having major surgery but there was nothing that could have kept me from her. My baby girl-born just 9 months and 2 weeks after my first baby girl. Today my girls are the best of friends and are now both 6 years old(the same age for 2 1/2 months) and that 2 pound baby is riding her new 2 wheel bike(with training wheels) all through my house because it is icy and too cold to go outside and telling me she had now practiced for 2 days and is sure she is ready to take the training wheels off and ride like Keslee does. She never was one for waiting!!!