Allison's Story

Baby Allie, here is the story of your arrival into this world ( Big Sister's Story can be read here) 

**Pregnancy and Labor stories can get pretty graphic... just saying) 

I had gestational diabetes during my pregnancy with you. We had to monitor you more closely because of a variety of things that were out of our control. Each week we listened to your heartbeat and got to see you on the ultrasound screen. We saw your lips, watched you try to suck on your toe, and talked about how beautiful you were when the screen was switched to 3D. We could not wait to meet you face to face! Usually, patients with gestational diabetes were induced at 39 weeks. I decided I wanted to wait, convinced you would come when you were ready. 

Your due date was Monday, March 27. We had bets and theories of when you would arrive. Many people made specific requests that you would be born on their birthdays. I thought you would arrive on your daddy's birthday (March 24), but it was possible you would arrive on your papa's birthday (March 28). Daddy thought you might come on April 1, and I hoped he was wrong! 

About 3 AM, I woke up with an urge to go number 2 (I'm already regretting sharing this info, but it's important for later). This was not uncommon with pregnancy. I stumbled to the bathroom, sat down and nothing happened. The pressure was so intense. I went back to bed, only to feel the urge again. I returned to the bathroom- again, nothing. My stomach was starting to cramp a little, and at one point it felt like I wet the bed. I woke up your dad and mentioned I thought I was having contractions, and your daddy was a flutter of excitement! He flipped on the lights and said "We're going to the hospital!", left the room and made a cup of coffee and loaded the car. 

By 4:30 AM we were on our way to the hospital, a 45 minute drive. I pushed my suitcase past security, who didn't even need to ask why I was there, and went up to whatever floor I was supposed to go to. When I checked in, I mentioned this urge to have to go Number 2, which I would continue to warn everyone about. The rest of everything is a blur and time flew by. 

I was begging for an epidural. I would "joke" that my birth plan just said "DRUGS, ASAP"... but really, it was no joke. That's the way I wanted it. I had labor pains all the way to the 3rd floor. I was dilated to 4 when we arrived. The nurse said, "So, you wanted an epidural like yesterday, right?" They called in my request and we waited... well they waited, I huffed and puffed through contractions. The next time they checked my cervix, I was dilated to a 6. 

I was moved to the room you would be born in. Still no epidural. I must have asked (screamed) about 50 times about it in about 20 minutes. The nurse was so kind and would call to check each time... I'm sure around the 30th time she just pretended to call on her phone to please me. She checked my cervix again... 9 (it was a 6 about 20 minutes ago!). 

I began to weep. 

Fearful tears fell as thoughts of more intense contractions lasting until who knows when began to creep into my mind's eye. The midwife, a couple of nurses, and the anesthesiologist were all in my room. The anesthesiologist was taking her "sweet time" *not* giving me what I wanted. I think I actually asked her to stop talking and just give me the epidural, which got her to stop talking long enough to explain that she had to explain everything to me... your daddy later apologized on my behalf saying I usually am much nicer. 

They asked your daddy to stand by the door, so he wouldn't pass out from seeing the epidural needle. While sitting on the edge of the bed, the urge to go number 2 came again and my body just began to push. I yelled out "I'm going to poop!!" to which the nurse and midwife shouted "That's not poop, that's the baby! Lay down!!" 

I tried to lay my contracting, pregnant self down while they tried to push me on to my back. My left shoulder touched the bed, and Baby Allie, you were already out! It happened so fast that you bounced on the bed before the midwife caught you! Your daddy was standing by the door in amazement because of how quickly you came! 

You were born at 6:44 AM- 3 1/2 hours after my first trip to the bathroom. You weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces and were 19 inches long. You are Harrington through and through- extremely punctual. You arrived on your due date of March 27, 2017. There was no time for epidural and no time for pictures. 

My body was in shock. For the next several hours I kept asking if that *really* happened. I said things like "that was so crazy!" or "I can't believe that just happened". You were born quickly, but had no complications. You passed all your screenings and had no fluid stuck in places it shouldn't be. 

Allison, we thank God for your precious arrival. You, dear one, have already made such a sweet impact on those around you. We pray that you would know Christ early in life. We pray that you would be a peace-bringer and you would speak Truth in love. You are dearly loved by Momma, Daddy, Kate and all of our family, but we could never ever love you more than the One who knit you together in a loving way. This is only the beginning of your story, dearest, and we are looking forward to sharing your adventures together. 

Love, 

Momma 

Toddler Speak and Funny Things

Kate's use of the English language has really taken off during our extended stay in America. She speaks *all the time*. If she's telling a story, it could take a while before one realizes there is really no point to her story. A few things are certain- there will be much enthusiasm and usually a monster is involved. 

Here are some examples of Kate's "Toddler Speak" that I don't want to forget. 

- Not much is on daytime television when you're nine months pregnant, so I got really into the NCAA men's basketball tournaments. Yes, there were two, and I watched both of them. We would ask Kate which team she wanted to win the game. We would ask if she would want the white uniforms or the blue uniforms to win. Her response was "ummmmmm, the blue unicorns". 

- Have you tried to explain an umbilical cord to a three year old? I haven't, but I know a few of you have. We did our best to explain that was how Baby Allie (Kate is very certain that Baby is Allie's first name, just like it's her first name) got her food when she was inside Momma's tummy. Now that she is on the outside, she doesn't need the umbilical cord anymore. A few days later after the cord fell off, Kate was shocked and said," Momma! Where's Baby Allie's *belly cord*??" 

 - Kate enjoys being outside with Grandma Lu digging in her garden. Grandma Lu has fishing wire strung around her garden to prevent the deer from munching on her greens. One sunny day, Kate was brought inside to timeout. Kate had gotten a pair of scissors and snipped each section of the fishing line. Josh asked her if she understood why she was in time out. She said yes. He asked her to explain what she did. She explained that she cut the wire, because she wanted the deer to eat grandma's garden. 

*At this point all adults exit the room attempting to maintain a straight face.* 

**At this point we realized that we have a future activist on our hands, chaining to trees might be in her future. Her current campaign is to "Feed the Deer".** 

We love Kate and love this stage of life she's in. We can communicate with one another, which is great but can be greatly frustrating too. One step at a time, because tomorrow will be different.