Just Smile. Just Laugh.

Well, to say I had an eventful weekend would be the understatement of the year. I will apologize in advance if some of this post doesn't make much sense, I'm running off of minimal sleep.

This past 30 hours has been one of the most memorable times in my life, and it came with no warning at all. I have made a couple of wonderful friends here and am so grateful to have them in my life. This past week I was on spring break and have been spending a lot of my free time with them. We've been going on much needed outings to take our minds off of our husbands being gone and to just get some much needed adult conversation. So to end a wonderful week, we all went to breakfast yesterday morning. We pigged out at iHop and then we all went home to just sort of wind down before the week ahead overwhelmed us. Sarah's husband was due to come home in four days, Jenn had a stack of ACU bag orders to fill, and I was going back to school the next day. At around 4:45 P.M. Sarah calls me because I had text her whining about not knowing what to make Brooke and I for dinner. She tells me that she's been having contractions for the past two hours, but she thinks they're just braxton hicks and that she's dehydrated and hungry. So then we get on the topic of food and how we don't feel like making dinner because it's a pain to cook for 1 1/2. I suggest going out to eat because we didn't want to cook and it sounded like fun. Sarah calls Jenn and we all decide to meet at Red Robin in 40 minutes. We all show up at relatively the same time, get our table and order. Throughout the meal Jenn and I can tell that the contractions are still coming and they're coming at regular intervals. Sarah is timing them just to keep track. Towards the end of the meal, the contractions seem to be getting stronger so Sarah calls labor and delivery to ask their advice. They tell her it would probably be a good idea to just come in and make sure everything is ok and they also wanted to monitor her and measure her contractions. Jenn and I fly into go mode. We work out the details among ourselves. Jenn is going to take Teresa (Sarah's 2 year old daughter) back to her house while I take Sarah to labor and delivery to get her checked out. I get Brooke strapped into her car seat and pull my car around to where Sarah and Jenn are. I tell Sarah to take a seat in my car and that Jenn and I will get Teresa's car seat situated in Jenn's SUV. That was a challenge by its self because the parking lot was so dang icy. Jenn and I almost went down a couple of times. So we get the cars situated and Jenn takes Teresa. I drive the block to the hospital, drop Sarah off at the entrance and go to park the car. I get Brooke inside and up to Sarah's room where they've hooked her up the the fetal heart monitor and contraction thinga ma jig. I'm chasing Brooke around the room trying to keep everything as calm as possible, but it's a challenge since two year olds have an agenda all of their own. Sarah, Brooke and I are there for about 3 hours when one of the nurses come in and tells us that they would like to keep Sarah there for a few more hours just to see if her labor progresses. I decide that it's best for Brooke to not be there because she's getting cranky due to the fact that it's past her bedtime. I call my daycare lady and made plans for Brooke to go spend the night there since Brooke was going to be there the next day anyways. My caregiver says it's ok so I pack my kid up, tell Sarah I'll be back ASAP and head home to grab Brooke and overnight bag. I get to my caregivers, drop Brooke off and she's not even phased by the whole situation. I kiss her good night and get back in the car to get back to Sarah. This whole time I'm trying to keep a calm head about the situation. She has been on the phone with her husband to keep him updated on the situation and to reassure him everything is ok. I get back to the hospital and make very attempt to keep the atmosphere as light as possible. I knew Sarah was stressing about so many things, and I wanted to try and keep her mind off of the pain and her stress. We sit around chatting in her room, listen to another lady in the next room have a very loud labor and delivery and just hope that everything is going to be ok. Sarah has been in constant contact with her husband and finds out that if she is in fact in labor, he wouldn't be able to make it home that night. The earliest he would be able to come home is the next day. About three hours after I get back to the hospital, the main doctor on call comes in to check her out. It turns out that she is in fact in active labor and dilating. Since Sarah had a c-section with her previous child, she was going to have a c-section with this child. The doctor and nurses go into go mode and schedule her c-section for an hour out. I myself go into go mode because I know that I need to be there for Sarah since her husband isn't able to be there and her mom is stuck in Minnesota. She then asks me to stay and help her through the delivery and to be there for her and her new baby boy. I feel so honored that she wants me to be there during such an amazing event. I help Sarah fill out paper work and try and keep her mind off of the fact that her husband wasn't going to be there. Once everything is set, they take Sarah back to the OR and get her spinal in. They've given me the white has mat suit, hair net and shoe covers. I look absolutely ridiculous. About 20 minutes after they've rolled Sarah away, the nurse comes to get me and brings me into the operating room. I'm led to a stool near Sarah's head manned with my camera with strict instructions to take as many pictures as I can. I talk to her while they start the procedure and am just in awe of everything that was going on. I somewhat knew how she felt because I myself was in that position just two years before, but I did have my husband with me. It took about ten minutes to get to the baby. Then the anesthesiologist tells me I can stand up and when I do, I see little Alistair's head being pulled from Sarah's stomach. In no time the rest of him is pulled out and I start clicking away. This baby boy is so perfect it brought tears to my eyes. It was so surreal to be in that situation and to witness such a miracle. I telling Sarah over and over how perfect he is and you can see the love just flow through her. She is glowing. The nurse then says that they're going to take Alistair to get him cleaned up and get his vitals. I follow the baby and nurse into the NICU (that's where they take all babies who were born via c-section) and just hover as they go through procedure. They hook him up to a couple monitors because he was a few weeks early and they just want to make sure everything is ok. I sit with Alistair for close to two hours. I can't take my eyes off of his perfect little face. Finally the nurse suggests I go check on Sarah and I tear myself away. Sarah is recovering and looks fabulous after just having her stomach cut open. She sends me home to get some sleep. I head out at around 3:30 AM and crawl into bed.

I wake up the next morning (Monday) at around 10 am, take a shower and am out the door in 15 minutes. I head to Sarah's room to find her dozing. Little Alistair can't be with her if shes alone because shes in such a fragile state. She has the nurse bring him in and I visit with them for a little bit. I then head to her house to get some essentials and head back to wait for her husband and in-laws. Jenn brings Teresa a little bit later and Cody (the dad) comes in not too long after that. A happy reunion.

This whole experience has been so amazing words can't even describe. I feel so blessed to have been part of such a memorable experience. Sarah kept thanking me for everything I was doing, but I was thanking her for trusting me and wanting me to be there with her. It's so weird to be on the other end of the spectrum. Almost two years ago I was the one on the table not knowing what was going on and feeling completely overwhelmed. Because of that, I was able to keep a clear head and help her the best I knew how. I still can't get over the fact that I got to witness such a miracle. I have now been on both sides of the situation and each are amazing in their own way. The funny thing is, Teresa and Alistair have the same birthday. Brother and sister share the same day. How funny is that? Exactly two years apart.

So in closing I want to say, Happy Birthday Alistair and Teresa!!!!

*This is my "I'm about to help deliver a baby" pose. It's about 12AM here.*

Mommy and baby!!!!