Annsley Louise's Birth Story
Submitted by LBWareAdmon
For starters, she's not my birth child, she is my sister's biological child. My sister died from complications during childbirth.
My sister came to my room that morning at about 12:45 and asked me where the clean sheets were because she hadn't made it to the bathroom. I got up, because she was 37 weeks pregnant, and just as I had suspected, her water had broke. I told my husband to get up and get the kids over to his sister's. Besides him and his sister and BIL, that's all the family me and Anna Cate had in the world.
I took her to the hospital and they got her in a bed and everything was going alright. Around two hours later, she was almost dilated to 5 cm and she asked for an epidural. Everything was still fine—she was laughing, cutting up, joking—and the doctor came in and she was flirting with him. Aroud 6:45 AM, her condition hadn't changed much. Everything still looked good, so she decided she was going to rest. She slept until about 10 and she'd only dilated to 6 cm. Some of my friends from the station were there (I was a detective for the police dept.) and she was laughing and joking and enjoying all the attention. She was only 19 and they'd all watched me struggle to keep up with a teenage sister and two small children while I was single, until I married in January 2004.
Anyway, Anna just kind of closed her eyes, and one of the detectives said, "Hey, wake up Anna! This is your party," and she mumbled incoherently. He called over to her and I said, "Anna-Kate, wake up, baby," and she mumbled at me, too. I turned around to my friend and told him to go get the doctor now. The nurses came in and sent my friend to the waiting area and the doctor came in and said he thought she may have had a seizure and took us down to the O.R. and had the two of us scrub up. We waited and waited, then waited some more, and finally a nurse came out and handed me a beautiful baby girl and said she looked good.
After taking the baby to get her cleaned up, they took us to a room that was set up for us to care for the baby, and the doctor came in and told us that Anna-Kate had passed away. I knew she had—I felt her go. A few minutes after that, they wheeled in the prettiest baby girl Donny and I thought we had ever seen. She was perfect. We loved Anna-Kate so much, but knew she'd want us to carry on with our lives and raise her beautiful redheaded baby girl. She had decided that if the baby were a girl, she wanted her middle name to be Louise after the grandma that raised us. So we named her Annsley Louise and I call her Lucy, because I remember my grandpop calling my grandma Lucy.
I was very sad to lose my sister, but the Lord giveth and taketh away, and I have to believe Anna-Kate was needed by the Lord. Lucy has brought so much joy and laughter into my life. It was kinda like starting all over again because our son was almost 5. I worked with the lactation team there at the hospital, and La Leche League and was able to breastfeed her even. Then in February, I found out my husband and I were expecting another child.
All's well that ends well. I've got a beautiful 2-year-old and a 15-month-old. I am blessed.
Read more birth stories or share YOUR birth story now!
My sister came to my room that morning at about 12:45 and asked me where the clean sheets were because she hadn't made it to the bathroom. I got up, because she was 37 weeks pregnant, and just as I had suspected, her water had broke. I told my husband to get up and get the kids over to his sister's. Besides him and his sister and BIL, that's all the family me and Anna Cate had in the world.
I took her to the hospital and they got her in a bed and everything was going alright. Around two hours later, she was almost dilated to 5 cm and she asked for an epidural. Everything was still fine—she was laughing, cutting up, joking—and the doctor came in and she was flirting with him. Aroud 6:45 AM, her condition hadn't changed much. Everything still looked good, so she decided she was going to rest. She slept until about 10 and she'd only dilated to 6 cm. Some of my friends from the station were there (I was a detective for the police dept.) and she was laughing and joking and enjoying all the attention. She was only 19 and they'd all watched me struggle to keep up with a teenage sister and two small children while I was single, until I married in January 2004.
Anyway, Anna just kind of closed her eyes, and one of the detectives said, "Hey, wake up Anna! This is your party," and she mumbled incoherently. He called over to her and I said, "Anna-Kate, wake up, baby," and she mumbled at me, too. I turned around to my friend and told him to go get the doctor now. The nurses came in and sent my friend to the waiting area and the doctor came in and said he thought she may have had a seizure and took us down to the O.R. and had the two of us scrub up. We waited and waited, then waited some more, and finally a nurse came out and handed me a beautiful baby girl and said she looked good.
After taking the baby to get her cleaned up, they took us to a room that was set up for us to care for the baby, and the doctor came in and told us that Anna-Kate had passed away. I knew she had—I felt her go. A few minutes after that, they wheeled in the prettiest baby girl Donny and I thought we had ever seen. She was perfect. We loved Anna-Kate so much, but knew she'd want us to carry on with our lives and raise her beautiful redheaded baby girl. She had decided that if the baby were a girl, she wanted her middle name to be Louise after the grandma that raised us. So we named her Annsley Louise and I call her Lucy, because I remember my grandpop calling my grandma Lucy.
I was very sad to lose my sister, but the Lord giveth and taketh away, and I have to believe Anna-Kate was needed by the Lord. Lucy has brought so much joy and laughter into my life. It was kinda like starting all over again because our son was almost 5. I worked with the lactation team there at the hospital, and La Leche League and was able to breastfeed her even. Then in February, I found out my husband and I were expecting another child.
All's well that ends well. I've got a beautiful 2-year-old and a 15-month-old. I am blessed.
Read more birth stories or share YOUR birth story now!
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