Happy Birthday Mia!

Five years ago today, I listened to the Holy Spirit, and it saved my unborn daughter's life. My pregnancy with Mia was the most difficult of my three. My morning sickness was so severe, I lost fifteen pounds in the first two trimesters and still fit into my jeans until the sixth month. I missed so much work that Iused up all of my FMLA before she was even born. Starting in the seventh month, I started going into pre-term labor. Jesse and I spent a lot of nights in the hospital hooked up to IVs until the contractions stopped. I was placed on bed rest for four weeks. The last month of my pregnancy everything seemed to be going very well. My due date was Feb. 3, a Monday. I saw my doctor on Tuesday and everything looked fine. I woke up on Friday, January 31st feeling ok, no contractions, but I was spotting just a little. I hoped that I was finally going into labor for real and didn't worry about it too much. The doctor said to call back if contractions started.

But by mid-afternoon, I was having a few contractions, but they were far apart and not very hard. The doctor said to come in just in case. I had been telling people for months that my baby would be born during the biggest snowstorm of the year. By the time we left, five inches had already come down. When we got to the hospital, my doctor measured my tummy and got very quiet. He left the room and came back with a portable ultrasound machine. Jesse and I exchanged worried looks while the doctor watched the tiny black and white screen. He said it looked like the amniotic fluid had decreased significantly, but Mia's heart was beating fine and she looked good. My stomach had shrunk from 41 cm to 36 cm in just three days. We had to get a real ultrasound to see just what was going on. We sat waiting for over an hour before they could squeeze us in, and the wait was excruciating. When it was over, we was moved pretty quickly into a room to stay. There were only two small spots of amniotic fluid left, and Mia's stomach and bladder were empty.

The nurses gave me a suppository at 5:30 pm that was supposed to gently soften the cervix so that in the morning they could induce my labor. Jesse called his mom and dad, and they headed to Green Bay immediately. I called my dad, and the moment I heard his voice, the pressure of the day broke through, and I couldn't speak a word through the tears. Jesse finished calling the family. Within an hour, I started having major contractions. I skipped through light labor and went right to medium.

By the time Jesse's parents got there, I couldn't talk anymore. At nine, they called the doctor who broke my water at 9:20 pm. I went right into hard labor with no breaks between contractions. Jesse went to tell his parents that the baby would probably come sometime in the next few hours. He got back to the room and only had time to call my mom before the baby was coming. At some point the nurse inserted an IV (I don't remember this, nor did I feel it), and then I squeezed the railing so hard I popped it right out (I don't remember or feel that either). Amelia Isabelle Lockstein was born at 10:06 pm (46 minutes of hard labor that was more intense than anything in Doogie's hours or Molly's 17-1/2 hours) and weighed 6 lbs, 5 oz.

If I had waited until the contractions had gotten severe, she may not have survived. And today my baby is five years old. The video is her singing yesterday after Molly curled her hair. The quality isn't the best, but I had to share it.

I am so grateful for my little girl's health. I've been praying for this little girl's health and her family daily. I hope that you will too.