SHE IS EIGHTEEN!

The 29th of January is Tigger's birthday! Tigger was due on February 2nd and I was tired of being pregnant and ready to have a baby! All of Tigger's older sisters took more than 20 hours to get to delivery once contractions started, so I just assumed that for my body--it takes a day to get a baby.

The Osmone had already prepared for work and came into our room to give me a kiss goodbye. He let me know that he had a meeting until 9:00 a.m. but he would be available after that by calling the grounds office at BYU. I received my morning hug and kiss and listened as the Osmone headed down the hall and out the back door of the house. (We lived at 1215 south main street) As I heard the door close, I glanced at the clock and took notice of the time: 7:00 a.m. 

Moments later I felt a hard contraction! I looked again at the clock and it was only three minutes since the Osmone left. Before long another hard contraction interupted my attempt at returning to sleep. Another three minutes had gone by. Whoa! This might be it! We might get a baby before tomorrow morning! A few minutes later another contraction left me breathless. This was not following the same pattern as my other pregnancies.

I crawled from the warmth of my bed and went into the front room of our home. As  I tried to relax in the recliner, I was able to keep my eye on the clock. Contractions were coming every 3-5 minutes! I phoned my sister-in-law to let her know that I felt now was the time, and made sure she was available to watch our children while the Osmone and I went to the hospital to be checked.

Then I went to call the Osmone, but it was just after 7 a.m and the office does not open until 8:00!  What to do? Could I wait until then, or wait until 9:00 when he would be available? I don't think so!! I ended up calling the BYU police department and they successfully tracked the Osmone down, where ever he was on campus. 'Course I really don't know how they found him, all I know is that he came home to get me. ;)

I woke the kids up. Nanna, Cookie, Ladybug and Rose. Rose was a foster placement and is the biological sibling of Daisy. Rose had only been in our home for three days and look at the chaos that took place! I felt really bad for her. She must have been terrified. I'm sure it did not help when the Osmone and I dropped them off at Aunt Tamara's, which was located only blocks from the home that insisted Daisy and her siblings leave!

I remember telling the Osmone that these pains are so different from what I had ever experienced before. It was just so different! We arrived at the hospital, and I was checked in. We knew that this would be our last child and had made arrangements for permanent birth control. Everything was happening much faster than any of my other pregnancies! The nurses had to call an anesthesiologist from the surgical floor to come adminster the epidural because the OB/GYN anesthesiologist was backed up with patients!

The doctor arrived soon after and said I was progressing quickly (duh) and he would return in a few minutes. When he returned I was ready to push. With one of the pushes, the doctor discovered that the baby had a bowel movement while inside the uterus. I remember the doctor telling me that he was going to have me push to deliver the head and when he told me, I would need to stop pushing.

I pushed hard and delivered her head and then the Dr. told me not to push. Don't push, don't push, breath out, blow out, don't push. Geez, I heard him already! Anyway, after he cleared Tigger's throat, mouth, and nose, I was allowed to deliver the rest of her little body. Boy did she make a mess! And it didn't smell very good either!

Right after delivery, I was taken to the operating room where I had the surgical procedure to prevent further pregnancies. That was a weird experience but survivable.

Tigger's time of birth:  9:28 a.m. Time the Osmone closed the back door to go to work:  7:00 am. AAUGGUGGH!! I guess that is what happens when a baby decides to position themselves correctly to be delivered!

Tigger has spent the past 18 years moving as fast as she did on the day she was born. Always in a hurry. Always moving quickly. Eventually, in her fourth grade year, she would be diagnosed with ADHD. Although she was hyper, it was her ability to maintain focus which interfered with her school work. Today, Tigger does the best she can at controlling her curious mind and need for speed by flying on the ice. It is where she is free to be who she really is--in a hurry.