Meghan's Birth Story

Since my son turned three, he has habitually asked for a baby sister. For his birthday, Christmas, or any other occasion, when people would ask him what he wanted, he gave the same answer–a baby sister.

Last year, we took a family vacation to the states (we live in Germany). I needed to complete some training for work, and after, we went to California to celebrate my son’s fourth birthday with my family. While I was in training, I found out that I was pregnant and had a feeling it was the baby sister my son wanted. I bought a small gift and a card and signed it, “With love, your baby sister. See you soon.” At the party, my mother was helping to read the cards while my son opened the presents. I made sure that the “special” gift was opened last. When it came time for that one, my mother read the card, and then got a real funny look on her face as she tried to determine who it was from. My son knew right away and was overjoyed. My husband, who I hadn't yet told, wasn't exactly sure what was going on, until my mother jumped up excitedly and began screaming, “You're pregnant!” For the next several months my son and I read the pregnancy books and talked about how the baby was changing and growing inside me. We looked at the pictures and discussed how it was when I was pregnant with him. He came with me to several appointments, and would ask the doctor questions about the baby, including how the baby was getting her food through the “um-belly-go cord.” When we finally had our ultrasound, my son came with, and when the technician announced, "It's a girl!” my son blurted out, "See, I told you so!" My due date, January 27, was marked on the calendar as something to look forward to and we involved my son in all the preparations, but when the day came and went, he became a little more antsy asking when she was going to come out.

On February 1, I had a scheduled appointment with my doctor. Contractions had started that morning, and after walking hours at the hospital, I was finally admitted and induced. That evening, during a non-stress test, the baby's heartbeat began to drop precariously low. I was being constantly monitored by the nursing staff, and was nervous about the impending birth. Around 10 PM, we lost her heartbeat and I was immediately wheeled into the OR for an emergency C-section, leaving my bewildered husband in the labor room. At 10:10 PM, Meghan Elisabeth made her grand entrance, healthy and loud! My son met her for the first time the next morning, and they bonded immediately. To this day, he still refers to her as “his baby” and wants to be involved when anything happens to her, especially her doctor appointments. The two are inseparable.