Baby Birth Date: May 28, 2009
Baby Weight: 7 pounds, 9.5 ounces
Baby Height: 18 3/4 inches
Camp Hill, PA
I was happily married and a proud mom to 3 great sons, when I found out that I was to become a mother, again! I sat in Mrs. Kathy Kraemer's (midwife) office, amazed at the thought of having a chance at being a mom to a baby, once again.”
“My youngest son was 7 years old, so quite some time had passed. I was told that our baby would arrive around May 17, 2009! My pregnancy was happily, uneventful, and other than being more tired than usual, I felt great. In late December, 2009, at my 20 week ultrasound, we found out that our precious baby was a girl! The thought of having a daughter was thrilling, another wonderful surprise! I know I felt like the anticipation would be so great; to have to wait many more months to meet our dear little "pink" one!”
I witnessed the swearing in of President Obama, our first Afro American president and then became inspired to sew a quilt, which I had never done before, to welcome a daughter into our family. As my stomach grew, so did my quilt squares, and finally, after 4 months of countless hours of working at my sewing machine, my scrappy, yet lovely quilt was completed! Much in the same way, my body was now preparing to deliver our new baby, and I hoped that someday, our little girl would enjoy her very own blanket, made with so much love, from her mommy.”
“ I carefully chronicled my last few weeks of pregnancy in her baby book, and prepared our home for our sweet little princesses arrival. The days past, and my wonderful doctors at Women First OB/GYN, decided an induction would be planned for 5/27/09. I was given Pitocin for a number of hours, but unsuccessfully for that day. However, the following day, I was given Pitocin in the morning and then had my water broke by midwife, Sandy at 10 AM. By 2 PM, I was having stronger contractions, and at 3 PM, I finally decided that an epidural would be a great addition to my labor! So many wonderful nurses, doctors and midwives had passed through my doorway, taking top-notch care of me and making sure I was as comfortable as possible. I felt so very blessed to be given such wonderful care. I was promptly administered an epidural, and felt some relief for the next few hours.”
“I was delighted to see that Mrs. Kathy Kraemer (along with Nurse Amy Hershey), whose office I had sat in, 9 months earlier, would assist me in the delivery of our baby girl! Our story had come full circle! Finally, after 30 minutes of pushing, our sweet little angel, Ella Rose, was born on Thursday, May 28th at 6:01 PM! I thank God that we were given this sweet, precious girl, to nurture and love, and I credit Dr. Ken Oken, Mrs. Kraemer, and the fabulous nurses and midwives for looking out for us and giving us the excellent care we received at Harrisburg Hospital! “