Hurricane Herbie Jr.’s Late Check-Out

We have an official birthday for Herbie Jr. – September 22, 2010.  (Since we called Anne Louise “Herbie” before she was born – see this post for how she got that crazy nickname – we are calling baby sister Herbie Jr.).   The surgery is scheduled for 1:30 pm, and we are very excited to meet the newest addition to our family!  It is no coincidence (or so we think) that our second child will be born during hurricane season.  Anne Louise might possibly have been the world’s easiest baby, so we deserve all that is coming to us with baby #2.  The doctor recently scheduled the  delivery for September 22, which is the anniversary of the day Hurricane Hugo hit Charlotte.  Hurricane Hugo isn’t the only hurricane that either Patrick or I have experienced, but it certainly was one of the worst that I can remember.  So memorable, in fact, that I remembered that September 22 was the date it hit (well, that and I also wrote a poem about Hurricane Hugo in school that year, which my parents framed and hung in my room . . . nerdy as it is, I still remember the first line . . . . “On September 22, 1989, Hurricane Hugo came across the big, black sky.”). 

Anyway, we are excited that Herbie Jr. will be here before we know it!  What we were not excited about at first was the original surgery time given to us by the scheduler – 7:15 AM.  As in, in the morning.  As in, you have to be there 2 hours earlier, which means AT the hospital by 5:15, which means we would have to get up around 4 AM in order to take showers, which means we wouldn’t get to see Anne Louise before we headed to the hospital . . . you get the idea.  We were NOT thrilled about the early morning appointment (not to mention all the things that could factor in to making us late, e.g., pushing snooze just one more time, and who knows what kind of chaos that could cause).  SO, when we met with Dr. Bland after the surgery was scheduled, we asked (politely of course) if there was any way to move the surgery a little later in the day.  Patrick made fun of me for asking, saying, “You can’t just ask for a late check-out, Tricia.”  But Dr. Bland came through for us and moved the time to 1:30 in the afternoon. 

So our calendars are marked for 1:30 (I have to be there by 11:30, but there are no excuses to be late for this appointment now that I get to sleep in) on Wednesday, September 22, 2010.   Let’s pray for no hurricanes!

Speaking of praying, we have a HUGE answer to prayer.  If you compare the picture of Herbie Jr. above (taken at 29 weeks), to this picture of big sister Herbie (aka Anne Louise) taken at 34 weeks, you will notice one thing is missing – the fluid in the abdomen!  We had an ultrasound a few weeks ago to check for the ascites, which is the condition Anne Louise had before she was born, and it was not there!  Although Anne Louise ended up being a completely healthy baby, with the ascites having resolved itself before birth, Patrick and I were nonetheless a little worried that Herbie Jr. might have the same issue.  Thank the Lord that we don’t have to worry about that this time!