Margaret June Bishop

It has been forever since I have been on here...as you can tell, I've been a little busy!  Anyway, Margaret's birth did not go exactly as planned (hence the long absence)...so I will start with her "birth story" and then we'll go from there.

On 12-30-11 I had an appointment scheduled with Dr. Cortez.  However, due to some "odd" things (normal pregnancy things, but odd to me) I freaked out and changed my appointment to the 29th.  As always, Dr. Cortez said everything was totally normal.  She rescheduled my induction from 1-11-12 (my due date) to 1-4-11, but informed us that she would not be surprised if I didn't make it until then.

So, all was well in my pregnant mind...until 2 a.m. on 12-30.  My water broke!  I had been paranoid that I was leaking, and everyone assured me that I would know when it broke...boy were they right!  After getting Marty awake and calmed down we headed to the hospital.  I was freakishly calm by the way...who knows?  We arrived at the hospital around 3 a.m., had the registration lady take a picture of us, and got all hooked up.  Labor was great!  It was my "plan" to have a natural birth, but if I changed my mind at any time I would not be upset or disappointed.  Now, looking back, I realize fully that it was God's plan for me to have a natural birth...we'll get to that in a bit.  So, Margaret and I chugged right along beautifully.  I had to have some pitocin to pick up the pace a bit, but no drugs other than that!  About noon, I started to get uncomfortable, and by 12:20 it was pretty intense.  Thankfully Dr. Cortez arrived at 12:30!  After 5 or so pushes our beautiful little Margaret arrived at 12:43 p.m.  We were in love instantly!  The NICU team was present due to meconium being in the amniotic fluid, and they had told us to not be alarmed if she didn't cry...actually they said it would be a good thing.  So, I was excited when she didn't cry...that excitement went away quickly.

They went ahead and took her to the NICU to observe her...we were told not to be alarmed.  I made some phone calls, played on facebook, and moved to post partum.  At about 4 p.m. things changed, the nurse practitioner came in and told us that things just "weren't right"....we were devastated.  Thankfully my parents arrived around 5...I don't know what we would've done without them.  Long story short, at 7 p.m. the Teddy Bear Transport team from Cook Children's Medical Center arrived to take Margaret to their NICU.  I was allowed to hold her for a few minutes before she left, but I was in such a state of shock that I don't really remember.  They were so nice, and they brought her by the room before they left with her so we could all see her.  Thankfully, she wasn't "hooked up" to anything other than some prophylactic antibiotics, but it was still so scary to send her away in an ambulance full of strangers.  Marty and my mom followed the ambulance to Fort Worth...about 45 minutes away.  I left the hospital at 7:30 p.m. with my dad.  Back to the natural labor plan...God knew that I was going to need to leave, and if I had taken any kind of pain medicine I would've had to stay.  People look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I left the hospital 6 hours after giving birth, but you do what you gotta do...especially when you're a Momma!

In summary...at some point, likely late prenatal, a small portion of Margaret's brain was deprived of blood and oxygen for a short time.  This is nothing that we could've known, predicted, or prevented...everything in my pregnancy, labor, and delivery was textbook if not better than textbook.  She stayed in the NICU from her birthday until 1-17-12 when we got to come home!  She is amazing and Marty and I fall more and more in love with her every minute!  We have some things to work on...mainly sucking (she has a G button which we feed her through) and physical therapy to ensure she maintains a good range of motion....we are so thankful for all of the tests that came back perfect!  She has come a LONG way already, and we can't wait to see God's plan unfold for her.  Marty and I find so much comfort in knowing without a doubt that she is the baby God picked for us, and we pray everyday to be the parents he intends us to be and the parents that she deserves!  Praise the Lord!

We are so thankful for all of the support we have received from our friends, family, and strangers....it means the world to us that people love us and Margaret.  There are so many people praying for our sweet little Margaret, and we have felt and seen the results of those prayers...please please keep them coming!  The people we met at Cook Children's made such an impact on our lives, they helped Marty and I almost as much as they did Margaret.  We made a few very special connections that I truly believe we will maintain forever!

Margaret is such a gift, and we look so forward to forever with her!