When I was in college I found a name in a World Literature class that I fell in love with: Kamala. It was in a book of Indian Poetry, and meant lotus blossom. I loved that name and decided to use it for one of my daughters, but each time I had a girl she needed a different name. My first daughter Linnea, was named after a Swedish wild flower Grandma Johnson used to pick as a girl. Holly needed to be Holly, because she was born at Christmas. Alyssa was the name of an extinct Greek flower, which was the closest I could come to Aleisa, my favorite friend's daughter. Of course, I couldn't use Kamala for either Russell or Stephen, and then I got divorced. One of the reasons I was so sure I was supposed to remarry was the feeling I had that there was still at least one little girl left up in heaven who was supposed to be my daughter.
When Moe and I finally got married I knew we were supposed to have a baby, but Moe wasn't so sure. He was already 48 years old, and afraid he would be e too old to be a good dad.
“I won't have the energy to go outside and play ball with him if we have a little boy,” he worried, “and I won't be able to stay awake while we wait for her to come home from dates if we have a girl.”
Still, I was sure we were supposed to have more children. “Give me some time,” Moe told me. “I'll know if it's right after we get sealed.” The problem was, I really didn't have a lot of time left to give him. By the time we got sealed I was 38, and that was pushing the limits of my child bearing years.
The kids weren't that sure about having a new baby, either. It was bad enough having to get used to a new dad. Alyssa, especially, was against the idea, but I just knew it was right. Thanks goodness the Lord was on my side. By August of 1994 Moe was softening up to the idea. By September he had decided it was the right thing to do. By the end of October, we were expecting. I was so happy.
Suddenly, Moe was as excited as a little boy, and he couldn't wait to have a little baby to cuddle and spoil. When we found out Kamala was going to be a girl he was thrilled! Gradually the kids also adjusted to idea of a new sister. Alyssa decided she wanted to keep her in her bedroom, kind of like adopting a new pet or something. The boys had wanted a brother, but it didn't take them long to begin looking forward to being Kamala's protecter. Linnea and Holly didn't really say much, but they were the first ones to tell everyone we were going to have a new baby. Linnea's only real objection to a new baby was not wanting to share her birthday with her. Kamala was due the day after hLinnea's birthday.
Once the word got out, all our family and friends got excited. They planned a big baby shower a couple of weeks before Kamala was due, inviting all our neighbors and friends. The shower was scheduled for the Saturday before Labor Day. The kids left the night before to go spend the weekend with their dad, with the understanding that the girls could come back for the shower the next evening.
I woke up early that Saturday, happy to have a little peace and quiet, but for some reason I was uneasy. I realized, after trying to figure out what was wrong, that I hadn't felt the baby kick for a couple of days. I had a friend who had a still born baby, and her story played through my mind.
“Moe, will you give me a blessing?” I asked when he woke up.
“Of course,” he agreed. He layed his hands on my head and gave me a beautiful blessing, assuring me that everything would be fine and the delivery would be smooth. I stopped worrying, but still wondered if I should call the doctor.
“I think you ought to,” Moe told me. “It would be a good idea to just talk to him and see what he has to say.”
Since it was a holiday weekend my doctor was not on call, but the one who was said to come on down to the hospital and let him check the baby, just to be on the safe side.
Moe took me, and we got to the hospital about 8:00 am. They hooked me up to a fetal monitor and found the Kamala's heart beat right away. It sounded great. Still, they wanted to listen to it for aobut an hour just to make sure all was well. At 9:00 the doctor came in to talk to us.
“Everything looks great, and you could go home,” he told Moe and me, “but with your history of having babies so quickly, why don't you just stay here and I'll induce you and you can have the baby today?”
I couldn't believe I was hearing correctly. Have the baby now, today, nine days before my due date? Really?
“That would be great!” I exlaimed excitedly.
The doctor broke my water to get things going. I started having little contractions, but nothing big, so Moe and I walked around the hospital and watched TV and waited. At noon I was dialted to four, not much, still only having little contractions. At 1:30 the doctor started giving me pitossin, which made the contractions stronger, but they still weren't bad. About 4:30 they began to get stronger and actually hurt. The doctor came in at 4:45 and said I was dialated to a seven.
“I think you'll have this baby in the next fifteen minute,” he told me, but I didn't really believe him.
At 5:00 the contractions were hard, and I felt like pushing.
“Go ahead and push whenever you need to,” the doctor told me, so I did With two pushes, the babies head came, and with the third push she was born. Just like that, the pains were over and we had the sweetest, most beautiful baby girl you ever saw. I was so happy!
Moe was in heaven, you've never seen a prouder pappa or a sweeter, more considerate husband. The doctor let him cut the cord, and they joked about using his pocket knife as long as it was sterilized. Thank goodness they didn't actually do that.
My baby shower was scheduled to begin at 6:00, so I had to call my friends and tell them I was sorry, but I wouldn't be able to make it. It didn't phase them. They went right ahead and had the shower without me, and had a wonderful time playing games and opening presents, video taping it so I could watch it later.
The kids came down to see their new baby sister later that evening, and they decided she was kind of cute. Linnea was happy Kamala was born early, so she didn't have to share her birthday. Holly was a little dissapointed with her name. She thought we ought to name her Baby, so when she grew up and went to high school the boys could call, “Hey, baby!” as she walked down the halls, but I was very glad I had my Kamala at last. Only, I'd already decided we needed to have one more baby, to give her a little brother or sister so she wouldn't grow up too spoiled.
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