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Kathy Bohannon Columnist

Published Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Coming soon

She's our firstborn, our baby girl. Aubern Michelle came into the world a bit unusually, frank breech during natural childbirth. The doctor on call wanted to give me scopolamine, the drug of his choice which would knock me out for the delivery. We had a disagreement which resulted in another doc being called in, one who would honor my request for no drugs as long as he could deliver the baby safely.

Holding my child in my arms for the first time made every single pain worth it. She was beautiful, pink and precious. John and I had already fallen in love with her months before, and seeing her tiny face absolutely took our breath away.

It was 1981. She would grow up to become more than just a daughter; she became a sister to The Boy. An artist. A student of a prestigious art college. A wife, a business owner and an expert horseman.

And now our baby girl is going to be a mommy.

Had she not told us she was expecting I would have surely known. She is radiant. Her eyes are brighter than they have ever been. Her hair silkier than I've ever seen it. And her smile; oh, how it just penetrates my heart. Everything about her is glowing, and I just can't believe how beautiful she is.

She's just over half way in this, her first pregnancy. The queasy first trimester went as expected, with her turning an interesting shade of green when she smelled bacon frying or saw certain foods on the table. One day when we had just finished breakfast she looked up, her perfect complexion waning, and an interesting shade of khaki spread across her face. She covered her mouth, turned away from the table and said, "Gepf tuh foo ov tuh taphuh!" Her husband Ian, her dad and I looked at one another. "Huh?" We asked. "Gept tuh foo ov tuh taphuh!" She said again, her back to us, her hand over her mouth. We scratched our heads. She turned around quickly, yelled, "GET THE FOOD OFF THE TABLE!" and darted from the room with both hands covering her mouth.

It was a textbook first trimester.

I knew it was over a few weeks later when we were talking on the phone around breakfast time. "Ian cooked breakfast and it is so good," she told me. Ian's breakfasts almost always include bacon and fresh eggs from their little farm, so I was wondering if that was what she was eating. As soon as she confirmed not only the bacon and eggs, but also grits and toast, I knew those rough days were behind her.

I'm loving being the mom of a pregnant daughter. We talk every single day now. I know a lot of moms talk to their daughters several times a day, but she and I are very busy girls and sometimes a day might go by where we just text or email. Ever since she found out she is expecting we've been calling one another as much as we can since we live four hours away from one another.

I'm hearing all the latest news; the baby moved. The baby kicked. They have a name. They have a new name. They have several names and are almost certain now what to call the baby.

It is exciting to be the mom of a pregnant daughter not only because of the obvious - that I'm going to be Momma Bo to a third grandchild -- but also because of the unbelievable amount of resources my daughter has. I had my mom, sisters, aunts, grandmother, mom in law, sis in law and friends to give me information and advice. My daughter has all that plus a billion bits of knowledge at her finger tips from Internet websites that offer everything from whimsical advice to support and medical fact. She knows a ton more than I ever did and I'm learning along with her.

The latest news has me more than excited. She wants me there when the baby is born. She wants to go through the entire labor and delivery with her husband and her mom present. It means everything to me that I am going to be honored in this way.

But there's more. The latest news that has me lying awake at night, thinking of all the sewing, knitting and creating I am going to do is that my little girl will be giving birth to her very own daughter.

She's planning on a natural childbirth. She and Ian have already fallen in love with their little one, and I'll be there when my baby sees her child's tiny face for the very first time. I'll be there at that moment when she realizes that every single pain was worth it. And just like my children and my grandchildren before her, it will be love at first sight for this grandma.

•••

(Kathy Bohannon is a Georgia Press Association award winning writer and a regular contributor to The Newnan Times-Herald. Contact her at kathybohan@yahoo.com )

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