BABY SURPRISES

Today started off like any other day really: My alarm went off, I dragged myself out of bed, turned on the computer, made myself a cup of tea, read my e-mail, grabbed a shower, dressed, snagged my bags, and went to work. More or less in that general order.

Well, it was a little different today, I guess. Today I had plans to travel home to spend a few days with my family in the Central Western Slopes of New South Wales, (Australia), so that I could attend an "A Day On The Green" event at a local winery ("Poets Corner") outside of Mudgee. (Mudgee is a medium sized country town, sitting in a valley called the Cudgegong Valley, located in the Central Western Slopes and Plains of the New South Wales Blue Mountains range).

Bryan Adams was coming to town, and I intended to be there! With bells on! :o)

Around late morning, though, the phone on my desk rang. Not unusual, of course, considering I work in customer service. It's more unusual if it doesn't ring after more than ten minutes. What was unusual, was that I wasn't actually on another call at the time, as I'm hard to get a hold of due to how often my phone rings.

It was mum on the phone, and as is often the case when mum is agitated, she leaped right into the news with a preface that scared the living daylights out of me.

"Hello, it's mum... it's your sister..." ...pause for anxious breath...

Meanwhile I'm thinking all sorts of dreadful things involving illness, death and mayhem... my brain automatically leaping to the conclusion that something terrible had happened to mother and baby... all in those few seconds mum paused to catch her breath.

Then... "She went into labour this morning... the baby's been born... it's a girl, Holly..."

The breath rushed from my lungs, tears sprang to my eyes, only to be rapidly blinked away before anyone in the office could see them and wonder what was going on.

Of course, then my brain did somewhat of a cartwheel, before landing on the obvious question:

"She's, um, a bit early, isn't she...? I thought... well..."

And now for the rest of the story:

Mum went on to confirm that the baby, to be called, "Holly Anne", was born 7 weeks premature. According, at least, to the estimated due date of April 22 set by the doctor and specialists my sister had been consulting. Those who performed the scans and tests on her in Sydney when she was four or five months along thought that the due time was more likely closer to April 9. So, Holly was somewhere between 5 to 7 weeks premature. Either way, a little too early to be leaving the sanctity and security of mother's womb and making her way out in to the wider world outside.

My sister went into labour early in the morning of March 4, and her husband rushed her into hospital at around 6 am. At first they tried to stop her giving birth, using whatever techniques they know in order to do that for women who go into labour before time. The baby, however, had other ideas. She was coming out, no matter what they did to try and stop her. Then, 5.5 hours later, baby Holly was born, weighing in at just 5 pounds or 2 kg.

The baby swallowed some of the embryonic fluids on her way out (or so they thought) and they had to pump the gunk out of the poor kid's stomach. They then wrapped her up in bunny rugs, popped her on a Helicopter and sent her off to Dubbo (a country city about 1.5 hours drive by car from Mudgee) Hospital for further observation - as they do, with Premature babies.

Mum, after speaking to me, rushed with Dad on up to Mudgee hospital, just in time to see the baby before she was flown off to Dubbo hospital. They were also able to catch up with my sister and her husband, before he drove her on to the hospital in order for them to be with the baby.

So here I am, an Aunt, for the very first time.

It's very exciting, indeed! :o)

Here's a photo of my sister and Holly, taken on March 9, 2005