WAITING FOR BOOMER

Duluth was embalmed in snow. Like today, it was another Monday morning, November 4. 

22 years ago.

The 3 day "Blizzard of '91" had just dropped its last flakes of snow and the city was still paralyzed. 36 inches of snow, immense drifts everywhere.

I was grateful that I hadn't gone into labor over the weekend, as we would have needed a snowmobile to get me to the hospital.

My regular doctor's appointment was mid-morning on Monday and we knew that to get the car, Dick would need to shovel at least 4 feet of snow starting at our back door all the way to our garage which was probably 30 feet away. I was in no shape to help him. If we could just drive 50 feet downhill, we could be on a main drag and get to the clinic.

Yes, these are real pictures of that day!

We got to the clinic (my doctor was late because she had trouble navigating the streets) and I told her I didn't think I could take much more back labor. It had been a week since she took me off the Terbutaline to quell my pre-term contractions. After laying in bed for 6 weeks, I had been hopeful to have a quasi-normal period of time before the arrival of "Boomer." But I immediately started back labor and spent the week in great back pain, sleepless, delusional at night (the '91 World Series was fresh in my mind and I thought my pillow was Kirby Puckett.......wish we had THAT Twins team back.....I digress).

My doctor agreed that enough was enough and even though the baby would be almost 3 weeks early, she knew he was at least 5 pounds and she felt it was safe to induce. We set it all up for Wednesday, November 6. I was glad we would be able to get out to vote on Tuesday, the 5th, as the plows would have all the major arteries open. Our son was to be born on November 6!

We did not have a name for him, but we had his birth date. Nervous excitement blanketed us and as Dick left me at home and went to work, I was filled with wonder that the time was imminent and questions that all of a sudden surfaced:

What would my sweet boy look like?

Would I be a good mom?

Would Mom and Dad be able to make it into Duluth?

Would breast-feeding go OK? 

Would the nursery ever get done?

I had about 36 more hours of life as I knew it, but I had no idea that the life awaiting us after this baby boy would slide from my womb would be so amazing, so joyous.

I had no idea.

On that November 4th morning, I simply was anxious to have labor and delivery over and to see our son. 

The waiting began.