The Life and Times of a Steel Magnolia: Farmer Boo's "Birthday" Story

On Sunday, August 19, 1990 at 12:05 p.m., I was blessed with my second son, Farmer Boo. It was also the day my oldest, EG's Daddy, turned 28 months old. I confess it was much harder to go from 1 child to 2 than it was from 2 children to 3. People always ask why? I think it was because Farmer Boo had a tough time for the first 3 years of his life and thank God when Baby Chef came along when he was 2 years and 11 days old, she was a very easy baby.

Since my children were old enough to understand, I've told them their "birthday" story. Even though they are grown now, they still ask me to tell them and Farmer Boo's goes something like this:

From the time I was about 6 months pregnant, I starting having a lot of problems. I was in the hospital a week and then home for a week because of kidney failure which would cause me to have contractions. The week before Farmer Boo was born was the week I was in the hospital. I was discharged on Saturday afternoon with the same instructions as always - complete bedrest. Before I left the hospital, I asked the doctor could I please get a hair cut before I went home to which she agreed. I'm a happy camper at this point!

Flash forward to Sunday, August 19th at 4 a.m. - - I wake up because I thought I wet the bed! I guess that's a horrible thing to write in a blog but that's what I thought! I stand up and realize that my water broke. I call for Farmer Boo's dad and he comes running. I'm terrified at this point because Farmer Boo is not due until October 6th. I call my sister to come stay with EG's Daddy and off to the hospital we go. Farmer Boo's dad is hiliarious...he asks can he run in the hospital like they do in movies and scream "MY WIFE'S HAVING A BABY?" All I could do was laugh! We make it to the hospital (thankfully I'm not having contractions), get checked in and rushed to labor and delivery ICU (not a fun place). My doctor doesn't come in until somewhere between 10 and 10:30 and tells us that it will probably be the next day before we have a baby since I had not dilated at all. Unfortunately, about 30 minutes after the doctor left, pure and utter chaos broke loose in labor and deliver ICU. I started having contractions so bad that I felt like the girl in the movie

Poltergeist. It was so bad I ripped the buttons off Farmer Boo's dad's shirt. He runs out to get the nurse (a prissy little thing) who tells me to calm down there's no way you can be in THAT much pain, the doctor just checked you and you were not even dilated. Much to my surprise and to her surprise, Farmer Boo's dad grabs her by the neck and advises her that the baby is coming NOW! She gets a quick look and screams for the doctor, who thankfully was in the next room. The doctor comes in and has some of the same attitude the nurse had until Farmer Boo's dad grabs her and tells her in a scary voice that if she doesn't do something he will take the stone she has on her forehead (she's from India) and shove it up her you-know-what. If I wasn't in so much pain, I probably would have kicked them all out of my room! I was only in labor for a little over an hour and Farmer Boo was born at 12:05 p.m.

I can still remember it like it was yesterday! When Farmer Boo was delivered and the pain subsided somewhat, I listened for the cry and there was none. I began to panic and look around the room for him and I couldn't find him anywhere. As quickly as he came into the world, they wisked him away to the NICU. Farmer Boo weighed in at 7 pounds 13 ounces and for as big as he was considering he was 6 weeks early, his lungs weren't ready for the world. He spent a month in the hospital so his lungs could catch up with the rest of his body. It was the longest and possibly the hardest month of my life. Words can't describe how helpless you feel as a mother when you leave your child in the hospital and how grateful you are to the doctors and nurses that have the knowledge to take care of him.

When Farmer Boo was released from the hospital, I was ecstatic, even though he came with a machine for this and a machine for that. I don't think he slept all night until he was 3 and he saved my life when he was 7 (I'll tell that story another day). He was easy to raise....except when he begged for a tattoo and nearly drove me insane (that too is a story for another day). I couldn't ask for any of my children to be any better than they have been and I thank God everyday for blessing me with such great kids.

Happy 21st Birthday Farmer Boo!