After calling the hospital and being told to come right in, we rushed to Methodist Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois ready to.....wait. By 2:30 in the afternoon, there had still not been a single contraction and I was starving, having not eaten anything for nearly 24 hours, so the OB on call told the nurse that I could have a liquid tray brought up. After enjoying a meal of broth, milk and jello, labor promptly set in, stopping all digestive processes and I began to throw up! Back then, they screwed a sensor into the top of the baby's head to monitor heart beat and this was no exception. It wasn't really a problem except every time I sat up to throw up, it kinked the wire to the sensor and it would lose the baby's heart beat and Randy would promptly yell at me to lay back down because I was "killing the baby!" I wanted to kill HIM! Labor continued on and on and on. They finally gave me some sort of sedative to relax me a bit. I didn't dilate and didn't dilate and didn't dilate. Labor was taking so long, about 10 PM the nurse actually said "I hope you weren't counting on August 14th for your baby's birthday, because there's no way this baby's going to be here before midnight."
Surprise! What turned out to be a foreshadow of many future births (2 more of my own and 11 of my daughters') amazingly as soon as I dilated to 5, the remaining dilation was almost immediate and I was in delivery by 11:00. Unfortunately, the sedative was still effective and no matter how many times the annoying nurse said "Pushpushpushpushpush," I didn't have the strength to do it!!! In spite of all the problems, however, Megan Randi Sloan WAS born on August 14, 1979; my long-awaited first baby. Since I first held my oldest nephew when I was twelve, I couldn't wait to have a baby of my own, and here she was!
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| Megan Randi Sloan August 14, 1979 |
Even though my sweet little girl was finally here, the drama of the night wasn't over. Ya see... I had never, ever been in the hospital for anything. I'd never had an IV... nothin'. But here I was in a recovery room, hooked up to an IV, my baby in the nursery and a husband who was dead on his feet after being up for 29 hours. The nurse advised him to go home to bed so I could rest. After I agreed and assured him I would be fine, he should go home, he gave me a kiss, told me he loved me and pointed to my IV. His parting words to me were: "Just keep an eye on your IV. If you get an air bubble in the line, and it gets to your heart, it'll kill you." And,he left. Scared awake now, I lay on my hospital bed staring wide-eyed at my IV. Shortly thereafter, my nurse came in to check on me and before she left, she said "Get some rest now, Mrs. Sloan. They'll be in with your baby before you know it." And then... she TURNED OFF THE LIGHT! Now what?!?!?! How was I supposed to watch my IV now?!? "Oh well. Not much I can do about it now. Guess if it's my time to go, it's my time to go." And I closed my eyes...
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| Meg at 6 months |
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| How many people can find such joy with a cup, spoon and a water spout? |
She was also a tiny bit of a drama queen. If I scolded her for something she had done that she felt was unfair, through her tears she'd inform me "You're ruining my life!" Pretty impressive for a two-year-old, no?
She could "read" her favorite book when she was two. It kind of became her theme for life.... "I Can Do It Myself!"
By the time she was three, she could write every letter of the alphabet to near perfection in her preschool workbooks I had for her! But she couldn't write a number in her math workbook to save her life! A lesson to all young mothers: If your young child shows absolutely no interest or ability to do math, don't try to force the issue; no matter how much you love it! My love of math made it impossible for me to comprehend that it just didn't click for such an intelligent little girl. In the long run, all it did was make us both miserable, and I'm convinced, made her dislike math even more as she advanced in school. She can do it, but she sure doesn't like it!
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| Meg's first solo plane trip June, 1983 3 years old! |
Had she gone to my Alma mater, I have no doubt she would have joined my sorority. She's been proud to be a Zeta Legacy her whole life! She still wears one of my old ZTA shirts that she confiscated when she was in high school!
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| TV Guide Ad Legacy T-Shirts |
When she sets her sites on anything, she always accomplishes her goal.
While working full time and raising three children, she even managed to earn her law degree, a life-long dream!
She still loves life. Loves to do random things and strives to be a fabulous mother; exposing her children to as many of life's experiences as possible! She loves music of all kinds and knows more about The Beatles than I could ever even hope to know. Sometimes through her teen years, I could have sworn she was raised in the wrong decade, but she was never afraid to be herself and express herself in ways that were right for her. I have frequently told people that Meg is my alter-ego. That amazing woman who was able to do all the things that I always wished I could do; from acting in school plays to voicing her opinion; I have always had great admiration and respect for the woman she has become.
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| BYU-Hawaii Graduation 2001 |
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| Law School Graduation 2012 |
She still loves life. Loves to do random things and strives to be a fabulous mother; exposing her children to as many of life's experiences as possible! She loves music of all kinds and knows more about The Beatles than I could ever even hope to know. Sometimes through her teen years, I could have sworn she was raised in the wrong decade, but she was never afraid to be herself and express herself in ways that were right for her. I have frequently told people that Meg is my alter-ego. That amazing woman who was able to do all the things that I always wished I could do; from acting in school plays to voicing her opinion; I have always had great admiration and respect for the woman she has become.
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| Meg's babies! Jonas, Cari & Sarai |
Sometimes Meg beats herself up and worries that she's not doing the right thing. Sometimes she questions why she is so different from her siblings and feels that she doesn't fit in. But, we all have those types of feelings from time to time and I just want Megan to know, on this very special day, that she is loved, respected and admired by all of us, but most of all by me. Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!! I loved you, laughed with you, respected you and bragged about you for 34 years! You make me proud.
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