"My Baby Brother" by Anna Kelly

The following is a memoir that Anna recently wrote for an assignment in Mrs. Sciscione's 5th Grade Class:

My Baby Brother

by Anna Kelly

The wait was almost too much for me. I had waited nine months for this and I was out of patience. Finally after fidgeting for far too long, the classroom phone rang. I darted for the phone knowing it was the office calling to check me out. At last I could go. I dashed to my desk and packed up my things. I bolted up to the office. The day had finally come. I was going to have a little brother.

I sat in the office waiting for my dad to get my sister Sophie. As I sat I started to wonder what was going to happen. Thoughts whizzed through my mind during those few minutes. I thought about my mom and how she felt during her contractions, Dad and Sophie coming up here, and my dog wondering where we were. At last those few minutes were oer and I was rescued from my sea of thoughts. Dad and Sophie were my rescuers and we walked to the car. Each step seemed longer than the last step until finally we hopped into our silver minivan. I plopped my backpack on to the warm, grey carpet of the car. I sat down in my seat. Soon I will not be in my seat because I will have moved to the back. The car seat would occupy my current seat. Our car, which had been faithful to us on all of our trips, drove us to the hospital. Sophie and I chatted away like birds on a spring morning. We turned into the parking lot. We drove past a sign telling us where we were at: Avista Hospital. For the second time we pulled into the hospital parking lot. The first time, we had come to see a tour, so I knew what to expect.

I bounced out of the car as soon as it had stopped. The excitement was welling up inside me like the wick of a dynamite stick getting closer and closer to exploding. We tried to hide our excitement when we walked over to the door. I pushed the door and walked into the light blue light pouring out of the window and into the lobby like a waterfall. We climbed the tile steps to the entrance of the “Labor and Delivery” wing. We walked to the intercom and asked if we could see my mom. They said yes and we found our way to my mom’s room. We tiptoed into the room and saw that my mom was reading a book in bed. The sight I saw caught me off guard because half of the bed was at a slanted angle (which did not surprise me) and my mom hand monitors all over her body. I expected to see a few but not so many! There was a big, black, monitor on her stomach. A tube went through her arm, putting medicine into her body. I saw many more but I won’t describe them.

I dropped my bag of stuff to do and my backpack in a corner by a blue-green couch. I sat down on a swivel stool, then slid over to my mom. I told her about the mile run earlier in the day. Soon I asked her questions about her day. When we caught up with each other I rolled over to my bag and got out some paper dolls. I set up a town on the couch and started to play. A nurse came in a couple minutes later and checked the monitors She said they were doing great. Dad showed Sophie and I how to tell when bad contractions were going on. Then he told us that sometimes we would have to go into the bathroom, so we did a practice. We went into the HUGE bathroom for a few minutes then came out again. Soon we got hungry, so we went to the cafeteria. Mom couldn’t come because of the monitors. We picked our path to the cafeteria like skiers picking their path through moguls. After weaving through the lunch line, we sat down our trays and dug in. Our food was delicious. It was so good I thought it would get a 5-star rating from food critics. After a good meal, we hiked back up to the room Mom was in. Once we got up there, I camped out on the couch watching T.V. on the computer. Soon Mom wanted her epidural.

The doctor came in and shooed us into the bathroom again. By now I was so tired, I sat down and waited for it to be over. I wasn’t as excited as before, so when I got out of the bathroom I just plopped down back on the couch.

About an hour later Mom decided to start pushing. I got all my energy back and bounded to the bed for a quick hug then I rushed to the family dining area. Our dinner came and as I ate my mind went blank from all the excitement. I tried to keep my mind blank by telling Sophie a story. I tried to focus but I couldn’t keep my mind blank. All I could do was sit there like a helpless puppy. The wait was driving me crazy and 1 minute felt like an hour. I managed to keep myself from squirming until my dad came in and said, “Come meet your baby brother!” I tried to contain my excitement but it exploded out of me like fireworks! I walked into the room hearing the pitiful cries of the baby but being unable to go farther than the doorway. I stood helplessly in the doorway waiting to go in. Finally I was able to walk over to the side of the bed to see a handsome little boy with bright, sapphire blue eyes and white stuff all over him that looked like powdered sugar. Here and there you could see blood stains. His head was WAY too big for his body so he rested it on Mom’s chest. All he had on was a blanket wrapped neatly around him. Mom looked back to normal and she was cooing to him. This seemed to sooth him until he wasn’t crying anymore. He was about as tall as a globe and as wide as a DVD case. He looked more overwhelmed than the people at DisneyWorld. In the summer. His face was so cute it could soften anyone’s heart. His cry was so sad it could make the Devil cry. This was my little brother. This was the moment I had waited for, for 9 months, and now I was the oldest of three!

Soon the nurse had to peel the baby off my mom. She carried him over to a small tub with blankets at the bottom. A warm lamp was above this tub to keep him warm while he was washed and checked. He looked like a bug under a microscope. As the nurse rubbed him with a wash cloth, his hand wrapped around my finger like a boa constrictor. The nurse told me to let go so she could put some goop in his eyes. I slid my finger away. As soon as the room was cleaned up, our family got to spend time with the little guy alone. I held him for a couple minutes. His bright blue eyes stared up at mine. His tiny body reminded me of a Bitty Baby doll. During those few minutes I relaxed. All the thoughts and worries disappeared. I could finally relax and not worry about him. He was safe in my arms and he would always be my little brother.

After taking turns holding him Lexie and her mom came. They admired him and I caught up with Lexie. It had been a long day. The baby didn’t stay awake for much longer. So soon I had to leave with Lexie. I sadly said goodbye and chattered away with Lexie. We probably sounded like chipmunks. I was wiped out and ready for a brother.

Now I have been a sister for at least a week. I have grown to love my brother more and more. We have named him Andrew Seamus Isaac Kelly. Drew has been very alert now and is very fond of music. I love him so much. I can’t wait to get to know him as he grows up. My life has changed forever and I’m fine with it. I love my brother.