Baby Grant's Birth Story Part II

A few days ago I shared Part I of Baby Grant's incredible birth story. I wrote about how I was in labor at home although I didn't realize it, the 100 mph drive to the hospital with me crying out in heavy labor all the way, saying to my husband that I need to push and him encouraging me to please wait until we got to the hospital, and the extremely quick moments in Labor and Delivery triage where there was no time for me to even get into a gown.

I wrapped up Part I when Honey and Parker met me exiting the triage room on a bed as the nurse announced: we're having a baby! And off we went to the delivery room. Oh and I had just found out there would be no time for an epidural. Right.

I remember very little about the delivery room. There were people scurrying around the room getting everything ready. I knew that Honey had Parker but my contractions were so fast and hard I couldn't focus on anything except why weren't they going faster? I need to have this baby!!

Honey filled me in on some of the details of the moments before Grant's birth:

• As soon as we got to the Labor & Delivery room, Honey smelled an unmistakable dirty diaper. He quickly started changing Parker on the shelf/window sill. As he was busy working, he heard a nurse exclaim - Oh my gosh, we've got a dirty diaper in here and we're about to have a baby! Later we laughed about that!
• He was just pulling Parker's pants up when a nurse offered to help and then finished dressing Parker for him.
• Meanwhile he was handed a stack of papers to sign and before he could even sign the first one the doctor called for him to come and grab my hand, it was finally time!
• The nurse who had Parker took him into the hallway to entertain him. (And also to not scar him for life.)

When the next contraction hit, I pushed, and amazingly, Grant Henry was born! We heard his cries and the doctor put him on my chest where we could see him.

It was 7:56 p.m. We had only been at the hospital for a total of 13 minutes. And we were parents. Our little Grant  Henry was here! He weighed 4 pounds, 9 ounces, and was 18 inches long. He was pure perfection!

They took him to the incubator to get him cleaned up. The nurse who had taken Parker out brought him back into the room. He was confused and scared and crying! He was grateful to be back with his Daddy but since he had heard me yelling he was very concerned about me. While the team finished with me, Honey and Parker took a few minutes to go say hello to little Grant who was just getting swaddled in the incubator. Parker was very interested in his little brother, and for the moment, forgot to be worried about me.

The NICU nurse brought Grant over to the bed and we all had a few quick moments together as a family of four and I held him briefly before he was taken to the NICU to be assessed. Since Grant was six to seven weeks early we knew that he would need to be in the NICU for a couple of weeks. We've been down this very same road almost two years ago.

At this point Parker was over it and was reaching for me, still very unsettled with all that was going on, and clearly in need of reassurance, so Honey put him in the bed next to me. He stayed put for the next two hours and fussed at anyone who he thought might take him from me.

Here we are still in the delivery room, me in the top I wore that day.

We had some sweet visitors right away; our friends came down to see if they could help us with Parker. We had talked with them a few weeks back about keeping him when we went to the hospital but since Grant came so quickly, there was no time to get Parker to them! It was so nice to have visitors and we enjoyed visiting and sharing the story with them!

We fed Parker his dinner (Honey had thrown something together while I was packing my bag at home) and the three of us just smiled in disbelief about how our Sunday ended up. We called our families to share the news. 

Just as I was getting a little bit sad, thinking about my parents on their trip to Israel and not getting to share this big news with them until the next day, my phone rang. It was 6 a.m. in Israel and my mom was calling to check on me before they left to board their flight home! It was so wonderful to get to share the story of Grant's birth with them! Of course both of our mothers made preparations to get to Kansas just as soon as possible!

Once Grant was settled in the NICU, Honey went to see him while I snugged with Parker Bear. This would be our first night in his 22 months on Earth that we would be apart. I savored those snuggles so much! 

It was getting late so Honey and Parker headed home around 10 p.m. There was no point in my husband staying with me that night since Grant would be in the NICU on a different floor anyway. I knew he would be better off reassuring a concerned Parker and getting a good nights sleep at home. After all there would be plenty of time, weeks even, of spending time together in a hospital right? As seasoned NICU parents, we knew that to be true!

Once I saw them off I went to the NICU to spend some time with Baby Grant. And I've been here every day since...

I'll post soon about our time here in the NICU (today is day #11), how Grant is doing, and when we hope to be going home! Thank you for reading our story. We are so thrilled to have Baby Grant join our family!

Baby Grant's Birth Story Part I

On the day Grant was born, we wheeled into the hospital at 7:43 p.m. and Grant was born at 7:56 p.m. Here's the first part of our story about how that happened:

March 23rd started off like any other Sunday. We were fresh off the heels of our Tennessee house hunting trip and I had big plans of unpacking and laundry and grocery shopping.

Sometime mid-morning I began to get noticeable Braxton-Hicks contractions. Nothing too out of the ordinary for me but they were a bit persistent unless I was laying down. So my plans of unpacking and going to the store changed and I spent as much time as possible playing with Parker while laying sideways on the couch.

I wasn't too concerned because just one week prior I had some worrisome Braxton Hicks as well. They showed up after we drove nine hours, over the course of two days, to go house hunting in Tennessee. Following the drive, and moving hotels twice, I found myself resting in our hotel room, wishing those Braxton Hicks contractions away. After a lot of rest and what felt like a million gallons of water, they stopped and I hardly had anymore the following week despite all the activity of our house hunting experience.

So now, a week later, on Sunday, March 23rd, I chalked up my Braxton Hicks to the long car ride we had taken home just the day before. However, around 6 p.m. when the contractions hadn't gone away for most of the day, I called our mid-wife. Since I had a routine appointment scheduled for the next morning, she offered to call in a prescription for a medicine that should reduce the contractions, and then she would see me in the morning at my appointment. The only pharmacy Honey and I found that was open on a Sunday past 6 p.m. was forty minutes away. When I called the midwife back to give her the phone number of the pharmacy Honey already had one foot out the door.

Before Honey could crank up the car, we had a turning point... As I was speaking to the midwife I also used the bathroom (helloooo, millions gallons of water?!) and noticed a spot of blood. I told her immediately and she changed her mind. She asked me to come on in to the hospital and get checked out. Given my history, then the contractions all day, and now blood, she thought that would be better.

Thank God I saw that blood while I was talking to her! Had Honey left to drive 80 minutes round rip to get that prescription, I would have been holding Baby Grant in my arms when he returned home. 

The midwife asked me to pack a bag because there was a chance I would be staying so they could watch me for 24-hours. She also mentioned she wanted me to hurry as safely as my body would allow. I explained that even though we had lined up some wonderful friends to help take care of Parker whenever "go-time" came, that I had not yet packed his bag (after all we were still somewhere around seven weeks until we were supposed to be "ready"!) and that would take me twice as long to get his things together. She said not to bother to pack his bag but to just bring him along with us. She said that worst case I would be admitted for 24 hours and my husband and son would go home.

As I gathered my things and packed my bag things changed dramatically. Since I went from lying down to up and moving, the contractions went from a bit of an annoyance to doubling me over with pain.  I had to stop and lie down to breathe through a few contractions.

The drive to the hospital 40 miles away is a bit of a blur. I reclined the seat a far as I could and I found out later that Honey drove between 80 and 100 miles per hour the whole way. Between contractions I felt tired and exhausted but I could at least talk. But when a contraction hit I was yelling out in pain. Honey placed a phone call to his parents and to my brother to give them a heads up. My parents were in Israel preparing to fly home after a 10-day-tour, so we were unable to reach them immediately.

During the drive my contractions got worse and I felt a strong urge to push. Since I had an epidural with Parker, I had never felt the pregnancy "urge-to-push" before. My husband, who was so strong and calm and just so perfect, was sweetly encouraging me not to push. I also felt liquid leaving my body and I was afraid that I was peeing all over my leather seats.

Honey called the mid-wife to confirm where we were to go upon arrival and to ask that someone meet us with a wheelchair since I would be unable to walk and he would need to go park and get Parker out.

We made it to the hospital in record time! I was wheeled to the Labor and Delivery triage while he and Parker went to park the car.

When I got to the triage room the nurse asked me to get on the table and into the gown. Between contractions I told her I could not do either alone. My contractions were coming so fast and hard that it was all I could do to rest in between each one. The nurse attempted to change me into the gown but all she could do was from the waist down. She checked me and I was at 10 centimeters so she called for assistance and announced it was GO TIME!

About that same time Michael, carrying Parker, met us in the hall and heard her announce that we were going to have a baby! I asked if there was time for an epidural to which about three nurses said NO!

The next thing I knew we were in labor and delivery...

Pregnancy After Prematurity

Our son Parker James was born 5.5 weeks early. His premature birth resulted in a two-week stay in the NICU, during which time I barely left  his tiny hospital room.

People often ask me what led to Parker’s premature birth and I really do wish I had the answer to that question. My doctor explained that there is no common denominator among healthy pregnancies resulting in premature births, like mine. Of course that left me with even more questions…

Was I doing anything that caused his premature birth? Was it that I was doing modified CrossFit workouts up to two days before Parker’s birth? Was it that I took a 2 hour plane ride just two months before Parker was due? Was it that I was not getting off of my feet enough? Not resting enough? Too busy “getting ready” for the baby? Not sleeping enough? Not eating enough?  Not drinking enough water?

 

Trust me, I have beat myself up with these questions. Again and again. With no answer, no specific reason why Parker was born almost 6 weeks early, I have painted myself into a corner of absolute fear.

I’m afraid of having a second premature baby.

I have to honestly say that those two weeks our small family spent in the NICU at Vanderbilt Hospital were some of the most precious moments of our lives. It changed our marriage, our faith, our lives. I’ll never forget the heartbreaking stories we watched unfold during our time there or the babies and families we met. Compared to others, our 2-weeks in the NICU were a walk in the park. Other families would have traded places with us in a heartbeat. We were nothing if not humbled by our experience. And the miracle of little Parker.

Even so, I am afraid to have a second premature baby. It’s so different this time around. Unlike when Parker was born, I can’t “move in” to the NICU this time. Parker will need me too. How can I mother both of my babies if they are a physical hour apart from each other?

  

As this pregnancy closes in on the 34.5 week mark, which is the exact time Parker was born, I am  becoming more and more consumed with this fear. Which let me say, is proving what a saint my husband is!

Because of my history, my doctor has me taking a progesterone shot each and every week. I’ll continue taking these shots until I reach 37 weeks.

In addition to that I’m on my own plan as well. Because I don’t know what I did (if anything!) to cause Parker’s premature birth, I am not doing anything I did during my first pregnancy this time around. No CrossFit. No flying after 5 months. 

Of course I’m doing the usual: walking, drinking lots of water, and resting as much as possible.

Yes I realize that exactly when our second baby boy comes into this world is not in my hands. But the fear of prematurity a second time is there. It's there with every shortness of breath. It's there with every Braxton Hicks contraction. It's there with every sweet kick and roll I fell inside my growing belly.

I also have faith. Faith in my doctor’s plan with the shots. Faith in myself for listening to my body. And faith in my God.

Is my faith strong enough to overcome this fear?

Bump Date: 30 Weeks

Since when do I only have ten weeks of this pregnancy left? A friend of mine once shared that she feels as though every one's pregnancy's fly by except hers. Well I can say without question that I do not share that sediment! It felt like my first pregnancy flew by and this one is no different. Ten weeks to go just seems so unreal!

How Far Along: 30 weeks; Baby Boy #2 is due May 10th (although little chance of going that long)
Weight Gain: About 12 pounds (no weight gain since my last appointment!)
Baby Is: 17 inches long, 3.1 pounds

Cravings / Aversions: I love little tiny oranges (cuties, clementines, yes please!). I have one every night as my "bedtime snack". And yes it's sugar-y but better than ice cream right? I am also eating a lot of boiled eggs and avocado, and still loving a good, crisp, dill pickle. So typical! The only aversion that I have overcome is bacon! A few weeks ago I could not stand the smell of bacon cooking on the stove but this weekend I not only smelled it without issue but I ate some too!! 

How I'm Feeling: Good! I mean I'm tired. And I feel like I weigh a metric ton. But overall I'm feeling pretty good. But no real surprise here... I am one of those women who actually like being pregnant.
What I Miss: Still just wine. But it isn't something I think about much. There will be plenty of time for wine. And after all, growing a baby is important. Oh and I miss my waist.

Getting Ready: So. Much. Happening. Parker's big boy furniture is scheduled to arrive next week! He will start taking his morning and afternoon naps in his new big boy bed and after a few weeks we'll move him in there for night time sleep as well. I'm working on a few things for his room but don't plan to do too much in the way of decorating since we'll only be here in Kansas for a few more months. We're picking out a car seat, adding a second camera for our monitor, and just generally making plans for changes. I'm learning that there is a lot that goes into having a baby join your family when you've already got a baby!

Best Part: We have a name!! Naming our baby boy is a major milestone. Whew! We love using his name and we can't wait to meet Baby Grant Henry.
Worst Part: Ugh. My Spider Veins. They are so bad in my lower legs that I can't even stand up out of our bed until I have compression socks on my feet. I make a point of sitting with my feet propped up at some point during the day. Mainly because if I don't, I regret it later in the evening. The silver lining is that as soon as Grant Henry is born, these spider veins of mine will start to disappear. Thank God! I can't take them much longer!

What Parker Thinks: That Baby Grant is in his belly.
What Honey Thinks: He is so excited about having two sons! He has a brother and knows what a special relationship that is. Plus now he'll have two hunting buddies!
What Cash Thinks: Having done this baby thing one time before, Cash knows we have to rest up. He has decided to join me each and every time I stop and put my feet up. Cash never missed a diaper change or night time feeding with Parker. I have a feeling he will be the same way with Grant! (Such a good big dog brother!)

So excited to meet our baby boy and still unable to believe that moment will come within the next ten weeks!

And Just Like That We Have a Name

Well not exactly just like that. It wasn't that easy. But he has a name; he has a name!!

Just like our last pregnancy, Honey and I agreed to wait to get serious about names until we knew the gender. And just like last time around when we were coming up with Parker's name, Honey and I have been very agreeable on names again. Thankfully!

But also, just like last time, when we get our favorites, we tend to stick there. And have trouble deciding which is our most favorite of our favorite names.

This time around our favorite name and our second favorite name came together to create Baby Boy Snowden #2's name.

Grant. Grant Henry. We can't say it enough! Baby Grant. We love saying it and we love hearing it! And of course I love seeing it and can't wait to get my hands on his first monogrammed items!

Why these names? Well, they are just favorite names that won out over our other favorite names. When we found out we were having a boy we revisited the name list that we used to narrow down Parker's name (of course I still had it!). But as it turns out none of our favorites then were contenders now. We were happy to let those names go and let them remain a part of our process to name Parker. 

So we had to come up with new names. I had some strict rules: the name could not end in an "s" because it gets lost when you say it with Snowden (so Brooks was out). The name could not end in "n" because it sounded too rhyme-y with Snowden (as it turns out I love so many boy names ending in "n". But alas Hudson and Nolan were out). The name could not end in "r" because it sounded to close to Parker and we wanted their names to sound different (Apparently I adore every boy name that exists ending in "r"! Every. Single. One! But ultimately Walker, Tanner, and Warren were out).

Then there was Grant. So easy. The first time we talked about it, we both liked it. It immediately moved to the serious column. It was a clear favorite from the beginning. In fact, Grant along with two other names became our short list. 

Just like we did when I was pregnant with Parker, we decided to use our favorite names, one at a time, for a week each, to refer to the baby. We started with Grant. And after that first week, we never used another first name! Grant just... fit. We both felt it.

Next we planned to use our top two middle names for a week each. We didn't even make it a full week. The name we were trying out just wasn't it. Henry became the clear fit. After all, it had been a favorite name of ours for a while as well. 

When the realization sank in we asked, do we have a name? Have we decided on a name? Yes. Our son is Grant Henry. And we cannot wait to meet him!

Passing On The Baby Judgement

You get a lot of unsolicited advice when you're pregnant. This isn't my first pregnancy so I suppose I'm somewhat accustomed to that. But this time, what I was not prepared for was the judgement.

Not necessarily on me, but the complete and total judgment being passed onto my unborn baby boy. You know, the one that is the size of a small cabbage and currently in utero. Have any other mommy's experienced this while pregnant with baby #2?

It starts out innocent enough... "Oh Parker is such a good baby..." but then suddenly "...that second baby is going to give you a run for your money." Oh right, because all of the "good baby" genes must have been used up on Parker, right?

Or... "Parker is a good sleeper? Oh your second baby won't sleep well at all." Yes because that's how it works, only one child per household can be considered a good sleeper.

"Parker doesn't seem fussy. Well this next baby will be a whole different story." Really? Wow.

To the people who believe they have my unborn child, who is barely even three pounds in size, all figured out, here is my request: wait. Please wait until this baby is born. Please let him come into the world. Let him have a chance to be the little baby he was born to be without all of this unnecessary pressure to not be a good baby, or to not be a good sleeper, or to fuss, or to be everything the opposite of his brother.

Yes, I realize I am not re-creating Parker. Trust me when I say there is no scientific experiment going on in my womb to clone my first born. Little baby boy #2 will be a whole new personality with his own genetic makeup. And we can't wait to meet him! He may be a good sleeper, he may not. He may be fussy, he may not.

But just because, simply because, Parker is or is not one way does not automatically pin the opposite on this little baby.

So to those people who insist on telling me how he will be, please wait.

If you do feel compelled to say something, let me leave you with this. These words I heard today: "Parker seems like such an easy baby. That's so wonderful! I believe he will be a positive influence on his little brother." I can't tell you how much I appreciated hearing such a thoughtful comment.

If you're a pregnant mommy and you find yourself an innocent bystander in the unwanted judgment of your in utero baby, I'll share with you the response I give to each and every person who tells me what they think baby #2 is going to be like.

I simply respond, "I don't believe that." Said of course with a smile.

Bump-Date: Baby Boy #2 at 26 Weeks

Despite the lack of Bump-Date's so far with Baby Boy Snowden #2, I am in fact still pregnant and so completely excited about having another little boy! Brothers two years apart will be so much fun!

Sorry to have kept this pregnancy so under wraps, that was not my intention! Without further ado, here is an update on how this pregnancy is going at 26 weeks:

How Far Along: 26 weeks; Baby Boy #2 is due on May 10th
Weight Gain: About 12 pounds (need to double check that figure at my appointment next week!)
Baby Is: 16 inches long, 2.5 pounds

Food Cravings / Aversions: I've been craving cheesy foods: from pizza to Cheetos's to macaroni and cheese to just slicing huge chunks of soft mozzarella. I've also been craving apples (just like with Parker!) and small oranges like cuties or mandarin. And as cliche as it is, I have been loving dill pickles! The only aversion I have is occasionally seeing raw meat and then eating it. Gross! For a while I couldn't cook any poultry because it was so bad! I have noticed that there does not seem to be much room in my stomach for food these days. I am eating small meals throughout the day because there isn't room for a big feast in there!

How I'm Feeling: Excited, tired, blessed. Definitely get tired more easily this time around since I am spending my days taking care of little Parker. Sometimes I find myself catching my breath just from going up and down the stairs! I have spider veins in my leg which are particularly bad in my left leg. However, I am getting fabulous sleep! I remember with Parker having to get up several times a night because my bladder just couldn't hold anything. This time around I do have to take several bathroom breaks during the day, my nights are usually uninterrupted. Aside from feeling tired in the evenings, my energy level is great and even Honey can confirm I have not been (too) moody!

What I Miss: Definitely sushi and wine. We had sushi last week and I ate only the cooked rolls. Boring! I am very ready for some of the good stuff. And a glass of red!
Getting Ready: We are working on names and have some front runners. Since we are agreeable to most names it's been easy narrowing down our list. The hard part now is picking among our favorites! We are also getting Parker's big boy room ready so he can move into it over the next few months. That will free up the nursery for the new arrival!

Worst Part: Easy. My vein issue. The spider veins in my legs are so bad that I don't even put my feet on the floor in the morning until I have my compression socks on. Being without them - which is only when I'm in the shower - is so painful! Fortunately they should go away after the baby is born. Thank God!
Best Part: The movement! I know I will miss feeling this little one move around my belly. This baby boy is quite active! Honey has had many chances to feel him move and we both love watching my belly jump around.

What Parker Thinks: He mainly thinks my belly is a cozy place to snuggle up to. We ask him "Who is going to be a big brother" and he pats his chest (so cute!) but of course he doesn't really understand at this point. I know he will be a great big brother!
What Honey Thinks: He is thrilled to be having another son (of course!) and is sweet to check on me throughout the day. He is well aware of my vein issues and insists on helping me get things done and encourages me to sit down. (I'm not good at sitting down.)
What Cash Thinks: Cash is looking forward to being a big brother... again! He loves little babies.

All in all this pregnancy has been great! I'm extremely hopeful for a full-term baby this time around. I'm thankful to be feeling good and that this little baby is healthy!

Baby Snowden: It's A...

When I was pregnant with Parker, we hosted a fun "Waddle It Be" Gender Reveal Party for our family and friends. It was so much fun to share the surprise with our nearest and dearest! This time around we still wanted a fun way to share the big surprise even though we are far away from home.

So without further ado, here is our gender reveal for Baby Snowden #2!

Bring on the blue! Hooray for brothers!

And Suddenly... We're Expecting, Again!

We've been keeping a teeny, tiny secret around here... Well if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram then of course you already know that Baby Snowden #2 is on the way!

While we were planning this pregnancy, we weren't exactly planning on our babies having birthdays within days of each other! Baby Snowden #2 is due on May 10, 2014 - two days before Parker's second birthday on May 12th! We don't seem to have the baby-planning thing figured out yet...

Even though we were planning this pregnancy, it was still a bit of a surprise because it happened so fast! It seemed like we discussed it and - boom - I was pregnant. I was still nursing Baby Parker so the usual "I'm late" wasn't going to happen around here.

Instead... It was Wednesday, Aug 28th. Parker and I had just returned home from physical therapy. Wednesday's are busy because Honey has class for his master's degree on Wednesday evenings. We usually see him for a quick dinner between classes. I had been so unbelievably tired the last day or so and suspected that it might be because I was growing a tiny human... So when Parker and I got home, I took a test and there it was. A little blue plus sign...

I was so excited and ran to tell Cash and Parker!! They were both so excited but of course I could have also said "I just drank a glass of water!" and they would be equally excited. I knew we had to tell Honey as soon as he got home but I wanted Parker to tell him. Since the pregnancy happened so quickly, I didn't have any really fun, pint rest-y ways to tell him cooked up.

So, I made a card for Parker to give him and when Honey got home, Parker handed it to him! He thought Parker was giving him something he got at physical therapy that day. The front said:

Guess What...

And the inside said:

I'm going to be a BIG Brother!!

Honey was so excited! We were both so excited! The dream of growing our family was coming true!!

Even though he had to rush off to class shortly after hearing the news, we texted the rest of the night about our excitement and growing family and just let the news sink in.

It felt somewhat similar to the last time I told him he was going to be a daddy. Except the last time he had to rush off across the world for a 5-week deployment! And during those five weeks I had to face both of our families, refuse all wine at meals, and act like everything was normal all by myself!

Even though it has been over 3 months since we found out about Baby Snowden #2 just writing about it reminds me of the overwhelming sense of excitement that we had. And still have for this baby! 

I can't wait to meet Baby Snowden #2 and I really can't wait for Parker Bear to become a big brother!!

PS - Don't forget about the fabulous coupon code offered by Peek-a-Whoo for all Suddenly Snowden readers! The code is good through this Wednesday! Click here for details!

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today some unexpected events occurred. I basically almost had a baby.

I blogged about Baby Parker’s birth story but in the wake of new motherhood I didn’t blog about the details leading up to his birth.

Every mommy carries a unique birth story. For some it’s a normal labor and delivery and two days later they are home, for others it’s a story of the journey to get pregnant, or maybe a story of adoption, surrogacy, or in vitro. For us the story starts unexpectedly the day before Parker was born. (And it doesn’t end until two weeks after his birth but we’ll save that part for another day.)

On May 11, 2012 unexpected events were set in motion and our little baby boy was going to be born five and a half weeks early.

May 11 was a Friday. I had a few Braxton Hicks contractions that day. Nothing major. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Until… they didn’t go away. Between three and five o’clock that afternoon I noticed they started coming on a bit stronger and a bit more regular.

Honey and I had a date night planned that evening. We were soaking up our last few weeks of “just us”. Exactly one week earlier, Honey had returned from a month long work trip. He returned the weekend we had company in town (for a baby shower) so we were overdue for a weekend date night!

Honey came home from work early and took a nap. When he woke up and realized that I didn’t wake him to get ready for our date, he was immediately alarmed. (Allowing him to sleep and not get ready for our date? Not like me!)

He came to find me. In the kitchen. Busying myself, trying to ignore these contractions that wouldn’t go away.

I was a little nervous. I was afraid that this wasn’t exactly normal.

I had already done the drink-a-glass-of-cold-water-and-lie-down trick the nurse had told me a while back. But the contractions were still there. Not strong by any means. Just annoying enough to get the worry train moving along down the tracks.

Could this be labor? But it’s too early! Why all the contractions? Is something wrong?

Honey and I sat on the couch and started timing and recording the contractions. They were consistently consistent. We called the on-call doctor. She told us to go to the ER to get checked out.

We went ahead and quickly packed bags. Since we were still just under six weeks from Parker’s due date, hospital bags? Not packed. Car seat? Not purchased. Baby Showers? One down, one to go. In other words, we were not ready!

One ER admission, a few dilation checks, three shots of terbutaline, and one big pancake midnight meal later the contractions had stopped and we were on our way home.

The doctor informed us that true labor cannot be stopped. If this was real labor then they had slowed it but I’d be back the next day. Since it was a bit early she thought it was nothing and she’d see us back in six weeks or closer to our due date.

That was one year ago today.

What we didn’t know was that Parker was already on his way. We might have delayed his grand entrance but not by much.

The very next day the contractions hit me. Early in the morning. Strong, deep, painful contractions. Parker would be born five and a half weeks early. We would spend two weeks with him in the NICU. We would have our faith tested and our marriage strengthened.

But we’ll save that story for another day.

Parker's Birth Story - PART III

Well here we are at Part III of Parker's birth story... and the last installment of this series! In case you missed it, I shared about how labor came on in Part I and how labor and delivery went in Part II. 

So the day after Parker was born, Honey and I arrived at the Children's Hospital. The doctors and staff there were nothing short of incredible! We knew that Parker was in great hands. We also were exposed to so many little babies and their families and quickly realized that while we felt as though our situation was life changing, it was temporary. There were so many families there that had babies in far worse situations than ours. Shortly upon our arrival we were quick to count our blessings! We will never forget those that we met there and their heart breaking stories.

Since Parker was the patient (not us, his parents) there was no place for us to sleep in his room. The hospital provided a list of hotels that gave a discount in the area so during the first week each night we found a place to stay - leaving the hospital as late as possible each evening and arriving as early as possible each morning. 

The nurses made a cute name sign for his door! Here is also a picture of his bed and small room.

We did have 24-hour access to Parker which was wonderful! We were also encouraged to hold him whenever we wanted to and change his diapers and take his temperature. We could even put clothes on him!

 

 

Our families came to see him too. We had visits from my parents and brother and from Honey's parents and sister, brother in law and their children.

We also had several friends come say hello!

To help show how little bitty our baby boy was, here is a picture of him with a premie outfit on the right (which fit him with plenty of room to spare width wise) and a newborn outfit on the left.

Our team of doctors, led by world-renowned Neonatologist, Dr. William Walsh, gave us the following three “going home rules”: Parker would need to 1) breathe on his own, 2) nurse from Mommy, and 3) regulate his body temperature. While this is standard fare for newborns, we quickly learned that they are challenges for pre-term babies.

To assist with his breathing, Parker was intubated with a ventilator shortly after his birth but after three successful days, the ventilator was removed! Parker remained on oxygen for a couple of days but was soon breathing “room air”. We were so thrilled with his progress!

With the ventilator

No ventilator! Only using a cannula to assist with breathing

No ventilator, no cannula, no IV for fluids, only a feeding tube to take mama's milk!

Parker’s heart rate was constantly monitored but amazingly it remained right where it should. Even when he was given a pacing study, the high heart rate could not be replicated. Parker was cleared of any heart issues! What WONDERFUL news!!

Parker was then able to practice first drinking from a bottle and then nursing. He astounded the doctors with his progress and soon his feeding tube was removed and we celebrated another “going home rule” accomplishment.

 

 Around this same time we were upgraded to a Family Room. This gave us the opportunity to room in with Parker! We were sleeping on a pull out couch in a room only slightly bigger than his original room but we didn't care, we were together! 

No feeding tube!! We could finally see his whole face!

 

Following these successes we focused on body temperature. After several days Parker was able to regulate his body temperature! It was then that we received the news we had been waiting for: after two weeks at the Children's Hospital– even spending our one-year wedding anniversary there – we were on our way home with our perfectly healthy precious little son!

Ready to GO HOME!

It took more than one trip to the car!

Snug in his car seat

We were so happy to finally be home and have our little family together. What an experience we will NEVER forget. Thank God we have a happy, healthy little boy!! We could not feel more blessed!!