Our Birth Story

Ok, soooooooooo much stuff has been happening, and I am so sorry I am jsut now sitting down to update everyone. So, sit down, and stay for a while. This is going to be a long one... but a special one ;)

 

Last Thursday we visited our perinatologist, Dr. R for our "every 4 weeks" ultrasound. He did confirm that baby B has flipped back to the breech transverse position. Dr. R stated that he does not think that baby B will flip back vertex and that if I did try to give birth vaginally, after baby A was born, baby B would just scoot down butt first. He recommended a c-section (anxiety started) , but we would wait to hear from Dr. C at our appointment Tuesday.

 

Tuesday rolled around and we saw Dr. C. We explained to her what Dr. R had recommended and she agreed. I knew I was headed toward c -section but every ounce of me was waiting to hear someone tell me he could flip tonight! Even though I knew deep down it wouldn't happen. So, after talking with Dr. C, we all agreed a c-section would be the safest route. I wanted to wait until Monday to mentally prepare myself, but schedule wise, Thursday looked better. Plus, Dr. C wasn't on call this weekend, so if I was going to begin labor on my own, things may have been a bit hectic, which is what we didn't want.

 

Thursday morning, bright and early, I got my kids dropped off at school, headed home to pack up all our stuff, and Josh and I headed to hospital. Go figure we ran a bit late. It always happens like that. We arrived at the hospital, met our photographer, A & J at the entrance and headed up to labor and delivery. Nerves were running on full by then as we rode the elevator up, but I knew I still had a few hours, so I was mentally trying to calm down. Hope I hid it well, I didn't want everyone thinking I was a basket case. We got to our room and hooked up to the monitors. The next couple of hours went by decently well. Everyone just sat around and visited while the nurses checked us in, monitors got ran on the babies, and waiting on Dr. C to finish up morning appointments so she could come start surgery. And then, all of a sudden, all my nurses came in, told me it was time, and down the hall I rolled. Anxiety level was about a 15 on a scale of 1-10.

 

We arrived in OR, got me on table, got spinal done, and laid me down to start cleaning. Anxiety was then about a 50. Dr. C came in and talked to me a bit, told me Josh was heading in and would be with me, and they finished all the prepping. It was an immediate relief when Josh came and sat by me. Both our hands were sweating so bad, but I still wanted to hold one of them. It seemed like hours and hours waiting on surgery to start, but I am sure it was only a few minutes.

 

Surgery started, a few minutes later, Josh peeked around the drape and told me "she's out!", and I heard the best little cry. They flashed her to me and quickly headed out to the warmer, which was right outside the OR room. This is where A & J were so they could be with the babies after being born. It was baby B's turn to come, but he was a bit stubborn..... go figure. This whole pregnancy that lil' toot has been stubborn. The placenta started to separate and had a little bit of blood loss. He was born with shallow breathing and a weak response, so they quickly got him to his warmer, where a few seconds later I heard him crying as well, which was a huge relief. Even though he had quickly started crying, since he had a bit trouble catching his breath and getting a good response from him, they brought him to NICU just to be cautious.

Baby A is named Audee Mae. She is 6lb 1 oz, 17 in long.

Baby B is named Owen Campbell. He is 6lb 5 oz, 18 3/4 in long.

Owen is still in NICU. They started him on antibiotics and the length of his NICU stay seems to change so often, but I think he will probably be in until mid next week or so. Audee has been with Mom and Dad in their room since birth. She LOVES breast milk. A had some pretty awesome women donate to her so they babies could get a good start. Audee quickly goes into a "milk coma" as soon as she is through with her bottle. Most of the time I see her sleeping, but I caught her with her eyes open yesterday. She is absolutely perfect. 

 

This morning the NICU nurses let J bring Owen to the doorway so A's family could see him. I quickly thought to bring Audee too so she could meet her little brother! So, we got to see A & J together with both babies for the first time! It was a very rewarding moment for me to see!

 

I also want to take a moment and send out a few praises. First, my Dr.,  through out this whole pregnancy, has ben A-MA-ZING. She is a kind hearted woman who genuinly cares about her patients. She has been through this pregnancy with us and has endured hours of questions, worries, hospital visits, etc. She goes above and beyond to make sure we have felt safe about any decisions and to make sure I am being taken care of properly. I seriously could not have imagined going through this pregnancy without her. She came into the section room while they were prepping me and held my hand while waiting on Josh to show up. It really touched my heart to know she cared enough about my feeling to go out of her way to calm me down. Secondly, my nurses at the hospital, have also been AMAZING. I had alot of the same ones from birthing Lane. Through out the pregnancy I have visited the hospital a couple times for minor problems. They have all accepted us and our situation without any questions. They check on me often and have made us as comfortable as possible. This is the hospital's first surrogacy situation, and they have handled everything wonderfully. They allowed for A & J to room in next door to me, and gave them a large enough room to have visitors and to be comfortable. Thank you to everyone who has made this delivery and hospital stay as enjoyable as possible. Everyone has been so nice and accepting.

We trully appreciate it.