Today is the day!

When my water broke I was 27 weeks along. Bedrest really did help.   With the Lord's help, I did make it past the two week mark. In fact, I made it for five weeks.

The whole time I was at the hospital the baby's heart rate looked very strong and she remained very active. I was pretty much a boring patient. But that's the way I liked it. I was very blessed the whole time to have lots of visitors, emails and phone calls, so I really didn't get that bored. Our church family and our neighborhood friends really stepped up and helped out Chad with the boys and with meals.

This morning, just a day shy of 32 weeks, I went into labor. At first, when I got to my labor and delivery room, I wasn't doing much. Things were pretty slow.  The doctor expected that things would move along quickly, but so far that hasn't been the case.  Chad came over to the hospital, but since not much was going on he headed home to watch a soccer game (he gave me strict instructions to call him if anything changed).  I was actually feeling good, so I started writing an update for the blog. After writing for a while I was starting to feel more of the contractions.  I called Chad back to the hospital and we waited.

The nursing staff still didn't want to check me abdominally very often, so I waited for a while to have the nurse check to see how far a long I was.  I was nervous she would tell me that I wasn't far at all.  Unfortunately, I was right, the first time she checked me I was only at a one and I was already in pain.

Luckily, though, things did pick up and an hour to an hour and a half later I was at a three.  After that I started having a lot of pain. It is true when they say that you forget the pain of previous births.  I had forgotten how bad it could be.  Finally, I was able to get an epidural.  The anesthesiologist was really nice.  His wife had been my nurse earlier that morning.  I found out that his son was suffering from brain cancer and he didn't have a lot of time left to live.  I was impressed with how strong they both were - that would be so hard.  I said a prayer for them that day and for many days afterwards.

As I said, I got my epidural, but it was not without it's problems.  Unfortunately, it went in the wrong way and as the anesthesiologist was taking it out some of my spinal fluid came out as well.  This really frustrated him because this would give me a spinal headache.  He was very frustrated that he had made the mistake.  I know he was trying to do his best, so I felt bad that he was so frustrated.  He did retry the epidural a second time and it took.  By this time my labor was in full swing and I was actually nervous that the epidural would deaden me long after the labor was over.  Luckily, my fears never came to light.

Just before the delivery several doctors and nurses came in to prep me, the room, and Ashlyn's warmer.  Everyone had a job and they were ready and waiting.  When it came time for me to push Chad was by my side and I only had to push a couple of times.  When my doctor pulled her out at 7:51 pm and held her up and he said she had a double chin!  I was surprised that he held her up to show me.  I figured she would be wisked away to the warmer as soon as she was out.  She was taken to the warmer shortly after I saw her.  Chad followed Ashlyn to the other side of the room and I got cleaned up.

I could see Chad watching the doctor and nurses attending to Ashlyn.  I kept telling him to take pictures.  I knew he was probably not worried about taking pictures because of his intense focus on the reality of the situation, but I wanted to see her and I knew she would be leaving the room soon.  After Chad took a couple of pictures he reported that she was doing well, but that she was on oxygen.  This didn't scare us, this was something we expected would happen.

Before Ashlyn was taken to the NICU, the Neonatologist brought Ashlyn over so I could see her.  Again, I was surprised that they brought her over to me, but I was so grateful!  The doctor explained that Ashlyn's body was inside of a plastic bag to help keep her warm (not allow any body heat to escape).  He also told us about the breathing tube and asked if we had any questions.  The doctor was very kind, calm and patient.  That was a great comfort!  We took a couple of pictures and then Ashlyn went down the hall to the NICU.

Chad went with her to watch them weigh her (3 lbs. 15 oz. and 16 3/4 long) and then he came back so the staff coul give Ashlyn a full check and get her started on the things she needed.  We were told they would let us know (in about an hour) when we could come see her.

At least two hours later we hadn't heard from the NICU so we had the nurse call to find out if we could go see Ashlyn.  Next thing we knew the Neonatologist came into our room.  He handed us a picture of Ashlyn and then in a somber and nervous tone he explained that Ashlyn had a bit of trouble that he was worried about.

Early the next morning Chad wrote the following email to update our family:

We have had a busy evening as is typical with any birth; however, we have had some concerning updates since we spoke with each of you last night. At some point when the NICU staff was working to get Ashlyn stabilized, one of the IV lines was compromised and air was introduced into her bloodstream. The most noticeable and immediate symptom was a dark bruising on most of her body caused by the oxygen deprivation.

While there are more details, the quick version of our current situation is that most of her body has regained its normal coloring with the exception of her right arm below the elbow, her right knee and her toes on both feet. The right arm is particularly purple in color.  The greater concern is that the oxygen derivation caused by the air bubble(s) may have damaged some of her internal organs.

They performed an ultrasound to look at her head and abdomen and did not find any air bubbles or any obvious signs of organ damage; however, it may take several hours or even days for more subtle damage to reveal itself.  The neonatologist seems confident that the air is gone, but is more concerned about internal damage that may not have manifested itself yet. They will be performing additional ultrasounds over the coming days to confirm that everything is okay. They will also use an MRI, but it will be a few weeks before Ashlyn is old enough for an MRI.

Brooke and I are both feeling pretty calm about everything at the moment; however, we ask that you continue to keep little Ashlyn in your prayers. The nurses in the NICU are naturally very upset about what has happened and we have tried to reassure them that Ashlyn's health and well-being are in the Lord's hands. I was grateful to learn that two of the nurses had been standing by Ashlyn's side before I arrived in the NICU praying that Heavenly Father would watch over her. We are fortunate to be surrounded by people with strong faith in God and His power to perform miracles in our lives and in the lives of those we love. Please focus your faith and energy on Ashlyn's well-being and resist the temptation to be upset with the NICU staff for what has happened.

We are grateful for your love, for your continued prayers and for your faith.

Brooke - We were able to see Ashlyn late that night (or early in the morning) when she was finally stabilized.  Since I had a spinal headache I had to visit Ashlyn in my hospital bed.  I was amazed the bed was able to fit through the doors and into the NICU.  It was a relief to see Ashlyn.  She was very tiny, but was sleeping soundly.  I saw her purple arm and was told that much of the purpling had gone away.  I felt very calm.  Oddly enough, I was not worried at all - yet again another tender mercy.  I had a wonderful short visit.  Unfortunately, I had to return to my room to get some rest.  Chad was able to stay with Ashlyn.  He went back and forth between Ashlyn and me.  It was a blessing.

Later in the day (Sunday) the boys were finally able to come to the hospital.  They were excited that Ashlyn had been born, but they were sad they wouldn't be able to see her and touch her.  They did get to see her over closed circuit television in the family waiting room.  The boys also got special hospital bracelets that said, "Big Brother."  Not all of the boys wanted to wear the bracelet, but they humored me and put them on for a picture.  I love the picture - I just wish Ashlyn's little hand could have been there as well.  Instead, we were all putting our faith together, as a family, in her behalf - what a powerful blessing this has been for our family!