Introducing Baby Anderson

On Sunday, July 3, it was my turn to make breakfast for our Sunday School class. Saturday night, I prepared the casserole and had it in the refrigerator ready to be baked early the next morning. We woke up, had showers, and headed off to church. We dropped Emily off at the nursery and then went to our class. After that, we headed down to the sanctuary for the service. As soon as the service started, I noticed some mild contractions. I contracted throughout the pregnancy pretty regularly, so I didn't think much of it. And, these were not very painful at all compared to other ones that I had felt before. I started noting when I felt them--about every 5 minutes. We went to eat with our Sunday School class after church and they became a bit stronger. Nothing I couldn't tolerate though. When we got home, I changed into comfortable clothes, drank a lot of water, and laid down to try to nap. The contractions eased up and became much more irregular. So...of course I thought it was false labor.

At about 30 weeks, I had an ultra sound that showed the baby was breech. About 4 weeks later, I drove down to Calhoun, GA to meet Jonathan upon his homecoming from his National Guard annual training. That night, I had some complications that landed us in the ER. I was directly sent to L & D and hooked up to monitors. Turns out, I was in labor, but thankfully it was progressing slowly enough that I was given a shot to stop it. It worked. My OB back at home told me that the labor was started because the baby had turned from breech to head down position and that can stimulate contractions. She even did an ultra sound to confirm and told me that it was indeed true. I was extremely excited and hopeful.

Now, fast forward a couple weeks and back to the start of this blog (how unorganized am i??). So, that Sunday, I was sure that it was false labor. However, there was a nagging thought in my mind that the baby could still be breech and if I was in labor, by chance, it could be very dangerous for both of us if my water broke and baby was breech. I called my OB's office--no answer on a Sunday and turns out they don't have an answering service! How convenient! Next, I called the L & D at Skyridge Medical Center (where I was supposed to deliver). The nurse I talked to said "Honey, I can't give you any advice at all. You'll have to get a hold of your dr." Thanks a ton. I started exploring other options...something in my heart just wouldn't let the issue rest at "false labor". I got a hold of a lady from our church who works in L & D here in Athens. Although I didn't know her at all, I called her up and explained all of the personal details involved. And she was MEGA-helpful. She told me to go into Athens hospital just to get checked out so that I could have some peace of mind. She said it's better to be safe than sorry and that it is totally acceptable for me to go to a hospital without them having my records just to be sure. So, J and I and Emily bee-bopped out the door on a beautiful Sunday afternoon "just to go get checked out". Before we left, I grabbed my camera just in case.

We got to the hospital to discover that my church friend had called ahead and told them I was coming. I walked in the doors and the nurses said "Are you Amanda?". How convenient! They wouldn't let Em back in the triage room so we called our friends Wesley and Sarah for babysitting help. They came promptly to get Emily (life savers!) and took her home to play. J and I waited in the triage room. I was sure I would be sent home soon, because those contractions seemed to disappear at first and I was dilated at just one cm--totally normal for 3rd trimester. Buuut I was wrong. The contractions came back and the nurse called in the doc on call. Turns out, the doc on call was the doc that I had seen at the very beginning of the pregnancy before I decided to switch practices. Talk about awkward! But, luckily, she was my favorite and I was SO relieved to see her face walk in the door. It was about 40 minutes from the time the nurse checked me to the time the doc got there and checked me again. I had gone from "a fingertip" to 4 cm in that short period of time. They rushed for the ultra sound machine to check baby's position and lo and behold, he was still breech. Next, all the surgeons and anesthesiologists were called in as well as a pediatrician. I was given an IV (horrendous experience and added nothing to the peaceful feeling I was trying to conjure up), papers were thrown at me right and left to sign, three people asking questions about my entire life history, and a man in scrubs came in to tell me about the risks of c-sections and spinals. Wonderful. I kept asking "Are you sure this is real labor?". The doc said so. I had time to call my mom and say, "Mom, I'm in the hospital. I'm in labor and he's still breech. I'm about to go back for a c-section. Can you come down please?" Ha. She hopped in the car and headed right down.

Meanwhile, Emily was passed over to Aunt Missy (another lifesaver) for an impromptu play date. I'm so thankful she was oblivious to our situation.

So, off we went into the operating room. By the way, I had prayed and prayed and prayed (etc) that God would somehow turn the baby in my womb. I wanted to avoid a c-section more than anything. Oh how I was terrified of a c-section. More than anything, I didnt want my future child-having options to be so limited! But, despite my earnest prayers, the Lord had different plans. I'm still having to trust him in that entire situation when I think back on it.

Anyways, Anderson arrived at 7:03 on July 3rd. He weighed 5 lbs and 5 oz and was 17 inches long. For being born at 35 weeks, I was happy about his weight. I got to see him briefly while I was on the operating table before he was whisked away to the nursery. When I got out of surgery, they told me that he was having a lot of trouble breathing and that they would need to transport him to a NICU asap. We requested that he be sent to Erlanger in Chattanooga because my sister-in-law was working in the NICU that very night. It was another hour or so later and the helicopter transport team was there and had him in an incubator, with an IV, and on a nasal cannula. They tried to wheel his huge stretcher into my room so that I could see him, but it was too large and I just got a glimpse of his little feet. Jonathan and Wesley left from the hospital where I was and drove to Erlanger. They met the helicopter there. By this time, my mom had arrived to see the baby and take care of Emily (who was all cozy and warm in her own bed through all of this). And Connie stayed with me in the hospital that first night.

My sister-in-law was his nurse in the NICU that night and was able to give him his first little sponge bath (of which she sent me video). Less than 24 hours after my c-section the doctors decided to release me so that I could go and meet my son. I was definitely feeling uneasy about leaving the hospital so soon, but knew nothing could keep me away from my baby. Jonathan drove me home, packed my bags, and then we headed to Chattanooga. Talk about a painful car ride! But we made it and I got to hold my Anderson for the first time that night--totally worth it.

Anderson was in the NICU for almost two weeks and battled respiratory distress syndrome and bradycardia. He took a bit longer than expected which probably signals that he was a bit earlier than my dates allowed. (We were never sure of the dates in the first place). It is estimated that he was about 35 weeks when born--possibly a late 34. His weight dropped to four and a half lbs in the NICU and he was back up to an even 5 when we were discharged. We spent the last night at the hospital in a lovely "care by parent" room. Not. It was terrible. Two chairs that kind of folded out into a somewhat flat sleeping surface, a terribly dirty pink bathroom, and the entire room was about the size of a nice hotel bathroom. Oh well. We were just glad to be with Andy. The next day, we took him home. What a feeling!

Now, he is above 7 lbs and is doing wonderfully. He eats all the time and is growing so fast. His preemie clothes and diapers are too small so we've officially graduated to newborn size! He is a wonderful baby and such a blessing to us. We have two beautiful children!

Emily has adjusted well. She loves to give her "baby Anderson" kisses. She is learning to be gentle and use a whisper when he is sleeping near her. She is a wonderful big sister.

I love that we are a family of four. It feels so...right. I love having my own little family unit and children to raise with my husband. It is a privilege to be entrusted with such precious little lives.

This is one of my favorite verses:

Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are the children of one's youth.

Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.

Psalm 127: 3-5