Amazing Love

I've known love for a long time. I have loved God since I can remember and am blessed to have an incredible family and friends that I love so much.  I experienced a new kind of love in spring of 2008 when I fell in love with my husband and that love deepens with each day that passes.  

However, at 5:32 PM on Thursday, June 28, I experienced a kind of love I've never known.  It was at that moment that a completely new part of my heart opened up. It was the moment I finally got to meet my son.

At around 1:45 on Wednesday, June 27th, I stood up from my desk and felt a small gush of fluid. It was a strange feeling and I honestly had to convince myself I hadn't had an accident on myself (ha).  The trickles continued for 30 minutes, so I called the doctor and left work immediately. The doctor confirmed that my water had broken, so I was immediately admitted to the hospital. 

The next few minutes were a whirlwind.  I had one nurse checking me in, another getting my bed and gown ready and yet another starting my IV and drawing blood.  As nervous as I had been about giving birth, I was sitting on the bed with a huge smile on my face and laughing with the nurses when Clay came in.  Our dream of becoming parents was finally becoming a reality and the thought of seeing my precious little boy overruled any fear or anxiety I had.

Because my water had broken, I was forced to stay in the bed to prevent infection.  I was already 3 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced on arrival, and they expected me to start contracting on my own through the night. I had a few erratic contractions throughout that sleepless night, but they weren't measurable or becoming regular, so the nurse added Pitocin to my IV at 6:00 AM.

By 7:00, I was having fairly intense contractions that were 2 minutes apart. They really began hurting at 7:30 and by 7:45, were enough to make me forget to breathe. Our nurse, Rhonda, sent everyone to the waiting room to check dilation and to give me a few minutes to relax. I was already at 5 cm and was insistent on holding out for the epidural until 7 cm... until one big contraction sent me over the edge.

I began involuntarily shaking and couldn't control it.  Even feeding myself ice chips was impossible, so Clay had to spoon them into my mouth. I don't know what caused it, but the nurse said it was a natural reaction to being in labor.  I'm glad to hear that- I thought I was just being a weenie. :)

I got the epidural at 9:15, when I was 6 cm dilated. I began to feel relief quickly.  I could no longer move the left side of my body, but after 3 contractions, noticed I was still having pain in a localized area on my right side. It intensified with each contraction and one even made me cry. I could still move my right leg, a sure sign that the epidural was not working.  The anesthesiologist gave me an additional dose of meds and they rolled me to the right to get the meds to move, but it didn't work. I had to have the epidural removed and reinserted. Thirty seconds later, I was numb from the waist down and the involuntary shaking stopped.

The next few hours seemed to last an eternity.  I wasn't feeling any pain, but my legs tingled.  I made a game out of trying to move my legs, but lost every time.  No matter how hard I tried, I had no control of anything below the belt.  Clay had to move my legs for me when the tingling got too intense and once when he moved me, I discovered the reason behind the tingle.  Thanks to the epidural, my feet and legs were retaining water and looked like I weighed 400 pounds.  

Finally, at 2:40 PM, I was at 10 cm and Bryson was ready to be born!

I started pushing at 3:00 PM.  My contractions were strong and the nurse said we'd push through them so the combination of the force of the contraction and pushing would move him down.  The first push was an experience I can't describe.  I had waited so long for this moment, but I was so unsure of what I was doing.  It was suddenly very real that I was about to give birth, something I have feared my entire life. Enter involuntary shaking... (Maybe I am just a weenie) I began to make real progress after roughly an hour of pushing, but little man was stubborn (imagine that) and was moving slowly.  I was exhausted, both physically and emotionally, and when I heard the nurse tell a person over speaker that my progress was slow, I wanted to cry.  

At 5:10, my doctor came in to check on me and could see Bryson's head was only a 1/2 inch away, but he had turned it to the right.  He gave me two options: use the forceps or go in for a c-section.  I elected to have him use the forceps.  He told me we had one shot- if the forceps didn't work with the next set of pushes, we would be going in for a c-section. I immediately began praying that God would push this baby out!

A few minutes later, the drapes were set up around me and my doctor was preparing me to push one last time.  It was then that my contractions decided to calm down... of course.  Finally, a contraction began and I pushed once and Bryson's head was out.  His body followed very quickly without any help from me. Actually delivering him was nowhere near as scary as I'd expected.  I didn't feel any pain, but did feel the pressure of his head.  Knowing he was out was a surreal, indescribable feeling. Relief flooded my body and I screamed, then began crying uncontrollably. I had done it- I made it through labor and my little boy had finally entered the world.

At 5:32, I heard his first cry and my pink and purple little boy was laid on my chest.  

There was a scurry of activity in the next few minutes.  As I was being tended to, Bryson was weighed and measured.  He weighed in a 7 pounds 12.7 ounces and was 21.25 inches long.

After he was cleaned up, the nurses handed Bryson over to his daddy.  Clay couldn't take his eyes off of Bryson and stared at him in awe.  Watching my husband with our son may have been the most precious moment of the day.

Clay and I got a few minutes alone with our little guy before anyone came in.  Those first few moments as a family of 3 will be forever etched in my mind.  

After awhile, our family was allowed in to meet our precious little man. We spent most of the night surrounded by family and friends. At around 8:30, we were finally alone with Bryson for the first time. It was awesome to have our little family together and just enjoy time with this little guy we had waited so long for.  

Around 9:00 that night, a nurse came in to tell us that because Bryson had a fever of 100.6 and had grunted a little right after birth, they were going to do some precautionary tests. Within the hour, we learned that he had a pneumothorax, or a collapsed lung.  Hearing the news sent us into a tailspin!  The neonatalogist came to our room to explain the situation.  It's a fairly common condition, but Bryson's was pretty large.  To someone who isn't in the medical field, especially new parents, hearing something like that is awful.  Although the doctor did a terrible job explaining and made us think the worse, a pneumothorax isn't a huge deal. It is just a pocket of air next to the lung that prevents the lung from expanding as far as it should.  It can typically be resolved with a round of antibiotics.

They took him to the NICU immediately and hooked him up to all kinds of machines, one of which measured his blood oxygen. It was at 100%, so the pneumothorax was not affecting his breathing. They hooked him up to an IV and gave him antibiotics. 

The following morning, we got to the NICU early.  In addition to finding out the pneumothorax had improved, we also learned that Bryson's white blood cell count was elevated, signifying an infection. The doctor, who has a reputation for being very conservative, informed us that he would be doing a spinal tap to rule out meningitis, even though he was already certain that wasn't the cause. As expected, the results indicated that Bryson didn't have meningitis. 

Twenty-four hours later, on Saturday morning, his white blood cell count was normal and the pneumothorax had improved even more.  The doctor informed us he would no longer be testing his blood and wouldn't do another chest x-ray until Monday morning.  

I was discharged from the hospital on Saturday evening. That morning, I awoke before Clay and cried until he woke up... then cried some more. We had been looking forward to bringing our little guy into the world and taking him home to meet his fur sisters for so long and now we were facing going home without him. To know we were leaving without him broke my heart. Leaving him in the hospital that first night was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

Until Saturday night, we had only told a few people what was going on, but because people were planning to visit when we got home, we decided to post about Bryson's condition on Facebook.  The responses we received were overwhelming. Wall comments, Facebook messages, phone calls and text messages began pouring in.  With so many people praying for our little man, we had no doubt that Monday's chest x-ray would reveal a completely healthy lung.

On Monday, three days after his birth, the pneumothorax was gone.  Praise God!  If antibiotics wouldn't have worked, a needle or chest tube would have been inserted in his chest.  I'll take antibiotics to the alternative any day! 

It is now Thursday, July 5 and we are still in the NICU.  Although the pneumothorax is gone and his white blood cell counts are normal, little man has to receive a 10-day cycle of antibiotics.  We spend 11-12 hours a day at the hospital.  He is in a crib and is only hooked up to machines for 20-30 minutes a day when he gets antibiotics, so we spend the day holding him and watching him sleep, feeding him, changing diapers and taking hundreds of pictures.  Leaving him at night has gotten easier, only because we know now that he is healthy and in good hands, but it's still so hard to enjoy being home when he is stuck in a stark white hospital room.

In his first week of life, Bryson has had 4 chest x-rays, a spinal tap and a number of IV ports.   He has been hooked up to a pulse oximeter and various sensors since he was 5-hours-old.  He currently has an antibiotic catheter port on the right side of his head. He's handled everything like a champ. While it's been incredibly difficult to see this little boy we love so dearly go through so much in his first week of life, it's a relief to know that he is completely healthy.

The last week has been trying and we've ridden a roller coaster of emotion, but it has been the best week of my life.  Not only did I finally get to meet the newest love of my life, but I have also seen God work through Him.  I have spent countless hours of quality time with my two favorite men and we have been blessed by so many friends and family.


On Saturday night, Clay and I will stay in a suite at the hospital and will finally get to spend the first night with our son.  We will bring him home on Sunday, July 8 and will finally get to begin our lives as a family of 5.  


I have taken my time with writing this, partially to ensure its accuracy, but also to reflect on the last 7 days.  While Bryson's first few days of life were not what we had planned, God has turned this test into a testimony.  Since we learned that Bryson was on his way, God has been faithful and has shown Himself to us on so many occasions.  The last week has been no exception and I am so grateful that He has been with us every step of the way.


Clay has always been a great husband and I have known for a long time that he would be an incredible dad, but this week, he's been tested and has passed with flying colors.  From the delivery room, to the NICU, to our babyless nights at home, he has been my rock.  He's been strong when I needed him to be and is soft and gentle with our son.  He's held my hand to comfort me, both through tremendous physical discomfort and incredible emotional distress.  He's helped me with the gross parts of labor and recovery without batting an eye and has taken care of me through all my pain and general ickiness.  I am so blessed to have him as my partner in parenthood and in life.


Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, Bryson Reed..........

 

2011 Recap

December 31, 1989 was a bittersweet day for me. I recall asking my mom if 1989 would ever come back because it was my favorite year. I was so sad to learn that 1989 was in the books and would become my past. I feel the same way about 2011. It's been an amazing year, full of growth and changes in me and my life.

First and foremost, I married the love of my life on June 4. When I met Clay, I knew I'd marry him. Of course, my faith waned on occasion because of some issues (post 1, post 2, post 3) but in the end, God rewarded our obedience to Him and we FINALLY got hitched! Waiting on our time was hard, especially since my family always hinted that they thought I'd never get married. In the end, I'm so glad I waited on the man God had for me. I couldn't ask for anyone better!

I've spent the majority of my life with the typical girl mentality- girls are drama and guys are much easier to get along with. Until 2008, I had 2 girl friends who I knew would be there no matter what. Because I wanted to honor my relationship with Clay, I needed to rethink my friendships and began praying that God would bring me more girl friends. I now have a handful of quality girl friends- girls that pray with and for me, that I can spend countless hours with and conversation and laughter never stop. This year, I learned who my real friends are and I'm seriously blessed by them!

Through the tornadoes of April 27, I learned that a state divided by a heated football rivalry can come together in awesome ways when neighbors are in need. As I mentioned in an earlier post, my hometown, Cullman, and my college town, Tuscaloosa, were hit by catastrophic tornadoes on that day. I watched hundreds of people from all over the country pour into cities all over the state, removing debris, wiping tears, feeding babies and building houses. I saw the Auburn and Kent State football teams pitch in to help their on-the-field foes in rebuilding the lives and hope of the city. Most of all, I saw God's love poured out from stranger to stranger and people literally becoming the hands and feet of Jesus.

As I mentioned on my last post, my cousin Drew was in a horrific accident. Through what could have been a terrible tragedy, I saw my family draw closer together and Drew gain a new attitude. He knows God's hand was on Him and the plan for His life must be awesome! I love hearing his new positive outlook on life and every situation.

I thought I knew love before this year. After all, I have a relationship with God, am head over heels in love with my husband, and love my friends and family with every fiber of my being. Until I saw our sweet baby and heard his/her little heartbeat on November 28, I had never know a love so deep. I haven't met this child yet, but already love him/her so much it's unreal.

Alabama is back in the national championship game after a tough year. Sure, we won't know the outcome until 2012, but it's the 2011 season and the season is definitely worth mentioning, win or lose. Roll Tide!