The A-Team

Our newest addition to the A-Team arrived at 10:14 am on 6-18-12. Her birth story follows:

I was scheduled for a 10 am C-section. We felt like old pros at this being #3 and all. I was able to actually get settled into my room first and there the nurse started getting me all set up for surgery! This was different than with Abel. We started out in triage and didn’t get to set everything up in our room beforehand. So this was a nice surprise!

I get my meds and IV in my room. Miss Abilene was NOT being cooperative with the nurses. They had to get a good reading of her heartbeat for 10 minutes but she would NOT stay put! She would roll and kick until she was off that monitor. The nurses were not happy to say the least:) I thought it was quite comical. This little girl was going to give a run for our money all they way to the end!

Now they roll me down the hall to the OR and I get off the bed and walk into the room. I have already met everyone who is in there and I start to get nervous! Funny, you would think it would seem like a walk in the park since I have done this before but nope. I was nervous! My doc sat down next to me on the table and prepared me for my spinal block. Then the anesthesiologist (Julie) got me nice and numb! I love Julie. She is absolutely fabulous and such a caring person. It didn’t take too long and I wasn’t feeling so hot. I let her know and she fixed me right up! Surgery started and right before Abilene was pulled out, I was pretty sure I was going to throw up. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to vomit when you have virtually no control over your body because you are numb? I was able to get the words out fast enough for Julie to respond with a tray to catch everything. I was so thankful. This again was a first. I have NEVER gotten sick from anesthesia! No sooner than I get cleaned up, my baby is born!!!! I am shown a quick glimpse of her and off to the nurses she goes.

Abilene had thrown a fit while still inside and gulped a whole bunch of amniotic fluid. They were trying to clear her of that and she was finally crying. It was the most amazing sound. Life. To hear my little girl cry for the first time, tears just came to me. Then my doc dropped a bomb on me. He let me know that my uterine wall was actually pretty thin. Only a few millimeters of thickness available so there would be higher risk if we decided to have another child. That actually hurt more than I expected. Here I am giving birth to potentially my last child and I was so sad I hadn’t enjoyed the pregnancy more. Granted, I was miserable during this pregnancy. It was not really enjoyable. The after effect (having bean-bean) is definitely worth all of it!

Anyway, I hear her Apgar scores of 8 and then 9 and I am very pleased that she is doing well and then her measurements are announced and I about flip out!

She weighed 9 pounds 2 ounces!!! Her length was 21 1/4 inches and her head circumference was 14 3/4!!! She was one big baby! Sure my belly was large but I had no indication that the baby I was carrying would be so big. Even my doc was a bit surprised. I measured right on target every week toward the last 2 months of my pregnancy. It was a no wonder whenever she would move my entire abdomen would deform and reshape! The most impressive part to her physique was her HAIR!!! I haven’t had a child with much hair or with really any color other than blond. She has thick black hair!! It is so unique:) I love it!

Anyway, I get put back together and all is well. We made sure everyone was aware that we have had a previous Coombs positive baby and that we needed her blood type immediately. We also held off on her receiving the Hep B vaccine until we knew if she would be fighting bilirubin issues. Turns out the blood type took FOREVER to find out because they send that test away. Fortunately, we had a great pediatrician at the hospital who ordered her bilirubin and Coombs test early so we could get the results faster (since those are done in house). So late Monday night, I get the news that she is indeed Coombs positive and has daddy’s blood type of B+. Bummer. Her bilirubin was already high at 12 hours (they normally test at 24 hours) so orders were put in for a bili-blanket. Fortunately, this has been a wonderful blessing as we are still seeing a climb in the numbers but it is at a very slow pace. Please continue to pray that her little body will fight the good fight and be able to withstand the antibodies from me that are destroying her red blood cells and not need a visit to the NICU.

Morning of delivery! Last time as a family of 4:)

Getting ready for surgery – we are excited to meet our new little girl!

Off I go!

Aaron trying to stay warm in the OR

There’s our baby girl!!!

Stats on the board in our room – I still can’t believe she was over 9 pounds!!!

Check out the hair!

Very proud Papa!

Family photo! We are now 5!

Abraham could not WAIT to hold Abilene – it is too cute!

Abel wanted to kiss on Abilene – so Grandpa lent a hand:)

Mama, Papa and baby beans

She really looks like her brothers minus the thick, dark hair!

Sweet bundle of joy

Hammy had to hold her again:)

And hold her some more

I got to hold MY boys!!! And yes, the swelling was beginning…yikes!

Daddy and Mommy – can’t wait to be home together again!

And here Abilene is catching flies already! Silly girl!

That about wraps up my pictures for now. She is so sweet and loves to snuggle. She despises diapers changes, clothing changes, and getting her temp checked. Everything else (including her first bath) she tolerates or loves! She is a champion eater and greatly enjoys cluster feedings (we are gonna work on that one). She is a definite keeper and we are honored that God chose us to be her parents.