Well, when we last left Tiny Twig–she was not so tiny…in fact, she was getting to be quite a big twig.
I was very pregnant with our first baby–to be named Noah–and was experiencing consistent contractions that were going nowhere for weeks. Finally, one day I just didn’t feel right. Husband’s parents and my mom happened to be on the last day of their visit (the OB had us convinced the baby was coming any.day.any.minute and had them come out 3 weeks before I was due…they just stared at me for 6 days!). I just didn’t feel right most of the day. I chalked it up to exhaustion, being 100% pregnant, and frustrated. Husband and his dad were golfing, and when I called at 6pm (I waited til I knew their round would be over) to tell him I was having consistent contractions every 4 minutes…he suggested we order a pizza when he got home and wait and see how things went. This was a very bad idea–he still hears about it. Noah was born 4 hours later.
Noah’s birth was fast and furious for a first time momma. I got an epidural at 9cm after waiting for the anetheisologist to get out of an emergency C-Section. It was not my ideal birth situation. It felt chaotic and scary, and I never quite got on top of the pain. I felt stunned and my body felt utterly in shock.
But, he was adorable and totally worth it. I felt like I finally got to know the little guy that had been keeping me company for the past 9 months. I truly felt bonded to him already, because he had been my constant companion through all the change in my life over the previous months.
I got to be in my best friend’s wedding 4 weeks after Noah was born. We traveled home and got to introduce our new little guy to all our family and friends.
10 months later we bought our first house.
Then, because we had nothing going on…we added to our family. Another boy. I was thrilled that Noah was going to have a little brother so close in age. They are 23 months apart.
Cooper’s birth was calm and wonderful. He came an hour and a half after checking into the hospital. I remember Wonderwall by Oasis playing while I was in labor. It was an all around really sweet time for Husband and I. We still cherish that evening.
Unfortunately, because our little guy was born so quickly–he still had gunk in his lungs that is normally squeezed out during time spent in the birth canal. So, he spent a few days in the NICU getting his lungs cleared out. We never doubted that he would be well, and we were more upset by unmet expectations of how our boys would meet, etc. He went home 4 days later–and we LOVED having 2 boys.
One month later, we enjoyed Thanksgiving with our dear friends in Charlotte. We were loving family life–and it was a sweet time for us. Over the next 18 months, we really solidified our place in life in Charlotte. We deepened bonds with friends (who had become like family) and we finally felt like we had strong roots planted.
And…then we moved. We felt a strong conviction that we had time sensitive opportunities to serve members of our family in Indiana. So, we packed up our boys and moved across the country again. We rented out our house in Charlotte and began the process of buying a house in Indiana.
And, of course, 1 week after we closed on the house in Indiana–I found out I was pregnant. Everyone held their breath hoping for a girl for us. Husband and I didn’t care on way or the other. However, when the ultrasound tech said within 2 minutes of starting the sonogram, “It’s a BOY! Is he your first??”…I’ll admit the room spun a little. 3 boys! 3 boys? No, ma’am…not my first, but my THIRD BOY!
We named him that day over brunch. Asher Brax would be our third little boy in 4 1/2 years.
Asher’s birth mirrored Noah’s in a lot of ways. Very quick, with him coming within 2 hours of being at the hospital. Issues with pain and the epidural. Very chaotic feeling, to me. Husband tells me that Ray Lamontagne was playing in the background, but I was so out of my mind in pain I didn’t ever hear a sound. We don’t have a picture with Husband, Asher, and I after he was born. That still makes me really sad, but we thought we had lots of time to enjoy him. However, that was not the case. Shortly after the picture above was taken, he got very sick.
We were told that they were going to monitor him, but it quickly became an emergent situation and they called for a transfer to a hospital with a NICU (we were at a hospital close to my house due to my quick labors). We were told that he had an infection and that he was in septic shock. I was beside myself with fear and grief.
Even looking at these pictures now is painful. I immediately go right back to that moment. I had been up for 23 hours, had given birth 12 hours earlier, and now my baby was near death. The doctors said they hoped he would make it, but that newborns are unpredictable and can get very, very sick very, very quickly. We were going to follow as soon as possible, and were by his side just hours later.
I was only allowed to briefly touch the top of his head. It was heartbreaking. However, by this point (the morning after his birth), I had largely pulled myself together and was operating on adrenaline and a little denial. His NICU nurses were absolutely fantastic and their expertise and absolute care was so comforting. One of his nurses had been on the NICU floor for 28 years–she knew what to do with very sick babies and she pushed the doctors to not mess with him too much and to just give him time to heal. We were so thankful for each of his nurses.
To read the posts about his progress each day in the NICU head here and start on 5/7.
Soon we got the happy news that we could bring Asher home. It felt like we were breaking him free, and it truly was the beginning of a new chapter in our family. Having 3 boys is something else, let me tell you.
In the next chapter, the summer, the depression, the vacation, and hope.