I can't beleive my little man is already three weeks old today! No one was more suprised that he arrived three weeks early than me! Here is his birth story:
Sunday, January 24th was my mom's birthday. We went to early church and then headed to my parent's house for lunch with my family. It was a great time eating yummy food and spending time as a family. We ended up getting home between 6:30 & 7. The girls had fallen asleep on the way home after a big day so we decided to put them in bed and see if they would sleep till morning. (something we've never done before) Jeremy and I decided to skip dinner since we had such a big lunch. We watched some TV and decided to go to bed early around 9:30 p.m. since Jeremy has been going to work super early. (something we never do!) I woke up in what I thought was the middle of the night thinking my water had broke. However I was wrong and instead I was bleeding a lot. Well, what I thought was "the middle of the night" was actually only 11 p.m. After calling the hospital Jeremy frantically called friends trying to find someone to come stay with our girls. We also called my parents to head to Hannibal. After what seeemed like forever Jeremy found a family friend to come stay with the girls. I am so thankful Jeremy was able to stay calm. I was not. I was in a panic. The cicumstances were so similar to my miscarriage I was very worried about our baby.
When they hooked me up to the monitor at the hospital I was able to hear our baby's heartbeat. I don't think I will ever forget hearing that sound. It was one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard!! The nurses were very reassuring as we waited for my doctor to arrive. All I could focus on was listening to baby's heartbeat and praying. As soon as my doctor arrived she told me we would need to do an emergency c-section immidiately as the baby was showing some signs of distress. We realized we didn't even have a camera! (Luckily ny parents were able to bring one while I was prepped for surgery) The next hour or so was kind of crazy. At this point I was in quite a bit of pain as I had started having contractions due to the bleeding. It took four tries to get my IV in and then two attempts to have a succesful spinal. I just kept praying!!! But, once my spinal began to take effect my body was at least able to relax. With all the craziness I hadn't even had time to wonder if the baby would be a girl or boy!
Dr. Maple delivered our baby boy at 1:12 as he peed on her! He weighted 7 lbs 3 ounces and was 21 " long. (Not exaclty small for being early) I was so excited and simply thrilled he was here safely. When they asked what his name was we told them Titus. They said Titus what? We hadn't even decided for sure what his middle name would be! I was able to get a very quick glimpse at him before he had to be taken to the nursery by the pediatrician. They promised to bring him back while I was in recovery.
However due to low blood sugar and some respiratory distress he had to stay in the nursery and get some formula from a dropper. After going through the recovery process I was taken back to my room and kept persistantly asking when he would come back. Finally at about 3:30 they brought him to me. I was so thrilled. After having the girls put up on my chest immdiately after they were born I was very anxious to hold him.
I was really fine with having either a girl or boy. In fact I thought having 3 girls might be fun. I wasn't as convinced I HAD to have a boy as other people were. But after holding him I have to admit he has stolen my heart in a very special way and I am thrilled to have a boy. I have fallen hard and fast for my little man!
The gratitute for his safe arrival has been such an overwhelming joy. Every prayer that next few days was simply, thank you!!! My c-section confirmed that I had experienced a placental abruption. This was the cause of all my bleeding. For the first week after Titus was born he actually spit up my blood from ingesting it in the amniotic fluid. After experiencing a miscarriage I am very aware that sometimes God gives and sometimes he chooses to "take away." I found a way to praise God during a time when he choose to take our baby to heaven and it has made me see Titus as a true miracle. When I look at my three kiddos my heart overflows with praise and is filled with a joy beyond words.
Jeremy made this video-I love it!
Yesterday Titus was two months old. He is growing SO fast. Much like his older sisters he has gotten chubby cheeks and is gaining weight quickly. I weighed him on our scale and I think he weighs about 14 pounds. I don't think it will be long before I switch out his 0-3 month clothes for 3-6 month ones. So far he has yet to sleep through the night. This past week I have been able to encourage him to drop his 5 a.m. feeding but he is still eating between 2:30 & 3. He loves to be held!! He is napping in his bed now, but if he is awake he definitely wants to be held. Which is okay with me because I still love to snuggle with him. Between running Grace to school and other family activities it has been harder to figure out a routine. He is such a joy. We are getting really big smiles now. But he isn't laughing or cooing too much yet. He really hated having these pictures taken because he wasn't swaddled, so I did the best I could.
