As many of you know, we found out we were pregnant in October of last year and it was a BIG surprise. Between the shock and the intense morning sickness that immediately ensued, the pregnancy was not my favorite part of 2010. It was a big adjustment for me to think of adding a new baby to our pretty put together life. I didn’t know if we could handle the new odds. After all, man to man defense seems more effective than the zone we would have to start playing with the addition of a third child.
Early on, I started getting extra ultra sounds to track our baby #3. First it was to make sure that my “Advanced Maternal Age” (I turned 35 in May) didn’t cause any genetic abnormalities. We passed all of those test with flying colors. God is good!
They did notice early on that I had a condition called placenta previa. The quick and dirty description is that the placenta was basically covering the exit out of the uterus for the baby. They told me then that if the condition didn’t correct itself then I would be looking at a c-section. They also mentioned that about 75% of cases discovered as early as mine, clear all on their own.
By December the condition had not cleared and we were told that I needed to take a couple of precautions, the biggest of which was no heavy lifting (aka no lifting Micah). The big fear with placenta previa is the placenta actually detaching itself from the uterus and that means bad news for mommy, worse news for baby.
So we made some big changes around here. We bought a minivan which made it easier for Micah to climb in and out of her seat without me lifting her and for us to accommodate our family who are always visiting :) We changed Micah into a “big girl” bed so there was no more lifting in and out of a crib. And Micah and I started laying pretty low around the house.
Fast forward roughly 7 months… Micah and I pretty much turned agoraphobic and we will probably always enjoy just hanging out at the house, enjoying each other’s company. We bonded a lot over the last few months, which I’m forever thankful for.
I also had a big mental adjustment and started really looking forward to my life with 3 girls. 3 proms, 3 weddings, all seem like bliss to me:) Lin may just have a different take on that, but he too was looking forward to being the dad of 3 girls.
I had continued to take it easy, with bi-weekly ultrasounds that continued to let us know that my “condition” had not improved. On May 16th, my doc decided that we should go ahead and schedule a c-section for early July (the 12th) and plan on the early arrival of the baby. Her due date was August 1st, so 3 weeks early seemed about right. After all, both Ayden and Micah were born at 37 weeks with no complications.
I was a little apprehensive about the c-section, but I know lots of women that have toughed that out and I was looking forward to the “I’ve had every kind of birth imaginable” status I would receive once I went through the c-section. My water broke with Ayden, I was induced with Micah so this c-section would round things out nicely.
I had a regularly scheduled ultrasound on May 31st that showed the baby right on schedule for growth. The placenta previa was still present and I was told at this appointment that I needed to make sure I stay within a 25 minute radius of the hospital, just in case. That night, Lin told me that we needed an emergency plan with our neighbors, again, just in case. At 31 weeks, I smiled and nodded and thought we’d make the plan over the weekend and let the neighbors know “the plan”. But all in all, we had some time.
Wed, June 1st started like any other day. I spoke to my cousin in the morning. My good friend Nicole came by to hang for a few hours, life seemed to be moving as planned. Shortly after Nicole left, Micah and I sat down for a living room picnic lunch.
After about two bites of food, I was overcome with an immediate wave of nausea and ran to the bathroom. (if you’re a guy reading this AND you don’t have kids of your own, you may want to skip the next few lines…) For any of you that have been pregnant, you know that sometimes when the baby is pressing just right on your bladder, there CAN be times when you sneeze or otherwise clench your stomach (like while vomiting) and a little bit o’ pee pee leaks out. So I thought to myself “dang it, now I’m gonna have to clean up the pee trail I left from the living room into the kitchen.” I got to the bathroom to finish the vomit fest and looked down to the most horrific site I’ve ever seen. There was so much blood I almost fainted.
Time went in slow motion from there. A million things ran through my head. What was happening to me… What was happening to the baby… The scene in my minds eye will probably haunt me forever.
I ran to the phone and called Lin. He was in a mtg at the Pentagon and didn’t pick up. I then called 911. Thank God I had seen a mattress being delivered to our next door neighbor’s house earlier in the morning and I called there hoping that she was still home. Our neighbor Brigid rushed over and after making sure I was not passing out, grabbed Micah and sprang into action. I remember Micah saying, “ooooh, mom. You better clean up all this Red paint before daddy comes home.”
Luckily the hospital where I was planning my delivery is only about 10 or so minutes away. This means the ambulance was there lightening fast. The ride to the hospital is a blur. I was loosing blood fast and I remember thanking God that Micah was safe and asking him to give Finley a chance. I remember knowing in that instant just how blessed I am to have been given the gift of her inside me for the past 7 months, uncomfortable-ness, vomiting, and countless doctors appointments and all. I remember being afraid for Lin in case I didn’t make it. I remember praying with all my heart.
At the hospital there was a flurry of craziness. Monitoring the baby, monitoring me. On the phone with my doctor, assessing what to do. And I just kept praying and hoping Lin would make it in time to see Finley’s birth. I’ll never forget the relief that I felt when he walked through the door in full uniform and all.
Needless to say the reunion was a bit emotional. He had stopped by the house to find out what was going on because the details I left with the guy I spoke to at his office were vague. He had no idea what had happened to Micah either. The scene he walked into at the house led him to believe I may have not even made it to the hospital. The words ‘crime scene’ come to mind. His friend that had given him a ride home from work told him to “just go” and he would handle the house. Lin later reported that when he got home, the entire house had been cleaned spotless with no trace of the day’s horrific events. I’ll be forever grateful to that man for doing that. To this day it’s hard to comprehend what he had to do to clean all of that up so that Lin didn’t have to come home and face it again. I pray his blessings will come back around ten fold.
Within minutes of Lin’s arrival, I was prepped and ready for surgery. About 30 minutes later, Finley Nicole Wells entered the world at 4:04pm weighing in at a whopping 4lbs 4oz. She has been a fighter from the get go and I cried like a baby as I saw her whisked away to the NICU.
The rest of my recovery was pretty text book. I lost a lot of blood and a possible transfusion was on the table for a couple days. I prayed hard for a “pass” and my blood levels checked out (by just a tiny %) and I escaped unscathed. The recovery is certainly different this time, but alas, I am the woman that has had just about every type of delivery. :)
And our sweet little Finley. Upon entering the NICU she began breaking all kinds of preemie records. OK, maybe not, but it feels that way every time we get a new report from her docs and nurses. She improves daily and the biggest blessing is that at the end of the day, she’s not sick.. just little J After 2 days she was breathing completely on her own and as of today (a week and a half later) she is taking most of her feedings by bottle and putting on weight.
We visit her everyday, at least once, and tell her about her sisters and the life she’ll come home to when she’s ready. I think she likes what she hears because she’s fighting hard to get home.
Ayden and Micah understand that Fin is out of my belly but they won’t actually get to see her until she comes home. The NICU that Finley is at has about 93 babies admitted and they have a very strict no kids under 13 policy. We take 100s of pictures and show Ayden her baby sister every day. Micah is just happy that I’m home and likes to look at the pictures, but her day to day has been mostly unaffected.
Lin’s mom Barb came to our immediate rescue and has blessed us with a month long visit while I recover. Her main charge has been harnessing the force that is Micah <3 The wonderful thing is that while she’s here, I can go and visit Finley in the hospital at will. We weren’t able to hold her for the first week of her life, but it’s been oh so sweet making up for lost time during our hospital visits.
And that brings you up to speed to today. They tell me that NICU babies will come home close to when their original due dates were (Aug 1st) and that is where you should hang your hopes for homecoming. But I, the eternal optimist, know that Fin came early because she just wants to be with us and her strides at the NICU say that we’ll have her home before then.
I’ll never forget Finley’s entrance into this world. It’s a testament to how good God is and how He continues to bless my family and me and show His love. Although I can’t wait to get back to normal and have my sweet girl home with me, I’m so thankful for the technology that is available to help her grow. She is in the most capable hands and never before have I been more thankful for the life I have. Thanks for sharing my Finley story. Here are a couple of pics that I’ve snapped of our amazing girl :)
Finley under the billiruben lights for her little bit of jaundice she had.
Cool sunglasses huh:)
Reaching in the isolette. This was our only interaction with her for the first week.
She went from the Cpap machine to a cannula in about 3 days.. then to no breathing help a day later...
Soothing my baby girl :)
Lin already on diaper duty :)
Look at those tini feet!
