Introducing Aevyn Abigail

I don't think I ever blogged about being pregnant but I guess it's a little too late for that now :) I had gestational diabetes during pregnancy and so because of that and a few other things I was considered high risk. I had to go for non stress tests every tuesday and ultra sounds every friday from 33 weeks on. Of course my very first non stress test was while Ken was in Virginia and it didn't go well. The baby was showing signs of distress and so they admitted me to the hospital for further observation. The doctors kept saying I was probably having the baby today and I told them it isn't an option because my husband is out of town!! I ended up being in the hospital for 8 hours but they determined the baby was okay and so let me go home. I told Ken he better get home asap ;) For 3 more weeks she barely passed her tests and ultrasounds but we dragged it out as long as we could. But at 36 weeks and 6 days the doctor decided we couldn't wait any longer and scheduled a C Section. Now those who know me, know that I have always said I want a natural birth and so was devistated when the Dr said he wouldn't even let me try for a natural delivery. He felt the baby wouldn't be able to handle the stress of labor so C Section was the safest bet. I was devistated but what ever is best for the baby so we scheduled the surgery for the next day. I had a lot of concerns with a C Section but it could not have gone any more perfect. We had the best team and Ken was able to stay with me the entire time. Here I am getting ready for the spinal block. Almost time!! The morphine made me really sick and I spent most of the time during surgery and 24 hours after throwing up. Not fun but other than that it went great. I had them put a mirror up so I could see the baby actually be born. And here she is Aevyn Abigail Mullan born 12:45 10/28/11 6 lbs 7 oz 19 inches long. And I insisted they bring her to me asap so I could see her. It was only for a second but it was wonderful. They had to rush her off though because she was in respitory distress and went straight to the NICU. Ken was with her the whole time which I was grateful for. They wheeled me into the NICU on the way to my room but I was really sick so don't remember much of it. And I continued to be sick so didn't actually get to go and see her for almost 9 hours :( It was so nice to finally actually hold my baby!! Though it didn't last long as you can see from my pale face that I had to hand her to Ken because I was sick again :( Thankfully once the morphine was out of my system I felt 100% better so was able to go to the NICU every 3 hours to feed her. It was exhausting but we felt blessed that she was getting better and better. She was able to get off the oxygen for a time but once she started eating she forgot how to breath and had to go back on the oxygen. I was released from the hospital the following Tuesday and it was really hard to leave without her. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be though because we continued to go to the hospital every 3 hours to feed her so not much changed other than the distance, which was even more tiring. We went for all but the 2 and 5 am feedings. But after the first day and me feeling ready to collapse, we decided for our health we would skip the 11 pm feeding too. :( It was really hard but it was for the best. Aevyn's bed in the NICU. This was our view during feedings. Donovan had a bit of a hard time because he wasn't able to see her in the NICU. Children weren't allowed in there and so he only got a glimpse of her for a minute in the nursery right after she was born. The NICU nurses allowed us to wheel the baby to the nursery window so Donovan could see her. He was so excited. Finally 6 days after her birth they determined that she could go home. She was still on oxygen so we had to "room in" at the hospital. We stayed in a room adjacent to the NICU and were able to have the baby in with us. Someone came and went over the oxygen and monitors that they would be sending her home with so we were prepared. We also had to take a CPR class. It was so wonderful to finally have our baby with us even if we were still at the hospital. The nurse came in a few times during the night just to check her temp but other than that she was all ours! And we brought Donovan up for a few minutes so he could finally hold his baby sister. Happy Family together at last!! :) The next morning I was so excited to finally take my baby home. I felt so blessed that we only spent a week in the NICU as Aevyn had many tiny friends in there with her that had a long stay ahead of them. The nurses were amazing but we were happy to be leaving and hope to never see them again! :) When we got in the car I told Ken to hurry and drive away before they tried to stop us :) It was a dramatic entrance but she is the best most beautiful baby ever and we are enjoying every minute!!