Broyles

Born: August 6, 2010 12:36 pm
Weighing: 6 lbs. 15 ozs. 20 ½ in.

Our baby boy is here!! And we couldn’t be happier. He is healthy, strong and simply the best. . .more than we could have ever imagined.

As many of you know, I was scheduled for a c-section on Monday the 9th. At my last doctor’s appointment, Dr. Seyb informed me he was going out of town and would not be there on Monday. The panic quickly set in. His first option was to do it later in the week – I said no before he could even finish the sentence. We discussed having one of his partners fill in – I wasn’t so comfortable with that either. I suggested moving it up to Friday since after all it was my birthday. And he went for it!

We arrived at his office at 9:00 am on Friday. I had to get an amino to see if Konor’s lungs were developed – hospital policy for anyone under 39 weeks (I was three days away from it but rules are rules). The number we needed was 55. Todd and I walked over to the hospital after the procedure so I could be monitored and await the results. We sat and listened to Konor’s heartbeat on the monitor and watched my contractions go up and down when the call came in – it was 75 – we were good to go. They started an IV and prepped me for surgery. My leg started shaking uncontrollably as the anesthesia doctors came in to explain their part . . .I was getting really nervous. By the time they wheeled me back to the OR, my teeth were chattering. Poor Todd didn’t get to watch as much of the c-section as he would have liked to because he was too busy settling me down. Being awake this time definitely had benefits but as they say “Ignorance is bliss” and for that, I have to say, being sedated has its benefits too.

Words cannot describe the feeling and emotion that engulfed the room when we heard Konor cry for the first time. It was perhaps the sweetest sound I have ever heard. Dr. Seyb held him up so I could see him for a brief second before he handed him off to the pediatrician and nurse who were there to make sure he was okay. Todd went over to be with Konor (as previously instructed) and I just laid there crying while they put me back together. I heard Todd talk to Konor and he immediately quit crying and started looking for that all familiar voice who had talked to him from the outside of my belly every day.

Konor and Todd moved over to the recovery room and I was soon to follow. A nurse was there to run some tests on Konor while another monitored me. We didn’t anticipate being there longer than the 2-3 hour time set (we knew family was anxiously waiting to see little Konor) but when they checked my vitals one last time, they discovered my temperature was only 94 degrees. They put a blanket hooked up to a machine that blew warm air into it on me and we waited for it to warm me up. Meanwhile the nurse allowed Todd to shuttle in one family member at a time to visit. My Mom, Dad, sister (Stacy), brother (Cody), Todd’s Mom and Stepdad came back one by one to say hi for the first time. Their faces said it all – joy, relief, excitement but mostly pure happiness.

Because of the c-section, I had to stay in the hospital a total of four days. They also monitored Konor closely because he was a high risk for jaundice. We found out that Todd and I’s blood types don’t necessarily mix well – I am O negative and he is A negative. Kloe must have been A negative as well because my body developed some AB antibodies which I passed on to Konor. All would be well and good except Konor’s blood type is A too. His poor little body contained antibodies that were fighting his own blood type, thus putting him at a high risk for jaundice as the red blood cells were breaking down. They poked his poor little feet so many times over those first few days checking his bilirubin levels – it was so sad. Luckily and thankfully, he took to nursing really well (after the first night) which helped flush out the bad stuff and he never had to go under the lights.

The day to go home finally came. We dressed Konor in one of the two outfits we had brought along with us to the hospital. His last growth ultrasound at 36 weeks estimated him at 7 lbs. 5 ozs., in the 88 percentile so naturally we thought he was going to be big. We packed 0-3 month clothes – so you can see in the picture the poor kid drowned in his “take home” outfit. We quickly changed him into a newborn outfit when we got home and Todd had to go out and buy some more newborn clothes to get us through. Too funny.

Todd and I are extremely thankful for all our family and friends who have prayed on our behalf and held us in their thoughts over the past couple of weeks. We truly couldn’t have made it through without you. We thank God each and every day for this miracle baby and pray we will be the parents He wants us to be.