Happy Birthday Bug!!

Today my little guy turns 2 years old.

Even though we longed for more children, hubby and I could not bring ourselves to have another. We knew we could never forgive ourselves if another baby was born premature, like Paige.

But this pregnancy was a surprise. It was a long hard road too. I ended up carrying Tyler to 35.4 weeks.

He has been a gift, one that I treasure every day.

He makes us laugh every day!

His favorite person is the whole world... his sister!

I am not good at writing in this blog during times when I am very emotional. So, below you will find the journal entry from Tyler's private blog (written for family and friends). I wrote it on the day we brought him home.

We are ALL home. Wow that feels incredible to type!

Let's start with Monday, May 1st. I went in (at 8 am) for an amnio to determine lung maturity. After the test I was admitted to be monitored. I was 4cm at that time. I was having strange pains immediately following the amnio. I knew it had nothing to do with the amnio because it was no where near the site of the fluid draw. It did not feel like contractions either. But, I did know that something felt very wrong. The day was filled with us just sitting there, waiting for the results. Around 1:00 one of my OB's came to talk to us. 2 of the 3 markers for lung maturity were NOT there. She said that, if it was up to her, she would not do the c-section that day. But, it wasn't up to her and she told us that my regular doc (high risk OB) would be in soon to talk to us.

More waiting.

Around 3:30 my doc came in. That was the first time we had seen her that day. (she was actually on vacation but had planned on coming in to do my section) She was honest with us. She was really not sure what she wanted to do. On one hand she wanted to wait, due to the amnio results. On the other hand she was concerned that I would go into active labor and not know it (since I've not had any discomfort through any of the contractions that change my cervix). I explained to her that I was very sure something wasn't right because of that pain I was having.

She decided to check my cervix. I was now dilated past 5cm. Between the further dilation and the pain I was feeling, she was no longer on the fence. She told us that Tyler was going to be born very quickly.

On Monday May 1, 2006 Tyler was born at 4:38 pm. Then came the most beautiful moment of the past 35.4 weeks. Tyler announced to the world that he had arrived. He did so with the loudest cry we had ever heard. It echoed through the surgery room and back and forth through our ears like the most beautiful musical notes ever played. He weighed in at 6 lbs 10 3/4 oz and was 20.5" long. He did not immediately need any oxygen so Jason was able to hold him next to me for quite a long time.

Oh... that pain I was feeling... as my OB was finishing my surgery she leaned over the curtain that was separating us, to fill me in. Even with Tyler already out of my uterus, the spot where my first c-section (for Paige) was done, was paper thin. It was in that exact spot that I was feeling that pain. If I had not had Tyler that day, my uterus would have ruptured. How I was feeling that pain is still unknown. My uterus could have been bulging into an organ. Oddly enough... this whole pregnancy, my OB kept on saying that she would not let me go past 36 weeks because the risk of my uterus rupturing was too high (due to a previous classical c-section with Paige). She sure was right!

Tyler was then taken to the special care nursery. He was put on room air oxygen through a nasal canula. He never needed to be intubated nor did he need any surfactant, even though the amnio showed that he did not have the natural surfactant needed to breathe on his own.

By Tuesday 90% of the fluid in Tyler's lungs was cleared up. He was given a bottle by the end of the day and had no problems feeding at all!

On Wednesday night they stopped his IV fluids because he was eating so well.

On Thursday his billi count was getting a little high so he was put under the lights. He was doing so well that he was able to stay in our room all day Thursday.

On Friday his counts were back down and he was able to come out from under the lights.

Every day we were visited by the neonatologist, at least once a day. He was very respectful to Jason and I. He never talked down to us, knowing how much we had already learned over the years, and cited studies and research to back his feelings on Tyler's care. All along his only concern was that Tyler lost weight (his lowest was 6 lbs 2 oz) and was having trouble putting
some back on.

On Thursday night the nurse weighed him and he had gained an ounce. The neonatologist was thrilled.

On Friday he gave us the good news that we could take Tyler home-the same day that I was
released! Paige cried and said "I can't believe Tyler is a take home baby." We all cried.

The 40 minute drive home was beautiful. The sun was shining and it was warm and comforting. Paige and Tyler both took a nap in the car and it was a very peaceful ride home. Jason and I kept looking at each other, without speaking, feeling like we were in a dream that neither one of us wanted to wake from! We could *feel* how much each other realized how lucky we were to have 2 beautiful children.