Archer's story... part 2

So... we went up to the labor and delivery floor after parking in the garage, and found ourselves in an eerily similar position as we were a little over a year ago.  I was in tears, and a little neurotic.  They asked if I would sit down and answer questions, which I promptly answered "no" to and said I would like to be hooked up to a monitor immediately.  Last year, with Amelia, I sat through over 4 pages of questions and information receiving - things like, "when you take your baby home, you will need to... blah, blah, blah..." and "you need to sign this, so that we have the information right for the delivery of your baby... blah, blah, blah..."  I just knew I might punch someone in the face if I had to sit through that again.  So they had a nurse take me into a room to be monitored - the same room as last year.  The same monitor, the same bathroom, the same... almost everything.  Almost everything, because this time, she found his heartbeat, not without some skepticism from me that the heartbeat was indeed his and not mine.  (They found mine last year, and thought it was Amelia's for a little while --- because mine was racing) She also found mine, and said that mine was indeed slower than his, and that there were two heartbeats present.  So everything was not the same, my nightmare, although fresh in my mind, was not going to repeat itself this time.  I still had not felt him move since I had gotten there, but his heartbeat on the monitor was a relief, and his lack of movement was most likely because of the constant contractions which were evident on the monitor as well at that point.
 
The boys were troopers.  After abruptly being awoken from their slumber, they managed to transform themselves into chatty little boys that acted as if they always get up at 3 in the morning.  Ev-babe was full of questions about everything in the room.  O-dog was more reserved, and his memory of that room was probably similar to ours.  Ev was likely too young to remember a lot of the emotion that was in that room last year. 

I was put on some iv fluids to get the contractions to slow down, which they did somewhat.  If I was going to deliver vaginally on my own, they may have sent me home.  But when the called my doctor, he said to plan on keeping me, and delivering in an hour because the OR was open and I was already there, as long as P and I didn't have a problem with it.  Uh... no.  We were more than ready to have this little one in our arms.  My c-section was scheduled for friday morning anyway, and since it was tuesday, and I was contracting regularly, it was a go. 

I didn't feel baby move until almost 4:30 am, and for the peace of mind alone, I am so glad we went in when we did.  I would have been an even more frazzled wreck by that time. 

My friend Julie was able to take the boys.  What a blessing her friendship has been to me.  She was even able to get the chatty boys back to sleep. :)

My nurse last year, the one that was first to try and find Amelia's heartbeat with the doppler, the one that held my hand as I found out there was no heartbeat on the ultrasound, the one that prepped me for surgery, and cried with us - complete strangers... was on duty that morning. She had been busy with a delivery earlier, but stopped by to tell our nurse she was there and wanted to see us. 

That morning was full of so many emotions. Similarities and differences between what we experienced last May.  I can't even describe the roller coaster of feelings I had.  The sounds and smells of the OR, and the routine procedures leading up to the c-section.  I am thankful for the memories of O-dog's birth too.  His birth memories, mingled with Amelia's, and now Archer's.  Everything went well.  He was born at 6:07 am, and his cry was the sweetest sound. Garbled at first, and then escalating - music to my ears.  Praise God, our son was here.

August 3rd... sweet Archer's story... part 1.

I slept for the first couple of hours of this day, in my own bed after supper out with my hubby. The rest of it was an emotional roller coaster, ending with a sweet baby boy nursing in my arms, with a quiet hummm of hospital sounds.

I woke up at about 2:20 am and as I frequently did, I had to go to the bathroom, but before I ventured out of bed, I waited to feel little one... a move, a kick, something... nothing.  This had happened before with him, and usually I would talk myself into "everything's okay" you are just being a worry-wart, and eventually I would feel him, or at least have enough peace about it that I would be able to go back to sleep.  I don't know if it was my escalating hormones, or the fact that I was having braxton-hicks so frequently, or maybe it was just my memories of Amelia.  I was beside myself. I have a doppler, but it was not a comfort as I didn't know if I was finding his heartbeat or mine. I knew that mine was fast, and his (if it was his) seemed slower than normal.  Possibly because he was being squeezed by constant contractions.  Paul was awake already, and knew something was bothering me.  I will admit I cry at odd times (I am a woman) and because he is the most perceptive male I have ever met, he knew this was different.  To be honest, I think we were both ready for this little one to be here, and both of our nerves were shot (a few months ago, actually).  He said, "let's go in".  I didn't hesitate, and with boys in tow, cute as bugs in a rug, asking from the backseat "why aren't we sleeping?" we were off.

Okay - back up ten minutes...  This is not only Archer's story, not only the story of our rainbow baby, but it is God's story too.  I had a moment when you just know it's God, because it could ONLY be God.

I would like to say that God knows.  He knows, He always knows.  Before I officially woke up Paul (he was already awake wondering why I wasn't getting back into bed), my phone buzzed - a text message. Seriously? At 2:31 am, at the exact moment I was up and crying and worried sick in the middle of the night, I get a text message from my big sister who lives two states away. This is what it said,
     --------------     "Praying for you:-) and your boys".       -------------------
I know God knows me, I know He knows my story, my every need before I know it, but sometimes He shows me He knows it.  I love it when He does that. I love how He knows each one of us.  When we doubt He does, and when we wonder if He is even real, He knows... and loves us anyway. 

I guess this is the end of part 1, because I haven't figured out how to nurse Archer without using atleast one of my hands, nor do I have the patience to type with only one hand.

To be continued...



 

When your heart beats outside your body...

I am smitten.

Absolutely beside myself,

IN
LOVE...         again. 

It feels so good to look at him, to hold him in my arms, and to see our family holding and loving on him... I almost have guilt.  Why is it that my eyes cannot stop gawking at his goofy faces, wondering why he raises his eyebrows, why he has the biggest pouty lips, why he grimaces with pain, and then smiles all in the same 13 seconds... and all without making a sound and all with his eyes closed. Aaaah... newborns... our newborn... our son.

Born screaming and flailing around at 6:07 am on Tuesday, August 3rd.

We are blessed.

Introducing, our fourth child, our third son:

Archer Samuel Heath

8 lbs.

20 1/2 in.

I will do another post soon which will have birth details, and more pictures.  His first name was something that we liked. His middle name brought tears to my eyes when I read the meaning, knowing I would always think of his life, especially the beginning, being covered by prayer.  Samuel means "God has heard" or "God is listening".  We know that God is always listening, and he always hears our prayers.  We also know that just because He hears our prayers doesn't mean that the answer is yes.  Sometimes it is no, sometimes it is yes, and sometimes it is beyond yes.  We thank Him for his "yes" to our prayers for Archer, and we hope that his life continues to reflect God's love and hope. 

I will never forget when we told my grandma that we were expecting this new little one.  With tears welling in her eyes she told me that she had been asking God to send us a new baby, "unless He had a better idea".  I am in awe of her faithful and disciplined life. Always aware of who calls the shots, and who she is bringing her humble requests to.  I thank God for her witness to me. 

We knew that this new life was covered in prayer and that many people were praying for him before they even knew he existed.  In our opinion, the meaning of Samuel reflected the fact that these particular prayers brought before our God were heard and answered, and to our delight, with a yes.  God always hears our prayers, and even though the answer isn't always a yes, it is good to remind ourselves that the answers are always what is right for our life, and that God always deserves the glory, no matter what the answer is.  May God always get the glory for Archer's life, and my uneventful pregnancy.