Baby Pear's Arrival

Our birth stories are not the usual around here, they finish up in the OR with a C-section. So rather predictable, and this time I did not even go into labor! Although I thought going into labor on Labor day would have been good!

However, I did want to share the events with you as prayer made such a HUGE difference in everything and God was so good to us! And I wanted to thank you because so many of you were praying for us, and I have to tell you, that carried us through.

The night before our C-section we got Miss Pear to bed, and began reviewing what still needed to be packed and done - unfortunately not enough to distract me. So I had my little cry and talk with God and while I was not excited about surgery, I was resigned to it. Little did I know that the Lord was really firming my heart and mind for what lay ahead - a kind of get it out of your system now kind of deal. He knows I always need that! Mr. Pear was very sympathetic and understanding about it too. He prayed for me and with me, and did everything possible to reassure me.

On Wednesday the 10th our little secondary alarm clock, also known as Miss Pear woke us up. We all got cleaned up and had a very early breakfast as I was not allowed to eat or drink anything but very small sips of water to keep nausea and dizziness at bay. (Even that was kind of a secret between me and my doctor, and was truly kept to a minimum and just in the morning - surgery was scheduled for 4, but we were over half an hour getting started late due to standard hospital delays). So after breakfast we slowly got ready, moving towards the afternoon's adventure, but really focusing on Miss Pear, playing with her, reassuring her, and just focusing on giving her our undivided attention. Then, like all Moms, I quickly rechecked to make sure she had everything she needed, and realized that the night time diapers (only ones we still use for her, Praise the Lord!) were lower than we would like, so if she refused to wear big girl unders while we were gone it would not be enough. So we went to Target, because they were on sale there...isn't that what all moms giving birth in the afternoon do in the morning??? And wouldn't you know it, a puzzle for Miss Pear somehow ended up in our cart too. After lunch and extra snuggles Miss Pear was put down for her nap, and the final steps began in earnest. Shortly after 1 we left for the hospital.

Once checked in and in a prep room, we had time to kill. And it was hard. So we did what all couples do in that situation, we found a good mystery on TV to watch...yeah, I guess we are weird. But we had talked over everything, and prayed lots, and now it was just time to wait. I stink at waiting! He told me jokes and held my hand, and just did everything to act like we had just found a few minutes to be together with no interruptions rather than waiting for surgery. By the Lord's provision, it actually worked!

My happy calm remained firmly in place with only having to remind myself a couple times that at the end of the day I would be holding our baby. That is, until the nurse came in to put my IV in. You see, I am a hard stick at the best of times. Some of the most experienced lab techs and nurses have confirmed this. If I am having blood taken I drink large glasses of water to help. Remember the no eating or drinking part? I explained the situation to the nurse she was understanding, and assured me that if she was not completely confident she would not stick me. So she looked, and looked, and looked. And then went to get a smaller IV needle, and resumed looking. When she was finally ready, she went for it, and my whole body clenched in fear. Which was unnecessary because like she said, she was confident, and she got it first try. That has never in my life happened. Ever. It was one of the big things I prayed about because I hate needles and am petrified of them. The only thing that was not great was that it was in my wrist, but it was not my dominant hand, so that was okay.

The second thing I was petrified about was the spinal block - actually, the freezing for the spinal block. It was the worst part of Miss Pear's delivery, I described in as fire down my back. Yup, not looking forward to it. But the nurse and the anesthesiologist carefully explained everything to me very calmly and the nurse comforted me through the whole thing, and you know what? It still hurt, but not as bad this time. And with the block I did not even feel the promised pressure. I felt nothing more. Truly answered prayer once more.

I was much more alert this time for surgery, and more mentally and spiritually prepared for it. So I was able to anticipate more and pay attention to the kicks at the top of my tummy more, but felt nothing lower, not even the promised pressure. Surgery went beautifully, and when I heard Baby Pear cry, so did I - tears of joy and thanks. The Lord was so gracious to give us a healthy baby girl. And she had an immediate and lusty cry. She was the picture of health scoring 9 and 9 on her Apgar scores. When the surgery was over the doctor told me that everything went great. And without being asked said that if we had gone for the VBAC we would have ended up in the OR based on the head and shoulder size. The Lord knew I needed that reassurance that we had really heard Him correctly and had done the right thing.

It was so wonderful when we got to recovery and I was able to really hold our baby. Mr. Pear was the one to hand her to me. While she was 11 oz bigger than Miss Pear, she was an inch shorter, and I have to confess, I kind of forgot how small babies come. It was so sweet. And we were doing great. It was great to feel alert and coherent to really enjoy that first time together!

We did great until just after shift change, and then the nausea hit, badly. And after eating nothing for 11 hours, I was throwing up violently. It was awful. Fortunately I was able to hand Baby Pear to Mr Pear before anything started (God blessed me with an early warning system). They gave me the drug they give chemo patients and it did not work. Then, an hour later, they were able to give me another, and the mess ended, but I was exhausted. We would find out later that the Lord brought one of me to mind of one of my most praying friends right before this all started, and she prayed us through it, not knowing really what was going on. We are sure it made a difference. It took a week for my throat to fully recover, which also meant that I could not take all the calls I was not up to anyways. But this too turned out to be a blessing. By the time I was well enough to be moved to the maternity ward I was put in a corner room, so it was bigger and had a bigger shower with no lip to step over. This too turned out to be a huge blessing as it made showering so easy! Plus seeing we were there from Wednesday night to Sunday, and Mr. Pear stayed at the hospital with us, the extra room was nice too.

We quickly settled in and had a good night.

We began working on nursing, and even though we got off to the typical slow start, Baby Pear caught on quickly, another answer to prayer! One of the nurses was kind of surprised how I just kept hanging in there through long nursings, and I just said that I had never done this with her before and she has never done it at all, we just need to figure it out. Apparently the lack of frustration was rare. But we had God helping us, so it is no surprise.

Mr. Pear stayed at the hospital with me, coming home each day to pick up Miss Pear and bring her for a visit, and then taking her home and returning to the hospital. He is always so wonderful to me, and was a trooper through it all. And it was the first time Miss Pear and I had been separated overnight, so I really missed her!

Thursday night the allergic reaction I had after Miss Pear's c-section arrived again. This time we immediately recognized it for what it was and I was on proper medication within the hour. While it did get bad, the medication always stayed ahead of the discomfort and it never got as red, angry, or itchy - praise the Lord! I was miserable with it last time, and this time it was very manageable, plus we figured out what I was reacting to! Which is huge if I ever need surgery in the future.

Friday's drama was different. They heard a heart murmur in Baby Pear. And while we were not concerned because we are well read and educated on them based on our family history, when I shared that history the nurses all flipped out and a doctor from the Children's Hospital was called - they sent the head of thoracic surgery and cardiology (Children's Hospital is on the same campus, so the babies get excellent care as it is considered one of the top hospitals on this coast, another blessing). He did hear it, but felt it was just the regular newborn murmur. When it was still there Saturday morning an echo gram was ordered, and it was confirmed to be the innocent newborn murmur. Plus they checked for the murmur that Miss Pear has, and it was not there. But the results are being sent to Miss Pear's cardiologist to read as a formality, and when they heard that he was her cardiologist, they were all impressed. We were blessed by such great doctors all through this! Plus at the 1 week appointment the murmur could not be heard.

Saturday night I was the drama, and let's just say that there were, um, plumbing issues, which were resolved, but I was miserable for a couple hours until they were. Again, the nurse was so helpful and caring and gentle!

That was a big thing I had prayed for - nurses who we connected with, who understood us, and we could talk to frankly and honestly about what was going on, who were very caring, especially on the first night, and God answered that prayer in huge ways!

So while we had drama every day, it was always resolved well, and in a way that showed us clearly how the Lord was caring for us.

Sunday morning we were released to come home, and it was wonderful. I had missed my Miss Pear so much. And it is always better to be home.

The one big thing we had prayed about is Miss Pear's adjustment to being big sister. And while she is still not sure about holding Baby Pear (with help, she kind of just rests in her lap while Daddy does the holding), she loves to look at her and touch her gently. She loves to watch and help with everything. She is especially excited about the prospect of helping bath baby when we use the little tub in the kitchen. We had prayed abut this transition lots, and we are seeing answered prayer that is overwhelming. Miss Pear says that she "loves my baby the best", which is the ultimate expression of love from her.

In the time that we have been home, we have just focused on taking care of the girls, resting, and recovering. And that is just our speed.

Hopefully you will start seeing blog posts about other things than babies later this week, but you pretty much know that our blog will be filled with stuff about family and the girls!