What a crazy week it has been. I have been meaning to write down the story of our little Tag's birth and finally found a few minutes to do it. Let me just say Tag is our little miracle!
It was early Thursday morning, March 22ND, around 3am when I started having contractions. They were pretty hard and regular. I got the kids ready for school and breakfast done, trying to ignore the pains that were coming every 4-5 minutes. I called Joey around 9am and told him that the contractions were pretty regular. Since I had been in the hospital over and over again, I really hesitated to go to the hospital with fear of being sent home. So my neighbor Lacie came in checked me. She said that I was dilated to a 3-4 but the baby's head was really low. The contractions were really strong so I humbled myself and asked Joey to come home while his mom drove up to watch the kids.
We got to the hospital around 12:30pm and the contractions were coming. The nurse checked me and said that I was a 4 1/2 and 60% efface. She said she was going to watch me for another hour and check me again. She came back in an hour and said that I was still a 4 1/2 but the baby's position had changed. She talked to the doctor and they decided to watch me another 2 hours. The contractions were coming but not as strong and I was so afraid that they might send me home. I worried that the next time I would not make it back to the hospital to have this little guy. So after 2 hours I had changed to a 5 and they said I needed to stay.
From this point on things started moving quickly. They started pitocin to speed up the contractions, broke my water, and gave me my epidural. They kept checking me and they were concerned about the baby. They said that they could feel his head but it was not the top of his head. They called in Dr. Wolsley and he said what he could feel was Tag's forehead. He was coming down the birth canal with his head tilted back. They said that sometimes when they invert a breech baby, which they had done the week before, they present this way. He said that I could try pushing the baby out but I needed to know that I might need to have a c-section. I had hoped to deliver vaginally but I wanted to do what was best for little Tag.
Around 11pm I was complete and ready to go. When they had checked me only 30 minutes before I was a 7! Talk about progress! I was a little shocked and nervous but excited to meet our little guy. So I started pushing. With each of the other kids I only pushed a couple of times and they were here. This was not quite the same. I pushed for 45 minutes. I was so tired and wondered if I could keep trying. I looked over at my sweet Joey and he had tears in his eyes. He knew that this was so hard for me-love him. The doctor said that the pushing was bringing him down but whenever I stopped pushing he would go back up in the canal. Since his heart rate was dipping a little they decided I should have a c-section. I was nervous, not knowing what to expect. But Joey and I trusted the doctor and knew he would lead us in the best interest of our baby. I was prepped and moved to the operating table within minutes. I was nervous but felt such peace to have Joey by my side. I just kept my eyes on him and he told me that this was going to be so easy! I just got to lay there and the doctor would do all the work! Within minutes I could smell the burning flesh- kind of gross, but all that disappeared when I heard Tag's little cry. Such relief! I told Joey to go and be with Tag while the finished up. I felt good and knew that Tag needed him more than me.
I thought it would just be a few minutes to close me up but that few minutes turned into an hour. I was so nauseous and threw up continually. I felt so bad for the anesthesiologist who had to clean up that mess. He was so nice. So after a few minutes I heard the doctor yell "Where is her husband? I need consent." In my barely coherent state I still knew this did not sound good. Consent to close me up? So then the nurse said that he was with Tag so the doctor asked me if I was awake. He told me that he found a tumor on my ovary and felt that my whole ovary would need to be removed. What? So scary but I gave him my permission. After what felt like an eternity I was wheeled by the NICU to see Tag. He was doing good but just struggling a little to breathe. Then they took me back to my room. Joey was there and he told me that he had talked to the doctor. The doctor had told Joey that my uterus had torn on both sides. He repaired that also while I was in the OR. He said that if I had continued to push I could have bled out. So so scary. He said that if they had not tied my tubes he would have told us that we could not have anymore children.
At that moment, I just knew that everything was going to be OK. Whatever the next few days or weeks would bring, I knew the outcome would be good. I knew that Heavenly Father was watching out for our family. I had felt from the beginning that he was breech for a reason. I felt that due to that position he was able to stay in me longer. Then when they inverted him it led to a c-section. This was such a blessing. The doctor told me the next day that had they not done the c-section, they would never have found the tumor. He felt that it would be benign but could have grown into something very serious. Also the uterus tearing could have had a much scarier outcome. Also, with the doctor telling us that it would be too dangerous to have another, confirms our decision to have the tubal. Tag is our little miracle that truly saved my life. I know my Heavenly Father loves me. He is watching over our family. I know that our faith to have one more child helped bring about all these blessings and the greatest blessing is our little Tag.
Tag Canyon Childs weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. He was born on March 23 and 12:05am. He has been in the NICU for 9 days so far but we hope he will be home soon. He was on the CPAP breathing machine for 4 days. When they would take him off he would retract and really struggle. On Monday morning they had an ENT look at him. Dr. Robins scoped him and felt that everything looked good except for some extra tissue around his voice box. He said that if he could not get off the cpap we might need to send him to Primary Children's for a laryngoscopy. (This is what they had thought Gray might need done when he got his tonsils out.) I was nervous but it was nice to have a plan. On Tuesday morning, my favorite nurse Vicki called and said that he was looking and acting so much stronger. Dr Cheetum decided to try to take him off the CPAP and he has not gone back on since. We are just trying to get him to eat and then he can come home. He is doing well but seems to struggle to eat and it tires him out. Yesterday they called and suggested that he might be tongue-tied. I did not doubt it with the family history. The only doctor that clips baby's tongues just happened to be on that night. Within 3 minutes the procedure was done and Tag did great. When I called to check on him in the middle of the night he had taken a whole bottle! What a miracle this all has been. I know that Tag is in the right place and really feel that he will be home soon. I do not want to get my hopes up but all the doctors feel it will be sometime next week.
I cannot wait to have our complete family home together. I know that it will be crazy but I also know that the blessings will come. I am so so grateful for this little guy and already wonder how I ever felt complete without him. Love you Tag!
*This picture is a few days after he was born. Figuring this was not the real labor time, we did not grab the camera. Joey took lots of video on the IPAD but no pics. Doesn't he look just like Nash!
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