The birth story of sweet Selah Grace AND how you can pray for her AND new pictures!!!

Hopefully I can remember all of this. It's been a crazy 30 hours!

(side note... might be a little too much detail for some, but I'm documenting. :) So feel free to skip over!)





Monday morning, I woke up at 4am with contractions. I was pretty sure they were contractions - kind of like menstrual cramps that lasted about 30 seconds-1 minute. They were coming about every 10 minutes. I also had a lot of pink spotting.



I probably should have gone back to sleep (advice I read somewhere), but was WAY too wired. So I googled everything and anything on contractions before the boys woke up.



We had to drive Brian to work (his car still in the shop), but while getting ready, I kept having to stop every 10 minutes, then 9 minutes, then 8 minutes..... They were getting closer together, but weren't not lasting 1 minute consistently. So we decided to still bring Brian to work, even though he was really late at this point. :)



I had three errands I *really* wanted to do before getting to the hospital. And I'm nothing if I'm not determined.



I realized shortly after dropping Brian off that driving was probably NOT a great idea. Wow. These were starting to really hurt. I really wanted to bring my friend April donuts that morning, but I didn't think I was going to be able to carry the box, so I thought I'd do that errand another day. (April, I totally missed your birthday - but I'll be coming over soon with those Shipley's donuts to celebrate!!)



Off to Target to pick up Zac's pictures.



We made it inside. Barely. A manager kindly let me into the portrait studio and gave me my pictures. The lady at the customer service desk stopped me and handed me her phone number in case I needed it. She also wanted Brian's phone number.



I was clearly in a lot of pain at this point. It was about 9:30. I really really really wanted to do one more errand. I wanted to pick up the vinyl that spelled the kids' names for their wall. And I was planning on meeting her at this store that had one last birthday present for Zac that I wanted to pick up.



On the way to meet the vinyl lady, I called my sweet friend Michelle. She had her babies earlier this year with the same doctor, so I knew she'd remember what labor felt like. I think I was still in doubt that I was actually in labor - and not just "false labor."



She encouraged me to go ahead and go in to the hospital. Until she found out I was out trying to run errands, and was about 1.5 hours away from the hospital. Then I think her words were, "Sarah, honey. You are delusional. Get to the hospital RIGHT NOW."



Then I started crying.



Not because of her, but because she was right. And I was so scared. And nervous. And confused. And fearful. And I had this little bundle of energetic sunshine in my backseat trying to talk my ear off about nothing and everything, and I just couldn't imagine dropping him off and actually GIVING BIRTH to this baby girl.



I called Brian and he was waiting in the parking lot by the time I got to his work.

The dr's office was sending my file over to L/D, telling me, "Sweetie, you should have come in first thing this morning."





We dropped off Zac at Michelle's house to play with her little boy. Michelle, being the wonderful amazing fantastic friend that she is, prayed over me in the car. (Isn't she amazing?!)



I was just sure that they were going to just send us home. The contractions were tough enough to where I couldn't speak to anyone during them, but they didn't *hurt* as bad as I thought they should. By the time we got to the hospital at 11:30am, they were lasting 1 minute, and were 3 minutes apart.



We got checked in and I got checked.

I was at a 2. A TWO. Talk about disappointing!!!!!!!

My nurse, Wendy, didn't even start IVs. She said she'd check me in an hour or two. But if I wasn't dilating at least a centimeter an hour, they'd send me home.



Since my dr was out of town, Dr. W was going to come in and check me, too. But I heard her in the hallway, and she never came in. I guess she thought we'd be headed home, too.



The contractions started to get more painful. Wendy offered me an epidural, but I wasn't sure that I wanted one. And I definitely wasn't going to get one until I knew if we were staying or not.



But then they started getting REALLY REALLY painful. I mean. Wow. These were really hurting.



She checked me, and I was at a 5. She immediately started getting things out for the IVs, etc. I am GBS+, so I needed to get two bags of antibiotics in my IV before delivering Selah. (If the baby contracts GBS, it can be fatal, so this was really important) Brian called his parents to come up and get Zac.



This was it.



And it really really really hurt.



So, I finally asked for an epidural. It was about 2:30 when I asked. Mike, the anesthesiologist (who would adminster the epi) and Dr. W had a scheduled c-section at 3:00pm.

Dr. W flew into my room to check me. She made a comment about getting that c/s done quickly b/c it was almost time for ME.



ME? ME! To deliver a baby?!

What was I thinking? This was WAY too painful. I wanted out.



All my years of bragging about my "high pain tolerance" were out the window. I learned I am a screamer. So did everyone else in L/D.



I know at one point, I told Brian I was going to throw his phone across the room if it rang again. I'm sure some other random, um, comments came out like that, but I can't really take the blame for all that.

I mean, I just can't tell you how much pain I was in.

Right before she left the room for the scheduled c-section, she broke my water. I was very hesitant because I knew the pain would be worse, I'd move along faster, and both Dr W and Mike would be gone.

And I was right. The nurse said I was in "transition." I had some other choice words for it!

Wendy was setting up the baby warmer which totally freaked me out. Then this table came out with all the instruments. And the end of my bed disappeared to reveal stirrups. No Kidding.

She and Brian just held me, while she tried to do things with a free hand, and I begged her to never leave me. (seriously, I do remember saying that. multiple times.)

After their c-section, Mike rushed back to give me the epi and Dr W was setting up. Unfortunately the epidural took longer than the 25 seconds I had between contractions, and I was forced to "sit still" while I endured some of the worst pain. Ever.

All I remember was leaning on Wendy and Brian telling me to keep breathing. And of course the screaming. I could feel Selah and I wanted to push her out soooooo bad. It took everything in me not to push. Actually, I'm pretty sure I pushed anyway because I just couldn't help it.

FINALLY, Mike was done. And within minutes, I was pain free. PAIN FREE!!! Hallelujah!! I could feel the pressure of the contractions, but no pain!

First, I profusely apologized to everybody. Then, I got busy pushing. I was a 10!

Brian shocked me (and himself) by watching Selah's head. We both thought that would give him the heebie jeebies, but he was SO excited. And it made me super excited, too! We were almost giddy. And I felt super cool that I was actually going through real labor. And surviving!

For about an hour, I pushed and I pushed. And pushed some more. And more after that.

Nothing.

Dr W came in to check on Selah, and made a comment about how big she was. Selah wasn't doing real well on the monitors. Dr W got out the forceps. (which are like super-sized salad tongs) She grabbed on to Selah's head and with each contraction, I'd push and Dr W would pull. We tried for several minutes, but Selah was not coming out. Then Dr W pulled out the forceps and Brian saw lots of blood. Dr W saw Selah's stats on the monitor and pretty much yelled for everyone to get out of the way- we were headed to surgery.

I was SO ticked.

All that pain for nothing!

Surgery was extremely quick. They left Brian in the labor room, with no time for him to join the party. I was given something to drink in the hallway while they rushed me to the L/D OR. Everything after that was very fuzzy. People rushing around. I had double vision and I couldn't make out what people were saying to each other. I don't know what I drank - but I was loopy.

I tried to make out a baby crying.... but it was a very confusing chaotic time.

Brian says he waited in the labor room for a couple minutes, then they came to tell him, "It's a girl!"

Selah Grace, 9 pounds and 10 ounces, 19.75" long,

14" head, born at 5:23pm on 9-21-09.

Brian was led to the operating room, and saw Selah on one side of the room and the bottom half of my body on the other side. He said all my guts were on one side of me and they were still working on me. He was handed Selah and came over to me to show me. But I couldn't recognize him because I had double vision.

Selah had a rash issue that they were concerned about, so they took her away.

Brian came to hang out by me since he couldn't be with her. We talked until my vision came back and I could actually see and hear him.

Then we were taken to our post-partum room. I still hadn't seen Selah, and I was nuts to see her! Brian hadn't had a real chance to see her, either. But he was told about, and shown, her rash, which was on her toe, up her legs, trunk, some on her back and one shoulder.

About 4 hours later, they finally brought Selah Grace to us. She was a super-nurser from the start!! Atta girl!! :) That part was very exciting!

We loved on her WAY too much that first night, and finally took her to the nursery around 11pm. But I still couldn't sleep and ended up taking her back and staying up the whole night with her. This was not a great thing when I hadn't slept in over 24 hours. (I'm still recovering from that!) But it was so important to me to bond with her. I had forgotten about the rash thing. Didn't seem like a really big deal anyways.



Well, the rash thing ended up being a little bit of a bigger deal than we realized. We still don't have answers on that. Selah Grace has been seen by several doctors, all intrigued by it. They have been trying to rule out certain conditions with x-rays and blood work. A neonatal dr took pictures to research it. A dermatologist was called to see her. Even my obgyn (who is back from vacation today... grrrr) hadn't seen anything like it before. We have an opthamologist coming out tomorrow. And an appointment with a pediatric dermatologist on Friday.

It did make our day so very busy. I know we missed a lot of phone calls, too. (sorry!!) We had the birth certificate/ssn lady, the photographer, all the specialists, the lactation consultant, etc etc etc. Along with feeding/changing Selah Grace and trying to fit in a nap for Mom and Dad. I also had to walk the halls. Although that part was fun because everyone loves seeing a huge pink bow on top of a teeny tiny baby wrapped up in a blanket. :)


Basically, they think Selah Grace has either incontinentia pigmenti or conradi-hunermann syndrome.

Which are both really scary when googling, which we were told not to do - but who wouldn't do that?!

We'll know more on Friday morning when that dr has all the test results and x-rays in her hand, and is able to see Selah Grace's rash in person. She's the only one in Dallas that will know (and of course not on our insurance!), so we are hopeful to have answers from her.

We encourage you to pray for Selah Grace, that this would just be a freak thing, and that God would completely heal her before Friday. To pray that this will NOT be a disease or lifelong condition, and that all the worry will be cast out by God, and her prognosis will be that she is 100% healthy. He is the Great Physician and healer. We believe that He can change all of this!

Until then, we are loving on her as the perfect baby for us. She is beautiful and sweet and calm and cuddly. She loves Brian's voice and she loves to nurse. She's got cheeks that go on for miles. We got some really cute pictures and video of her today when the photographer came to take her hospital pictures.

Of course, you know how it is with newborns, they just don't photograph with as much cuteness as our love-colored glasses see her with. She's getting little baby pimples, and her head sure is shaped like a triangle. But we love being blinded by love!!! :) :) :)


Here she is when the photographer was trying to take her picture, but Selah would not stay still. She is a mover just like Zac was! She likes to hold her head up really high (only 1 day old!) and likes to kick off things to move (exact same thing Zac did!). Zac started crawling at 4 months, so we wonder if Selah Grace will be on the same track. Anyways... here's the little princess! Oh - and the purple blanket was made by my sweet friend Jen - thanks SO much!! (she even made a matching hat!)

And here is our sweet baby girl while waiting for the photographer to set up...

She's not crying here, just a big yawn. :)

Loving these shoes!!