HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY ADILYNN!

Wow....my eyes filled up with tears as I typed that subject line. I can't believe it's been a year already. So of course I have to write out the story of her birth. Especially since I someday want to print out my blog and have it bound in a book....this way Adilynn will have it on paper!

In February 2007 Orrin and I decided we were ready to have a little one. We just had a "whatever happens, happens" attitude and didn't stress over it too much. At the end of February I took a pregnancy test and it came up positive. Two days later I took another one, just to make sure. It was positive so I decided it was time to schedule an appointment with the doctor. On March 5th, 2007 the doctor confirmed I was pregnant! Yippee!! We were both so excited.

March was a good month. I didn't have any morning sickness at all. Other than feeling incredibly tired ALL THE TIME, I didn't feel pregnant at all.

On April 20th, 2007 I woke up in the middle of the night with a dull ache on my right side. Although it bothered me, I was able to go back to sleep off and on throughout the night. By 6:30 that morning, I was in a lot of pain. I woke Orrin up and told him that something was wrong. I called my doctors office and they told me to come in for an ultrasound at 10. I was worried that I might be having a miscarriage so I was doing a lot of praying that morning!! At the appointment they did an ultrasound and found the reason for all the pain.....there was a cyst the size of an orange on my right ovary! YIKES! This was a great moment for us though to know that I was NOT losing the baby. Plus we got to see Adilynn for the first time on the ultrasound. I was 11 weeks pregnant at this time and she was like a little jumping bean in there (we didn't know she was a "she" at this point yet). By 3:00 that afternoon they had decided to go ahead and take me in for surgery. They decided in order to protect the baby as much as possible, they were going to keep me awake for the procedure. (however at the minute they had to put me to sleep) I asked what would happen to the baby if something started to go wrong....would they be able to save it? The anethesiologist put his hand on mine and said no, there would not be anything they could do since at 11 weeks a baby could not survive outside the womb. However, God was with me that day because I had such a feeling of peace and I knew that everything was going to be okay.

And of course, by the grace of God, everything WAS okay. As soon as they woke me up my doctor let me hear the baby's heartbeat. It was strong and beating fast.....I was so relieved!
So after that setback, I was back at work six weeks later and feeling good.

In June we found out we were having a girl. It took THREE ultrasounds to find out what she was. She was being modest and didn't want anyone to see her! By the way...I swore up and down I was having a boy and that little Solomon would soon be joining us. Obviously I was wrong....

July, August, September, and October came and went. My due date was set for November 8, 2007 so we were all anxiously awaiting that day.

November 8th came and went.

So did November 9th and 10th.

Then FINALLY.....some action. I woke up on the morning of the 11th and was having contractions. I called my parents and my sister at 4:30 in the morning and told them I was in labor. HA! Talk about a false alarm! I went the rest of the day with nothing happening! By that point my mom was already in Springfield and my dad had his bags packed and ready to go at the drop of a hat. I had an appointment already scheduled the following day on the 12th. Since my mom was already in town she decided to go with us. They did an ultrasound first thing that morning and discovered that I had no amniotic fluid whatsoever. They did a stress test on the baby and then immediately took me to labor and delivery to induce me.

The next 14 hours are a little hazy for me. My sister left school, my dad left work and my brother drove three hours to be here for the big event. I dialated to a four (I think) before I got my epidural. After that it was just a bunch of waiting. I received some great leg and foot massages by everyone, vomited a few times and slept.

The day came and went and around 11 pm (I think) Adilynn's heart rate started to skyrocket. The nurses came in and told everyone to leave the room. They did an internal heart rate monitor and gave me oxygen. They said she most likely rolled over onto the umbilical cord. Let me just note here that my regular doctor was not on call for the evening, so I had Dr. McCorcle, the oncall doctor. So Dr. McCorcle came in and said they needed to go ahead with a C-section. By that time, I really didn't care...I was just ready for it to all be over and to see my baby!!

They wheeled me back, got me ready and little miss Adilynn Grace debuted at 12:22 am on November 13th, 2007. She weighed 9 lbs 11 ounces and was 23 inches long. We were all shocked that she was that big!!!

She was having some breathing troubles, so they had to give her oxygen and then send her on to Intensive Care. I was so sad that I didn't really even get to see her or hold her!!!

When I got back to my room after my C-section, I started hemorraging. This was not just "bleeding", but actually hemorraging. They were giving me shots in my hips to try to stop the bleeding. Dr. McCorcle came back in and said if this one last shot didn't work, then they were going to have to go back in, open me up and do exploratory surgery. Obviously I did not want this at all and all I wanted was to see and hold Adilynn!!!! Thank the good Lord above that He was watching out for me because the bleeding stopped after about five hours!! They gave me two units of blood to make up for all that I'd lost.

I was in the hospital for 5 days total and I had a quick and easy recovery. I think a C-section must be the way to go from now on!!!

So that brings me to present day. What a year it's been. I have been blessed to be able to stay at home with her and I have enjoyed every single moment. She has been a wonderful joy to Orrin and I. She makes us laugh and smile all the time. Children are truly a gift from the Lord.

Happy birthday baby girl.....we love you more than you will ever know.