After explaining to Lizzie and Dylan that Elijah has too many chromosomes, we decided that we needed to get a head start on their gift from him. We always gave the older sibling a gift from the new baby, so this time would be no different, except that it had to be extra special, and something that could be kept for a long time. We finally decided. We ordered Build-A-Bear giftcards and t-shirts that say, "I'm the Big Sister" and "I'm the Big Brother". We wrote in the special instructions section of the online order that we needed two copies of the gift message. We wrote, "Always know that I love you Lizzie and Dylan! Forever your baby brother, Elijah". We put them in the mail box one Sunday morning, and after church we really played it up that Elijah told mommy that he wanted his big brother and sister to do something special to remember him. We let them get their mail, and then we went to the mall and built our "bears" (Lizzie picked a cat, and Dylan picked a frog!). We hope that they will always keep these to remember their special brother!
AUGUST 2006
At my doctor's appointment in the beginning of the month, it was found that Elijah was breach. To double check, an ultrasound was ordered, and then if he was still breach, I would go to have him "flipped". From what I read on this, I was praying so hard that he would just flip into position on his own!! I went for the ultrasound, and he was head down, just like he should be! Praise God! This ultrasound was very emotional for me, because I was 36 weeks pregnant, and the picture was so clear! I cried, no sobbed the whole time, and I think I made the technician a little uneasy. When I showed off the picture at church that night, one of my friends told me how much she could see both of my other kids in his face. That meant so much to me. It also was a big deal to me that I never saw either of my other two so close to my due date. I definitely had that "love at first sight" feeling that I never got to experiance before delivery. It was a very special time for me. All my doctor's visits for the rest of the month seemed to be the same. No progress. My cervix didn't shorten, and I didn't start dialating. I had with both of my others, so it was just another confirmation of the T18. I also continued to measure 2-4 weeks behind where I should have been. The doctor's still felt it was within normal range, though. I had the hardest time knowing what to pray for. I had accepted God's will and if He had it planned for Elijah to be healed, he would have been, and if not, then I was still determined to praise Him, no matter what. God gave me such peace and showed me Romans 8:26-28:
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
SEPTEMBER 2006
According to my dates, I would have been due on the 3rd, but one ultrasound thought my due date to be the 12th. My doctor's as well had differing view points, and, of course, I just wanted to deliver! I had an appointment on the 6th and hoped to hear that I would be induced the next day. That morning when I turned on my computer, our Bible word program brought up Psalm 27:14.
"Wait for the Lord, be strong and wait for the Lord."
I knew then that I would NOT be induced the next day as I had hoped, and was reminded that it is not my will, that matters, I need to wait for the Lord's timing, it is perfect after all! On Wednesday, September 13th, I was admitted into the hospital. The doctor inserted Cervadil to prepare my cervix. It is not a drug that is used to start labor, although the nurse told me she never had to start a patient on labor-inducing drugs that was on cervadil first. At 1:30am, I woke up with strong contractions, and when the nurse put me on the moniter, we found they were 2 minutes apart. I called my husband, Cameron, who had stayed home with the kids because the doctor told me that even with the cervadil, it could take DAYS, and we wouldn't start the pitocin until morning. I also called our pastor to let him know that things were starting, and we would call him as things progressed. He said that he would be right over! They both arrived around 2am, and I was given nubane to dull the contractions. At 4am, after some awesome fellowship time, I felt as though things were slowing down, so I told Jeff (our pastor) to go home and we would call him when my water broke. He came over and squeezed my hand to say goodbye, and my water broke! Elijah David was born at 5:36am on September 14th, 2006 weighing 7 pounds 3 ounces, and measuring 19 inches long. He was a HUGE trisomy 18 baby, who normally weigh 3-5 pounds at birth. A friend from church said he was the perfect number. In the bible, 7 is the number of perfection, and 3 represents the trinity.
While being moved from the labor/delivery room to recovery, Elijah didn't do well off oxygen. He was already given Lasix to remove the fluid building up in his lungs. Now he was given morphine to calm him, and we all thought this was it, a few short hours with our son and it was all over. We held him and kissed him, and prayed. Praise the Lord, the morphine calmed him enough to allow his body to start working as best it could and he soon started to breathe easier. These episodes became a regular, daily occurance, and were a direct result of his large Ventricular Septal Defect, or VSD. After he calmed, he was tube fed formula for the first time. The rest of the day was pretty calm and Elijah was able to meet most of his visitors. The Prayer Chain is an amazing thing. All the nurses were so amazed at the amount of support we had, and kept asking where we go to church. What an amazing witness it was for all who were on the maternity floor of the hospital.
"Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, "Rejoice!" Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Fret not about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7
DAY 1 SEPTEMBER 15TH
At midnight, our nurse, Juleen surprised us with wonderful news! Elijah was only needing half the amount of oxygen as he needed earlier. He also was taking a pacifier, and seemed to be sucking well, so we were able to give him half his feeding through a bottle. Juleen was such a blessing to us. She came in after Elijah was born and sort of took over, which surprised me, knowing that it wasn't time for the shift change, and she wasn't the nurse I had throughout the delivery. I asked her if she had experiance in this kind of situation, because she seemed so confident. She replied with, "Oh yes, I used to work in a NICU!" Wow, how amazing! We found out later, that she had come in just for our Elijah, and that she wasn't even scheduled then. We are so glad that we chose our community hospital to deliver in instead of being in a larger hospital. Elijah took 5-10cc's of his 20cc feedings by bottle and finished through the tube. Juleen finished her shift at 7am, and was off the rest of the weekend, so she prepped us to go home.
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