Twelve Days

"But as for me, I am filled with POWER,

with the spirit of the Lord,

and with Justice and MIGHT..."~Micah 3:8 

Micah was born on Thanksgiving night.

After a day full of family time, delicious Thanksgiving food, and rest, this pesky pain started rearing its ugly head again.

You see, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I started having awful pains.  I tried explaining it to my nurses that it wasn't really contraction pain, but worse.  And we just couldn't figure it out.  On that same Tuesday, my amniotic fluid went from a normal color to tinged with red.  But we still thought maybe it was just some cervical irritation mixed with baby Micah's position in the womb.

But then Thursday, after we ate, the pain came back. 

And then Thursday evening, it just turned a bright, bright red.

And contractions kicked up.

And then, all of a sudden, there was a WHOLE lot of hustle and bustle around me.

By that time, everyone had left. 

Gramps had gone back home to Montgomery.
Mom, Dad, and Myles had gone back to the hotel.
And BT and Thomas were at our house, where Thomas was sleeping soundly, but luckily, BT was still awake.

It was about 10:30 when they said that it was time.  They gave me time to make a few calls, and off I was swept to L&D. 

It happened so quickly, in fact, that by the time BT got there, within thirty minutes of the phone call, I was already numb and on the table, and they were only waiting on him.  I remember them asking where he was and someone spoke up, "Lakeshore Drive." 

As they waited, well, I just remember being calm.

No tears. 
No shaking.
Just a knowledge that Thanksgiving night was apparently THE night.

Who woulda thunk it.

As SOON as BT walked through the door, they began cutting. 
And then it really began.

It was a long c-section, as far as c-sections go. 

Turns out, I had a placental abruption.  If you're unfamiliar with what that is, you can read about it HERE. 

In addition, Micah had managed to get himself in the oddest position I have EVER seen.  He was breach, and spread eagle up at the top of my womb, holding each foot with each hand, and he was NOT budging. 

The doctors had to work a long time to get him out.
Shoving on me from every direction, grunting, and things were very quiet in that room.

I on the other hand, was just jabbering on and on, when she said, "we can't talk right now."

So I calmed down, and quieted up.  Which if you know me, you know that's hard to do.

And I kept hearing the suction. 
Over and over and over. 

I asked BT what was happening, and he said he didn't know, when all of a sudden, the anesthesiologists told me they were going to give me a little something for my blood pressure.

Then just like that, they got him out.

Benjamin Micah was born at 11:34pm on November 22nd, Thanksgiving night, weighing 5 pounds 9 ounces. 

No cry. 
Didn't get to see him. 
They took him to work, and let BT go along for the ride.

Turns out, I lost a lot of blood.
That's pretty obvious from the pictures from that first night, and the next day.

Waiting to get started

You can see in this picture they way Micah had his legs

After Delivery

Tired Family

Me & Micah

Early that next morning, Micah's doctors came to talk to us. 
They told us he wasn't doing well, and that his little lungs were having trouble getting out the CO2.

The prognosis, they said, was very poor.

Alright, we said.
Let's go see him.

And luckily, our dear friend Allison, who also happens to be a phenomenal photographer, felt it in her heart to drive back from her Thanksgiving with her family in Atlanta, to take pictures of us with sweet Micah on that Friday.

And we waited.

For the worst.
As we've done before.

And my heart almost couldn't take it.
It almost just broke in two.

And I prayed silent prayers, and I let him go, as I have so many times before.

And each day passed, and he stayed.

And with every day, Micah proved his might.

And his CO2 levels improved.
His O2 improved, and his blood gases improved.

And now.
Well, now, he's 12 days old.

And I couldn't think of a more appropriate day for our friend Allison to come take more pictures of him. 

You see, she wanted to come Friday, to celebrate him being a week old, but it didn't work out.

And so she's coming on the day he's going to be turning 12 days old.

For those of you that know me, and know our story well, you know why this day is so significant to me.

I know in my head it's just a number, but in my heart..
Oh, in my heart, it's SO much more.

"In these bodies we will live.

In these bodies we will die.

Where you invest your love,

you invest your LIFE."

~Mumford & Sons

 

 

As of today, Micah is off the jet ventilator, down from two vents to one. 

 

He's down from two chest tubes on each side, to one on each side, with another one possibly coming out soon. 

 

His chest x-rays show no more fluid accumulation.

 

The air that was present after delivery has resolved.

The fluid on his kidneys has resolved.

 

His swelling continues to go down.

 

I don't know what the future holds, friends, but I do know this. 

 

Every day, God shows us what a miracle he can work through this baby boy. 

We thought we weren't going to even get 24 hours with him, and now, oh my, he's 12 days old.

 

So each day, we get up, we get dressed, and we go again.

 

And we pray for deliverance.

And we pray for sanity.

 

And we leave it up to God.

 

For after all, what else is there to do?