Welcome Carson

Carson was born on Friday, August 27, 2010. On Thursday afternoon I went in to get checked thinking my water has broken. It hadn't but they still keep the baby and mom on a monitor for about an hour. Right before we were about to leave Carson's heart rate dropped significantly. It was very scary, especially when our Dr. came back in and told us we were staying over night for observation. This happened at about 4:30. Just after 7 he had another heard rate deceleration. Our nurses were great and were definitely watching the monitors. After we got Carson's heart rate back up our nurse called our Doctor at home (and she was not the on call Doctor) about an hour later our Doctor called our room to let us know she would be inducing in the morning. We had already determined by ultrasound that the cord was not wrapped around his neck so we weren't exactly sure what was causing his heart rate to drop significantly. Knowing that Carson could be a 'wimpy white boy' we set ourselves up for the very real possibility that he would be taken immediately to The Scott and White NICU. Even though he was considered 'full term' Typically white male babies have the weakest lungs. This was a much safer option than risking him hurting himself. I called our friend Holly and she came to sit with me while Chase went home to get our hospital bags and to feed and water the dogs. We were so appreciative that she was willing and able to do that. It definitely helped keep me calm. While Chase was gone he called Sue and Ryan who recently moved to Dallas. It was about 30 minutes before they were on the road and on their way to Temple. This was so great and we were so glad to have them to help with everything that night and the next day. We had also called Camille and she came back from Austin shortly after she heard from us. It was really nice to have Holly, Sue, Ryan and Camille. It helped keep us distracted from everything which was great. Thank you all.

The night was very long and restless. To start we were MORE than excited about becoming parents the next morning. Really who could sleep? Chase had a very uncomfortable sleeping arrangement and I was not very comfortable either. On top of that my eye were pretty much glued to his heart monitor watching him.

The next morning they came in and started the pitocin drip. I sent Chase home to feed the dogs and get a shower assuming we had a long day ahead of us. While Chase was gone our doctor came in and broke my water and attached a monitor to his head to keep a more accurate record of his stats. We progressed pretty quickly the anesthesiologist came in to suggest that we go ahead and get the epidural ready. Up until this point I wasn't sure if I wanted to go this route but there was still a possibilty we would have to do a c-section so I was more on board. Carson wasn't tolerating labor as well as we had hoped. His heart rate started to drop again and before they could give it to me and the nurses and doctors came in and moved us to the OR for a c section. It happened very quickly. We didn't even call our parents before we went back to surgery so imagine their surprise about an hour later to get a call from Chase letting them know we had a baby! My doctor left someone else to close me up and went with Chase and the baby to check him out (remember we were worried he might have weak lungs) to everyone's surprise he let out a very loud cry and proved his lungs were in great shape! We were so happy!

It really happened so fast and I have no idea how I remained as calm as I did. I know our nurses and doctors did a great job of keeping us informed but letting us know the urgency of the situation. Chase was pretty calm too and there is no doubt that helped me to not freak out. Also, it helped that we were in the hospital which it turns out happens to be the best place to be when you need urgent care!! I am much more emotional now that it is over and I have had a chance to think about everything. We are so lucky to have had a wonderful outcome to a tough situation.

Carson was born at 9:39 am on August 27, 2010

6lbs 6 ounces - 18 1/4 inches long (or short!)

Perfect!

I wanted to share this with everyone because most people don't even know that we had a c-section. We wanted to let everyone know Carson's story. The only thing that we weren't able to do was donate Carson's cord blood as we had hoped. But we think everything turned out great!