03-2-2009 - Long awaited and long birth story!!:)

My mood while writing this blog: Loving and in awe

Well, here is our story...I don't have time to personalize but I just wrote it an hour ago! I went home to check on bubba and he is fine..sleeping! seems he always sleeps when I can't!:) but atleast he is finally letting me catch up on much needed mail!! i am at a nieghbors who has email and bubba is with my inlaws...

Hi! It has been quite a journey!! Sorry no updates but with the setbacks at the hospital and then the extreme ice storm and power outage..this is the first day I have been able to get to an internet that works...

His name is Robert Alexander . We made his third middle name my maiden name so that when we register him for school he can be just Robert Alexander. Ted was insistent that we include my name if we did not name him a Lithuanian name. He is so proud of my parents and my heritage..and it warms my soul..

Oh my goodness, is he a cutie pie!!! You can imagine the love and joy and gratefulness I feel everyday!! I am overwhelmed and humbled by the love of our Lord and the sincere love of our friends!! He, Robert Alexander, has been blessed from day one!

But like most things in my life, he has quite a birth story...he began his story in Ted's office, what a shock! A Sunday evening and Ted was working but I was with him..we actually went to to do research on C sections...at 10:20, my water broke all over Ted's office chair, his floor, etc..finally Ted got a trashcan and made me sit on that! It was as if Niagara Falls broke loose..(well, I felt a bit vindicated soaking his office!:)) The weather was pretty bad that night and we walked to his office, so since I was soaking wet, my pants, my shoes, even my sweater, I made Ted go get the car and pack our hospital things in the car...we just took them out that day to relook at them for our expected c scetion on Tuesday...! Of course!

so Ted left me..in the meantime I called the hospital and took a quick shower, at Ted's office. But it did little good as my fluid just kept pouring out of me. I was laughing so loud!! It was beautiful!!!
Finally, Ted arrived at with the car at 11:00! So, we jumped in and began our slow journey to the hospital 40 miles away! My contractions were a steady 3 minutes apart and our speed was a a steady 20 miles an hour because we were in the middle of the worst snow storm of the year...I called the hospital again and they said the roads were worse in Louisville and that we should stop at any hospital. well, we only new two hospitals, Louisville and the army hospital and we were half way in between both at that time..so dad took a steady time driving in awful conditions and we headed on to L. We finally arrived at 12:45 am and my contractions were steady and heating up..I was 4cm dilated on arrival.

They put us in a room and while I kept asking for my doctor, we only got nurses. But baby was monitoring fine and so was mama and when I hit my room I had my first MAJOR! take the wind out of me contraction! Wow, mama...we, of course, wanted a natural birth so we kept going.. in just one hour I was 7cm dilated and my contractions were a steady and painful 2 minutes apart...Ted was a saint and i called on every saint I knew...I have a whole new respect for mothers now! But we were very excited because the last conversation we had with our doctor on Friday was that if we went into natural labor and things progressed rapidly then we could go natural and skip the C section! By 4:00 am ( 3 hours later) I was at 9 cm..! Finally, a doctor came in the room, not mine, and said that we were scheduled for a C section and we said, "no , we can him naturally and that he should speak to my doctor and I wanted to speak to my doctor." He said there was no need since it was decided already and we said, " no, that is not what was decided" ...he said, " Do you want to kill your baby!" "I need a decision, right now". So, At this point mama was at 1 1/2 minute contractions and so much Glorious pain!!! But the baby was fine and my blood pressure was fine and we were at 9cm, one to go and the nurse already said she could feel hair! So, I asked for three minutes to pray with my husband and the doctor said no..I demanded saying my baby was not going to die in there minutes..and the doctor left, Ted and I prayed and decided God Blessed us that far that he would see us through..well, the doctor NEVER came back! So we figured God answered for us...but we wanted to be proactive in case we had to go through an emergency C section so we asked for an epidural so we could be ready, just in case.. I did not want to be completely under if indeed we had to go to a C section...

When they gave me the epidural, baby was crowning! Then, it all stopped...and I hated it. I don't know how women like epidurals..you suddenly feel nothing, except warmth, don't get me wrong it was nice to catch my breath but suddenly the childbirth experience was gone..but It gave Ted and I a chance to say a long rosary together and to pray without me screaming in pain..and yes, I did wail and gnash teeth!!! but we prayed and then I asked for the epidural to be turned off...which everyone thought was nuts but I wanted to feel this experience and we only had it in as a precaution..

well, the epidural slowed down the labor,contractions continued on the monitor but we remained at 9cm and -1 stage..with the head engaged but not in the birth canal yet..

Finally, one of my doctors came in at 8:00 am...only the second time we had a seen a doctor all night! He then said that since we had not progressed in 4 hours, he felt the C section was necessary..the epidural was finally wearing off and I was starting to feel contractions..it takes a while to kick in and longer to kick out..anyway, we asked why, he said there was a 1-2 % chance of the baby getting stuck in the birth canal and then we could lose mama and baby..well, Ted and i asked all kind of questions..including the fact that we had such a fast progressive labor and he poo pooed all of them saying I could go back to work in three days with a C section and why was I fighting it...well, we asked for more time..and he came back an hour later stating he still felt a C section was in order...and so we said, we felt we had no choice since he was adamant..

The doctor smugly said lets go..so we were wheeled into surgery at 10:20, exactly 12 hours since my water broke and baby Robert was born at 10:49!! It was incredible to hear his first cries and then to see Ted holding our son and to see Ted beaming!! I mean beaming like I only saw him smile at our wedding! was amazing!!!

They wheeled me into the recovery room where my friend Iris had just arrived from Texas and little Robert took to mama right away and started breastfeeding right there in recovery 1/2 hour after birth! I cannot tell you the joy of those first moments..to see the product of Ted's, God's and my love in human form in front of us and to see the extreme and beautiful love in my husband's eyes!! Oh my gosh, how do you describe complete and utter joy, beauty beyond measure, the color of a thousand sunrises and the roar of all the oceans, the dance of all the angels and the songs of the saints all in one Glorious miraculous moment!! Thank you thank you thank you is the only way!! A thousand thank you's and still not enough to Glorify our God!

So the first few days passed in sheer love...baby was taking to breast and mama was up 96 hours! I couldn't;'t take my eyes off of him..Ted blew off work and stayed with me round the clock and Iris stayed during the days and then left at night..Ted glowed!!

Our room ws fiiled with prayers and love..we had prayer circles with visiting nuns, sahred our Medjugorje story, laid hands on nurses and cleaning crews and all came into our room just to share a bit of joy and to pray with us..the nurses were amazed at Robert's sweet demeanor and one said, "You can tell this child knows God..and I proudly said and God knows him!!

It was a beautiful beginning!!

Then our first tragedy happened...


As you may have known my mother and father were supposed to come here in January and be with me in the hospital and home to exeperience the great joy of Robert...well, as you also may know, my father got seriously ill with a bood clot and was restricted from travelling until later in May. By the way, we have changed the baptism til March 7 in Florida, Sarasota at St. Jude's church, so my parent's can have a bit of joy to look forward to and attend!

So, anyway, as God does, He blessed me by sending my dear friend from Texas, Iris, to be here to help Ted and I. She arrived from Texas as I said on Monday and was waiting for me in the recovery room when I finsihed the C-section. She stayed at the hospital all day and then traveled back and forth to Fort Knox to sleep each night. She was a great joy and great help.

Well, Thursday at noon her sisters called from Texas to say that no one was able to contact their mom for two days. Her mother is 82 and lives in Jacksonville, Florida. The police were at the house but the mom's neighbor convinced them that nothing was wrong. Iris spoke to them via the phone and begged them to go in but they refused saying nothing looked suspicious. Well, Iris is a firefighter in Houston so she immediately called the fire department in Jacksonville, explained who she was and asked them to send a truck immediately to investigate which they did...
about 30 minutes later, they called back, saying that they were there and broke the lock and found her mother unconscious on the bathroom floor, she was alive but unresponsive and extremely cold.

Needless, to say, this was devastating news. I called Ted who happened to be in Fort Knox getting some things we needed and told him to pack Iris' bag and meet her at the airport. She had a plane leaving at 2:00 pm. It was now 1:09...poor Ted thought it impossible.. I explained we had to try..It is a good solid houd from our house to the airport!
The nurses were not helpful in helping me find a cab and just at that moment my masseuse came in to see the baby...and she quickly drove Iris to the airport...(thank God for angels!) The plane was delayed but only by 20 minutes ..at 2:03 Ted made it to the airport, met Iris, got her to the gate and then he waited...all the while I was stuck in the hospital just praying away that she made it to say good bye...you can imagine the pain I felt, she changed her plans to visit her mom to be with me at the hospital..

Well, at 3:30 pm the chaplain from the hospital came in... we were praying together when Ted arrived...He wasn't;t sure if Iris made the plane but he figured since she didn't come back out of the gate and her phone was off that she made it...

at 4:00 pm Iris called saying she made the plane but was waiting for her connection...again, I prayed she made it to say goodbye..

Finally at 9:30 pm she called to say she was there at the hospital, her mother had indeed suffered a massive stroke and was completely paralyzed on the right side, still non communicative and in critical condition! The doctors said the stroke happened two days prior..Our first prayer was answered that she got there in time to say goodbye but now we pray, of course, that things get better. Iris called yesterday with a report that she was still in critical condition but that they are moving her to Texas for short term specialty care and then long term care..and since all the daughters 8! are in Texas, it makes more sense..they will transport her today via air..she still is not responsive to sound but seem to have feeling in her arms and legs although still doesn't seem to recognize her children nor know where she is..

Please pray for Iris and her mother! You can imagine the pain Iris feels knowing her mother was alone in the house for two days on the floor and the fact that the police were there a whole hour and half and did nothing...we have worked through this together through the telephone and prayer but it still haunts her.

I have told Iris that now her mother is in good hands and help arrived by her quick action and that God is with her but indeed, her pain is great and her anxiety about losing her mother greater. Although now that a week has passed she has come to greater peace and it is the first time that all eight of the siblings came together do there again, God is alwasy working and just two weeks prior to the incident, Iris' mother had a long conversation with her about how happy she had been with her life and wnet through each child and said how proud she was of her legacy..so Iris has a good conversation to hold onto!

Anyway, as Iris left, baby was so calm and loving but the nurses left me alone for 9 hours without my meds and ignoring my call light...I began to become very dehydrated and little Robert was no longer drinking my milk..I kept asking if milk became sour when one was stressed but all I got was laughter in return..by the next morning, even though I had been drinking water steadily...I was completely dehydrated, as was our son..he lost 6 ounces during the night and was down to 7 lbs 12 ounces...a number the doctors called 'critical.' so he was ordered to stay another night and we were to give him formula round the clock,...which we did. And Robert gained to 8 lbs 4 ounces...but at this point even though mama was asking for elctrolytes and IV"S, I was ignored...my mouth was bleeding...at release I asked them to look at my throat and thy said everybody has a sore throat and sent us home. I lost thirty pounds at this point! We came home with Robert Saturday t 6:00 pm! I was euphoric, drunk on love and Ted wa beautiful..but I was still in pain and by midnight, my throat has lesions on it..I called the doctor and the ER and I was so deghydrated that my throat was being affected! If I did not have all th at amnio fluid and blood they suspect I would have gine into organ failure at the hospital! The one good thing I lsot my cankles and actually had pretty ankles again but my milk had almost completely dried...so I had the daunting and lasting task of rehydrating and then restarting my milk supply! It has taken a week but we are almost there! Thank you Mary!

Ted parents arrived Wednesday in the middle of the storm..but I am glad Little robert is bringing this family together!!

I went back to the ER Thursday and they gave me another two liters of fluid an checked me out..now that I am hydrated my C section pain has started all over again too and my healing is off a week but we are taking each Blessing day by day...also because I was so far in natural labor and in the end the c section was deemd unnecessary, my body still isn't sure what happend so my cervix is completely open and my body is catching up...at least that si what the y are no wtelling me..who knows..it is as it is! and my milk is back, robert is thriving so who cares in the end! Really!!

Baby Robert has been off formula for a whole week and yesterday, he gained Two ounces so were are finally on track!! he is up to 8 lbs 10 ounces and 9/10 and 22 1/2 inches! YEAH!! speaking of I need to go feed him..:) But I wanted to share some of the the story...there is so much more!

Did I mention the greatest ice storm in all of Fort Knox history and the shutting down of post and the loss of power and heat?? that lasted a week but we were blessed with heat after two days and our water remained on but there were scary nights as trees felled all around us and not even emergency vehicles were moving God Blessed us again!!! Shelters were opened but we were not taking our little newborn to a gym full of germs..God Blessed us with candles and body heat!

What a story Little Robert has..and what a Blessing all your prayers have been..we are now on the upswing!! and hopefully we won't fall off again!:)

I have to go..don't know when we will have internet access again we are still on roving power and mama can't get out much yet and the ground is still covered in ice but the trees melted Sunday thank goodness!!

Since then, we have talked to the female doctor on call and she actually cried..saying she had no idea I was left alone all that time and left to make decisions on my own..she agreed we coudl have tried natural but mostly she was angry that the hospital did not let her, my own group doctor in call, know I was there. the first time she foudn out was at 4:00 am when the neo natal doctor on call called on told her that we were there and going ahead with a C section..she knew nothing else..and none of our concerns nor the fact that they left me alone after that...

so I have to believe she was sincere and I have to go fwd...in the end God blessed us all in one birth , the beauitiful experience of the water breaking, the dream of a natural birth, the pain and joy of going to 9cm unmedicated, the experience of an epidural, the fortitude to turn it off, and then the complete experience of a C section...not high;y medicated...and then the GLOROIUS AMAZING GIFT OF our little Robert!!

What more can a girl want?especially a girl of 41 who always dreamed of being a mother!

Thank you all for your prayers, love and support!! Motherhood ROCKS!!!!!!!!
So, know that all of you are in my prayers!!!

We love you muchly!
us and little Robert, also known as Bubba right now and may remain so...

awww........so happy for you .....................I will keep your friends in my prayers....................
Godbless !!
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