He's here! He's here!

September 20, 2013

The birthdate of our third baby boy.

Of course, naming this child, or any of our boys, was not an easy task for us.

We have a VERY VERY difficult time deciding on names.

A few days prior to his birth, we agreed on Pierce.

Yes, a few days.

We went into the hospital for a scheduled c-section not knowing his middle name.

It was still up in the air.

The delivery went well. Typical c-section.

This was my 3rd. Ridge was an emergency and so Fulton and Pierce were recommended c-sections as well.

I've always had really bad nausea during the procedure. So, I knew to inform them of this prior.

But, this time, during the procedure, I had an intense sudden headache. (More on this later)

But, the delivery was very laid back and went well.

Experiencing the birth of your child never never ceases to amaze me.

It is amazing that this sweet little life is formed in your womb.

Tiny fingers, toes, ears, eyes, eyelashes, nose, head, brain, bones, muscles, eyebrows.

Truly amazing.

And, truly the work of God.

A perfect picture of His amazing work!

Family waiting in the waiting room.

Pierce was born at 7:13 am

8 lbs. 3 oz.

20 1/4”

He weighed the most of all 3 boys.

Yes, my druggy look is quite nice.

Instant love with this sweet boy with a head full of dark hair.

I mean, how cute is he?!?!?

Photography below by Lauren Tuggle

Curious about the pictures Daddy showed him

Time for big brothers to meet him...

It was so sweet. I vaguely remember this moment due to all the meds that had to give me during the procedure. (You can tell I’m a little loopy in the pictures) But we are SO SO SO SO SPOILED, I MEAN

S-P-O-I-L-E-D TO HAVE Lauren take our pictures for us!

It really was an instant love for these big brothers.

They were about to bust through the doors if we didn’t let them soon!

Ridge did a great job introducing Pierce to his family.

So blessed by this sweet new life that God gave us.

The nurse was so sweet to let Ridge and Fulton help with his first bath.

Alan’s parents were gracious to stay at our house to keep the big boys.

They came by everyday to “check on Pierce.”

Saturday, after having gotten up a few times, I noticed I wasn’t able to tolerate being up that long. I kept requiring the pain medicine.

Saturday evening, our sweet friends Micah and Julianne were in Birmingham and came by. Unfortunately, I never got to see them. Only Alan. I had just nursed Pierce and got up to use the restroom and experienced a terrifying sudden headache and I knew something was wrong. We talked with the nurse and she gave me more pain medication, but the problem was still there.

Sunday morning, we had a God-send nurse that got on top of things and figured out I was having spinal headaches. Some of the spinal fluid had leaked through the puncture hole in the membrane that surrounds the spinal cord. This leakage decreases the pressure exerted by the spinal fluid on the brain and spinal cord which leads to a headache.

If lying flat, the headache disappears instantly. As soon as I would raise the head of the bed, boom. It was terrible and frightening.

Luckily, the anesthesiologist was on my floor and came within minutes of her consulting him. He explained my risks and options. Basically, I could go home and it would resolve in 2 weeks naturally. But, I would still have the headaches. (Yea right, like I could care for an infant and 2 older children in that condition) or he could perform a blood patch in my room right then. It’s an immediate fix. I chose option 2.

So, he performed basically an epidural on my spine, drew blood from my arm and injected the blood into my spine.  (As if I had not been through enough)

So, basically, the blood creates a patch to keep the fluid from leaking to my brain.

I had to lie flat for an hour after the procedure.

I slowly raised the head of my bed after 45 minutes and within an hour, I was able to sit up and stand up with no headache.

Amazing.

Thank God for that nurse and for that Dr.

I would’ve been a hot mess at home trying to function and survive with a newborn and my family.

He was born on a Friday and we went home on that following Monday.

We are so so thankful for a healthy delivery and a healthy baby boy.

God is so so good.

And, we are so so thankful.

Welcome to the world baby Pierce!