Carter's CRAZY start

Warning: This is a long post- there are pictures if you scroll down.
I first need to say Thank you to my new BFF, Julia for updating my blog. She has done a lot more than update my blog but more on that later.

Today- July 26th was my due date.Friday July 17th- Dan is in California for an all day sales meeting (he drove there Thursday night). Christian and Chase were picked up by my BFF to go to Mud Mania in Scottsdale. I had to go do something fun with Cooper and Colby. Cooper wanted to go to the library and to the dollar store. While at the Library I started to have contractions- not too bad. While at the dollar store they were coming every 10 minutes and they hurt more than usual. Two days before this I went to the Doctor and was told that I was not dilated or effaced at all (this is why we thought it was ok for Dan to leave for ONE night). I was also told that the baby was breech and that if I went into labor to call right away because they would want to see if the baby was still breech. So, after an hour and 10 minutes of consistent contractions I called the Dr. Of course they told me to go directly to the hospital. I texted Dan to let him know but I told him not to worry and that I thought I would get to the hospital and they would tell me the baby was head down and that my contractions had stopped. But, NO this was not the case. My sister Shaunee came over right away with my niece who stayed with Cooper and Colby while my sister drove me to the hospital. I was NOT prepared for this AT ALL. I only took my purse. To my surprise the contractions were not stopping. I was checked and told that I was dilated to 4-5 cen. My sister immediately called Dan and he packed up his stuff in the middle of the sales meeting and left. I was also told that the baby was breech. They were going to try and stop my contractions and do a c-section. I was hoping that they could stop my labor and wait for Dan to do the c-section. But, after 3 shots of tributaline the contractions were still going on. All of this PLUS I found out my Dr. was out of town! How DARE he go on vacation. He did make up for it though by calling and asking to talk to me- something the Nurse said that Doctors just dont do. He told me that even thou my husband was not there, that we needed to go ahead with the c-section for the safety of me and the baby. I was not happy about this but of course I knew we had to. BY this time my friend Julia came with her camera, a baby girl headband, blanket and possibly china glitter for after this supposed baby girl was born! She talked the nurse into letting her come in for the C-section- normally they only let in one person but since my Husband was gone I needed more support. The nurse agreed that it was a sad story.

While in the operating room my Sister sat next to me (thank goodness...I didnt want her passing out like she did when I had Colby). Julia on the other hand was taking pictures of the sickest things I had ever seen. The Doctor and Nurses knew this was a surprise delivery and they knew we had four boys at home. One Nurse said that I better tell my husband to pull over when the baby comes out in case it is a girl. I said "If it is a girl I am pretty sure my Husband will be turning around and driving back to California"! While the surgery was going on I was on the cell phone with Dan (another rule we broke). He was driving 100 miles an hour and at this stage he was only 15 minutes away! Anyway, I could feel that the baby was out but no one was saying anything. I quietly heard the Doctor say "is someone going to tell her"? Finally someone said "it is a boy"! I was so happy- I think the Doctor thought I was going to be sad. Carter came out peeing and pooping (seriously). Carter also had the cord around his neck twice and the Doctor said we would have more than likely ended up doing a c-section even if the baby were head down. Carter had a good cry and I thought to myself "good, it doesnt sound like he is going to have breathing issues". They brought him over to me and I was so full of love for this baby. He was so cute and perfect. They weighed him and said he is 8lbs 15.7 ounces - 9 pounds basically. By this point Dan was parking the car. He would have to wait for us in the recovery room. He made it from California in 4 hours- with NO tickets! It was neat to see Dan meet Carter for the first time. Everything was going well- my friend KaraJean came and they wheeled me to my room- this is when I started to throw up! Sorry KaraJean and Shaunee that you had to see that! Shaunee stayed the night with me while Dan went home to get the boys to bed. I dont think Shaunee got any sleep and she probably saw a lot of things she wished she hadn't!


The next day the boys came to meet their new brother in their shirts that we made. They were all so cute with him and I was so happy to have my little basketball team! We are complete!

My Mom arrived and stayed with Carter and I in the hospital. I was feeling a lot better this time around compared to my last c-section, probably because I didnt have bronchitis this time! Anyway, I started noticing Carter having these "twitching" episodes. I wasnt sure what else to call them. It kind of looked like he was having hiccups without making the hiccup noise. It worried me but I didnt think it could be seizures because he was breathing and acting normal while having them. I said something to the nurse a few time while we were there but she never saw him having them. So, 2 days later we were ready to go home. I had a Dr. appointment already set for the next day for Carter and was going to be asking the Dr. about these episodes he was having. We had all our stuff on a cart to be wheeled out while we were waiting for the nurse to finish checking Carter out when he had one of his twitching episodes. She knew this was not normal and rushed him out of the room to see the Nuerological Dr.that just so happened to be down the hallway at the time. I KNEW we would not be going home. I was grateful that the nurse and Dr. finally saw him have one but I was just so terrified that things were not going to be ok. They quickly wheeled him down to the NICU and this is when I had a little breakdown. All kinds of monitors were going off and there were about 5 doctors/nurses surrounding our baby. I was terrified in that moment thinking that he was going to die right then and there. After they got things calmed down with Carter they said he needed to go to PHX Childrens Hospital via ambulance right away. I think I was pretty much having a breakdown this whole time! I got to ride with him there while Dan had to go home and tell the boys that we would not be coming home yet. They had been expecting the baby to come home and they made signs that they hung on the walls, cleaned the house, etc. etc. I know it was not easy for Dan to tell them. We arrived at the new hospital and I tried to keep up with the paramedics who were rushing Carter into PCH. This was hard for me to do as I just had a c-section! Immediately they started tests. An EEG, CAT Scan, blood work, spinal tap, etc. were all done that night.

Julia and her husband Dusty and our friend David Lee came to the hospital. Carter, Dan and I all received much needed blessings and I am so grateful that we have such good friends who came and did that for us. The tests all came back and said Carter had a stroke (they think right after he was born) on his left side, so it affects the right side of his body. It was caused by a blood clot and this is why he is having seizures. It is unknown how this will affect him or if it will. They started him on pheno barbitol to control the seizures and so far it has. More tests have been done to find out why this happened- we get the results next week. He will start physical therapy for his right side, stay on the seizure medicine, do another EEG and MRI in two months and we will go from there. I am to watch him "vigilantly" to make sure he is not having any more seizures. This is not an easy thing to do. I question everything he is doing and caused myself to have another breakdown. It is scary. I am grateful that I have Dan who reminds me that these things are normal that Carter is doing as he remembers our other kids doing them. I am so grateful for the support and prayers from family and friends. This has been a very difficult week and so many came to visit us, brought in meals, cleaned our house, and watched our kids. Thank you Thank you! Please continue to pray for Carter.