1.1.2012, a day filled with so many emotions. It was also a day that David and I will never forget as long as we live. Our precious daughter, Ellie Jones Spearman entered the world. Much to her daddy's prediction, she made her grand entrance on New Year's Day. David had gone on and on about how she needed to come before New Year's so we could get the tax credit. So, I found it fitting and hilarious that our daughter thought 1.1.2012 would be the perfect time to come. This was Ellie's first showing of her witty, hysterical personality. Get ready daddy...
My pregnancy and labor (up until the epidural) had been picture perfect. David and I were so excited as we arrived at Spartanburg Regional at 3:45am on New Year's Day. We passed Krispy Kreme on the way to the hospital, and of course, the Hot-N-Now sign was on. I jokingly told David we should stop. We both agreed we should just get to the hospital. They immediately sent us to triage and confirmed that my water had in fact broken, so we were definitely staying at the hospital. My contractions were starting to pick up and I told them to go ahead and get that epidural ordered, I was ready as soon as I could have it! After multiple sticks and calling the vein team in, I finally got my IV and they moved us into our labor room. They came in to give me the epidural, and I thought everything was fine at first, then I could feel the contractions really strongly on my left side, and not on the right. The epidural had not taken on my left side. David was an awesome coach and so, so wonderful through everything. I progressed quickly for it being my first baby and by the time I reached 9 1/2 centimeters they started moving everything in for push time.
Then everything changed.
Oxygen went in my nose, side to side flipping, talk of a c-section, to, "Gwyn, sign here, we are doing a c-section." They wheeled me out of the room straight to surgery, threw scrubs at David and said he may or may not get to come back with me. Ellie's heart rate had dropped. It was all like a dream to me, and David was terrified.
He did get to come back, thankfully, and Ellie was born at 12:07pm. I remember not hearing her cry and asking over and over, "Is she ok?" We kept getting the same answer, "She's fine." This answer did not sit well with either of us, and at that moment, I believe we both in our heart knew something wasn't quite right. Ellie weighed 5 lbs 3oz and measured 19 inches long. I remember being so puzzled that she was that tiny, because our doctors had predicted a 7 lb baby. She was absolutely beautiful, and seeing David hold her for the first time was a moment I will treasure forever. He glowed with pride and I fell so much more in love with him.
They brought Ellie to me in recovery, but she did not want to nurse. After that she was taken back up to the well baby nursery, given a bath and they tried to feed her. When I was taken to the room, all I remember is the nurse telling David he needed to go to the NICU. He hurried to the NICU to check on our baby girl. Ellie had a blue spell when they gave her the bath, so they sent her to the NICU to be checked out and as a precaution. She was brought back to the well baby nursery and then to our room. She was so tiny, so pretty and so sleepy. I remember her being so dehydrated, and she again did not want to nurse. We held her from 7pm-9pm and our family was able to as well. That night after our family left, the nurse brought her back to our room at 11pm, and all I remember was the nurse grabbing Ellie and running out of our room. David and I were terrified and did not know what was happening to our little girl.
Another breathing episode, and this time they admitted her to the NICU. And this began our month long journey spending every waking second with our daughter, learning all there was to know about the NICU, spending time with pumps, speech therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, nurses, doctors, have all kinds of tests run, coming home without our baby, leaning on our family and friends, growing so much as a couple, loving each other deeper than we ever knew was possible, becoming a TEAM in every sense of the word, and ultimately clinging to the Lord in every possible way.
