Darren Taylor Brown
Born November 18, 2014 via C-section at 2:21pm, 4 lbs and 17 inches long. Original due date, January 8th, with a scheduled c-section for January 5th. Darren was 32 weeks and 5 days old, preterm.
Friday November 14th my water broke. It wasn't what I thought it would be, a gush of fluids coming out like it was when they induced me with Winnie. No, it wasn't that at all, which is why I didn't think my water had ruptured. But, after a few change of clothes and many hours later I decided to contact the on-call Dr. She decided that it would be a good idea for me to come in just to double check and make sure my water didn't break. Surprise surprise! The nurse was taken back the first time she tested me, but after the second test she confirmed that my membranes had ruptured and we were going to be admitted. What? Let the phone calls begin.
Friday night, they started me on a bunch of medicine. A steroid to help develop Darren's lungs, magnesium to slow down labor and to help Darren develop neurologically, a blood thinner so I would not get blood clots, an antibiotic, and some other fluids. And then began my "bed rest". Thankfully, I didn't get a catheter until later, so I was able to get up and walk from the bed to the bathroom. You need those few feet of steps when you're confined to one spot.
The next night, they gave me my second steroid shot, you only get 2, at 11:00 pm and was taken off magnesium by 11:30 which meant I was finally able to eat a cracker by midnight. I thank God I only got 2 of those shots because those suckers HURT. They are quite literally a pain in the butt. But they were for Darren, and I would get them again if I had to. :)
Day 3 and I get to eat breakfast, shower, do my make-up.. feel normalish. It's truly amazing how a shower and make-up will make you feel a million times better than before. Day 3 was pretty normal, I had random pressure pains, but nothing I thought was a contraction. Later that evening the pain increased to a 3.5 on a scale of 1-10.
Day 4 was a good day. I got unhooked from all my IV fluids and the baby monitor. The Dr. came in and explained the "plan" to us, which was to keep Darren inside until he was 34 weeks old, which was Thanksgiving day. They wouldn't keep him in longer than that due to risk of infection for both baby and mom. Sounded good to us. We could wait.... That afternoon my back started hurting a little bit, so they laid a heating pad out for me. It was glorious, and so needed. The nurse said some preterm moms get their pain in their backs instead of their front, so it wasn't anything to be concerned about. They checked my uterus and Darren on the monitor and said that my uterus looked irritable, but no contractions, and Darren looked great.
Day 5, D-day. I went to bed the night before feeling a bit of pressure and some pain- 3.5 on the scale. The pain was steady with some relief throughout the night. I had the same pain in the morning but didn't think it was anything to call the Dr. about. Taylor headed off to work after we ate breakfast and I just hung out. I got a shower around 10:00 and by then, showers were starting to take all the energy out of me, so I knew I'd shower then go nap. So, I decided to shower and do my make-up again.. you know, it's the little things that make your day. By 11:30ish I was starting to have consistent pain in my abdomen area and so I let me nurse know. She hooked me back up to the baby monitor to check and make sure everything looked good. As she was walking out I asked for a fork so I could eat lunch. The nurse comes back and says, "I come baring your fork, but don't eat yet!".... Okay.... so then my other nurse came in and said it looked like I was having contractions and asked where my pain level was. By then, I think I said a 4.5 or 5. My explanation to my nurse was that it felt like Darren kept kicking me and the pressure of it was hurting so bad and was constant, but I didn't think it was a contraction. She had mentioned earlier that morning that because I've been losing amniotic fluid that there is less of a "bubble" or cushion for him to push out on so I would feel his kicks more. So that's all I thought it was. But to be sure and because the monitor looked like I was having contractions, she had the Dr. come in to check me.
Before the Dr. came in I called Taylor and explained that I was in pain and was going to be checked. So Taylor quickly signed off at work and headed over, I'm so glad he did! Dr. came in and checked me and looked up and said, "Well, you are 6 cm dilated. How fast can Taylor get here, we're going to go prep the OR." 6cm????!!! Okay. So I called Taylor and he quickly got to the hospital and as soon as he got there they wheeled me into the OR.
Contractions started full-force at that point and didn't give me any breaks to breathe. Ask any mom, breathing through contractions is HARD TO DO. Then add getting a spinal where you are bent over into your nurse squeezing the life out of her sides, crying, leaking fluids you're not too sure what they are, and having to be still???? Oh man. Hardest part. But thank.you.Jesus. for spinals. I was finally able to lay down and let them get me ready because my body had finally gone numb. And, praise God, I took the medicine well and was able to stay awake. HUGE answer to prayers!!!
During my c-section Taylor held my hand and we talked about whatever came to mind. I felt sick a couple of times, but thankfully nothing came of it. I could feel tons of pressure but thankfully no true pain. The anesthesiologist later said he used every single medication he had on his tray to keep me down and not sick and to keep my BP up. I wanted to hug the life out of him for that. ;)
I was clueless to time, but lets say 30-45 minutes later, we heard he was out. They took him to his bed to clean him up and then we heard the most beautiful sound every.single.mother. wants to hear... their babies first cry! It was beautiful and little and made me cry. Taylor was able to cut the cord and once they cleaned him up they brought him over to me so I could kiss his little cheeks and say Hi. Then they wheeled him off to the NICU.
Back in the OR, they began their process of putting me back together. I later found out from the Dr. that I lost a lot of blood [which is why my BP was so low] and that there were some complications. He said I had what's called Placenta Accreta, webmd it if you wish. But in short, it's when the placenta is calcified and adhered to the muscle wall of the uterus, when it's supposed to adhere to the hormonal film of the uterus. Because of my placenta accreta the Dr. had to consider taking my uterus out during surgery. Thankfully, he did not. Because of the blood loss and my BP dropping low, the Dr. said I may have needed a blood transfusion. We were fine with whatever needed to happen to keep me safe. But God heard the continued and many prayers being lifted up and my blood count stayed the same and didn't go down (the next day) and so I didn't need a blood transfusion. Because of my placenta accreta, had we waited until Darren was 34 weeks or even full-term, it would have been detrimental to his life and mine. So, we are very thankful to God for his timing and that Darren and I are both safe and alive.
Once in recovery I was dosed with meds and had a great time talking with Taylor and my nurse. After about an hour, we were able to go see Darren. He was doing so well. Weren't able to hold him yet, but we were able to watch and talk to him. He was perfect.
Because of the complication of the Placenta Accreta, life for us with babies in the future will probably look different, but we are SO thankfully beyond words for what God has given us. I was told I wouldn't be able to get pregnant when we were trying for Winnie, then after Winnie, we found out I was pregnant with Darren, which was a surprise. God has his own story written out for us, and I am so thankful for those 2 little humans he's given us. If you have more questions about Placenta Accreta and what that looks like for me and us as a family, I'll happily talk with you about it.
Friday [day 3, post Darren] we were discharged from the hospital. Since then, Darren has done incredible. He is breathing on his own, was taken off his glow blanket for jaundice, got his IV out, has had poopy diapers [!!] and is slowly growing, digesting his food and taking bottles.
Our prayer request for Darren is that he would continue to grow in digesting his food, that he would grow in learning how to take bottles, and that he would be able to regulate his own temperature once taken out of the incubator. Pray also that he'll be able to come home in the next 3 weeks. :) May God continue to breathe life into our little boy!
I am doing okay. Life for me has been a whirlwind. Round-the-clock- pumping and balancing life at home and life at the NICU and also figuring out what life looks like for me and Winnie... it has not been easy. I've been extremely emotional because of all of it, and well I miss Winnie all.day.long. so that makes me emotional.....
Prayer request for me is that we would [I would] get the hang of our new "schedule" and what that looks like on a daily basis. That my time with Winnie, tho limited, would be sweet and cherished. And that I would rest, take naps, and listen to my body and slow down. I have to recover to be able to be there for Winnie and Darren, and that's a hard reality for me right now.
Prayer request for Taylor. Please keep Taylor in your prayers. He is my hero! He has taken on the role of caring for me, Winnie, Darren, the house, groceries, our schedule and so much more. Pray for grace and strength and wisdom for him. He is amazing and I couldn't do this without him!!
Prayer request for Winnie. Pray for my girl. Pray that this confusing time wouldn't be too hard on her. The coming and going and being tugged in different directions... pray that she wouldn't be affected by it too much. Pray that she would sense our love for her even though we are a little crazy right now. And pray that she would be a joy and blessing to those she stays with while we are at the hospital. I know this is a huge adjustment for her, and Darren isn't even home yet. I know she is little and may not remember all of this, but I want her to know we are here for her and she is loved and we aren't going to leave her again. flood gates opened. haha.
Prayer request for all of us. When we have the joy of bringing Darren home, please pray that the transition goes smoothly, for all of us.
Thank you all for your continued prayers!
Darren's story is so special to us and we couldn't be happier that he is here with us!! Praise God!
I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!
