Sunday, October 20, 2013

Barrett's Birth Story

I know I don't blog as often as I used to or maybe I should say I NEVER blog.  I don't see that changing anytime soon, but I did this for the other two boys.  In the days before Barrett arrived, I enjoyed looking back at the day that Drew and Brooks made their appearance.

This 3rd pregnancy was not as easy as the other two.  I didn't have any major complications, but having two very active boys at home made months 7-9 difficult.  I am so grateful that my parents came down on September 29th.  We all thought that Barrett would come early so they decided to come down.  He hung around about a week longer than we expected, but I was glad mom and dad were here to help me in the last week or so.

On Friday October 11th, Hal and I headed out for a date night.  I knew Barrett had dropped more and wondered if he would make it to our scheduled c-section date of October 17th, but he had already hung on longer than the other two boys, so I had resigned myself to the fact that I had another week to go.  We went to a burger place we had been wanting to try near the Galleria and then drove around a bit before heading home.  Around 1:30 I woke up not feeling great and headed to the recliner in the living room to see if I could get comfortable.  I assumed my burger just wasn't settling well, but when the pain I was experiencing continued, I started timing them. The contractions moved from 7 minutes apart and 30 seconds long to 5 minutes apart and 60 seconds long.  I didn't even want to get out of the chair, so I texted Hal in the bedroom and told him I thought it was about time to head to the hospital.  We left the house around 3:30 and headed to Houston.  By the time we got there, I am pretty sure his forearm was bruised from my squeezing it so hard.  They checked us in and started to monitor me.  I knew I was in labor, but was terrified they would send me home.  The nurse assured me I was in active labor and because I was having a 3rd c-section, I wasn't going home. They got my IV in and sent us down to pre-op where I continued to have strong contractions.  I was that crazy lady screaming every 3 minutes telling Hal I couldn't do it and they better get me in the operating room.  I remember hearing the nurse with anaesthesiology use the words "urgent" when they were waiting on paperwork.  I was READY.  Once they got me back and got my epidural in, I was much happier.  Hal came in shortly after and held my hand through the whole thing. The csection was much longer than my other two because of scar tissue and it took them awhile to get Mr. Barrett out, but at 6:35, we heard a strong cry and they lifted him over the sheet.  He looked just like his brothers but with much darker hair.  I was excited that Texas Children's allows a csection momma to get to see the baby go through the initial check.  I was able to watch as Hal stood with the nurse as she weighed him and checked him over good.  He weighted 8lbs. 2oz and was 21 inches long.





After they finished up my surgery, we were taken to a recovery room where I was able to rest a little.  In true Hal and Lindsay fashion, we watched College Game Day together while we waited our two hours in recovery.

They weren't able to get me a room, so the two hour recovery period ended up lasting much longer.  Dad and Mom brought the boys to the recovery room where they met their new brother.  Drew was in love from the moment he saw him.  Brooks on the other hand, just stared at me and Barrett as if he knew that this meant a major change.  After a quick visit, Hal and Dad took the boys home to a babysitter and mom stayed with me.  They moved us to a room around 1:30.
Meeting baby brother for the first time


Sweet Barrett

He is SO proud

All Brooks cared about when he came to visit in the hospital was the ipad/iphone :)



Amazingly, Mr. Barrett Wallace Ramsey is one week old today.  I am feeling a lot better today and starting to feel more like myself.  Barrett seems pretty easy going so far.  My older boys seem to be adjusting well.  My parents have been a huge help.  My husband is amazing and has taken on so much over the last week.  We have been blessed as a family by the calls, texts, visits, and messages we have received to check on our family.