Surprise...It's Octuplets

Can you imagine hearing those words? Surprise...it's octuplets! Those words were heard by the proud California parents of 8 little tiny lives this morning. WOW! The news reports on the 20,000 plus diapers that they will go through in just one year! Think about all that potty training (see yesterday's post) SHOOT ME NOW~!

Anyway they were saying the weights of these tiny babies this morning on TV and it brought back such a flood of emotions. If you know our Savannah story...you'll probably want to stop reading now, but for those of you new to me...we have our own little miracle story.

On August 26, 2002 after a weekend of bed rest, swelling and overall just not feeling quite right, I was put into the hospital. I was 27 weeks pregnant with Savannah and not doing good. My kidneys were failing, my blood pressure had skyrocketed and a host of other serious complications. After being catheterized, fasting, eating tons of ice, getting shots to boost Savannah's lung development in the womb and more. The Dr. said, "In the morning, we will either decide to keep you in the hospital for the remainder of the pregnancy (3 months) or we will deliver the baby. Secretly, he had a hallway conversation with Bruce regarding my danger signs, and complications and had told him to prepare for the worst...and I do mean the worst. Losing me...losing the baby....brain damage, blindness and more could be complications for Savannah.

It was a horrible night, but despite the tossing and turning, I felt better the next day and felt sure the Dr's would just keep me in the hospital. No such luck. God had different things scheduled on my calendar that day.

The Dr. wasn't nearly as impressed as I though he would be and promptly told me they'd be prepping me for surgery (C-section). I was horrified....I had never been prepped for anything before! They wheeled me into the OR and began strapping my hands down and told me to count backwards from 100 while they placed this mask over my face. I remember 99 and that's it! I had NO idea they were completely putting me under to give birth! At 10:27, August 27,2002, Savannah was born, weighing in at 2 lbs, 6 oz. 13 inches long. There was a brief yell...(according to Bruce) and then our babystinson was taken away to the Neonatal ICU.

I woke up in the recovery room. In shock...wondering pretty much what had happened. They had me drugged up with magnesium sulfate and more to counteract all the things going wrong with my body. I wasn't coherent for at least 24 hours. I remember people from our church coming and going...but everything was very clouded.

The next afternoon came and I got to see Savannah. They wheeled me down in a wheelchair. Everything in my body was screaming...you've just had a baby by C Section! We scrubbed in from fingertip to elbow, put on sterilized gowns and walked to where our little baby was lying.

Her small crib was covered in saran wrap, to keep her body temp up. We couldn't touch her. She was on a ventilator, struggling to keep her oxygen levels up. She was red, dry skinned and things were visibly underdeveloped. I remember wanting to touch her, hold her, love on her. But there was none of that. Not for a long time.

The good news is...after 90 days in the NICU we were able to come home... Weighing 4 pounds 10 ounces. We survived numerous infections, ventilators, PIC lines, spinal taps, feeding tubes. babystinson (my email address) became Savannah Stinson. She slowly gained weight. After six weeks we finally got to hold her. We put between 80-100 miles on our car everyday for the entire duration of her stay...you do the math.
We are all good now...She's 6...and healthy as a horse on most days!

As I watched the coverage this morning of these pint sized miracles that God has given this family in CA, I can only identify with two things...the weight of the children...and the heavy weight of responsibility all of us who are raising and loving children feel.

If you've endured this long post....let me hear about your little miracles!