Welcome Home, Irelynn!

Brian and I are proud to announce the much anticipated arrival of our daughter, Irelynn Kourtney Reeve! She was born on Monday, August 18th, 2008 at 11:18pm. She weighed 6 pounds 8 ounces and measured 18 and 1/2 inches long.

When I awoke Monday morning, I knew something was a little different. My tummy felt low and tighter than usual. I have contractions all the time, so it was no surprise that I was experiencing them, but they weren't very strong. I called my doctor (who was out of town on a cruise ship) and the nurse told me to go to labor and delivery at the hospital to get monitored. I went to the closest hospital (thinking that I was not in labor but just playing it safe) and called my mom to watch Natalya and Branson. When I arrived I was dilated to 4cm. An hour later I was dilated to a 5 - so I was quickly admitted to the hospital and informed that today would be "the big day".

Irelynn wasn't due to be born for another 4 weeks, but I felt comfortable having her early considering I had Natalya and Branson 5 and 6 weeks early without any complications.

The anesthesiologist gave me an epidural when I was a 5, but it didn't work. So he gave me a second epidural when I was a 7 and that time it made my right leg go tingly. Too bad the baby wasn't coming out my thigh! My labor progressed quickly from that point and it was too late for another epidural. After a 10 or 11 hour labor and less than 10 minutes of pushing, Irelynn was delivered. Though I was initially upset that my baby was delivered by some on-call doctor whom I had never before met, the important thing was that was a healthy baby girl.

We each held her for a minute before they discovered something was wrong. Irelynn was having a difficult time "transitioning" from breathing fluid to room air. She was also not regulating her own body temperature (in other words, she was cold). Before long, there was a staff of nurses and doctors working to evaluate Irelynn's condition. The neonatologist said that she needed to be transported by ambulance to another hospital to receive level 3 neonatal intensive care. All of this happened so quickly that it didn't feel real. It wasn't until Brian left with the ambulance and I was alone in my hospital bed that it all sunk in. I wanted so badly to be with my baby. And I was angry with myself for going into labor before she was ready - even though I was overly anxious to be done with pregnancy.

Irelynn was well taken care of by a wonderful staff of doctors and nurses. Upon arrival they treated her for pneumonia and gave her surfactant to clear her lungs. She spent a total of only 7 days in the NICU. One nurse called her their "little fighter" and mentioned that she recovered much quicker than they expected.

Our sweet baby is now at home and doing well, despite loosing a little too much weight. Her doctor is keeping a close eye on her and expects her to bounce back. We are so thankful to live in the age of modern medicine. What a blessing it is to have the resources and knowledge needed to save lives. We are so glad that Irelynn chose to come to our family - she is such a special little girl! Her life, as well as the lives of so many other premature babies, reminds us that life is nothing short of a miracle.

This is the day before I gave birth to Irelynn.

Brian and the kids in the hospital waiting room.

A lovely picture of me in early stages of labor.

Irelynn's first picture.

Just following delivery - before they realized anything was wrong.

Proud daddy!

One final hug and kiss before they took her to the other hospital.

Irelynn's team of 7 in the ambulance with daddy following close behind in his car.

Here you see her ventilator down her throat, feeding tube/air vent also down her throat (though they moved it to her nose later), IV fluid in her right hand, heart rate monitor, breaths per minute monitor, oxygenation monitor, temperature monitor, and blood pressure cuff.

They moved her from the incubator to an open-air warmer.

I was discharged from the hospital just 11 hours after giving birth because the hospital staff knew that I was anxious to be with my baby.

This is the first time I saw Irelynn after birth.

Her chest x-rays came back very cloudy so they began using a suction periodically to help her clear her lungs.

She opened her eyes for us! They're blue!

The nurse let me change her diaper :)

Brian's mom, "Nana," with Irelynn. Big stretch!

This is also the first day they took her off the ventilator! We were SHOCKED when they told us they had taken her off the vent. Just 24 hours earlier her condition was very poor - but by the next morning she had made HUGE improvements!! We were so proud of her! The only set-back was her IV placement. They moved it from one hand to the other, but her arms kept swelling. So they eventually had to move her IV to a vein in her head. I was thankful for the care that she was receiving, but I really wanted that IV out of her head!

Irelynn wearing clothes for the first time. The NICU doesn't allow parents to bring clothes for their babies because they want to make certain they are properly clean. They wash everything in 180 degrees to ensure cleanliness. So this is what Irelynn's nurse, Dee, picked out for her and I think she looks adorable!

Four days after she was born, they began feeding her. They let me feed her every time I visited, so long as our visit was during her feeding schedule. She ate like a champ!

Before long, they had removed all the tubes she was so dependent upon and were monitoring only her vitals, how much she would eat, and her jaundice. Here she is under the bililights.

Natalya and Branson could finally see their "baby sissy" from a window. They are so proud to have a baby sister.

I think we all forget just how tiny they come.

Welcome home, Irelynn! They surprised me by saying it was time to bring my baby home. She had made such a remarkable recovery in such a short period of time. I wasn't ready - I had to run home to get her car seat and an outfit. Before we could bring her home, they had her perform a car seat test. That is, she had to spend one hour in her car seat at the hospital to see if her head would slide forward, therefore obstructing her airway. She passed with flying colors!

Natalya holding her baby sister for the first time! And below, Brian helping Branson hold his "sissy" for the first time. They couldn't get enough of her.

Grandma and Grandaddy with Irelynn.

Irelynn's first "Oreo" kiss. My parents always gave me "Oreo's" growing up.

What a little miracle! 
We're so glad you're a part of our family, Irelynn!