Tuesday, January 14, 2014

An Unexpected Delivery

(Disclosure: Husband as ghost writer, so please excuse the lack of style and creativity.)

Last night, after deciding to take an Ambien at the suggestion of her nurse, Brandy was fast asleep on monitors when she was suddenly awoken at 3:40 am by five nurses. Apparently Claire had shown heart tone decelerations over the past 6 minutes, and the nurses immediately started inserting IVs, checking the baby, and had Brandy get on her hands and knees to try to get the baby away from the cord. Claire stabilized at this point, and they did an ultrasound. The doctor then came in, checked her monitor readings, and said if this deceleration occurred again that they would do an emergency c-section. The doctor laid Brandy back down, and started another ultrasound... at which point Claire had another deceleration.

They immediately started prepping Brandy for the c-section. Brandy called me at 4:08 am (which unfortunately did not wake me), put under general anesthesia, and Claire was delivered at 4:17 am apparently kicking and screaming. There was meconium in the amniotic fluid, which further validated that she had indeed been under distress. A nurse was nice enough to keep calling me and get through a few minutes after the c-section had occurred. (An amazing friend was nice enough to rush over to our house to take over babysitting Benjamin, and I was able to get to the hospital before Brandy was awake. We also have another friend watching Benjamin ALL day today before his grandparents arrive... so a HUGE thank you there as well.)

Claire weighed in at 6lbs 1oz (not bad for a baby just a few hours into her 36th week), is 18.5 inches long, has blonde hair, and a dimple on her chin (and we are trying to figure out what side of the family that came from). She is now stable in the NICU (on oxygen, not unexpected, and antibiotics as a precaution given meconium in the fluid) and appears to be doing well. (Note: The NICU has undergone a major upgrade since Benjamin was here, and now babies get their own really nice private rooms.)

Brandy is extremely tired, but ultimately relieved... and looking to catch up on a bit of sleep if possible. Between all the drugs and lack of sleep, she was not in a condition to write this blog post... but wanted to get this update out to her many amazing friends and family members who she knows are anxious for an update.

Here are a few photos of our beautiful addition, and her amazing mother:





On behalf of myself, Brandy, Benjamin, and Claire... thank you all for your countless thoughts, prayers, support, and love.

51 comments:

Molly said... [Reply to comment]

Lovely job Elliot! ;) and great job brandy!

Tiffany said... [Reply to comment]

so happy to hear Claire bear is here. hopefully momma and baby can get a bit of rest now.

e Liz said... [Reply to comment]

Beautiful, beautiful pics! Love to see Claire healthy and thriving. Amazing job. Congrats!!!! 💗

Mary said... [Reply to comment]

How can I have tears when I don't even know you? God placed brandy in the hospital last night and his hand was there to show her distress and get her out quickly! How frightening for brandy! Thank god for modern medicine. Hope Clare is the rock star if the nicu! Congrats you now have a daughter!

Her and Her and Him said... [Reply to comment]

Welcome Claire! I'm so grateful for your family to have such a happy ending to a stressful couple weeks. We will be hoping for a short stint in the NICU and a speedy recovery for Brandy.

Heather

Caroline said... [Reply to comment]

I'm bawling reading this. Thank you Elliot for the updates please give our girls a big hug from all of us. I am so proud of her, her persistence got Claire here safely and alive and I'm just so thrilled for your family. Love to you all.

Teresa said... [Reply to comment]

THANK GOD!!! Validation enough of the need to be induced early with this scary condition. Well done, Momma, and thank you Elliot for the update! SO SO glad she is here safe you are holding her in your arms! Love and hugs to all.

Veronica said... [Reply to comment]

Omg you guys!! Congratulations! She's beautiful!!

Way to go Claire! 6lbs and 1 oz! Good for you little gal for putting in that ounce before getting pulled :). It looks beautiful on you too ;)

I'm hoping your nicu time is short lived and mom and baby get to come home happy and healthy soon

Thank god you were admitted last night. That's all I'm saying about that.

I hope you get rest brandy. If I weren't so far away, I'd come and help you for as long as you need to get yourself recovered from the section. Seriously. I am on mat leave until May...soooo lemme know ;)

Hugs and kisses! Great job guys. Love your newest addition to your beautiful family xox

Ben and Katie said... [Reply to comment]

This makes my heart so, so, so happy!! Tears of joy! Mama knows best and you guys made the best decision to get in when you did!!
Congrats to the 5 of you!! Miracle!!

Party of Three Heads said... [Reply to comment]

Thank you God. A mother's intuition is like none other. Congrats to all 5 of you! She's just adorable, and clearly a miracle babe!

Mihaela said... [Reply to comment]

Congrats!! So happy she is out and safe and all is well!

Dianna said... [Reply to comment]

I hate reading that once again Brandy had to go through such a tough delivery process. However, I am so happy that she was in the hospital and Claire is here safely. Praying for you all. Congratulations!

Flmgodog said... [Reply to comment]

Elliot thank you for the update! Congratulations to all 5 of you! Brandy I hope you have a very speedy recovery and I am so glad that the doctors finally listened to you and you were able to get Claire delivered swiftly and safely. I hope she has a very short NICU stay and you are all home in record time.
Congratulations!

Becky said... [Reply to comment]

Tears. I am so happy she arrived safely. Congrats!

Brooke said... [Reply to comment]

Oh my word. I am blown away by this whole story. Claire is gorgeous and I'm so relieved that she's here safely and that your medical team acted quickly. Also good to know the NICU is way nice these days. Congratulations.

sarah said... [Reply to comment]

Oh my goodness, Brandy - I'm sitting here in tears. Thank god she is here, alive, healthy...I'm so relieved you were there last night on the overnight monitoring and that the team was ready to act and got her here. I hope the days go quickly and smoothly in the NICU and that you're all home before you know it. I hope Benjamin has a wonderful time with the Grandparents and I look forward to seeing the pics of him meeting his gorgeous little sister. All my love.

Sarah

Renel said... [Reply to comment]

Thank you Elliot!!!! I've been checking my phone constantly.

Oh brandy. Oooooh BRANDY! I have chills. I'm so glad she is here and okay. That was way too close. Really that is crazy. Just crazy! I'm sooo glad you were admitted and being monitored!!!

I can't wait to see more photos of Claire! Right now I swear she looks like Andrew. I'm thinking of you and Elliot and your three amazing babies.

I'm so proud of you and full of gratfullness and love.

Melissa R said... [Reply to comment]

I an THRILLED for you. Claire is gorgeous and you look amazing for just having undergone a C-section.

I hope you are recovering well and loving on that sweet baby girl of yours.

-Melissa

Matt Kaplan said... [Reply to comment]

So glad to hear the great news. Welcome to the world Claire. It's beautiful.

WyoGirl said... [Reply to comment]

So happy to hear that Claire is here, safe and sound. She is an absolute doll. Praying that her NICU stay is short and Brandy has a quick recovery. I am so glad you advocated for Claire & yourself, Brandy!

Amy L. said... [Reply to comment]
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mama Bear said... [Reply to comment]

Oh tears here. So stressful! I am so glad that Claire and Brandy are both safe and healthy and being well taken care of. Lots of love to all of you!!
OMG, how could I almost not comment on how beautiful Claire is! You both are amazing!

Amy L. said... [Reply to comment]

Oh, bless you all! She's so gorgeous! I'm relieved and thrilled and tickled. And man, Brandy, I hope your side effects go away quickly now that you've delivered. I, too, am sorry you had yet another traumatic delivery, but I hope your relief and joy at Claire's safe arrival help ease any heartache you may have about the way she got here. And Elliot, lovely update!

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

Absolutely beautiful. Congratulations!!! So so so happy for you guys and praying for much needed rest, a healthy recovery for Brandy, and continued good care for Claire.

Kari said... [Reply to comment]

SHE IS GLORIOUS!!!
Congratulations!

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

So many tears of relief and happiness! You were so right and had the perfect intuition all along-amazing. She is beautiful, congratulations!

Melissa said... [Reply to comment]

I am so relieved to hear Claire is here safe and sound. Completely speechless. She is absolutely beautiful. Welcome sweet Claire!

second floor dweller said... [Reply to comment]

That is a pretty, pretty baby. I'm so glad that she's here.

Nicole said... [Reply to comment]

I can't fight the tears as I'm reading this! Elliott, thank you for the updates!!

Brandy, you are a superwoman. You were so strong for Claire! I'm so thankful you were bring monitored! And though the delivery didn't go as you had planned (or hoped), you sweet baby girl is here, safe and sound. Praying her NICU stay is short!

Lots of love to you all!

P.S. Abigail was born at just over 36 weeks and was also 6#1oz! :)

The Tale of Three Ps said... [Reply to comment]

Beautiful! Congratulations! What a prayer answered.

Chrissy said... [Reply to comment]

How wonderful! Congratulations, she is perfect! xxx

Anne said... [Reply to comment]

Hooray!!!! So very happy for your family.

LookItsJessica said... [Reply to comment]

Congrats! What a gorgeous girl! Sorry about the section but "whatever it takes" right? What a miracle that you were in the hospital and they were able to catch the decels very quickly. And hooray for 6/1lbs!! I hope your recovery is easy and you are all home soon! Awesome news!

Sneaker Teacher said... [Reply to comment]

Congratulations! I guess she knew it was time to come out! I hope you are both doing well and you are getting *some* rest and recovering. Welcome to the world Claire!

Brigitte said... [Reply to comment]

I've been following your blog for quite some time, and I am so happy to hear your baby has arrived safely! Congratulations to you and your family!

Amelia said... [Reply to comment]

I am just in tears, this is such wonderful news, thank you so much for writing this for us.

Sending light and love to all of you.

Its a Wonderful Life said... [Reply to comment]

Congratulations! So happy Claire has arrived and is doing well!!

Natasha said... [Reply to comment]

Oh I am in tears over here- thank you Elliot for the update! So very happyy for you guys and so very happy Claire is here safely! Brandy you did it- you stayed on top of everything and got your baby girl here :) Love to you all and I can't wait to see more pictures <3

Lizzy said... [Reply to comment]

Congratulations!! Been waiting for this update :) She's beautiful!

Emily said... [Reply to comment]

Thanks for the update! So glad Claire arrived safely. Congratulations!

Lj82 said... [Reply to comment]

Okay, trying again to post…

She is beautiful and delightful. I am so very, very glad she's here, safe and sound. I haven't been able to stop coming back to look at her glorious photos. so beautiful- so pink! :)

I can't believe her birth was so traumatic… I'm stunned by the fact you could have lost her last night… It makes me sad to even begin to think about it.

<3 Love the whole Wilson family. <3 A, B, C <3.

Julie said... [Reply to comment]

So I had to walk away from this for quite awhile before I could trust myself to post.

"2014. Please don't suck."

I'm having a lot (a LOT) of reactions to the posts of the last week (catching up for the first time in months - I barely read a single blog post a week anywhere anymore), and of course most especially to the night Claire was born.
But oh, Brandy. I'm kind of just rocking back and forth internally at how close you came. She came. How close we all came, to losing another beloved child. I know, we'll never know (thank the f-ing lord) if she would have died if you and your team hadn't been so vigilant, but oh my god.
I was in the hospital, hooked up, she deceled and came back and still died within the hour. So...it's just too close for me to breathe, really.
I can't even cry I'm in such a PTSD state yet running away hard because it wasn't in my plan to go there tonight.

I'm just. so. relieved that we are congratulating you on your healthy, plumpalicious, pink perfect LIVING little girl.

2014. You don't suck yet, but don't ride the line so hard, huh?

Todd Coston said... [Reply to comment]

Welcome baby Claire! Been sitting on pins and needles waiting for your safe arrival. Congrats Wilson's!!

Marianne said... [Reply to comment]

SO glad she is here!!! Rest up Momma!

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

CONGRRATULATIONS! to you all.

Brandy, well done for using your Mama Bear instincts, and knowing when your little girl needed you to speak on her behalf. I'm sure your angel son Andrew was watching over you both while you slept, and helped alert the nurses to the changes in your condition. Thanks for the update, Elliott - I have sitting here in Australia, checking my e-mails to see when's happening...praying all along.

How exciting that Claire is here, alive and well...a sister for Benjamin.

Enjoy this time, as you can now relax a bit - You'll never have to endure another pregnancy (and it's worries) again. Your family is complete now.

Lots of love.
Kim

My New Normal said... [Reply to comment]

Hooray! I am so happy to read such wonderful news. Claire is absolutely beautiful.

Rachel said... [Reply to comment]

Wow, so happy she is here! Congrats!

Melissa said... [Reply to comment]

Welcome to the world, Claire!

katie illingworth said... [Reply to comment]

Happy, happy! So glad she is here safe. She's lovely!

JoyAndSorrow said... [Reply to comment]

So glad I decided to check in on your blog! YAY! Congrats on your gorgeous baby girl. xoxo

Solange, Nik, Caitlin and Oliver said... [Reply to comment]

HOORAY!!!!!!! I am so sorry I missed this before!!! Congratulations :)