Easton's Birth Story- A Year Later

Welcome to the World Easton Cansler

Expectations and reality are often two different things. I came to realize this recently with the birth of my sweet baby boy.  The week that he was born contained some of the best and worst moments of my life.  It was a moment in time that I had dreamed of for many years, but I never could have imagined how the time would have gone before the events actually took place.

On Tuesday, May 28, I checked into the hospital to begin the process of inducing labor to deliver sometime the next day.  I was only 38 weeks and 4 days along in the pregnancy but because of chronic high blood pressure prior to pregnancy, the doctor did not want to risk the health of the baby or me by going to term.  I also had to check in early because my body was not showing any signs that the baby was ready to deliver on his own and was going to need some help.  At 10:00 that night, the process began.  I was both scared and excited as to what the next 24 hours were going to bring.  Throughout the night I started having contractions and by the next morning, they were coming at about a minute apart.  They were not super intense, but they were so close together that they were hard to get through.  By 10:00 in the morning on May 29, I was ready to receive my epidural and to be checked for progress.  The epidural instantly relieved the contractions and allowed the nurse to check for progress.  Not only did we learn that I had made some progress, but my water broke during the process.  Let me digress by saying that both the doctor and I had a feeling this was going to end in a C-Section so we were happy that progress was being made.  I was really excited to think that I might be able to have a normal delivery while at the same time really nervous that I would actually be able to do it.  Now all we had to do was wait and wait.  I was pretty tired so people left me alone to get some rest.  After about an hour or so I sent my husband a text that I would really like a popsicle.  He came down to let me know they were currently out of popsicles at about the same time the nurse stopped by to check on me.  That is the moment everything changed and the moment went from exciting to scary.

When the nurse laid me back for my check, I suddenly felt sick to my stomach and immediately got sick when she set me back up.  The nurse got a look on her face and started moving me around.  The next thing I know, there are 3 nurses and my doctor in the room.  I was unsure about what was going on but knew that I was being flipped from one side to the next before being moved to all fours and being wheeled down the hall very quickly on my bed.  Apparently, the baby’s heart rate had dropped and was not stabilizing.  The doctor made the decision to get him out and get him out at that moment before things got worse.  My husband was in the room and followed us down the hall before they stopped him unsure of what was going on.  My family was in the waiting room and heard, “Code C, Room 1244”and realized that was my room and took off to find out what “Code C” meant. I am on the bed freaking out also not sure what is going on.

I was wheeled into the operating room where more than 20 people were waiting to perform an emergency C-section to get my baby boy out.  What scared me the most was that my husband was not in the OR with me.

Thankfully, within a few minutes, my husband showed up in the OR decked out in a very attractive blue scrub suit.  He immediately came to my head to try to calm my nerves down. He let me know that the doctor told him that she was going to get the baby out and she was going to get him out quickly for us trust her that she was good at what she does.  This made him feel better and also made me feel better. The surgery began soon after my husband got in the operating room.  My body was numb thanks to special drugs but I could feel the tugging and pulling and pushing as they worked to get the baby out.  Within just a couple of minutes, my husband voice cracked as he said, “There he is, there’s our son.”  I soon heard that sweet cry of our baby boy.  After cleaning him up, they brought him around and let me see him before they whisked him away to the nursery.  In the chaos of the moment, we were not even able to grab our camera, but my husband did have his cell phone in his pocket so we were able to capture some pictures of the first moments of Easton Cansler’s life. 

After Easton was taken to the nursery with his father in tow, I was left in the operating room to be closed back up before taken to the recovery room where I spent the next couple of hours.  It was so hard to be aware that I had a new son but unable to see him.  I was also struggling to stay awake but scared to sleep because the drugs to numb my body had also made me feel like I was unable to breath.  While all this was going on, my husband was no longer concerned with staying by Easton’s side because he seemed taken care of and instead became concerned with wanting to find me and make sure that all was okay with his wife.  Sadly, he was not allowed to be where I was at.  I had been moved to another floor and hospital policy did not allow other’s in the recovery room with the patient. He said that these were some of the scariest moments of the whole initial ordeal.  Little did we know, we were in for a few more scary moments as we learned what it meant to be parents for the first time.

I spent a few hours in recovery before I was taken back to my room after surgery.  Once I got to my room, it was still a bit of time before I could see my sweet new baby again.  Finally, the nurse knocked on the door and wheeled that precious face into my room and handed him to me.  If the room had not been full of people, I probably would have cried.  There was no greater joy to me than holding my sweet boy for the first time and looking into his innocent eyes so full of promise. I believe that I will remember that moment for the rest of my life.  It wasn’t until later that the joy I was feeling turned to fear and worry.

Easton’s pediatrician came to our room to visit after she had gotten to check him over and complete some blood work.  The news she had to share was not good.  The blood work had come back with a high white blood cell count.  This could be all kinds of things but more than likely an infection of some kind.  She wanted to do a blood culture to see if anything grew and what it might be, as well as go ahead and start him on an antibiotic.  He had already had some problems with low blood sugar numbers but that was pretty common for higher birth weight babies and seemed to be stabilizing with a few feedings.  The possible infection worried us more.  Rather than getting to spend his first night in the room with us, Easton spent it in the nursery.  This poor momma was not yet able to get out of bed and go check on him and worried quite a bit.  His daddy went to check on him regularly and always came back saying he was doing well.  What I found out the next morning was a different story.  Daddy did not want to worry Momma while she could do nothing about it and was trying to recover herself so he did not share that poor baby Easton was being pricked all night in his tiny hands and feet while some incompetent nurses struggled to find a vein to draw blood from or insert an IV.  In my mind, my poor baby had been tortured all night long.  Finally, I was able to get out of bed and slowly made my way to the nursery to check on my boy and feed him. I wanted to cry when I saw all the boo-boos on his hands and feet.  Here I had protected him the best I could for 9 months and now, on his first night in the outside world, there was nothing I could have done to protect him.  The IV was necessary, but all the pricks to find a vein were not.  It took someone from the ER to come up and find his tiny vein.  Once I got to the nursery, all I wanted to do was hold him tight for as long as I could.  I attempted to feed him but that did not go well so I just held him.  At 6:30 am a shift change happened and the nurses forced me to leave my baby in the nursery due to hospital policy. I guess this was for security reasons or for privacy reasons.  I am sure they had to discuss the patients with the new nurses and update them and HIPPA laws would prohibit that information being shared with those not involved with the patient. They told me he would probably spend the day there because with an IV, they did not like to send them to their mothers’ rooms.  They did not like to do this because it meant they would have to come check on the IV more frequently and with a lot of babies, did not always have time for this.

Once back in the room, I finally showered and then returned to my bed to rest as I was less than 24 hours removed from a major surgery.  I kept sending Daddy to check on Easton and give me reports.  Later that morning, the pediatrician returned to give us an update.  They had decided to do another blood draw before starting the antibiotic and miraculously it had some back normal rather than elevated white blood cell counts.  We fully believe that his new numbers were the answer to prayers by many people as we had activated our prayer networks as soon as we got the scary news the day before.  She wanted to continue the antibiotic and let the blood culture grow to make sure that the numbers weren’t wrong, but she wanted the baby in the room with us rather than the nursery.  She also felt like we would be able to go home the next day instead of three days later like she had originally said might happen. The emotions as she left the room were high because the worry as new parents had been eased but we realized the impact that worry would have on us. It was now going to be a regular part of our lives as this sweet baby had been placed in our care.

The nurses brought Easton in to our room just before lunch.  It was also just in time for his Granny, Aunt Lala and cousins Emily and Abby to see him before they headed back to south Arkansas.  We had other visitors that day, but all that stands out in my mind that day is getting to spend time loving on and cuddling my sweet boy.  We were also working to learn how to nurse but struggled with it. This would be a battle we would fight for a few days before several factors caused us to switch to formula.  The day progressed until it was time for bedtime and we received word that we were under a tornado warning.  Not exactly the news you want to receive while you are cuddling with your newborn baby and already worried enough about him.  The nurse brought us some thick blankets and said to be on standby in case they came running through the halls telling us to move to the bathroom and cover ourselves with the blankets. It was feeding time, but I didn’t want to be in the middle of that process if chaos hit.  Instead, we turned the TV on to watch the storm progression for ourselves.  Thankfully, it never got too bad and after about an hour we received the all clear.  We were able to feed the baby and try to get some sleep.  I say try because anyone who has ever been in the hospital even without a newborn knows the impossibility of that.  Someone is always stopping by the room for some kind of vital check.  It was even worse this time because they were checking on me and baby Easton.  My husband managed to get some rest thankfully, but before I knew it, it was morning again and time to get up.

Finally, after all the joys and worries, we reached the day that we could take our baby home.  We found out early in the morning that both Easton and I were okayed to be discharged two days after his arrival.  The only thing was, we had to wait until after his last dose of antibiotic that evening before we could leave.  There was also the small matter of his circumcision that had to be done before we could leave.  That took place just before lunch and my poor husband had to leave the building rather than be there for what he felt like would not be a fun process.  I tried to take my mind off of it by taking a shower and getting my stuff ready to head home.  About the time Daddy got back from his “errands”, baby Easton was back in the room.  Now all we had to do was wait.  We were so ready to be home where my parents and brother were waiting to greet us and the new baby.  We had the car seat ready to go and Easton dressed in his adorable going home outfit that represented his favorite college team, the Arkansas Razorbacks. The wait seemed to last forever before we finally got the paperwork for both of us to be released to go home. 

Once we got the paperwork for discharge, we started getting ready to leave.  Daddy got Easton squared away in his car seat and we got all of our stuff that was not already in the car ready to go.  A nurse escorted us down to the lobby while Daddy went to get the car.  We loaded up the car with Mommy in the backseat with Easton for his first car ride.  We worried that he would scream the whole way home, but to our surprise, he did great.   Our hospital was 30 minutes from home, and Daddy was a little nervous about driving for the first time with little man in the car.  It did not help that it was rush hour traffic on a Friday afternoon.  Once we reached our town, we had to make a quick stop for some prescription fills at Walgreens before making our way to our home.

When we finally arrived home, Meme, Pawpaw, and Uncle P were there waiting on us.  To our surprise, Meme had cleaned and gotten the house ready for us.  She was also planning to stay the next week with us as we learned to care for a newborn.  The first few hours at home were pretty uneventful as we learned to care for a baby without the help of any nurses or doctors.  Later on that evening, Mommy and Daddy decided to lie down for a couple hours of much needed rest between feedings while Meme and Pawpaw held and rocked Easton. After about an hour of sleep, Mommy’s phone went off…TORNADO WARNING AGAIN!  She quickly tried to jump out of bed before realizing her recent C-section prevented her from quickly doing anything.  She woke Daddy up for help and they both went out into the living room to check on Easton who was fast asleep in his Pawpaw’s lap.  Although it stormed the rest of the night, it thankfully did not get as bad as it could have over the house and all were able to get some sleep. 

The next morning, Pawpaw and Uncle P left to go back to Texas leaving Meme to help for the next week before Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lori came to get her the next weekend.  Mommy and Daddy were thankful for her help.  She left most of the baby care to Mommy and Daddy but helped with many other things like cooking, laundry and cleaning.  She was also there in case Mommy had any questions on how to take care of a little one or to hold the baby if Mommy or Daddy needed a little break.  The week was filled with Dr’s appointments and a night under a bilirubin light for a slight case of Jaundice.  Eventually, the time came for Meme to leave.  As she rode off with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lori, Mommy and Daddy looked at each other and said, “Uh oh…it’s all us now….how long until Granny and Aunt Melinda get to come?”