Logan's Arrival

My labor with Logan progressed steadily and things seemed to be going smoothly.  Yet when they broke my water they noted that I had Polyhydramnios which is too much amniotic fluid.  Despite all my specialized sonograms this had not been previously noted and of course added to my worry.  Almost immediately after breaking my water I was pushing.  Suddenly many people joined the room since Logan was at high risk and would likely need to go to the NICU.  The pain was excruciating and notably different from that of Reyna’s labor.  I, who was determined she’d never be that lady screaming at the top of her lungs, was likely scaring every expectant mother in the entire state hospital.  The whole room seemed a whirl and I remember Reyna, for whom we had no one to watch, being taken in and out by kind nurses and Seth turning sheet white and nearly passing out.  Thankfully the nurses had him sit and drink some juice and he was okay.  He later shared he thought he was going to lose me or the baby or maybe even both.  With the level of pain in that moment I would have agreed with him.  At the time I thought the reason it was so bad was because of the prediction that Logan would be around ten pounds.  As it turned out Logan was only seven pounds two ounces.  The pushing was so difficult because his soft spots, which normally help the head mold during birth, were fused.  We didn’t know this until later but other differences were immediately noted. 

Logan cried a nice loud cry immediately and it was the best sound in the world.  He was bright and pink and had Apgar scores that rivaled his clearly healthy sister.  Due to this immediate positive look they allowed me to hold Logan.  As I embraced him I took him in and despite his obvious large cleft he was precious to me instantly.  As I began to look at the details of his features I started to be washed with worry.  I noticed his ears had skin tags all around them and then immediately after noticed this I saw he was not opening his eyes.  This realization was one of the most defining moments in my life.  Everything seemed to stop for a moment in time and then I was filled with panic.  I alerted the nurse to this realization and Logan was immediately swept from my arms. 

Seth and Reyna were able to go with Logan, but I was left overcome with anxiety for my little baby.  As they completed my extensive stitches all I could think about was the possibility I may not see Logan alive again.  I wanted to jump up out of the bed and run to the NICU.  Seth soon came back to let me know Logan continued to be stable.  Just a bit later I was able to join them in the NICU where I saw my sweet baby hooked up to various devices.  As we had done research on the possible outcomes I was prepared for what I may see in the NICU but it was still hard to see Logan that way.  I was so grateful to see he was alive and deeply thankful to be his mom.