Monday, September 04, 2006

A Blog From the Hospital

I'm writing this blog from a hospital bed. We arrived here at Medical City Hospital at 3:30 a.m. this morning, but not for Jessica. Instead we came for Tyler. We were woken up by his coughing and discovered that he was having trouble breathing again. We started to give him medicine in his brand new nebulizer, only to find that it was missing one small part that prevented it from working.


After a couple of hours in the emergency room, Tyler had been treated a few times, but his breathing was still labored. Tyler's pediatrician decided to admit him for 24-48 hours for observation and more intensive treatment. This required him to take medicine intraveniously. They stuck an IV in his right hand first, but unfortunatly they had trouble getting it to work so the poor little guy ended up getting the left hand stuck with a needle too. By 9am we had been there over 5 hours, and Jess was starting to have fairly strong contractions. She figured she would eventually go to the maternity ward to see if she should be admitted now, but planned to stay by Tyler as long as she could. By 12 noon, Jess went to check in with labor and delivery on the 5th floor.

Tyler being checked into the hospital at the same time created an interesting problem for us. He needed someone to watch him because he couldn't be left alone. I stayed with him in his room on the 15th floor and arranged to have friends come to relieve me so that I could join Jess and she wouldn't have to give birth alone.


After waiting for about an hour, my friend Josh showed up with some lunch and shortly after that Kian and our friend Meriam arrived to keep an eye on Tyler. Their timing was perfect because as they entered the room the phone rang. A nurse called to tell me that Jess was in labor and that she needed me (she was dilated 4-5 cemtimeters).

When I arrived at the birthing suite, I saw Jess hooked up to an IV and a machine to monitor her contractions and the baby's heart rate. After the doctor arrived she told us that the baby's heart rate was dropping below the minimum acceptable level of 120 beats per minute whenever Jess was having heavy contractions. The doctor then told us that we should have an anesthiologist on call in case we need a c-section. I have to admit that I was skeptical of the doctor's opinion. A few months ago she already suggested that we should just schedule a c-section because it's easier. We told her that we would rather not have a CS if we didn't have to, but she still seemed to really advocate it. That's why I was skeptical of her suggestion to have a CS, especially since she gave it so quickly after only having been in the room for a short time.

Though our firstborn was a CS, God was gracious and allowed our last 3 children to be born naturally, without any anesthesia or complications. Jess had been determined to stick to the same natural delivery plan with this fifth child, but after sevaral more hard contractions with only a little progress, she was starting to get tired, scared, and weary of the pain. In between contractions she looked into my eyes and asked me what I thought we should do. I didn't want to risk the health or life of the baby, but I felt the doctor was giving up too soon. I told Jess that I think she should try a little longer and that hopefully she would thank me later. We prayed and kept trying, but agreed to let them have an anesthiologist ready.

The baby's heart rate stayed stable for a few more contractions and then Jess began to feel a pinching pain in her womb. Then for a moment, the baby's heart rate dropped to the lowest it been since they started monitoring. I thought to myself, "If it does that one more time, then I will agree to a CS." I knew that machines aren't always accurate, and I was praying that this was true in our case. I asked the doctor to check on Jessica's progress (she had been stuck at about 6 centimeters for the last half an hour). After the doctor checked, she said that Jess was fully dialated!

Jess said she wanted to begin pushing. The doctor started making arangments to move her to another room, but with the way the baby's heart rate had dropped I didn't think we should wait (besides, we were paying for the birthing room so that we could labor, deliver, and recover all in the same room). I told Jess to just go for it and start pushing. She did and the doctor and nurses gave up on trying to move her to another room and instead got ready to deliver the baby. About ten minutes later on September 3 at 3:35pm Grace got her baby sister.

Jess had a natural delivery and Isabella Nancy Ransom was born. She was 19 1/2 inches long and weighed 7.5 pounds. Later, Jess thanked me for helping her to make the right decision.



So the baby is here and ready to go home to an anxiously waiting big sister. The only thing we are waiting for is for the doctor to release Tyler. Once we get settled in and some much needed rest I will post a bunch more pictures. Until then, please pray for Jess and Tyler. She is pretty sore and Tyler still has something going on inside of his little body.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

So how did Grace react when she was told she had a "sista" ???

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Sean and Jessica. Another little miracle joins the world. What a blessing. We will pray to little Tyler that all is well with him. Take care and God bless you all.
Love,
Marie, Winston, Jayden, Bethany

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Congratulations to your family. Isabella looks a lot like Grace's baby pics.
I grew up in a family of 5 kids and there was never a dull moment. Be ready for excitement.
How's Tyler doing? The pictures of him in the hospital made me cry. He's such a little guy and looked so sad and vulnerable.
I was just reading this morning about trials and how God uses everything in our lives to shape and mold us to His image. This little hospital escapade will certianly have many applications!
Sean, you must have been exhausted--and exhilerated(sp?) all at once!
Is there anything we can send you that you can't get there?
Love to all,
Abby

Anonymous said...

God is so awesome! Congrats Ransoms. Isabella- we've been waiting for you, welcome!

JenMP said...

CONGRATS guys!!! Wow, so Grace was right. She has that "I told you so" look in her eyes in the pic with her and her baby sista. Isabella looks so chubby just like Grace when she was born. What a head of hair! Well, she's beautiful and I'm glad that Jess didn't have to have a c-section and both of them are healthy. Poor little Tyler, tho. Hopefully the new baby got his mind off of whatever is going on with him and off of his hands (which I'm sure hurt a little from the needles!).

Anonymous said...

Hey Guys!!
Congratulations to you!!! We are so thrilled for the new addition to your family. I hope Tyler is feeling better and we miss you guys and are bummed we didn't get to spend a night together while you were out. Dakota sends kisses to Isabella!
The Volkers

Anonymous said...

Oh, she is soo beautiful!! Congratulations Ransom's!!

Becca

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, Ransom Family. Your girls are very beautiful (but I'm partial to half-Filipino babies :-). Though my husband and I are missionaries in Croatia, a great part of me still longs for working in the Philippines. We'll continue to uphold you in prayer as you bring the good news to my beloved Filipinos. God's blessings to your family.

Romey said...

I know I'm really late, but Congratulations on the baby. She is a cutie and probably end up being a hottie. Hehe... Hopefully now Jessica is feeling better. Sounds like it was extremely painful. What a action packed day for you guys. I give it 2 thumbs up!