My Alyssa, God's Grace

My oldest girl turned seven yesterday! Can you believe it? SEVEN?!?

I don't usually get too emotional anymore about my girls' birthdays (I'm notorious for crying at some point during the day on their birthdays) but Alyssa has a different kind of story.  Every year on her birthday I get a little extra sentimental when I think about the gift that she is and was to me on the day she was born.

See, Alyssa is my miracle girl and her story is one not a lot of people know about.

My pregnancy with Alyssa was super easy and uneventful.  I was a big girl to start with so, when I was totally dumb and "ate for two" like most all first pregnancy girls, it really showed! I was the biggest I've ever been in my life and I'm pretty sure with that pregnancy I gained close to 50 lbs!  I was HUGE! We still joke to this day that she was made up from a TON of strawberries and Taco Bell...my two obsessions when I was pregnant with her. :)

As I got closer to my due date, June 8, 2005, our family waited so anxiously for the arrival of our girl. I was very ready to see her little face already and each day that I went overdue felt like a year! I was so excited and had that obliviousness that comes with a first pregnancy and never having delivered a baby.  After nine days of being overdue and three days before my doctor finally scheduled to induce, I finally went into labor.

My labor was long. Like super duper, this will never end long and after 24+ hours of laboring, a threatened c-section, and two hours of pushing, Alyssa Grace was finally born at 1:38 a.m. on June 18, 2005.

It was discovered immediately when she was delivered that she'd aspirated her meconium as a result of all the stress from my long labor and delivery. (If you're not familiar with that, it's basically when baby makes their first bowel movement in eutero and then inhales/swallows it). The umbilical cord was also wrapped around her neck twice and when she came out, she didn't look too good. In a quick flurry, the doctor cut the cord and immediately rushed her to the warmer. In the haze of having pushed for two hours, I was exhausted and had no clue what all was happening. I just remember them taking her from me so quickly and working to get her crying.  

My sister told me later that she watched them work on Alyssa in the warmer and at one point they lifted up her little hand only to see it fall limply.  My sister even told me that she heard the two nurses whisper to each other, "Is it on?" referring to the machine they had on to give her air. Alyssa was in trouble and at that point, they told us that they would need to take her away to work on getting her some help to breathe. They said that due to the aspiration of meconium and them needing to monitor her, it could be anywhere from 12-24 hours before they could bring her back to me.

Looking back, I think the Lord was really protecting me, in the haze and exhaustion I was experiencing because I had no clue of the severity of what was happening. I just accepted what they said and was just so happy that she was finally here. I remember trying to get Fernando to snap out of the apparent shock he was in, telling him to go down to the waiting room to tell our family that Alyssa had been born. 

I remember them cleaning me up and laying there all alone in the hospital bed with empty arms. About an hour after they took her away, I got my first really good view of Alyssa through this poloroid that the nurse took of her and brought to me....

I had to scan this from her baby book, so the quality is kinda yucky. 

Again...like so many other God-moments in my life, the Lord just showed up and told hold of the situation.  
In no time, the nurses and doctors worked on Lyss and got her breathing on her own, cleared out all the junk she'd swallowed and she was doing well. They even allowed Fernando into the nursery so he could see Alyssa.

I still get choked up when I see this picture....

I often wonder what the rest of the words on that pink little sign in the bed say.  I can only make out "Away."

Within about two hours, instead of the 12-24 like they'd initially told me, they were finally able to bring her back to me. No tubes or wires and no more help with breathing.  It was the most awesome thing ever getting to really hold my baby for the first time.  I was in love. :)

Things continued from there like nothing traumatic had ever happened,  You would have never suspected that she's just gone through what she had and we enjoyed a great first day with lots of excited visitors anxious to meet our girl. Here was me and my Dad and one of the only photos where I don't like as tore up as some of the others I have from that first day.  Can you tell I labored for a day here? Um yeah, I think so. :)

I will never ever doubt that my Alyssa was totally our special gift from the Lord. In this fragile world, and in His grace, He saw it fit to let us keep her when it totally could have gone another way that day.

And so you can see why I get so emotional every year on her birthday and my "birth day" remembering how the Lord came through for us and blessed us with with our girl.  He is good!