this time...

2 years ago...
I was getting in bed, with the feeling that it would be the night.
We had black bean soup, fruit salad and cookies for dinner
Grayson, Vance, Gavin and I played Life on the dining room table
Dad was working late {2am late}
I tucked all the kids in bed
went downstairs to close up
sat down and prayed
came upstairs and told Grayson that I would probably have the baby that night
then i feel asleep
i woke up having strong contraction and knew it was time
i called my mom
got ready
waited for Paul
and then went off to the hospital
not knowing if we were having another boy or a girl
the excitement, the joy, the memories
2 years ago my life changed
Ozzie Nolan was born
It is one of the best days of my life
I am so in love with My Ozzie... I can not believe he is going to be 2 tomorrow.
blink, blink and we're here!
time slow down, you're going way to fast...
i was not ready for this milestone to pass even though i knew it wouldn't last
I hope i've cherished every moment and remember all the smiles

I LOVE you little Z!!!!!

tears of joy in the river of pain

My eyes have been dripping with tears since Tuesday morning… tears of fear, pain & joy. The overwhelming love that swells my heart is beyond words… our baby girls are here and they are so amazing. I look at them in complete awe about….uh… 500 times a day. I am desperately trying to keep my focus on how blessed we are but I have to say it’s been HARD! The pain that is flowing through my body is unbelievable… comparable to nothing I’ve felt in my whole life.

I can’t tell the story here right now… but I can tell you my physical pain is from a dislocated fractured sternum, dislocated & bruised ribs, possibly dislocated & bruised clavicle, abdominal tissue & organ swelling & I haven’t even been to my chiropractor yet. I can not even imagine how screwed up my back & neck are… they ache so bad. I see a specialist tomorrow to do in depth x-rays to asses the full damage. I only had one x-ray and one cat scan at the hospital… I was unable to do further cat scans on my organs and pelvis because they would have insisted that I pump and dump for 48 hours and that was not an option for me. We are decently sure that I don’t have organ damage besides swelling. They did blood work and if I did have severe damage I would have been able to tell. [I hope]

I can not even describe the emotional and physical pain. I am unable to even pick my precious daughters up. I have to have help to get off the couch or sit up in bed. I can’t lay down on either side or flat on my back. Paul has to help dress me. Picking up a glass of water, my camera, my plate of food is so painful. I can’t laugh, cough, sneeze, sniff, yawn, cry, talk loud or take a deep breath without excruciating pain. I feel like I have been robbed of so much. I’ve waited so long to be able pick my boys up again and give them a huge hug… and now I still can’t. It hurts my heart so much. I’ve been excited for months about the thought of being able to babywear these twins… that has flown out the window along with so many other hopes and dreams for these first few months.

The river of pain is deep, wide & bitterly cold… I know God will walk beside me and keep me afloat it’s just so hard at times.

I’m off to cuddle the best I can with my miracle baby girls!

I haven’t been able to take many pictures… I really can’t even hold my camera. But Paul has been taking pictures and I’ll be putting some up very shortly.

Whooo-hooo!

Brittany delivered two very healthy, very perfect babies last night! Thanks to you all for your prayers; there was no flipping of baby B, it remained head down, and there was no need for a visit to the NICU!

She'll fill everyone in on the details (what you're all dying to know!!) when she's able to; right now they all need to recover.

Come visit us at www.wachtman5.blogspot.com

Excitement and more prayer

It's Shelly again!

Brittany just called me and said that they're heading to the O.R. This is a good thing, it means she's fully dilated and ready to deliver those angels!

She's still in quite a bit of pain with her ribs; her chiropractor came to the hospital and worked on her neck and other accident related issues. She said that Brittany's ribs are most likely cracked on the right side. Not sure about her chest yet.

Lets pray for a miracle healing of those ribs! Also, after baby A is delivered, there is still a good chance for baby B (who is currently head down) to turn again. Let's also pray that baby B doesn't budge and pops out in the right direction! Let's also thank our Lord that the accident was no worse than it was and that we will soon be greeting the evidence of a miracle! We serve an awesome God!

I forgot to mention that the ultrasound Brittany was waiting on was not too bad. The placenta is all in one piece, for now, it's showing some signs of pulling away from the wall. Everything else looks OK so far. Even if she wasn't having contraction she wouldn't be coming home, after this trauma they would have had to keep her and watch the babies closely. Her peri said that because of the trauma of the accident, it was probably best that the babies were delivered now, anyways.

(Oh, and I'm posting from email, so I apologize for the weird stuff that's at the bottom of each post.)

Big news and more prayer

Hi, everyone. It's Shelly again.

Remember those contractions I mentioned in the last post? Well they've been effective and Brittany is now 3 cm. dilated and is officially IN LABOR! While this exciting, it's also a cause for more fervent prayer.

As I mentioned before, the goal was at minimium 36 weeks, so the babies are coming a week earlier than Brittany would have liked. Also, the accident did something to her ribs and she is in much pain. As she was told a little bit ago by a nurse, the epidural she'll have won't do anything for her rib pain, and she'll be compressing and pushing out TWO babies on those painful ribs.

She's also talked to her specialist who said the babies are likely to be just fine, or MAYBE some minor breathing issues. Someone from the NICU will be coming to talk to her soon to explain what to expect if the babies to have to make a brief visit. Needless to say, Brittany can't stand the thought of her precious, long-awaited babes being snatched from her immediately and taken to the NICU.

Please continue to pray for the family, for peace and for safety for those two amazing little miracles that God placed in her belly. Pray that they will defy all odds, that there will be absolutely no problems and no reason for the NICU. Pray for their lungs, that even now as they're heading into the birth canal that God would touch their bodies and speed up development so that they would be complete and perfect before they meet their mommy and daddy. Pray for Brittany that she would have no anxiety over delivering in the OR (common protocol with twins) and that her rib pain would just disappear as she's preparing to deliver. Pray for Paul, for inner strength and strength enough for he and Brittany both. Thank you Lord, that You always hear us when we pray!



Come visit us at www.wachtman5.blogspot.com

Please Pray!

Hi! This is Brittany's friend, Shelly.
I'm writing to urge all of you to stop what you're doing and spend a few minutes interceding for their family.

At about 10:30 this morning, as Brittany was on the way to her peri. appointment, she was rear-ended by a large SUV which caused her to rear-end the car in front of her. As of right now, here's where Brittany and the babies stand:

Brittany is bruised in several places, her belly did hit the steering wheel so the impact was pretty severe. Her ribs are extremely sore, as is the bottom of her belly where the seatbelt was. She had a very long contraction immediately after the impact, and is continuing to have more contractions.

The twins have a good heartrate and are moving around. Brittany is having an ultrasound as we speak to determine if her placenta ruptured. IF it did, there will be discussion regarding the hastened birth of the babies. They are 35 weeks and the goal was 36-38 weeks. The babies will be monitored for several more hours after the ultrasound for heartrate, movement, etc.

I'm sure you all can imagine the wide spectrum of emotions surging through their family right now. Please pray for a thick blanket of peace that passes all understanding to fall on them all, especially the kids (and the twins). Pray for a clear line of thought for Paul and Brittany's step-dad, Jeff, as they navigate through insurance issues and hospital paperwork. Pray against hasty decsisions or pressure from the doctors to do things that Brittany and Paul may not want. Pray that Brittany can forget the sounds and sensations from the crash and focus on being a still, nourishing cradle for her babies. Pray that the family would be provided for over and above what they could ever expect. Let's flood the gates of heaven!

Just a little side note; Paul was trying to sell the car that Brittany was in and it was totalled, so they'll be recieving compensation from the other party's (the other driver has admitted fault) insurance company for the car instead of the headache of selling it. Also, two of their Britax carseats were in the car (the ones that the twins will move up to when they're out of the infant seats), so they'll be receiving new carseats from the insurance company, also. In addition, the accident happened basically right in front of the hospital that Brittany was heading to, so there was no delay in the paramedics arriving. Even in the middle of this, God is good!!!

We'll keep you all updated as we have news. Thank you all for your support.

Ozzie's birth story...

It's been fun recalling the births of all our boys... I'll have no more to share until these babes come.After being on bedrest with Gavin I was slightly worried this time around. My OB checked my cervix every appointment and while i was getting thinner it wasn't alarmingly thin and I glided through this pregnancy with ease. Having never made it past 38 weeks I was getting a little anxious towards the end. I wanted to know WHO was in my belly and I did not want to go past 38 weeks. It was Friday night... I was 37 weeks and 3 days. Paul was working LATE and the boys and I had wonderful dinner of black bean soup & fruit and cookies for desert. We had planned games and read books before bed. I remember tucking the kids into bed and telling Grayson that I might have the baby that night... that he might wake up and Nana would be here. I don't know why I told him that but I did. I wasn't have more contractions than usual and nothing really felt different. I went back downstairs and I sat on the couch and prayed for over an hour. I prayed that I would go into labor, that tonight would be the night we meet our new little one. I prayed for a faster labor and especially for a quicker push time. I went up stairs and got ready for bed. Paul got home around 2am and I got up to go to the bathroom. I realized i was having REALLY HARD contractions. I went back to bed for a while until I knew it was labor. I had just been to the doctor and i wasn't dilated at all... i had been with Grayson and Gavin before i went into labor. I called my mom and she came over... i remember sitting on the couch waiting for Paul to come down and thinking 'oh my gosh' this is getting really bad really fast. After having very long labors i was actually worried this was going too fast. When we got to the hospital I was 9cm. (this seems to be my norm) I asked for an epi again and then we waited.... and waited... 7 hours later I was ready to push. This was my 4th labor and the 4th time the baby was stuck on my pelvic bone. And what do you know... he was face up too. My OB turned him and I started to push... only 30 minutes of pushing and little Ozzie was born. Our 4th perfect amazing little boy. And a much shorter 14 hour labor.

This picture was taken 2 days before I went into labor and the 2 pictures of Ozzie were taken the day we got home from the hospital. He was 2 days old.

Gavin's birth story...

23 weeks preggo with #3... Gavin... I started having contractions. I had been having them off and on for a few weeks but they didn't seem to be of any concern... even though I hadn't had BH before, this was my 3rd pregnancy within 3 years so it was not uncommon. They started coming more frequently so my OB wanted me to go into l&d. When we got there they started monitoring my contractions and they were getting closer together and not slowing down. They gave me a shot (trebutalane) and it didn't work... they tried another dose... still didn't work... they tried another dose.... still wasn't working so they called the NICU and gave me a pill that was a heart med (can't think of the name) and bam... the contractions stopped. They checked me and I was only a fingertip dilated so they sent me home. Although we headed to a Christmas party instead. Ha! I had my next OB appointment and was put on modified bedrest and given a prescription for whatever the pill was that stopped my contractions. I only had 2 little ones at home and it was actually a very nice and peaceful bedrest. I continued to have contractions and my cervix was thinning but I wasn't going into preterm labor again. Then at 38 weeks and in the middle of the night I went into labor with Gavin. We headed to the hospital around 3am. When I got there they put me in an observation room to 'rule out labor'. When they finally came to check me I was 9 pushing 10cm. They rushed me to a room and I told them I wanted an epi... although I REALLY thought long and hard about not having one. I am SO glad I did... it took 8 hours for Gavin to drop low enough to start pushing. That's when my OB noticed that he was face up and chin up so she turned him OWWWWWWWWW! After 2 1/2 hours of pushing he was here... perfect little boy just like his brothers! It was easier to push him out because she turned him... but the turning really hurt. Vance wasn't turned and I wish he would have been. Once again a 27 hour labor.

picture is of Gavin 3 days old...

Vance's birth story...

on to #2!

Vance came much earlier than we expected... I had delivered Grayson at 38 weeks and expected this babe to come around the same time. I had just had my 36 week appointment... everything looked fine... no signs of labor. My doctor said she was going out of town but I should make it until she got back. My birthday was on Sunday and we had plans to go out to dinner and have my parents watch Grayson. Saturday night I went to sleep... I woke up in the middle of the night feeling horrible, I felt sick to my stomach and thought I was having some contractions. I laid in bed and watch the snow pour down and our neighbors son being arrested for driving while drinking. It was quite amusing. Around 5-6am I was starving so I went downstairs to have a bowl of cereal. I think I ate about half the bowl before I started puking. And just for the record I almost NEVER throw up. I was sick with the stomach flu and the force of throwing up just once sent me into labor full blown. I laid on the floor feeling HORRIBLE for hours. I called my parents and told them that I didn't think we would be going out to dinner that night and I was pretty sure I was in labor. They didn't think so and said they would check in later. ha! By evening it was evident I WAS in labor so off we went to the hospital. (a different hospital than before) When we got there they said I was only having contractions because I was dehydrated from being sick... I wasn't... I had been drinking water all day and wasn't throwing up more. After bags and bags of fluid they decided to check me and sure enough I was 7-8 cm. i told them I wanted an epi and they paged the on call anesthesiologist to come in. It was a small local hospital so there was no one on staff. Then it happened... hubby got sick just like me... it really was quite awful to be in labor, sick and have your hubby sick. By the time he got there to do the epi I was 9cm. I did what was now becoming the norm.... I stayed at 10cm for a few hours while the baby tried to come down and FINALLY started pushing around 2am. Vance was born face up at 5:05am monday morning. Although it was shorter it was still a long 27 hour labor. Vance was perfect even at 36 weeks and a few days... we were once again THRILLED to have a happy healthy little baby boy.

i didn't take any preggo pictures with Vance either... why oh why!

Vance was 4 days old in the above picture...

Grayson's birth story...

Starting back in the beginning of it all...

Thursday afternoon I had my 38 week appointment... all looked well... no signs of labor. I had gained 63 lbs. so far and I felt HUGE... I was really ready! It was August, it was hot and I wanted to meet my new baby. They offered to sweep my membranes... saying that it 'could' trigger labor. Friday evening I started having some contractions... i hadn't had any previously. They weren't 2-3 minutes apart so after a few hours I went to sleep... woke up early in the morning still having contractions so I decided to call my OB. They still weren't that close together but they wanted me to go in. So in we went to find out that I WAS in labor but I was only 3cm so they sent me home. I spent the afternoon laying in bed eating grapes with my hubby. They were starting to really hurt by early evening so we headed back into the hospital. When we got to the hospital there weren't any labor and delivery rooms available so I was put into a 'storage' room. It had extra beds and equipment... i was NOT very happy. When we finally were put into a room I was 8 1/2 cm and in PAIN. I wanted an epi and they said that since I was past 6cm they could only give me a 'walking' epi which is basically one small dose instead of continual. Whatever... I just wanted some pain relief. Shortly after that I was fully dilated but the baby wasn't dropped down far enough... after a few more hours I was finally ready to push. This was around midnight... Grayson was born at 3:53am Sunday morning. It had been a glorious 35 hour labor but oh so worth it. Grayson was perfect, healthy, big & our 1st baby boy. We were THRILLED!

I don't have any preggo pictures of me with Grayson... really wish I would have but I just didn't think of it back then. I was huge and DIDN'T want my picture taken. *grin*

The picture is of Grayson when he was 3 days old...