Broughton Adam Beaman June 20, 2012

I am so behind on my blog, but I can't let another day go by without sharing some pictures of our newest addition to the family, Broughton Adam Beaman.  You may remember that we were planning to name him Adam Broughton Beaman and calling him by his middle name....but in the hospital, one nurse kept calling him Adam and it just didn't sound right.  We decided at the last minute to make it easier on him and us and make Broughton his first name, since that's what he'll go by.  Broughton was born on Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 7:33 a.m.  He weighed 8 lbs, 6 oz and measured 20 1/4 inches long.

And here is our story...
I was lying in bed...I had been asleep for a couple of hours when I dreamed that my water broke.  I immediately woke up and hopped out of bed and about 1 second later, my water broke.  I hated to wake Adam because he had had such a long, hot day (one of those 3 digit temp days) in a combine with no a/c.  I don't remember him coming home looking so tired in years.  But, babies do what they want when they want so, of course, I woke Adam.  Then I called Mindy and Michelle to let them know the news.  Mindy came right over to stay with Addison.

Just before heading to the hospital...

I took a shower and got to the hospital around 3:00 a.m.  I have to admit I was VERY anxious because of the way my labor and delivery went with Addison.

Thank God, though, this labor and delivery was NOTHING like hers!  With Addison, my pregnancy was a breeze, but labor and delivery was a nightmare.  With Broughton, 9 months of misery led up to a quick and simple labor and delivery.  Let me just say....I would choose misery for 9 months any day, if it meant that labor and delivery would go so smooth!!!  And I was pretty darn sick for 9 months!  I don't even care to recall all the things that this pregnancy brought.  But in the end, it was ALL worth it!

I was 4cm when they first checked me at the hospital and my contractions were about 4-5 min apart.  About an hour later,  I was 8cm, contractions were still 4-5 min apart, but much stronger.  I got an epidural (that was actually done right, for a change!)  An hour or so later, they checked me again and it was go-time!  Four pushes later, our precious baby boy was born!!!

Adam cutting the cord...

Adam shortly after Broughton was born. Apparently having a baby is really hard work for daddies...lol

When Addison was born, her left clavicle was fractured so she went straight to her little "bassinet" while several dr.'s/nurses checked her out.  So I was pleasantly surprised when they immediately put Broughton right on my chest.  I will never forget how happy that made me!

Broughton started out doing great!  He even breastfed like a champ 4 times on the day he was born.

Unfortunately he started breathing noisily, as if it was a bit of a struggle.  Then he made a choking sound as he appeared to be trying to spit-up.  Thankfully, our angel of a nurse (named Bridgette) was in our room at the time.  She used the little suction bulb to help him get out some thick mucus and he was fine.  Several hours later, though, he started doing the same thing again, but worse.  Bridgette had just gotten to our room again and she immediately put a little suction tube down his throat into his belly and got a lot more thick mucus out.  Dr. Buckwalld from the NICU was just heading home at the end of her shift when she got called to come in our room to check out little Broughton.  Although she was supposed to be leaving, she took her time to look at little man, and was so very nice and thorough in her exam and explanation.  By the time she got to our room, Broughton was breathing much better and not making as much noise with his breathing.  We were told that oftentimes when a baby is delivered really quickly, a lot of mucus stays in their bellies that would otherwise be "squeezed" out with a longer delivery.  However, Dr. Buckwalld explained that she would like to take Broughton to the NICU to check out a few things, just to be on the safe side.

Over the next few days, Broughton had a chest x-ray, blood tests, an abdominal x-ray, and an ENT scope.  By the grace of God, everything looked great!  The ENT people said that they saw one little area that looked a little weak, but required no treatment.  Instead, it should grow stronger over time.  As the weekend NICU Dr. put it, "Broughton just has a little bit of growing up to do."

Because Broughton's issues were with his throat area, he was put on an IV as soon as he got to NICU and we were not able to feed him. Once all the test results came back normal, though, we were able to start feeding him again.

Addison helping feed Broughton...

We were told that once he started drinking 46 cc's, they could take the IV out.  Thankfully, it didn't take him long to get the hang of feeding again.  Finally, we were told that we could bring him home, since he was "acting like a big boy".  So on Monday evening, June 25th, me, Adam, and Addison went to pick up our little "baby brother".

 Proud to be riding beside "baby brudder"...

Although Adam and I had such a peace about the whole NICU situation, knowing that all was well with our new baby...it was still a relief to get him home!

Even though he had never been home, it immediately didn't feel complete without him here.  And since he has been home, he has been doing great!  Adam, Addison, and myself are in love!

Our first picture as a family of four...

Thank-you, God, for the gift of life and for choosing our family to take care of Broughton Adam Beaman!