Sterling James Ahlgren...Welcome to the World!!!

Many of you already know this, but I've not had a chance to tell everyone...Sterling has arrived! Last Thursday evening (July 3rd), I was on my way out the door to go teach my toning class at the gym. As I was walking across the living room to fetch my gym bag...SPLASH!...my water broke. Talk about a shock. I blurted out, "Oh my gosh!" and Jeremey came running. "What's wrong?" he asked. As he noticed the puddle I was standing in and as I explained that my water had just broken...all chaos broke loose. We got into the car, where I experienced a second "gush"...so I had to go back into the house and put on some dry clothes. Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know...when you are in labor, you don't have to look good or anything. But you try sitting in a pool of your own "fluids" for that long and THEN tell me how I didn't need to put on dry pants! Anyhoo... While en route to the hospital, I started getting contractions every 4 minutes. By the time they checked my cervix in the labor and delivery ward, I was 1-2 centimeters dilated and still contracting. They checked my amniotic fluid to determine whether Sterling's lungs were producing enough surfactant to be able to breathe well enough on his own. The doctor said that if the lungs were mature enough, they'd induce and get the labor over with. But, if the lungs were immature, they'd do everything they could to stop labor. In the mean time, they started giving me tons and tons of steroids to stimulate his lungs in case they were not mature enough but were unable to stop the labor process. That, indeed, turned out to be the case. My contractions just kept getting stronger and closer together...and VERY PAINFULL!!!!!!! Although I kept asking for the epidural, they wanted to wait until the last possible moment in case the contractions happened to stop on their own, which they said might happen. At 5 centimeters dilated and in excrutiating pain, they finally decided to get the epidural in me. As the anesthesiologist began scrubbing my back and injecting the lidocaine (for numbing), he exclaimed, "you have a scoliosis in your lower spine!" I actually knew this, and told him so, and then asked if it was a problem. He then explained that it was not a "problem", but that he needed me to remain VERY still. That was a tad bit scary...and really difficult since I was in full-blown labor at that point. My contractions were litterally back to back. It took about 20-25 minutes to get the epidural in and about 20 more minutes for it to really take effect. I could actually breathe at that point...GOD BLESS!!! As my labor progressed, Sterling's heart rate kept getting lower and lower, so they finally decided to do a cessarian. I hadn't gotten any rest up to this point and everything had happened so fast...and then off we went to the OR. From the time they got me strapped down and numbed from the sternum down, it was only a matter of minutes before we had our baby boy ex utero and fussin'. It was CRAZY!!! Happy 4th of JULY!!! He was born at 3:10am, 17 inches long, and 4 lbs 4 oz. Jeremey got to hold him right away and I got to see his little face peeking out of a blanket and hat. It was a life-changing moment...and I'm tearing up right now just recalling it. :) It took me a lot longer than expected to recover from the anesthesia b/c they had to administer more than they anticipated for someone my size. Additionally, my body temp dropped a little too much and I couldn't stop shivering uncontrollably for hours. About 3-4 hours later, they put me in a room in the Mom and Babies ward. It wasn't until the NEXT day that we could see our precious son in the NICU III...which is where the sickest babies go. :( Sterling was on a CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machine to aid him in breathing. He also had an IV to administer fluids, ECG, respiratory, and oxygen saturation monitors, and a feeding tube. He's been in the NICU III ever since and has had his share of good days and bad days. The good days are becoming more and more frequent, however, and just today we were told that he'll soon be transferred to the NICU II...which is the step-down unit and also where he can be sent home from when he's gained some weight and can maintain his body temp, breathing, and begin nursing. So, we are praying for him to come home within the next 7 days. We appreciate all the prayers you can muster for our little man...and for Jeremey and I to keep strong and faithful during this ordeal. I'll be posting pictures soon, so keep checking back for pictures of the cutest boy on the planet!