It Takes a Village

I was pretty nervous about yesterday's surgery, all the way from scheduling it a month ago, up until yesterday.  It was so awesome though to wake up yesterday morning and see all the comments on the blog and on Facebook and to even get texts and emails with encouragement and prayers about the surgery!  It made me feel like I had an army of prayer warriors going with me into battle and I started to feel at peace.

I arrived two hours beforehand and hung out with Gabe in the waiting room till they called me back for prep.  I felt super stylish putting on my little blue booties and cap and the open back gown.  Gabe then joined me in the prep room and we were able to listen to the baby's strong heartbeat.... which is always just a relief to hear.  Nurses were in and out of the room checking vitals, putting in the IV (which took two attempts, much to the chagrin of the nurse in training), and wrapping me in warm towels (why I don't do this at home I'll never know.. it was wonderful).

It was great seeing Dr. Shari Jackson arrive on the scene and letting me know she was going to be doing my surgery.  She was the awesome doctor who was with me in the hospital with Judah and performed the rescue cerclage despite the complications.  She has such a fun personality and she, along with the nurses and the anesthesiologist, made the entire process really fun.... yep, fun.

I didn't think I would ever say that about being in the hospital or going into surgery, but it's really amazing how much of a difference the doctors and nurses can make!  So, for all of you in the medical field... thank you for what you do and for really taking the time to take care of patients!  We then headed in to the Operating Room and I felt some of the nervousness come back.  I still had to face the dreaded epidural.

Now, I know so many women out there get these during labor, but I feel like there are some differences.  First of all, the pains of contractions far outweighs the feeling of the epidural. Secondly, you're so excited because you know the shot will bring relief and in a short time you'll be welcoming a bundle of joy into the world!  But, if you're feeling fine and then told you're going to have a numbing shot (which stings like no other) and then the longest needle you've ever seen put into your back- you're going to feel a little tense.  Long story short; I was glad when it was over and I started to feel the numbing take effect.

The operating room was full of women and it was a really great upbeat environment as we talked about styles of music (I got to pick what we listened to which was "anything but country"), then whether or not to find out what you're having during pregnancy, the show Scrubs and other random topics.  In about ten minutes the surgery was done and Dr. Jackson said, despite some scarring from the last cerclage, everything looked good!

I was wheeled into recovery around 12:40 and told it would take 2-3 hours for the spinal block to wear off and then I would be on my way!  Well, the anesthesiologist did her job very well and, while I was expecting to be heading out the door around 3 or so... I ended up being there a little longer.  Apparently, there's a checklist of a few tasks you need to do in order to be able to leave.  Things like wiggle your toes, move your legs and a few other things.  And it's hard when your only responsibility in making these things happen is laying there and letting the anesthesia wear off.  Needless to say we didn't leave until almost 7 last night and there were cheers all around when I passed the final test.  We did, however, get cake and brownies from a going away party the unit was having for one of the nurses... so I guess waiting over 6 hours had its perks.  :)

Last night and today have been just taking time to rest and Gabe has been great about taking care of everything else (while Lola and I lay on the couch and watch chic flicks).

(I told myself I would just write a quick update, but here I am again, writing a novel... sorry! I guess if you've made it this far, you don't mind finishing it out.) :)

I can't say enough though how grateful Gabe and I are for your encouragement, prayers and support!  As our family and friends, you are so beautifully carrying out Galations 6:2 which says "Carry each other's burdens and in this, you fulfill the law of Christ."

They say it takes a village to raise a child, but I think it sometimes takes a village to help bring one safely into the world.

We are so thankful for the village God has placed us in.

We love you!

Love,
The Coyles

A New Baby, A New Journey

It's hard to put into words all the feelings and emotions in our lives right now...  We are beyond thrilled that we are pregnant again and expecting our new little one in January!  For those that missed it, here's our little announcement that we made since Gabe and I both love coffee:

It was a long journey through over a year of navigating our loss and then trying to get pregnant.  The countless doctors appointments, wrestling with being labeled infertile, thinking through next steps and even doubts of what God was doing.  (I'll get into all that in another post as I know so many others who have also struggled through that process.)

But here we are again!  In hindsight I see God's timing was perfect and we feel so blessed to be on this road with a little bump in tow!

I thought I would start writing about our journey this time around because I'm going in for surgery tomorrow.  Up until now, it's been the excitement of finding out, telling family and friends and positive doctors appointments.  Thankfully, the queasiness of the first trimester is leaving, but the surgery tomorrow is a great reminder of having a high risk pregnancy.

We've both felt the struggle up to this point of being excited, while still understanding that we have to hold loosely and trust that, ultimately, God is once again in control of this situation.  But now begins the reality of taking as many steps as possible to prevent what happened last time.  

The cerclage surgery is an out patient surgery that basically sews up the cervix.  Because it's preventative this time (as opposed to last time with it being more of a rescue cerclage), there's a really good chance for success as it's been proven to work for others dealing with an incompetent cervix.  And it's crazy because I'm not nervous about the surgery itself, but more about the epidural I have to get  to do the block of anesthesiology.  Last time it was a little rough, so once that's done, I'll feel much better!

I know it will all be worth it to have a healthy baby and so, we keep saying, no matter what the journey; our prayer is to have a healthy baby in the end!   

Right now I feel like I'm stock piling food since I can't eat or drink anything past midnight tonight.  I'm armed with pepperoni and wheat thins and trying to drink as much water as possible.  The surgery is at 11:45am, and the surgery itself can take anywhere from 5 minutes to a half an hour.  Then I'll be in recovery until I have feeling back in my legs and can walk around.  Gabe is being so supportive in reminding me he'll be there the entire time and will be at my beck and call over the next few days.  What a man...  :)

It's been so encouraging to have friends and family already surrounding us on this journey... and we're only 14 weeks in!  A friend is bringing over dinner tomorrow night and we are so appreciative of all the outpouring of love and prayers!  

We are hopeful and will continue to update along the way.  We are simply resting in knowing that God already knows the outcome.

Thank you for walking with us and for your prayers for tomorrow!

Love, 

The Coyles