Asher Mitchell--Our miracle!

November 17th, 2010

Our beautiful, wonderful, perfect little miracle has arrived! Asher Mitchell Hermanson made his debut Monday morning, November 15th at 7:48 a.m. He weighed 4 lbs, 13 oz and was 17.5 inches long. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. He is amazing!

Sunday was my 26th birthday and I had quite a bit of company that day but I wasn't feeling very well. I was wishing the day would pass quickly because I just wanted to get to Monday so we could see the specialist. I was having contractions every 10-15 minutes and they were pretty intense so I was given a shot of Brethine at about 2:30 in the afternoon to stop them. The shot worked for about 5-6 hours and the contractions started to come back again. So at about 9:00 that evening I got another shot and they started me on some fluids. I fell asleep shortly after and at about 3:00 in the morning I woke up to more contractions. I also noticed that my arm felt really "tight." The nurse came in and said that the IV had quit working and that I needed a new one. While I was waiting for the Anesthesiologist to come in and start my new IV (for the third time) I got up to go to the bathroom and felt a little "gush" which soaked my underwear. I let the nurse know and she tested it and it was in fact, amniotic fluid. At this point, I was pretty upset. They did an ultrasound to check the fluid level and I just remember shaking and crying through the whole thing. The baby was still looking great on the monitor so the on-call doctor didn't act right away. At about 5:30 that morning, she wanted to check my cervix because I was still having contractions and leaking fluid. She used a scope and confirmed that my membranes had definitely ruptured at which point, she called my regular doctor who decided he wanted to come in and do a c-section right away that morning.

Needless to say, I was pretty stunned and very scared. I called Danny and my mom and they both came right over. It wasn't an "emergency" c-section but more of an "urgency." In a matter of minutes, I had three nurses in my room starting a catheter, IV fluids, shaving me, and getting everything ready for the surgery. I can't really explain how I was feeling. I was excited that I was finally going to meet my little one but I was so scared because he was coming too soon. It was a wave of emotions that I don't think I will ever be able to explain. I was taken to the OR and had a spinal. Then they brought Danny in and he sat by my head while they worked on getting the baby out. Danny was such a great support for me. He rubbed my cheek and kept me distracted....and when we finally heard the beautiful sound of our son crying, I lost it. We just looked at eachother and smiled and cried. We've been waiting to hear that precious sound for years....and when it came, it was more amazing than I could have ever imagined!

After they got him cleaned up, I got to see him for just a second before they took him to the NICU. Danny went with him. That was the point where my emotions went a little crazy again. I felt alone. I was so proud of that little boy, I just wanted to hold him and never let him go but I couldn't. I was stuck on that table getting stitched back up, not able to move. I kept pretty calm but I remember near the end, a moment where I got really warm and a little panicky. It was awful! Recovery wasn't much fun either. I was sweating, and shaking, and couldn't move my legs for a few hours. I felt horrible when all I really wanted was to feel fine and go see my perfect little son! When I finally started to get feeling back and was able to get up....Danny and I finally got to go see our little guy. We hadn't picked a name yet so that was also on the to-do list.

He was in the NICU, all hooked up to monitors and he had an IV and a nasal cannula for oxygen. He's so little at 4lbs 13 oz and 17.5 inches long but everything about him is just perfect. He has perfect features and he just amazes me! We talked to him and held his sweet little hands and were just in awe by what a beautiful little person we had created. And we could tell he knew we were there...he woke right up and was alert the whole time. He has gorgeous blue eyes and little peach-fuzz blonde hair. It took a while to decide on his name. We were throwing around 3 names but Asher just fit. He looks like an Asher and the meaning of "happy, blessed" is exactly what we feel having him here. So he is Asher Mitchell. Mitchell is in honor of Danny's younger brother who passed away 5 years ago.

Later on in the evening, my mom and dad wanted to go see him so they took me back to the NICU and I got to hold him for the very first time. Just writing about that moment brings tears to my eyes. I snuggled my little man and didn't want to ever ever let him go. I don't think I've ever had a more beautiful moment in my life. Holding him made all of my hurt go away. He truly is a miracle!

Today we went back to visit him and he's still doing very good for his size and gest. age. He's getting antibiotics and is still on oxygen. They are going to start trying to feed him some of my colostrum (sp?) and he may have to get some photolight therapy because he's a little jaundice. But he's definitely a little fighter and he's hanging in there! I'm just so incredibly happy and relieved that he is here and that he's doing well. He means everything to me! And one of the most amazing things I've witnessed is how much Danny is in love with him. It makes my heart flutter knowing that I have such an amazingly beautiful little family and I just couldn't be happier!

I want to thank everyone again for all of the prayers and support! Little Asher continues to need prayers though....he has a tough road ahead of him to continue to grow and get strong. They are thinking he will be in the NICU for about 2 weeks. I can't wait to have him home!

Here he is only a few hours old, alert and beautiful!