Pleased to Announce Donovan Owen Allphin III...

Announcing Donovan 'Owen' Allphin III

(You can see how purple he was in this picture. The pneumonia in his lungs made he have a really hard time breathing)

 

 Proud Papa holding his Mini Him for the first time.

Biggest Sister Ember holding her brother for the first time. She was in love.

Kenzie the Bigger Sister holding her baby brother for the first time.

Ashlynn the new Big Sister holding her brother for the first time.

Mommy with her precious baby boy.

(You can see how much water weight and swollen I was in this picture).

(Sorry to scare people, I looked horrible)!

Mommy with her babies. My family is now complete and I couldn't be happier!

Proud Grandma Jeri and little baby Owen!

Owen in the Riverton Nursery across from my room, before going to IMC.

Owen about to leave for his very first helicopter ride.

This is what the Life Flight team gave Owen for his flight. A shirt that says Life Flight.

The gal also said this will be the most expensive shirt we ever get him...she is right!

The NICU nurses made this for Owen so we knew where to find him.

In IMC's NICU.

(You can see the pink starting to come back to him).

 First night in the NICU away from Mommy and Daddy.

Name: Donovan Owen Allphin III
Birthday: September 20, 2011
Due Date: October 16, 2011
Weight: 8lbs 4oz
Length: 20 3/4 inch
Nickname: Owen

Monday September 19th, I was talking with a couple of my friends saying that I REALLY wished I could just go into my appointment the next day and the doctor would tell me it was time to have the baby. I had been telling Donovan, friends and family that this kid was on the same path as Kenzie was (in size). She was a whopping 9lbs 1oz and 20 days early! I felt he was going to be that big if not bigger!

Tuesday September 20th, was a normal routine visit with my OB. I was at my 36 week appointment and for the weeks leading up I had started having symptoms of pre-eclampsia like with 2 of my other pregnancies. I had gained a lot in water retention and was just miserable. I showed up for my appointment and the nurse looked at me and said "You are a lot more swollen since last week." Glad she noticed. She took my blood pressure and was surprised at the jump from the week before. She actually had another nurse retake it to make sure she was hearing it correctly. Sure enough it was high. I then did the urine test and from the week before of no protein to a +2 we knew that I had pre-eclampsia. I sat in the doctors office waiting for him to come in and check me. As I was sitting there I was swelling more and just feeling crappy. He came in looked at me. Checked and I was dilated to 2cm and 70% effaced. Looked over my BP and urine and then asked if I was ready to have this baby today. I looked at him in shock. I was hoping for this response, however, when he said it I got sooo nervous. I let him know that I needed to talk to my husband and that I would let him know. Donovan had to come home from work so I could make my appointment. Ashlynn had woken up with the flu that morning. Called Donovan and I walked my way down the hall to Labor and Delivery (I am lucky my Dr office in on the same floor in the hospital and L&D).

Once arriving in L&D they hooked me up to monitors, took blood and urine samples and checked to see how dilated I was. After about an hour my doctor came in to see how I was doing and to break my water. I told him and the nurse that once my water breaks my labor goes fast. He broke my water at 12:30pm. During that time the nurse started Pictocin and both the Dr and nurse told me to get on the waiting list for an epidural if I wanted one. I really wanted to try and go natural, at least as long as I could handle it. Knowing Pictocin makes contractions even harder then if I was just going all unmedicaided.  My Dr. came in at 2:30pm checked to see how I was doing and my progress. From 2-4cm it took 2 hrs. Which is normal dilation, a cm per hour. He then went back to the office and I was left to make progress on my own with the support of my amazing husband and a wonderful nurse! From 4-6cm it only took 40 minutes. Around 6 cm I was concentrating a little more and not really wanting to talk even though I still could. The nurse checked me and I was dilated to an 8cm by 3:50pm and not talking and breathing through each contraction. I started feeling a lot of pressure and the nurses started running every where to get ready for delivery and call my Dr. She checked me again and told me I was still at an 8 and 100% effaced. I got a little frustrated that I was still only an 8 for the past 5 minutes. I thought for sure with the pain I would have been told I was complete (10cm). At 4:00 pm, contractions were right on top each other, I could hardly breath and actually asked for the epidural (I knew I couldn't have it at this point, but still asked). The nurse and Donovan both said it's a little late for that. The nurse checked me again and I was 10 cm. She called another nurse in just in case they had to deliver the baby if my Dr. wouldn't get there in time. About 10minutes after I needed to push and had been at 10cm my Dr. arrived. He got dressed in their pretty green-blue paper outfits and was there just in time to catch Owen. I pushed 2 times and my precious baby boy was born at 4:12pm. He had a complete knot in his umbilical cord and it was wrapped around his neck. He is our little miracle. As they were assessing him the nurse said that she would need to take him up to the nursery to look him over. We didn't get much time with him cause his breathing was getting bad and he was turing purple.

They took him to the nursery and took me over to my room. I was able to go and see him and his pediatrician was there looking him over. He was on oxygen and had been on the cpap machine. As the night went on Owen was sicker and the Dr. said it would be better to transport him to another hospital were the nicu team could treat him. So that night at 10:30pm he was life-flighted to another hospital 30 minutes away. this was the hardest night of my life. So hard to let my baby go. He was taken to another hospital because when he was born he aspirated amniotic fluid into his lungs and got pneumonia.

Owen spent 10 days in the nicu. A friend of mine was his nurse 2 of the days he was there. Because of her he was able to go home when he did. I am so grateful to her and telling the Dr on call that Owen would thrive better at home then there in the nicu. When he left the nicu he was back up to his birth weight. We took our baby home on Thursday, September 30th.

The first 4 days home Owen lost 7oz so along with nursing I have to supplement. The next week he had gained 10 oz and the Dr. was very happy with how well he was doing we don't have to go back till his 2 month appointment! Yay!

I can not imagine our lives with out this little boy. He is such a miracle and blessing! He is a sweet and best baby. I also weighed him last night and he is a whopping 11 lbs! I love my big boy, can't believe he is 5 weeks now.