From a sister's perspective.

It is always a terrifying experience, having a baby.

From my first down to my fourth I was scared out of my mind each and every time.  Given, each situation was very unique, yet the same.  And I was out-of-my-mind worried every time I made that final drive to the hospital.

I must admit that watching the miracle of life happen is much more worrisome and awe-inspiring then being the one in the center of the performance.

I was blessed enough to be invited into my dear little sister's labor room, and lucky enough to be asked to document the thing through pictures.  Well, I was terrified about that point: what if every picture was blurry?  Or I missed all of the really good moments?  Or my battery died?

Now, my sister: You know her.  I have spoken a lot about her.  I even once wrote about her struggle to hopefully one day carry a child.  That part is not my story to tell, but I will tell you that the day we found out that not only was she pregnant, but that there were two sweet little bodies growing in her womb... well, I rank that day in the top ten of my life.  Oh, how we prayed.  How we mourned.  How we yearned for her.  I don't think a single person in the family truly stopped holding our breath until the moment that we heard those sweet babies cry. 

First, my poor Whitney discovered that she had a rare skin condition called PUPPS.  Poor, itchy girl.  Then she was in pre-term labor.  One whole week in the hospital hooked up to one million machines that sent us all to our knees in prayer that those innocent babies would stay inside longer.  She was released under orders of strict bed-rest.  Next came the itchy palms and bottoms of her feet.  Hello, cholestasis. And, as the icing on the cake: preeclampsia. 

Now, in a world where most people take to publicly announcing every woe and malady via social networks, she was a rock.  Whitney never once breathed a word of complaint, not in person and not on facebook.  I believe that most people didn't even know half of the problems she was facing.  Her strength, her endurance: wow.  She handled her pregnancy with a grace that deserves the praises of the heavens.  Oh, how much I loved her!


On July 8th, at 8 o'clock, it all finally came to a nail-biting finale.  But all through the ups and the downs, Whitney's strength was beyond admirable.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll save myself the time and let them do the talking.

 

 

 

 

 

**I am going to break in here to explain that at this point: after she pushed for a solid thirty minutes (or more- I really cannot be held responsible for remembering such details), they wheeled her into the OR to finish pushing just in case one of those beautiful little babies decided to switch positions and they had to do an emergency c-section**

Momma and Baby A or, shall we now and forever refer to her as Presley RaNae?

 

**Another interruption: Whit came down with a high fever after delivery.  She was not doing well**

At this point you must be wondering where is Baby B.... shall we name her Hadley Ruth?

Poor Miss Hadley had a bit of  a struggle with her breathing, which we came to find out was due to a pnumoethorax... or something like that.  I understood it to be an under-developed lung.

Scariest moment of my life, seeing this sweet little girl laying there in the NICU.

Thankfully, our little Hadley is a fighter- like her mommy.  She fought the odds and was out of the scary NICU within two days.  Two days!  Amazing, amazing little girl!


Sadly, because I am the greatest idiot there ever was, I forgot to bring my camera back to the hospital when I came to visit the beautiful little Lish family.   Thank goodness for camera phones!  I snapped this with my trusty iPhone within minutes of her release from the NICU.

Thank you, dear sister, for allowing me to experience this awesome time with you and yours.  You absolutely shined that day, Whitney.  And I am so remarkably proud and in awe of you.