Fletcher’s Birth Story

Although equally as miraculous (seeing a new little life enter this world will never be anything short of a miracle from God), the birth stories of my two babies couldn’t be any more different. John Davis was born via emergency c-section at 41 weeks when complications arose after 24+ hours of induced labor.

Because of those complications I was followed at least twice a week by my regular OB as well as a high-risk OB throughout my second pregnancy. Prayerfully, and at the recommendation of our wonderful team of doctors, we scheduled a repeat c-section to ensure the safest delivery possible for both baby and me.

For months beforehand we knew the exact date and time of when our second baby would enter this world: we were scheduled for a repeat c-section on June 22, 2018 at 7:30 AM.

As that day drew closer I became more excited but also more anxious. I believe God works in mysterious ways, because the week leading up to Fletcher’s birth was one of the busiest and craziest weeks of our life. John Davis came down with Hand, Foot & Mouth disease, my parents sold my childhood home and closed on it the day before Fletcher was born, and my brother bought and closed on his first very own fixer upper. Whew! Only our family is crazy enough to sell a house, move into a rental house, buy another house, and have a baby all in the same week. It kept me so busy that I didn’t have time to give much thought to the worries and fears that lingered in the back of my mind.

We stayed busy the day before Fletcher’s birth as well. Hubby took the day off and we caught up on a few last minute errands. We took John Davis to his speech appointment in the morning, stopped by Costco to stock up on household essentials, and I even managed to squeeze in a manicure and pedicure that afternoon. I tried to get into bed early that night to get a good night’s sleep. But I tossed and turned and couldn’t sleep, so finally around 3 AM I got up to shower and got ready to go.

The drive to the hospital was peacefully quiet before the hustle and bustle of the early morning Atlanta rush hour had even begun. On the way there Hubby handed me a small box with a gorgeous David Yurman bracelet inside. If you know me at all, you know I rarely wear jewelry, and especially “real” jewelry at that! But two years earlier Hubby had gifted me a David Yurman pearl bracelet when John Davis was born and he wanted to continue the tradition. I told him it may be worth it to keep having babies if I received such a beautiful piece of jewelry each time ; ) I cherish these special bracelets for the meaning behind them because I am reminded of the day both of my babies came into the world every time I put them on.

We arrived at the hospital just a few minutes before 4:45 AM. We checked in through registration and got settled into pre-op room 2. We had a wonderful team of nurses and they were so efficient at getting us checked in and ready for surgery.

I changed into a gown, signed all of my consents, got an IV started, had blood drawn and got hooked up to the monitors. Just as I had been for weeks I was having strong contractions on and off the whole time we waited, only now I was able to watch them on the monitor.

By about 6:00 AM the only thing we were waiting on was the anesthesiologist to come administer my epidural. It seemed like we waited forever as I watched the clock and it didn’t seem to be moving. 7:30 seemed so far away!

I must have asked to get up and use the restroom at least five times. Not sure if it was my nerves or all of the IV fluids they were pumping me full of, but I’m sure that poor nurse thought I was one of “those” patients. She had to come in and disconnect me from everything and then come back in and re-connect me each time I needed to get up. You know what they say, medical people make the worst patients!

We sat and waited and it felt so surreal. Hubby and I just kept looking at each other laughing and saying, “I can’t believe we will have a baby an hour from now!” Fletcher must have known something was going on because even the nurses kept commenting on how much he was moving and kicking in my belly.

At one point I sent Hubby out to go get some coffee. I was too nervous to want to eat or drink anything anyways and he was already starting to look tired. I needed him to perk up!

The anesthesiologist arrived around 7:00 AM to administer my epidural. It was definitely different getting an epidural when you’re not in the middle of painful contractions, but the anesthesiologist was wonderful and made the whole process quick and painless.

I had to lay flat on my left side while we waited for the epidural to take full effect.

Even though they weren’t allowed to come back to the pre-op area, John Davis, Mother, Daddy and Mamaw arrived at the hospital around this same time to anxiously await the arrival of baby brother.

Brandy Craig was there once again to capture it all. I’m telling you, hiring a birth photographer was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I was on the fence about having her there this time for a c-section (since she was not allowed in the pre-op room, the operating room, or the recovery room), but I am so glad I did.

Otherwise I would have never been able to see precious moments like these. I’m not sure if it’s because these are the last photos of John Davis while he was still my only baby, or because he looks so much like a baby himself, but these pictures of him in the waiting room completely melt my heart.

He looked so cute with his sleepy face and wearing his big brother outfit I made him for the special occasion.

I put together a basket of new toys and snacks from the Dollar Tree to help keep John Davis entertained while he waited.

Going into it I was so emotional and worried about how John Davis would handle the addition of a new baby and how I would be able to give both of my babies enough love and attention.

I tried to do everything possible to make the transition special and exciting for him.

The basket of toys helped keep him entertained in the waiting room but I still think he gave Grandmother and Granddaddy a run for their money ; )

But he did really great considering he is a very active two year old!

Meanwhile back in pre-op we were just about ready to head into the operating room.

Hubby got suited up to go into the OR. You may remember that last time he was so nervous he broke the zipper to his suit. Well this time he ripped his shoe covers trying to get them on and then dropped his mask on the floor while trying to get it on. Bless him.

We were wheeled back to the OR right at 7:40 AM. Hubby waited outside while I was prepped for surgery.

We had the absolute best staff in the OR with us and they made me feel so comfortable and safe. The sweet surgical assistant talked with me as he scrubbed down my giant belly. It had to dry for three minutes before they could bring Hubby back and get started. He told me it would be the longest three minutes of my life and he was right! During that three minutes my emotions were all over the place. I prayed for a safe delivery and a healthy baby boy as I took in the surroundings under the bright surgical lights.

Even though I had been here once before, it was so different this time around. I was much more aware of everything and because it was not an emergency things seemed much less rushed and much more routine.

Dr. Barrett is known for being notoriously fast in the operating room. I don’t think Hubby had barely gotten through the door before Dr. Barrett got started. I said to Dr. Barrett, “Have you already started?!” He laughed and said, “Yes, we’re about to have a baby!” (I now know from the timestamp on my pictures that it was less than five minutes from the time Hubby got to my side until Fletcher was born.) I could feel the pressure and the tugging and I started having intense referred pain in my neck and my back. Thankfully the anesthesiologist was able to make it a little more manageable, and I seemed to temporarily forget about it entirely when it was time for our baby to be born.

With each birth I distinctly remember what everyone in the room said. I heard Dr. Barrett say, “Ok here he comes!” I heard the anesthesiologist say, “He looks huge!” Haha : ) And I heard the nurse tell me, “He is so cute!”

And then I heard the sweet sound of his cries. That feeling is completely indescribable and it was not one bit more underwhelming than the first time around. Once again, I felt the tears coming down my cheeks. Even though I couldn’t see him yet I felt so much joy, peace, and relief knowing that our baby was here safe and sound.

Fletcher William Freeberg was born on June 22, 2018 at 7:54 AM. He was absolutely perfect in every way.

It wasn’t but a few minutes later that Hubby carried him over to me and I saw his little face for the first time.

I was instantly in love all over again.

I could try to put it into words, but until you’ve experienced it there is just no way to adequately describe the feeling of seeing your baby for the first time.

I think the joy on our faces says it all and that is why I cherish these photos so much: they capture our raw emotion so perfectly.

I was wheeled to the recovery room just minutes after Fletcher and Hubby arrived there before me.

I sat back with the fullest heart and admired our precious new baby get his first bath.

He weighed in at 8 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 3/4 inches long. The nurses kept commenting on what a big boy he was. He was born at exactly 39 weeks so I think he may have come out weighing 10 pounds if he had gone to 41 weeks like his big brother!

About an hour after he was born I finally got to hold my baby for the first time.

I held him against my chest as I took in every detail of his little face and soaked up his newborn smell. I must have kissed his squishy cheeks a thousand times. Any worry of not being able to love my second baby as much as my first was a distant memory. We were head over heels in love.

During this time Hubby was keeping everyone in the waiting room updated with text messages and pictures.

Mother said the time between when Hubby told them we were heading into the OR until the time Fletcher was born was so fast. She looked down to see a picture of Fletcher on her phone and yelled, “Oh my goodness, he’s here!”

They thought he looked just like John Davis did as a newborn.

While Fletcher and I were still in recovery Hubby stopped by the waiting room to see everyone in person.

I adore this picture of Hubby. If that’s not one proud new Daddy I don’t know what is.

We left the recovery room and were taken up to our postpartum room around 10:30 AM.

We were in room 247, directly across from the room we stayed in when John Davis was born. And Mother repainted the monogram for Fletcher on the same door hanger that she made and painted for John Davis two years earlier.

We got settled into our room and I was so anxious for John Davis to get there so I could have both of my babies together for the first time.

After getting settled in and snapping a few pictures of the three of us, Hubby brought John Davis in to meet his baby brother for the first time.

I was overwhelmed with gratitude and joy the moment John Davis walked in and I saw both of my babies together for the first time.

John Davis wasn’t too sure of what to think at first. He kept pointing at Fletcher and saying, “Bubba!”

He seemed a little overwhelmed by the hospital room, seeing his mama in a hospital bed, and seeing his mama holding another baby.

He was very curious but also a little hesitant to get too close to his baby brother at first.

He was busy opening drawers, pushing buttons on the call light, and trying to control the buttons on the hospital bed. Haha!

He started to warm up a little bit and climbed up in the bed next to me. If it looks like I’m shielding Fletcher in this picture, it’s because I am. John Davis climbed up to reach for Fletcher and poked him right in the eye! Poor Fletcher, I’m sure he is bound to be tough with John Davis as his big brother.

These pictures of me with my babies are invaluable.

I can’t describe the feeling of holding both of my babies in my arms at the same time. I was and I still am in awe of God’s goodness and blessings.

After letting John Davis have time to meet his new brother, the rest of the family couldn’t wait to get their hands on baby Fletcher.

I am so thankful that my Grandmother was able to be there for the birth of another great-grandbaby. It means the world to me that she was here to witness the birth of both of my babies.

And there was nothing like seeing my own parents become grandparents for a second time.

There is nothing they love more in life than these babies and I think you can easily tell that by looking at these photos.

Mother and Mamaw had to examine every inch of him : )

And every inch of him was perfect.

John Davis didn’t miss out on his own opportunity to check out Fletcher’s toes.

This sweet child exudes joy and I think he was excited and proud to be the big brother (as well as slightly delirious by this point in the day!).

He’s a mess. After being there for a few hours, every single nurse on the floor knew John Davis : )

They would come into our room and say, “Is that little blonde boy running around yours? He is so cute!”

He’s not one bit shy and I think he was working the camera for Brandy.

His personality is larger than life and I could just eat him up.

It is a tradition for the babies in my family to go home from the hospital in a Feltman Brothers gown. Mother still has Brother and mine’s Feltman Brothers coming home gowns, and she bought John Davis his very own Feltman Brothers gown when he was born.

We carried on the tradition with Fletcher and he went home in this gorgeous gown and bonnet.

We stayed in the hospital for three days and were discharged home on Monday, June 25th (in none other than my slippers because that’s all my swollen feet would allow).

We were still in awe of another perfect baby boy and we were so excited to get home to our new life as a family of four. We give thanks to God for this good and perfect gift from above.

“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” Psalm 127:3-5