From IVF To The Delivery Room!

From IVF To The Delivery Room!

This is the third installment of our infertility awareness series with our Patient Callie Elliott and her husband Brad.

“Callie, the way your blood pressure is rising and dropping we are going to have to keep you,” Dr. Banks said during my routine Friday visit.

My due date was Thursday, April 4, but it was Friday, May 29 and Kase James was preparing to make an early appearance.

Well, it wasn’t planned to happen this way, but it was happening! I was so nervous and scared, but it helped that everyone along the way was so nice. But, with this turn of events, I would soon learn that Dr. Banks was scheduled to be out of town, so another OBGYN, Dr. Sarah Aultman, would be delivering me.

Dr. Banks and I talked and you could tell he was a bit sad he wouldn’t be there, but he assured me I would be in good hands. It was like I was family to him and I felt the same way about him, but when he returned he knew Kase would be here so we both found excitement there.

So it was time to set the plan in motion and alert family and friends. My mom Stephanie was with me and I quickly called my husband Brad who quickly joined my side.

There were several nurses that made this so much easier. They were so nice and had such a calming spirit about them. There was one nurse that told me she was leaving for the day, but she came back with her jacket and purse and said, “You knew I was going to say bye before I left.” I thought that was so sweet!

My family soon joined me in the labor and delivery room including my little sister who was scheduled to be in Nashville the next day. Being the top of the cheerleading pyramid and those plans already set in motion, she had committed to go and had to keep her plans.

“It’s okay, Kase will be here waiting to meet you when you get back!” I told her. It was so sweet that she got a bit upset, but we all talked to her and made sure she felt better.

As I laid there and looked at family and friends, we had several talks about how life was about to change. I laid there thinking, “I came in pregnant and now I’m going to take a baby home!” In a matter of hours, our lives were about to change.

For my mom, it would their first grandson. And, for Brad’s parents it would their first grandchild. My mom was there when my brother’s wife delivered, but this time it was me on the hospital bed preparing to push. She shared that as a mother that was a different feeling.

Throughout the night, things were a bit calm. But, the next day things began to change. It was BABY TIME!

I tried to push for about three hours and then I had to make a decision, which lead to me having an emergency C-section.

Before I knew it on Saturday evening, I was holding my baby. There were truly no words to describe how I felt in that moment. After everything Brad and I went through, we were so grateful to God for our blessing!

Family and friends began to trinkle in to meet Kase. Most of it was a blur and very emotional, but the next day things began to come together for me. It was a lot of medicine and a lot had happened over a short period of time so I made sure to get some rest.

Dr. Aultman and all the nurses were great. There was another nurse named Tara Ford in the delivery room with me where it came to another shift change and I thought she was going to have to leave. One thing I do remember is looking up and asking her, “I thought you were leaving?” and she replied, “I’m not leaving your side!”

Dr. Banks also came back in town and came to visit us. He had been in touch with us while he was away, but we had to time to catch up. I tell you that man is such a good person, when I say he really cares…I mean it, he really cares about his patients.

While we were enjoying our baby, we soon learned that Kase’s blood sugar began to drop and he would have to be placed in the NICU for observation. I had gestational diabetes so it was likely connected to that, but we were sad we wouldn’t be in the room with him. However, Brookwood has the NicView cameras so we were able to watch him through the app on our phones, it was so cool. We even shared the log in with our parents, so they could watch as well when they stepped away from the hospital. Of course, we came down to visit him every chance we could.

After a short stay in the NICU, we were discharged on Wednesday and we were able to take our baby home! 

What an experience. Our stay at Brookwood was definitely amazing. From the birthday cake to celebrate Kase’s BIRTH DAY to our newborn pictures of Kase, it was such a great experience. While all of that was nice what made our time at Brookwood special was much more than that, it was the people. God placed some amazing people in our paths and that makes our experience one we will never forget.

Now, onward to parenthood!