The Rollins Ruckus: Introducing Rushton Jeb Rollins.

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It's been six days since my third bundle of joy made his entrance into this world. And seriously, this has been the fastest six days of my life! They say that time seems to go by faster with each child, and so far this seems to be true. I want to tell Rush's birth story. It will be long and very detailed, but I want to remember every single moment.

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Rushton Jeb Rollins - 2 days old (hospital pictures)

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On the nights of March 16th and 17th I had been having a lot of contractions. They would come off and on…be very regular for a few hours…and then ease up. My dad was getting very concerned because Reid was born a month early and LilliAnn was born about 12 days early. At this point I was about ten days away from Rush's due date, and three days from my scheduled c-section. My dad was just sure that I was going to have this baby in the car on the way to Mercy hospital in OKC, and he called me the night of the 16th very, very anxious about this. He wanted to make sure that we had a "plan" in place, and that I needed to go to the hospital as soon as I had more signs of labor. I reassured him that my contractions were not consistently regular, and that since this baby was head down (my other two were breech) the worse case scenario would be me having to go to the hospital here in town for my c-section, or a VBAC would be ok in an absolute emergency.
Early in the morning, around 6:00 a.m. on the morning of March 17, my contractions began to ease up. Jeb went to work and the kids and I ran a few errands. It was Spring Break, so the kids and I decided to go down to the office so I could balance my checkbook and pay a few bills. I was having a lot of pelvic pressure and was super uncomfortable in a cramps kind of way, but was not having regular contractions like the night before. Around 1:00 p.m., Jeb called to see how I was feeling and decided that it would be a good idea to go up to Mercy and be checked to see if I had dilated any more. It had been four days since my doctor's appointment, and since I was having frequent contractions he thought it would be best to be safe and get checked again. I had woke him up the night before and made him get dressed, as I thought "it was time," and he didn't want to be stressed and worried again all night. I agreed. Jeb came and picked me up at the office and the kids went with my mom. We ran home to grab my bags…"just in case," Jeb took a shower, and I straightened the house. After stopping at the post office and the bank, we were off to the hospital.

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Let me just remind you that Monday, March 17th was St. Patrick's Day. Oh, AND a full moon. I was dressed in my bright, kelly green Matilda Jane long-sleeved shirt and had on my big, green earrings. I was definitely in the St. Patrick's Day spirit! I wasn't so sure that I wanted a St. Patrick's Day baby, as I wasn't crazy about the 17th…I thought that the 20th was a much better date, and started thinking that maybe we should turn around and I should just try and make it for three more days. But then I started thinking about having those hard contractions again tonight, and not knowing whether I had progressed or not. Waiting too long and having it all happen at once (this is my third baby, you know) REALLY made me nervous. Yes, it was best to be safe and see what they said. I told Jeb that I felt a little silly going up to the hospital when I wasn't having regular contractions, but he insisted that it was the right thing to do so we would know how fast we needed to get to the hospital if I started having contractions again that night. We pulled up around 4:30 p.m. Jeb parked the car and we walked into Mercy hospital and made our way to the 5th floor, OB triage area. I filled out some paperwork and then was taken to a room and hooked up to the monitors. The nurse checked me and I was dilated to a 3 and 90% effaced. At my appointment a few days earlier I had been a 2 1/2, "almost a 3," and 80% effaced, so I hadn't changed that much. My blood pressure had gone up to 135/90 and I knew in my heart that it was time. My blood pressure had been 100/60 for most of this pregnancy and I knew when it got up to these numbers that I was in labor. The nurse then looked at the strip and told me that I was having regular contractions. They were coming about every 4-5 minutes, and she asked if I was feeling them. I did feel some of them, but sometimes I just felt crampy, which is what I had been feeling all day. I guess I had been in labor all day and just didn't know it! Some of the contractions were intense and went to the top of the paper, but I told the nurse that the ones I had the night before were much more painful than these! At that point, I knew they were going to keep me. I wanted to go back home and wait for my scheduled c-section. I wasn't in horrible pain, and I still kept thinking that I wasn't sure I was ready for my pregnancy to end. I hadn't had time to prepare for what was really happening! But…I knew in my heart that with regular contractions on the monitor and 90% effaced, that I probably wouldn't make it three more days. If we went home now, we would probably end up back up here in a panic in the middle of the night. After calling Dr. Shanbour, the nurse came in and told me that we were going to have a birthday party in about an hour!

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I texted my parents, and my mom responds with "Noooooo! We're hurrying!" Mom and dad really wanted to see me before I went into surgery, so they left the kids with my Aunt Johnna so she could get them ready, and they rushed to the hospital. Johnna was going to bathe the other two kids and put on their Big Brother/Big Sister shirts, and them bring them up once the surgery was over. Jeb texted his parents and then went and got all of the bags out of the car. He got the cameras ready and put on his surgical attire. After the IV was started, my blood was drawn, and the anesthesiologist came to talk to me, they wheeled me up to the surgical suite on the 6th floor. For some reason I was EXTREMELY nervous! I explained to my sweet nurse Barbara that I didn't like not being able to feel my legs, and being paralyzed during surgery really made me feel panicky. She reassured me that I was going to do great, and said she would hold my hand during the c-section. Dr. Shanbour met me outside of the OR doors and asked if I was ready. My friend, Kolby, from Seminole is an OB scrub tech and was going to assist with the surgery. This made me feel sooooo much better knowing that someone that knew me would be helping take care of me! I told the anesthesiologist that I may need something to calm my nerves if I felt a panic attack coming on, but that I was going to try to avoid it at all costs because I didn't want to be foggy headed after the surgery. They put me up on the table, put in my spinal block, my legs began to feel really heavy and warm, and then they laid me down. I watched as the nurses prepped my belly and inserted my catheter, and then they hung the big, blue sheet. The anesthesiologist then tested my feeling by asking me if something felt cold on certain parts of my body, and then Dr. Shanbour told me that I would be ready in 40 more seconds.

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At this point, I only remember words and phrases…"we're down to where your baby lives," "breaking the water," "here's the baby," "what is it," "what do you think that is?" "it's a boy!" "Dad, you can video." And then…I got sick. The most overwhelming feeling of nausea came over me like a giant tsunami. I couldn't control the urge and told the anesthesiologist that I was going to start throwing up. The nurse immediately got me a bag and I turned my head and started dry heaving. Seriously the most awkward feeling ever…trying to throw up when you're numb from your chest down and you can't use your stomach muscles. It was like I had to throw up soooooo bad, but did not have the muscle strength to get the job done…yep, awkward. The anesthesiologist told me that I was nauseated because my blood pressure had bottomed out and that he was going to have to give me some medicine to bring it back up. He said I would get the worst headache of my life, but it would only last for a short time and then the nausea would go away. He had me smell some alcohol wipes to get me mind off the nausea, and as the nausea diminished the headache became extreme. It was in the very back of my head and he was right, it was the worst headache of my life. Thankfully, it only last about 30 seconds, and then the nausea returned…just not as bad. I finally got myself together enough to turn my head and look over at my baby boy for the first time. It had been over a minute since they announced his arrival and he still had not cried! As my headache was diminishing, I heard the nurses tell Jeb to turn the video camera off and to stop filming. Then I heard something about maybe having to take him to the NICU. I looked at Jeb's face and it had turned as white as I imagined my own face was at this point. My heart sank. I literally felt numb…and not just from the spinal block. My brain, my face, my heart…was just numb. I saw the nurses giving him oxygen and suctioning, and after just a couple seconds (that seemed like an eternity), he cried. And that cry was the best sound I had heard in my entire life. "There he goes," I heard the nurse say happily. At that moment, I had more emotions at one time than I ever had. I was relieved, excited, elated, anxious, still worried, sick, confused, and I felt a little foggy headed. From here on out, things got a little fuzzy. I'm not sure if it was from the morphine that was in my spinal, the dramatic blood pressure changes, the meds he had to give me to stabilize my blood pressure, or the extreme lack of sleep from contractions the entire night prior, but I was mentally and physically exhausted and could barely think. I remember Jeb announcing that he weighted 8 pounds 7 ounces and the nurse saying he was 20 3/4 inches long. Dr. Shanbour asked me how many more "bambinos" I was going to have for some reason, and I remember telling him that I thought this was probably our last. As they were sewing me up, Dr. Shanbour and Kolby were talking about her having another baby, and I remember my anesthesiologist showing nurse Barbara something funny on his cell phone. Barbara held my hand the entire c-section, and I am so thankful she was there to comfort me and help ease my anxiety. Kolby asked if my parents knew the sex of the baby, and said she would go out tell everyone that it was a boy and that we were both doing fine. Jeb and I took a quick picture with the baby, and then they removed the curtain and pulled me over onto a regular hospital bed. Unfortunately, we didn't get many pics during delivery. Between my blood pressure dropping and me throwing up, and the Rushton not breathing right away, pictures were the last thing that Jeb was thinking about. He was worried about both of us and was preoccupied with making sure we were both doing ok. I was a little disappointed, but I know that the delivery of a baby cannot be planned and it is what it is. I'm just praising Jesus that I came out of the OR with a healthy baby. Rush's first APGAR was a 4, but his next two were 9s. The pediatrician said that the first APGAR score isn't as important as the second with c-section babies, and since he went from a 4 straight to a 9 everything was just fine.

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little Jeb

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As they wheeled me into the hallway, the only people I remember seeing were the kids. They had the biggest smiles on their faces and were so excited! Things got a little more fuzzy when we got into my room, but I remember Reid's words when he got to be close to his brother for the first time. He whispered, "Can I pet him?" And then LilliAnn echoed him, "Can I pet him?" Jeb sat in the big hospital recliner next to my bed and held all three of our children for the first time. Yep…that is our happily ever after. No longer did I feel like someone was missing. After I had LilliAnn, I dreamt of another little boy that looked like Jeb that we would name Rush. And there he was. Everything that I had dreamed of! I always knew that I would have two boys and a girl. As a child, I would play the board game Life and put two boys and a girl in my car for children. And since the day I found out I was pregnant with #3, I knew without a doubt that it was a boy. I always knew it was Rush.
Jeb handed him to me after the kids got to hold him and I nursed him for the first time. We did skin to skin and he latched right on. From the moment he latched on for the first time, he's been nursing like a champ! I absolutely LOVE breastfeeding. The special bond it creates between a mother and her child is indescribable. After Rush finished eating, the next thing I remember is my Grandma Lucy and Papa Glenn coming in to see him. My parents and Missy were in the room as well, and stayed late into the night with us. Johnna took the kids to Mica's house for the night. It was so nice that she lives just a few miles from the hospital so the kids were still close to us. My parents and Missy left sometime after midnight. My parents ended up staying at Mica's house as well so they could help out with the kids, and also so they would be close if I needed anything. I had been bleeding pretty badly when the nurses kept checking my pads, so mom wanted to stay close by. At this point, Jeb and I tried to get some rest. He laid down on the couch, and of course, the baby slept right in the crook of his arm the entire first night….just like the other two.

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At about 3 a.m., the nurse came in and wanted me to get up and try to walk a little bit. My bedding needed changed and she wanted me to get and try to walk to the bathroom. I still had my catheter in from surgery, but needed to get up and move my legs. As I stood up, blood started pouring…and didn't stop. The nurse reassured me that maybe the blood had been pooling because I had been lying down, but I knew that wasn't the case. Jeb got up off the couch and came to my side. Even he knew that I shouldn't be bleeding that much. As I walked into the bathroom, I kept bleeding. And when I sat down on the toilet for the nurse to help clean me up, I started bleeding even more. At this point I knew that something was wrong, and I started to get light headed and faint. Jeb made a comment about me needed to lie back down, and the nurse got on her phone and called for help. They got me back into bed, and Jeb started cleaning up the room. My amazing husband never left my side and took such good care of me! The nurse then felt my fundus and started massaging my uterus. They ended up hanging another bag of piton to try and make my uterus contract more, and once again reassured me that everything was alright. They were having to change the pads on my bedding frequently, and I remember texting my mom around 5 a.m. and telling her that I was really worried about my bleeding. She immediately headed back up to the hospital. Early that morning, lab came and drew my blood. The results were terrible. My hemoglobin had went from a 12.5 (pre-surgery) to a 6.3. I had lost half of my blood! Dr. Shanbour came by later that morning and explained everything to me. He said that I didn't lose much blood during surgery, but my blood count must have really dropped when I hemorrhaged in the middle of the night. It had been St. Patrick's Day and a full moon and 14 babies were born the same evening as Rush. I'm sure it was the combination of my uterus not getting massaged as much as it should have, having a boggy uterus from this being my third baby, and having a c-section that caused me to bleed so much. I'm not going to lie. I was terrified. I barely even bled at all after my other two, and I remember only wearing a light pad for just a couple of days. This time I was needing a blood transfusion! Transfusion level is usually an 8 and I was a 6.3. I really, really didn't want a blood transfusion, and Dr. Shanbour said that since I was able to get up and go to the bathroom without getting extremely light headed or fainting, that I didn't have to get a transfusion. I knew it would take several weeks to get my levels back up, but was willing to take extra iron and take it easy to avoid a transfusion. My parents even discussed the option of them donating their blood in my name since they are both O+, but we knew that getting that set up and the blood processed may take a while.

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That first day after Rush was born I was VERY fatigued. The combination of only a few hours of sleep in the past two days, surgery, hemorrhaging, and a blood count of 6.3 had really gotten me down. Of course my skin was as white as a sheet and I looked like death. Then, the pediatrician came in and told me that Rush's blood was direct Coomb's positive, meaning that he had a certain antibody making him high risk for increased bilirublin levels/jaundice. This meant that they would have to check his bill levels very frequently, and they wanted to go ahead and put him in the bill lights. This was all so new to me! My other two deliveries were a piece of cake! I only took ibuprofen and went home at 23 hours! And neither of the other two had to be under bili lights. Thankfully, everything looked great with Rush's first check-up in the hospital with the pediatrician. He only had to be under bili lights for a little over a day, but we continued to monitor his levels for the first week after birth. My hemoglobin only came up to a 6.4 during my hospital stay, but they discharged me after four days. Although I was weak, tired, and in a bit of pain, I enjoyed my time in the hospital with just Jeb and Rush. I loved watching Jeb hold our third child in the crook of his arm as the took evening naps on the hospital room couch, and I loved seeing him stare at our newborn baby's face in awe. Jeb stayed with me from the moment we arrived at the hospital and never left my side. He is my everything, and I thank God every day for giving me such an amazing husband.

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This birth/delivery was quite a bit harder/more painful than my other two…physically, mentally, and emotionally. I told Jeb that this must be God's way of telling me this should be my last! However, Rushton Jeb was worth it all! He is the absolute BEST baby! He is my little cuddle bug and he completes me…he completes our family. Both kids are just smitten over him, and the grandparents just beam with pride when they see him. Jeb was worried that something was wrong because he sleeps so much and rarely cries. I told him that I think he's just going to be an easy, laid back child…which is such a blessing because Reid and LilliAnn are pretty high maintenance!

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Jeb furiously texting our parents to let them that they will be doing the c-section soon!

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Chubby mama - almost 39 weeks pregnant (and 40 pounds later!)

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Rushton's very first picture!

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We didn't get many pics because my blood pressure had dropped and I was throwing up at the same time as the nurses were trying to get Rush to breathe! Jeb was worried about both of us, but I'm so glad we got these first few pics!