Baby Blade’s Birth

We’re home and settled so I’m back to blogging! Bret and I went in Thursday (Oct. 25th) morning for our scheduled C-section. We didn’t have to be at the hospital until 10am which allowed us some special time with the quads in the morning before taking them next door to Papaw and Linda’s.

It was so surreal just driving to the hospital….going to have a baby like it was nothing! We were greeted by familiar smiles once we entered L&D and it just so happened the same nurse I had on the day I delivered the quads was prepping me for this delivery as well! Lots of familiar faces dropped in during our prep before going into the O.R. The staff at The Medical Center of Plano was phenomenal during our stay with the quads and they were equally as great this time around too. So many people cheering us on and genuinely happy to be a part of our Sweet Number 5’s arrival.

When we arrived, one of the nurses asked us if we had decided on a name. Hesitantly I said “I think we may go with Blade Thomas”. We had been considering the name for several months, but like Baxlyn’s name, it took a while to grow on me. Here we were an hour or so before delivery and we were still undecided. The nurse wrote on our white board “Blade Thomas ? “ (with the big questions mark). A few minutes later Bret took out the camera and started snapping some pictures. Pictures of me laying there looking big and ridiculous, pics of or room number..etc. He went to take a picture of the white board but just before he took the shot, he walked over, erased the question mark next to Blade’s name and then snapped the picture. I said “Did we just decide on a name?” to which he answered “Yes”! After being so wishy washy and hesitant on a decision, now that he is here, Blade is the perfect name for him, no doubt! Many of you know the quads’ all have the middle names of our parents (my dad and I share a middle name as well so Korbin got us both!). Blade’s middle name, Thomas, is also in the family!

Big ole me drugged and excited to deliver my ONE baby!

Below is Dr. Leveno, Dr. Parker & a random man I don’t know doing there thing! Dr. Leveno is my OB and Dr. Parker happened to assist him during this birth as well as the night the quads were born! At one point I heard Dr. Parker say “Wow, it looks really good in here (talking about my uterus, incision, scar tissue..etc) and Dr. Leveno responded “We’ll, we did it!” So special to have them both deliver all my babies!

The actual delivery was much different then with the quads. We were in a huge operating room with them surround by doctors, nurses, therapists…etc. A total of 28 people to be exact. This was a much more calm setting with maybe a total of 8-10 people. The surgery itself was a bit more rough this time than with the quads. We all knew Blade would be big, they were guessing 8.5-9lbs. The casual conversation between the doctors and Bret went from politics and football to a more serious “Wow…he’s really big…” as Blade’s head came out. All I kept hearing was “Oh, he’s a really big baby….really big”. Before you know it the pressure picked up immensely and I had several grown men pulling/pushing and tugging at my numb body below the curtain. Apparently my BIG baby was a bit tough to get out. Once he was out and I could breathe again I asked how big he was. My jaw dropped when they said 10lbs 8oz! HOLY COW! No wonder I was SO uncomfortable. My ONE baby weighed just 4 ounces less than all of his brothers and sisters combined at birth! Each of the quads let out a tiny weak whimper after being delivered, tears fell as I heard Blade scream at the top of his well developed full-term lungs. Something I’ll never take for granted.

Bret & Big Baby Blade

Mommy & Blade. Not sure who captured this picture but I’m so glad they did :)

Like with the quads, one of my first questions was “what color is his hair?!” They told me it had a hint of red…not what I was expecting at all! Since birth it seems as though it’s a light brown with a lil blonde tint to it. I’m anxious to see if he’ll loose it all like the quads did.

I love this picture. Bret beaming with pride! Seriously yall, check out that baby’s cheeks!

After delivery I was wheeled to my post partum room. They have remodeled the entire second floor of the hospital and every square inch of it is gorgeous. If you are local, THIS is the place to have your baby no doubt! During prep the nurses told me over and over “you’re gonna love your room!”. Little did I know. A beautiful suite complete with a living room/sitting area, kitchen, 2 baths, a private room for myself and a separate little nook for Bret had been awaiting us. This picture below is the view from just outside my room…

As silly as it sounds, I was a little nervous about the “newborn nursery” as we’ve never had any experience there. L&D we knew, NICU we knew, Post Partum we kinda knew. The newborn nursery was brand new territory for us and had only been a place where we peeked through the window at the big babies on occasion. I quickly learned several of the nurses there “knew” us through the blog and have followed our story all along which put me at ease. Bret and I kept Blade in the room with us during the days and sent him off to the nursery, or what I called “the playground”, at night where the nurses took excellent care of him and returned him for feedings!

Below, a simple picture but such a sweet moment we rarely got with the quads. Bret and I soaked up as much as we could while in the hospital. The quietness, just the three of us, Bret holding his new baby… just bliss. After the quad’s delivery, I was in horrible pain, we were stressed & worried about our tiny sick babies, in and out of the NICU, awaiting more bad news from the doctors day after day..etc. We were(are) so thankful to be able sit back, relax and enjoy our big healthy baby with no distractions or worry.

Chris & Bethany watched Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin that day allowing the grandparents to be at the hospital for Blade’s birth. Once things calmed a bit they brought the quads up, all dressed up in their Big Brother/Big Sister shirts, to meet their new baby brother…

Sunday morning Mamaw brought them back up for another short visit. This particular morning they were a bit hyper…gave me just a glimpse of what I was getting myself into when I was to leave my quiet haven at the hospital and return home as a Mom of 5!

Brody seems to be the most in love with his little brother, which is no surprise to me. All he wanted to do was hold him and hold him! We had some friends drop by to visit while they were there. Brody, with our help, “carried” Blade over to our friend and proudly said “You wanna hold this thing?!” So sweet, sharing the love.

I think this is about as close as Korbin has gotten to him yet. He tends to stay back and watch from a distance while the rest of them get up close and personal.

Daddy, Kylee & Blade. “Her Baby” looks almost as big as her in this picture!

Baxlyn, not quite ready to hold him but willing to give a kiss!

We are so so blessed and look forward to seeing what God has planned for our little Blade Thomas <3 I am so so thankful to the staff at The Medical Center of Plano for making our stay everything it was. Everyone from the nurses to the cooks to the cleaning staff were nothing but welcoming and friendly as always. A HUGE thanks to everyone who helped with the quads as well allowing Bret to stay at the hospital with me. Mamaw & Wayne, Nana & Papa, Papaw and Linda, Bethany & Chris, Aunt Beth & Uncle Darrell – THANK YOU! I honestly can’t express how incredible it was to spend special time with Bret and our new baby, just the three of us, which we’ve never done before. I am so so thankful for the near perfect experience we had with Blade’s birth.

Baby Update!

Sorry we were not able to post anything sooner, we know you are all going crazy to hear details and of course see pics! Sunday afternoon I felt a few contractions and did not think anything of it, after noticing they were constantly coming I informed the nurse. It wasn't long after that I was having mild cramping, and the doctor immediately put me on Terbutaline shots. Everything had calmed down by midnight but by Monday afternoon the symptoms had started up again. Doctor Leveno evaluated me and my cervix was dilated to a surprising 3.5 cm, and his exact word were "I think we are going to have some birthday parties today!" The babies were fine, I was just in active labor that couldn't be stopped. After he left the room I broke down into tears of worry and shock and we started to contact family and friends.

Proud Daddy! Look closely, you can see their 40 toes :)

Some of the staff scrubbing up.

Getting started....

Dr. Leveno handing off Baxlyn to one of her favorite nurses, Meredith!

The nurses came in and started their normal procedures to get me ready for the big event. We were scheduled to go into the OR between 5:00 and 5:30pm, after the epidural was in place I was ready to go. As I was wheeled down to the OR Bret and I were able to see the countless number of people, with cameras in hand and tears of joy and fear rolling, cheering us on. The team of 28 Doctors, Neonatologists, Nurses, Respiratory Therapists, NICU nurses, and other incredible hospital staff successfully helped bring our babies into the world between 6:14pm-6:16pm. Bret and I were very calm during the whole procedure, I was surprised at how Bret wanted to stand up and actually see what was going on as Dr. Leveno pulled each baby out. Tears of joy and relief streamed down my face as I heard each baby give a little cry as they came out. After a quick clean up and evaluation they brought each baby over to me for a look and a kiss. I remember thinking "This baby looks exactly like the last baby I kissed.... uh oh!"

We will be adding a video, hopefully tomorrow, of their first moments :)

Korbin - 6:16pm - 2lbs 11oz - 14"


Kylee Mae - 6:15pm - 2lbs 7oz - 14.5"

Baxlyn Hope - 6:15pm - 2lbs 10oz - 15"

Brody Coleman - 6:14pm - 3lbs - 15"

The surgery went very very well, I literally felt myself getting smaller as each one was born! When they let down the curtain, keeping me from seeing the procedure, I remember NOT seeing my baby belly and being able to feel my ribs again, it was great! My doctor and I both were a little concerned about excess bleeding during my surgery, but all went well - no blood transfusions! Bret went with the babies straight to the NICU after delivery, on their way they got to stroll by our friends and family who were anxiously waiting and hoping to get a glimpse. I was put into a recovery room for 2 hours to be watched closely by one of my favorite nurses, Betty Jo. At about 9:15 they took me to the NICU to see my babies. I think the second I hit the doorway my meds kicked in. I felt extremely tired and drained I could hardly keep my eyes open (literally) to greet them. When I woke up this morning, I couldn't picture their faces or remember who was in what bed in the NICU. After a few hours I was able to take a shower and go see them. Brody had a little bit of a rough time this morning. He was put on 100% oxygen for a brief period of time until they could get some testing done, so I wasn't able to touch him or let him be exposed to too much light. As I peeked carefully into his bed he slowly opened his eyes and just barely tilted his head enough to look me in the eye and tried really hard to cry. I will never forget that moment, I had to wipe my own tears off of his little "giraffe" bed as I stared back at him.

Currently Brody is stuggling and is not doing as well as expected. We will give deatils on his condition as we find out more. The girls are doing ok, Baxlyn is off the ventilator and on a CPAP, and she's dealing with a little bit of jaundice. Kylee had an uneventful night, which is good, the nurses said. Korbin is doing the best out of all of them and is off oxygen completey, however the give him a little bitty shot of it when he needs it. Bret and I went last night to be with them during "touch time" we went from baby to baby checking their temps (that was Daddy's job) and changing their little full wet diapers (that was mine!). Bret had gone last night by himself during touch time (because I was out of it) and held their little hands as the nurses showed him the temperature taking and diaper changing. It was fun, we did the work and it was good feeling like a little family as we took care of our babies together. One nurse mentioned it could be within just a few more days we can do "kangaroo care" with at least one or two of them! After taking her temp and changing her diaper, we got to spend a great deal of time with Baxlyn. I got to hold her tiny little hands, look into her eyes, rub her dark (YES DARK!) head of hair and kiss her little knee- which just hours ago was pressing against the inside of my tummy... oh I love her so! They are all soo beautiful, I must say! I have a hard time telling who is who between Baxlyn and Kylee. They both look just like Bret to me. Korbin looks similar but has a little bit lighter hair and what seems like, for now anyways, a lighter complexion. Brody is a little me :) he has a round face and his hair is a dirty blondish color. If you were to line them up, I could pick out Brody and Korbin, but I'm not too sure about the girls... give me a few more days!

Some of the crowd getting a glance as Daddy shows of Brody and Baxlyn!

Our Kylee holding my finger at about 3 hours old.

Bret and I in recovery.

Please Please contuinue to pray for the babies, especially our little Brody Love. We will keep you updated as we find out more. Thanks so much! Love you all!