Our sweet boy, August Judah Weathersby, arrived almost two weeks ago and every day since then we have fallen more in love with our boy. August was born at 37 weeks and 1 day, which is incredible considering the circumstances. He weighed 8lbs 1oz and was 21 inches long.

This was my second c-section and it was different in a lot of ways from my last c-section. Callum’s delivery was completely unexpected and urgent (he was going into distress so we had to deliver as quickly as possible) but this one was planned. Josh wasn’t able to make it to Atlanta in time for Callum’s birth so I was alone for the c-section, but this time Josh was with me the whole time. We drove up to Atlanta the night before and ordered food from our favorite Thai restaurant. Then we snuggled on the couch in our hotel while eating dinner and watching a movie. We were buzzing with excitement and disbelief that we had actually made it this far, things had gone smoothly and our baby was still alive and ready to meet us the next morning.

During the c-section, Dr. Trevett was able to join us, which was so special. He wasn’t actually doing the procedure (my OBGYN, Dr. Howard performed the c-section) but he was able to stand right next to me and be there for the delivery. Right after August was born we couldn’t see him yet but we could hear him crying and I was desperate to get a glimpse of him. I think he was grunting so they had to work on him a bit to make sure he wasn’t having trouble breathing. Dr. Trevett told us, “He looks really good, he’s big! And he has a lot of hair! It looks blond!” It was fun to have him narrate when we couldn’t see August yet. They finally brought August to us and he was so beautiful and pink and chubby. He looked like a normal full term healthy baby, not a baby who had just fought for his life for 8 months. We were so in love. I told Dr. Trevett, “He’s only here because of you.” And he laughed and said, “Well, you guys had a lot to do with it too.” The c-section went great and felt like it took 10 minutes and then I was taken to recovery. August was taken to the transition nursery for observation since he was still grunting. They wanted to do blood tests and make sure he was breathing well. After observation and testing they would decide if he needed to go to the NICU or if he could come to my room and stay with us.

Once we were taken to our hospital room everything was suddenly still and quiet and Josh and I were alone. We were so overjoyed that our son was here and he was safe. We had a few pictures of August from the operating room that we looked through over and over again and discussed. Who does he look like? I wonder what his hair looks like under that hat? I thought he would weigh more, what about you? As the minutes and then the hours ticked by I became more and more upset that we couldn’t see August. I remember after Callum was born I was not allowed to go see him for 12 hours after the c-section. That is the hospital policy for all women who have c-sections- no getting out of bed for 12 hours. This isn’t a big deal for the families who have healthy babies because the babies are in the room with them, but for the families whose babies are whisked away for observation or admittance to the NICU, this can feel excruciating. For me, the 12 hours after Callum was born were by far the hardest of his entire 20 day NICU stay. There is a deep primal need to have your baby with you after birth, to have him tucked up safely under your chin on your chest. The ache feels almost physical when you give birth and then there is no baby in sight, no skin to skin contact, no newborn smell. My pain might be more intense because of the trauma we experienced with Lucy, but I’m not so sure. I have a suspicion that the ache is just as deep even for mothers who haven’t lost babies.

Josh was wonderful and called the transition nursery over and over again for an update on August, and asked how much longer until we could see him. They told us his blood sugar was low, his hematocrit was great (39), so he wasn’t anemic, but his bilirubin was a bit high (4). They put him under phototherapy lights to bring his bilirubin down and they told us as soon as they were sure that he was breathing well they would try to send him to the well baby nursery on our floor. We were both relieved that he was doing so well, but I started to feel panicky looking around our empty hospital room. It brought me back to the hospital room we stayed in after Lucy died. No bassinet, no baby, just a heartbreaking empty silence. Josh decided to go get our bags and pillows from the car and once I was alone I allowed myself to cry. Part of me felt like I didn’t deserve to cry because my baby was alive and well, and so many other women’s babies weren’t alive. But I could not contain my tears, I sobbed and sobbed, aching for my baby August who I hadn’t even held yet. A nurse came in and saw that I was crying in my bed and I felt ridiculous, but she was so kind and compassionate. She went and talked to the head nurse who also came in and asked if there was anything they could do to help. I said the only thing I wanted was my baby and I understood that they couldn’t do anything to change hospital policy. They tried reassuring me that he would be fine and I clarified that I wasn’t worried about him at all, I just needed my baby with me. I told them that I had struggled in the past with PTSD after losing my daughter and this felt like PTSD (mixed with some intense hormones I’m sure.) Josh was also really sweet and affectionate and kept calling to check on August. After 8 hours of waiting we finally looked up and saw a nurse wheeling in a bassinet. You guys, we felt EUPHORIC when we realized it was him.

Josh got to hold him first and then I got to hold him on my chest and it was magical. He felt like God’s redemption in the flesh.

Josh and I cuddled with him and smelled him and savored every little detail we discovered. His dimples, his wavy blond hair, the cleft in his chin, his enormous feet and long toes, the way his little nose turns up, the birth mark on his forehead and eyelids (that all of our other babies had too.) It felt like such a gift to be able to soak him in and learn him and hear his little newborn sounds. His bilirubin was still a bit high so we had to keep him under the bili lights but we were so happy to be able to have him in the room with us.

The rest of our time in the hospital was spent enjoying our new son, getting his bilirubin under control, taking a million pictures and trying to get back into the rhythm of pumping and breastfeeding. Josh and I loved having this time together to bond with August without the stress of looking after our other four kids. Because of COVID restrictions, we weren’t allowed to have any visitors at the hospital. At first we were really sad about this because it meant that our parents, siblings and the kids couldn’t come meet August after he was born. But it turned out to be a really sweet time together in our hospital room, just the three of us cocooned in. Josh and I could talk for hours without being interrupted by the kids. We marveled in disbelief at August’s life.

I realized during this time together just how much I had missed with Callum. While he was in the NICU I didn’t feel like he was my baby. It felt like he belonged to the hospital and I didn’t have any ownership over him, like my parental rights hadn’t been granted to me yet. I had to ask them for permission to hold him, feed him, get him dressed. Now, since August wasn’t in the NICU and was in my room with me, he felt like he was mine. The nurses asked me if they could hold him, check his vitals, change his diaper. I was able to bond with him in a way that I couldn’t with Callum until I was home with him. I felt so thankful for this experience with August. It felt like another piece of my healing puzzle clicked into place. Another beautiful, undeserved gift from God.

After about 3 or 4 days under the lights, August’s bilirubin was low enough to stay off the lights. His hematocrit and hemoglobin stayed steady and the last time they checked, his hematocrit was 43. Dr. Trevett came twice to visit August and see how we were doing. As always I could not find the right words to express our gratitude for the amazing care he provided during my pregnancy. Not only did he manage an extremely risky alloimmunized pregnancy but he did so in the in the middle of a pandemic. Throughout my pregnancy he saw me every single week (sometimes twice a week), monitored August closely and helped me manage my fears and anxieties along the way. Dr. Trevett performed 7 intrauterine blood transfusions on August and got him all the way to 37 weeks safely. Thanks to him, August was born alive and healthy. We are so thankful for Dr. Trevett and all that he has done for our family.

We are also incredibly thankful for Dr. Moise who helped throughout my pregnancy as well, just from a distance. He checked in on a regular basis to see how the pregnancy was going and he was available any time Dr. Trevett or I had questions about my treatment. He was also ready to do any early IUTs if they had been needed.

August and I were discharged from the hospital together, which was a dream come true. No NICU stay, no leaving the hospital empty handed.

When we got home, the kids and my parents and even the neighbors were waiting outside in the yard, ready to meet baby August. The kids were so excited and relieved to finally see their baby brother in person, alive and healthy. We had warned them from the beginning that we didn’t know if he would survive and we didn’t know if we would get to bring him home or not. Just like we did during my pregnancies with Nora and Callum, we were very clear with the kids about what was happening inside my body and the risks that the baby was facing. We never gave them false hope or made promises that we weren’t sure we could keep. They prayed every night for God to protect their baby, which made it extra sweet when we finally got to see them meet their brother.

Over the past two weeks we have enjoyed our baby August so much. Seeing my five kids together feels so right, like a long aching desire fulfilled, like God’s promise kept in the most beautiful way. When I look at August I think about these verses from Isaiah 41-

17 When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the LORD will answer them;
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
19 I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
20 that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Seven years ago we were told that we could never have any more biological children. And yet, in the desert wasteland of my womb God grew THREE healthy Kell positive babies. I hope when you look at our baby August you see what I see- a miracle that only the hand of the Lord could have performed. The Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created this sweet baby and sustained him.

There is still so much more to write about but this blog post is already way longer than it should be so I will write more later. Thank you so much to every one of you who prayed for August and followed along during the pregnancy. We have been so encouraged by all of the support and kindness you have shown us.

Our seventh and last IUT is done and now we have less than a week until we meet our son! The IUT was performed at 35 weeks and 4 days and it went well. Thankfully the baby was in a great position for the procedure. His beginning hematocrit was 32 and ending hematocrit was 44. I feel so incredibly relieved that I never have to go through another IUT again in my life. Here are a few pictures from IUT #7:

I am now taking Phenobarbital three times per day for ten days to develop the baby’s liver. This helps him handle the high bilirubin after he is born, and will lower his chances of needing an exchange transfusion. We are also hoping that it will shorten his NICU time. Once I am finished with the ten day course of Phenobarbital I have a repeat c-section scheduled for Monday, August 24th. I keep hoping that there is some way for me to have a VBAC but my doctors do not feel safe inducing and attempting a VBAC since there is a higher chance of uterine rupture. The baby has to be born between 37-38 weeks so they have no choice but to induce or do a c-section. I want to do whatever is safest for the baby so we are going ahead with the c-section unless I miraculously go into labor on my own before then. This is my 6th pregnancy and despite daily contractions and dilating to 1-2 cm weeks before the due date with all of my pregnancies besides Lucy’s, I have never gone into labor on my own. I don’t think it’s going to happen.

We are counting down the days until we meet our boy next week! Please pray that everything goes well, that the baby and I are safe and healthy and that we are ready for the baby by Monday. We just recently started preparing our home for the baby’s arrival since we didn’t know if he would survive or not, so now there’s a mad rush to get everything ready for him. Thank you to everyone who has followed along with our journey and encouraged us over the years. I will update after the baby is born!

IUT number 6 went great and the baby handled the procedure really well. We were surprised to find out that he wasn’t actually very anemic at all. His beginning hematocrit was 35 and Dr. Trevett brought it up to 45.

Watching baby’s heart strip after the IUT

The baby’s 7th and last IUT will be tomorrow, August 13th, when I am 35 weeks and 4 days pregnant. At 35+1 the baby’s estimated weight was 7lbs 3oz so he is still measuring several weeks ahead. During his last ultrasound a few days ago Dr. Trevett noticed that he was in a bad position for the IUT. His bottom/back was pressed up against the cord insertion again, which would make the IUT much harder. We are hoping the baby moves into a better position by tomorrow so that Dr. Trevett can perform the IUT safely. If anything looks risky or difficult tomorrow, Dr. Trevett probably will not go ahead with the IUT and we will deliver by c-section instead. We are really hoping to have a successful IUT so that baby gets a little more time to grow and develop before birth. I will also be taking phenobarbital the last ten days before delivery in order to develop the baby’s liver and lower his chances of hyperbilirubinemia after birth. I was able to take phenobarbital before Nora was born and she had no bilirubin issues at all. Callum was born by emergency c-section at 34 weeks before I could take the phenobarbital and he struggled with high bilirubin for several days. Please pray that the IUT goes well tomorrow and that the baby is born safely at just the right time, whenever that is. 

A few recent pictures of the baby and the belly:

Thanks so much for all of your prayer and support. We are almost there! 

These guys are so ready to meet their new brother!

Our baby boy is still doing well and growing like crazy. I am 33 weeks exactly today and I feel so thankful to have made it this far with a healthy baby. Our fourth IUT was performed at 29 weeks and 4 days. Baby boy’s estimated weight was 4lbs 3oz. His beginning hematocrit was 25 and ending hematocrit was 42. Everything went smoothly and baby handled the procedure well.

Our fifth IUT was performed two weeks later at 31 weeks and 4 days. Baby weighed 5lbs and 8oz. This time the procedure was much more difficult for Dr. Trevett because of the baby’s position. Somehow he had his back/bottom pressed up against the umbilical cord insertion. The cord was being squeezed by the baby which meant the space the needle had to go into was much smaller than usual. Dr. Trevett and the rest of the team tried everything they could think of to get the baby to move but he wouldn’t budge. They tried tilting the operating table to the left, then to the right. They tried using their hands to manually move the baby and then they tried a buzzer that vibrates and has a loud sound to try and surprise the baby. None of it worked. Dr. Trevett discussed possibly delaying/rescheduling the procedure but we all really wanted to get it over with that day. After several tries, Dr. Trevett was able to get the needle into the squished umbilical cord and the IUT was a success. The baby handled everything surprisingly well. His beginning hematocrit was 28 and ending hematocrit was 42. Here are a few pictures from the last IUT. You can see the needle marks on my belly from multiple attempts into the cord. Usually there are only two tiny scabs left from the needle after an IUT.

On July 19th our Nora Juliet turned five years old! She was able to have a small birthday party with her family and a couple of her good friends. We did it at a nearby lake and stayed outside the whole time to try to lessen our chances of contracting/spreading COVID. It was so hot that the icing started melting and sliding off of her cake, but she didn’t care. She was so excited to be able to swim and play with her friends and have a party. I always think of Dr. Moise on Nora’s birthday (as well as many other moments throughout the year) and feel so thankful for him and the gift he gave to our family. I also praise God for the gift of Nora’s life. We have been blessed beyond comprehension to have Nora here with us for the past five years. She is full of personality and she is so different from her brothers. When I was buying the princess decorations for her party I cried with joy and gratitude because I GOT TO PLAN MY DAUGHTER’S PRINCESS PARTY. I still can’t believe that she survived. I remember fantasizing about having a living daughter and the dream seemed so impossible. Now, every pink item of clothing, every Polly Pocket, every Barbie and baby doll and princess dress in our home feels like a miracle. We are loving every minute of it.

We also were able to squeeze in a family vacation between my doctor’s appointments last week. We stayed in a little cabin in the the Smoky Mountains and got to spend time with my parents and my two brothers and their families. It was so much fun to finally be out of our house. We have been social distancing since March so the kids thought it was incredibly exciting to be in a different environment.

Please continue praying for our smallest boy as he still has two more IUTs left before delivery. The goal is to transfuse at 33+3 and again at 35+3 and then deliver two weeks later. We are really hoping the baby needs very little NICU time since Josh and I won’t be able to visit him much while he’s in there due to COVID restrictions. It hurts my heart thinking that I might only get to see him for a few short hours per day while he’s in the NICU. Nora was born at 38 weeks and was only in the NICU for about 12 hours of observation and then was discharged with me two days later. Callum was born at 34+4 and was in the NICU for almost 3 weeks dealing with anemia, hyperbilirubinemia and preemie issues. The further we can get before delivery, the better. I will update everybody after our next IUT this coming week!

It’s been a few weeks since I updated the blog. Our baby boy is still doing really well and holding his own against the antibodies week by week. I am now 23 weeks and 4 days pregnant which means that the baby is technically viable. The survival rates for a baby born at 23-24 weeks are not great, but survival is a possibility, which is reassuring. Hopefully he has many more weeks on the inside though!

Below you can see his MoMs for the past few weeks (1.5 means he is anemic enough to need a blood transfusion.) I’ll include Callum and Nora’s numbers for comparison.

Here are Callum’s, Nora’s and Baby’s MoMs:

Callum’s MoMs

Nora’s MoMs

Baby’s MoMs

A few weeks ago we noticed that my titer had gone up from 128 to 512 and baby’s MoM was higher so Dr. Trevett decided that we should repeat the three rounds of plasmapheresis.

After the plasmapheresis treatments I had a double loading dose of IVIG. This seemed to lower baby’s MoMs and my titer went back down to 128. The goal is to help the baby fight off the antibodies and avoid fetal anemia for as long as possible. The later we start IUTs the better since those come with some serious risks and must be repeated every 2-3 weeks until delivery. After the extra plasmapheresis treatments we finally decided it was time to remove my permacath which had been causing problems almost from the start. The permacath is the bulky, double lumen catheter that is used for plasmapheresis treatments. It kept getting clotted and the adhesive on the dressing caused allergic skin reactions. Since the baby is now viable and IUTs are a little bit safer there is no need for any more plasmapheresis treatments, so we knew I wouldn’t be needing the permacath again. It was such a relief to get that thing out of my jugular! I finally was allowed to shower/swim for the first time in 9 weeks and I can pick Callum up without worrying about snagging or pulling on the permacath. I now just have the regular port under my skin that we use every week for my IVIG infusions. That will be surgically removed once we finish IVIG treatments (whenever the first IUT is needed.) Here’s a picture of the permacath before and after removal.

Our baby is still measuring big, usually about 2 weeks ahead, so that is a comfort knowing he will have to be born early. Dr. Trevett’s goal is to do the last IUT at 34-35 weeks and deliver 2-3 weeks after that. But we know realistically that the baby might have to be born anytime between now and 37 weeks. Please pray that the baby will not be born until August (when I’m 34+ weeks.) Here are some pictures of my gigantic belly and our sweet boy. Thanks as always for your amazing support, prayers and encouragement as we navigate this stressful pregnancy.