The Arrival of Tiny Taylor

As promised, here is the story of the birth of our daughter, Taylor Sinclair Benefield. It went in no way as planned, but I'm so happy and feel tremendously blessed.

My sister-in-law once told me that a healthy baby is the biggest miracle. If there is anything that my pregnancy and birth has taught me, it is just that. Bringing a baby into this world is no easy feat. Getting pregnant is not easy, staying pregnant is not easy, and bringing the baby into the world is not easy.

Taylor was not due until September 13, 2016. I was still just seeing my doctor every two weeks. On the Friday night before Taylor was born (July 29) I started experiencing back pain. I couldn't sleep and it was extreme enough that I cried. I spent the whole night alternating hours between the bath, the couch, and bed which mostly consisted of me begging Jackson to rub my back. It was excruciating but not a come and go thing, high on my back, and I couldn't time anything. During the day Saturday the pain felt better, but it came back again Saturday night and again Sunday. I had my two week appointment scheduled for that coming Thursday. Jackson begged me to see if they could see me Monday so we could get some relief and sleep. My doctor was on vacation to the Grand Canyon so I changed my appointment to see the on call doctor. They fit me in that morning. I had the normal pee in cup, weight, blood pressure. They didn't see anything abnormal. I had my first check to see if I was dilated. I was not. Taylor's head was down (thankfully) and low, but everything looked normal for almost 34 weeks. The doctor ordered an ultrasound. They checked the baby and she looked great and they didn't see anything amiss with my gallbladder (no stones) or kidneys (again, no stones) or liver. After the ultrasound, the doctor and I discussed what could be happening and she prescribed a muscle relaxer. Basically everything looked normal and they thought it might just be a muscle spasm or a broken rib. The doctor ordered some blood drawn for lab work before I left just to cover our bases. She said she would call the next day with results.

I went home and took the muscle relaxer and tried to rest. Unfortunately, I had another night of little to no sleep. The next morning around 9:15 the doctor called. She said that my labs came back very abnormal. It showed elevated liver enzymes and very low platelet count. She said with numbers like I had she wanted me to come in but to labor and delivery and that they would re-run the tests and evaluate. She said to bring a bag and that there might be a chance that the baby would need to come that day. She said that there was a chance that the results were faulty but that I might also have a couple of conditions. She told me not to google until they had reached a conclusion. I should have known then that the prognosis was not good. I called Jackson and told him we were going to the hospital and then started throwing things in a bag. Thankfully I was mostly packed because I was in no state to think through anything. When Jackson got there we dropped off Rosie and headed to the hospital. On the way I called my parents and Jackson's parents and told them the situation. My parents immediately jumped in the car to head to Birmingham.

When we got to the hospital they checked me in. All the hospital staff seemed confused about why I was coming in when I wasn't in labor. They hooked me and the baby up to the heart monitors and took more blood for repeat testing. Meanwhile my parents arrived and we awaited results. When results came back two doctors came in and discussed with all of us. Turns out that my labs from the day before were not a fluke and had in fact gotten worse. My platelet count was down to 18,000. Normal platelet count ranges from 150,000 - 450,000 so you could say it was low...really low. They said the course of action was to have the baby today. They told me that we would do a c-section but that I would be fully under with general anesthesia. My nose that had started bleeding since we got to the hospital started pouring as if on cue. Being fully under would also mean that Jackson couldn't be in for birth. They said because of the spinal block they do for an awake c-section it wasn't safe with my count so low as blood could pool. They wanted to start me on platelets to raise my count as much as possible before the surgery and then deliver at 2:30. Then we went back to waiting.

Meanwhile my brothers and their wives and Jackson's sister arrived. I guess I was too in the zone to notice that they were all visibly upset. They had all now been told that I had HELLP and had not been given the no google rule. Jackson was being really strong for me and I'm so thankful for that. If he had broken down I wouldn't have been able to keep it together. My mom started panicking around this point because I wasn't getting the platelets yet. She didn't want me to go into surgery with my count this low and didn't think I would have enough time for the transfusion to be effective to keep me from bleeding out. She was actually kicked out of the hall of the hospital for chasing down nurses saying she had my same blood type and trying to give them her blood to give to me. I considered kicking her out of the hospital room because on a scale of 1-10 she was at about 250. In hindsight I understand.

At about 2:30 the doctors came back in and said they had bad news. This is not what you want to hear when you are supposed to be having a c-section right then. They said that they didn't have enough platelets to be able to do the surgery. They said we are transferring you to UAB. I said whatever we need to do to get her here safely. Jackson's parents had arrived by this point and later told me this is when they knew I had become a mother. They told me Jackson couldn't ride in the ambulance with me and that I would immediately go into surgery upon arrival. It was already after 2:30 so I was in a hurry to get her out and here safely. My family went ahead to UAB so they could find parking and get to me in time. They all beat my slow as Christmas ambulance by about 30 minutes. I could walk from St Vincent's to UAB in 30 minutes. Thankfully a sweet nurse from the hospital rode with me and prayed with me on the ride. She told me that UAB would do their own evaluation when I got there.

She wasn't incorrect. Upon arrival they started doing the same blood work again to see what they thought. From here on I saw so many doctors that I have no idea who any of them were. They let Jackson, and eventually the rest of my family back in the room. I was so happy to have Jackson back with me. The blood work came back the same and they reached the same diagnosis...HELLP. However, they said that they wouldn't cut on me with a platelet count that low. They said c-section was out. They also said that they couldn't give an epidural for the same reason as they couldn't do an awake c-section. With my count like it was blood could pool causing paralysis or other things. Taylor would be arriving vaginally with no epidural. I was not prepared for this news. Scott reminded me that at least she would be tiny since it was so early. I hung on those words and the possibility that I would be able to do it because she would be small. They would give me a pain pump for some relief. They said that they would let me labor naturally for up to 48 hours before they would decide to cut on me and if it came to that I would again be put under general anesthesia.

They started pitocin around 6:30 Tuesday afternoon. My nurse was the best and worked magic to get me to dilate. By midnight I was at 4 cm and they broke my water. I went from there to 10 cm in 2 hours. Taylor arrived at 2:17am Wednesday, August 3rd. The pain was horrible but short lived. Jackson told me he was so proud of me and got to be there through the whole thing. When she arrived, I panicked because she was gray, but the NICU team bagged her and had her pink and crying in no time. There were probably 40 people in the room for my delivery. I never expected it but it was kind of nice to have so much encouragement when doing something you're not sure you can do. Taylor was 4lbs 10oz and 18 inches long. She breathed normal oxygen saturation levels upon arrival, but wore a cpap to help force air down for about 10 hours. She started regulating body temp after about a day, and then we all got to come home after only 10 days. From what they said for 34 weeks, that's pretty great. I feel so blessed that I wound up where I did and had the opportunity to give birth like I did. UAB is such an incredible facility and I feel lucky to have delivered there. Their NICU was top notch and gave Taylor the best care while letting me stay nightly with her after I was discharged from my room. I was honestly afraid to take her home after having constant nurse care from people who know way more than me about caring for a baby. But so far, so good.

I've never been through anything that people have to pray for you. I've lived a charmed life. But I now know how much you feel the weight of those prayers. I'm so thankful for great friends, family, church families, and a God who had this all along.

The Blog is Back

Well, I've officially been terrible at blogging lately, but I'm back at it and I'm going to TRY and keep it up. A quick recap since January: Jackson and I went to Nola for Vday, 5 weddings in April and May, new baby niece Claire was born, Jackson started work at Regions, Hannah turned 3, we celebrated our 2nd anniversary, Rosie turned 2, and many more happenings that I can't remember off-hand. As for more current news, I just turned 29 and am mentally trying to process that I'm swiftly approaching my 30s. To celebrate we did labor day weekend at the new beach house in Seagrove. It is awesome! I'm looking forward to going back ASAP.

Additionally, August 29 was my last day at the Courthouse working with Judge Hughey. I'm off to a new adventure starting Monday! I am joining a small transactional firm, The Parker Law Firm (there are two, ours is the one in Office Park) to do mostly real estate work. I'm so excited about this opportunity for more reasons than I can count. Mostly though, it feels like home. My family has been in the real estate business in some capacity for longer than I've been alive. Adding a lawyer in the mix just made sense. I'm excited to be joining two awesome women, Lorrie and Ginger. They are very skilled at what they do and I'm anxious to learn all I can. It feels like I've known them forever. This is the first job I've ever started thinking, "This is something I could do for the rest of my life." It's a terrifying and amazing feeling.

Yesterday Rosie went to a Birthday party for her puppy cousin Winston at Cahaba Brewing Co. It was our first time to Cahaba and we all loved it. Most of the time I'm not a Craft Beer kind of person (too hoppy) but their American Blonde Ale and Oktoberfest were both delicious.

I'll try and update soon about my first week of work, Cameron's baby shower, and Claire's baptism!

Hello 2014!

Well, it has been a really long time since my last blog post and it's safe to say that the end of 2013 was busy for the Benefields! Jackson started a new job with castle mortgage, I am settling into my job as a judicial clerk, and Rosie started going to daycare once a week since she has two working parents now. We traveled to Destin for Thanksgiving and spent time with my family. Then Christmas and Christmas eve we were in Ozark with the Benefields. Jackson, Rosie, and I had our Christmas together the Saturday before Christmas even though I was under the weather (worst cold EVER!) and had so much fun watching each other open gifts. I gave Jackson a gun and he got me way too many gifts to count. Favorites include, earrings, a cooking class, and a new lens for my camera. He always does way too much. These are a few pics from that Saturday.

Ozark was a fun-filled celebration as well. Jackson is one of 5 kids so it is always a party! We love any chance to see this guy! (Jackson's Grandadddy Gene)

Modeling her gifts

Jackson and I woke up bright and early the day after Christmas to head back to work. It was a bummer, but worth it the next day when we flew down to this...

Ahh Dominican Republic! You are truly amazing! My parents, Carter, and Lynlee were along with us and we rung in the new year in true Dominican style. For a family that isn't very accustomed to relaxing, this was just what everybody needed to feel refreshed for 2014. I'll be honest, I could get used to high 82 low 78 pretty quickly. 

Beachin' it

Cutest couple on the beach

Monkey!

Once we got back to reality (a very COLD reality), we celebrated Jackson turning 28. His birthday is the 5th, which was a Sunday so we went to Gianmarco's on Saturday to celebrate. I had the crazy realization that this is his 5th birthday we've celebrated together and that he was 23 when we met. I cannot even process that information. I do know that I am very blessed to call him my husband, though. 

One of our joint resolutions for 2014 is to get our cooking routine figured out now that we are both working. We've been very lax about cooking lately. To kick it off right we went to the cooking class Jackson got me on Friday. It was at Sur la Table and we cooked a tuscan feast of white bean soup, pork tenderloin, broccoli rabe, and apple crostada. It was so much fun and delicious. I highly recommend going and would definitely do it again! We both said it reaffirmed our faith in our cooking skills though. Turns out, we aren't too bad in the kitchen.

I'm going to try to keep the blog updated more regularly this year. We shall see how long that lasts!

Front Yard Makeover

This beautiful weather has put Jackson and me in the mood to do a little yard work. While the back yard is out of the question while Rosie is still young and destructive, the front yard is ready for some help! We have been itching to get rid of some of the trees. While I don't have a very good before picture, this one shows the trees somewhat.

There were four trees that really prevented grass from growing very much and added little (actually nothing) in curb appeal. Three of the trees were the same and one was a different type. We decided to keep the different one and eventually work a bed around it. Luckily, Jackson's friend, Justin, is an awesome landscaper and was so helpful in getting the trees down and planning for what we could do with our yard in the future. Here are Jackson, Justin, and Wil working to pull up the final tree.

This is the finished product! We can't wait to have a yard with actual grass!! I'm so glad Jackson has such handy friends.

The tree we kept all pruned up.

Birthday!

Well, I'm officially a 28 year old. It sounds old, but at this point, I really enjoy every birthday. Each year brings so much change and excitement and I really love experiencing it all! I've always been a big fan of my birthday timing since it falls on or close to Labor Day. It is great to get a long weekend to celebrate that is not a "big deal" holiday. I was born on actual Labor Day, which I've always thought was neat (my mom was in labor on labor day) and it fell that way again this year. Another perk is it's usually the first college football weekend of the year. Everyone is in high spirits and ready to celebrate!

This year I feel like I've been celebrating birthday for a long time. On Monday, Jackson couldn't take it anymore and went ahead and gave me my gift from him: a cute Auburn dress and new rainbows (badly needed). I got a great opportunity to wear the dress to the game in Auburn on Saturday. It was so fun to see Auburn with a positive outlook again putting up the first W of the season! Here I am tailgating with my friend Casey. I'm so glad I got to see her since she is back in ATL now!

On Sunday morning we got up and went up to the lake with Rosie. We lucked out and Sunday was beautiful! Rosie had the best time running around and swimming and riding in the boat. Jackson spent the weekend as "grill master" so we had amazing BBQ and ribs.

We also celebrated my birthday with cake and ice cream :)

My parents had already taken me shopping for some new work clothes on Thursday, but they still got me a Toomer's oaks bracelet. I'm obsessed! I love having something to remember not only the oaks but the great time Dad and I had at the last rolling. You can see the bracelet and other Toomer's oaks jewelry here. 

I love birthdays because I get to celebrate with and hear from so many people that I love. One of my favorite birthday wishes came from my two nephews. I just had to share because they are SO cute! I'm not sure it will work or that the quality will come through because I don't know about posting videos, but I tried!

All in all, I had a great weekend and feel truly blessed. I'm looking forward to celebrating even more this week!

Our Home

Two years ago, Jackson and I bought our first house. I can't quite wrap my brain around that. However, I can say that we are so happy with the decision we made! Our little plot in Cahaba Heights feels like home. I know that whenever our family begins to grow, we will grow out of it rather quickly. Regardless, when I picture my future family, I always picture us here. I think a big part of that comes from the work we've put in making it seem like ours. Happy two years to our first home!

Indy

Last weekend, I took a quick trip up to Indianapolis, IN for a visit. My cousin, Hailey, one of my very best friends, has made Indy her home for almost a year. It was high time I went to check it out!

I got in Friday around 11 so Hailey took a half day to show me around. We grabbed burgers with a crew of her work friends and then headed down to the beautiful canal. People from Indy (Indians? Ha!)  love to go down the canal to walk, run, kayak, paddle boat, or sit and people watch. I can certainly see why.

Indy, like Birmingham, is making a major push toward downtown and Hailey conveniently lives right in the center of it all. We were steps away from the canal. After a day of visiting friends, shopping, and becoming familiar with the city, Hailey and I got ready for dinner at Mesh and drinks at Libertine. They were both amazing. But mostly, it was just fun to catch up with this girl after too much time apart!

The next day Hailey and I did some sightseeing in downtown. We lucked out with great weather so it was fun to walk around the circle and see the capitol. 

Later on we went out to the IMA and took in the culture and art. The building entrance has this incredible colored windows that are an art piece themselves. The IMA has done an excellent job acquiring pieces you recognize (Van Gogh, Matisse, Renoir) as well as local Indy artists. 

That night Hailey and I went to Harry and Izzy's for dinner. The rumors are true! It is delicious and the shrimp cocktail will leave you on fire in the best way. After dinner we met up with some of Hailey's friends to check out the bar scene. 

The next day was my last so we were pretty low key. We went to brunch at Patachou, which is in the bottom of Hailey's work building, Simon. That gave us the perfect opportunity to check out Hailey's office as well as the incredible views from the building. This is Lucas Oil Stadium where the Colts were about to have their first preseason game as seen from the terrace at Simon. 

All in all I had a great trip to Indy and can't wait to visit again soon! Thanks, Hailey, for showing me around. I loved getting to see you most of all!