And then we had 3

I have a birth story for the twins on here so this is Sydney's story.

After you have twins, it takes a little while to get up the courage to think about another baby. I loved having twins but that first year is hard. And when you know you will now have 2 other children running around instead of focusing your energy on the new baby/babies you take your time. Not to mention what in the world would you do if you have twins again! But Wade and I eventually decided that after 4 years we could try again.

This time around we would pray for our baby and we did pray for specific things like a happy baby or a chill baby since we had 4 year olds, but the biggest prayer and the one we prayed everyday was that our baby would be healthy. And Sydney's pregnancy was the best. I even felt good enough to go to Australia when I was 22 weeks with her (hence her name) and we had no concerns. I was getting the pregnancy I had been praying for. Sydney was breech forever but around 38 weeks she turned and then waited until the night before I had to be induced at 41 weeks to decide to come.

I told Wade at 8pm on Nov 5th that I was starting to feel contractions and by 10pm they were about 3 or 4 minutes apart and incredibly painful. I have a high pain tolerance so I figured if I was in that much pain then it must be about time to head to the hospital. When we got there I found out that I was only 3cm dilated but that I had apparently been leaking the amniotic fluid slowly for awhile and there was none left. The contractions were much more intense since Sydney no longer had any cushioning left. I tried so hard to have a natural childbirth but finally at 3am I got an epidural. The contractions were never going down so I had no rest and couldn't get any sleep. Once the epidural happened I was able to rest a little and around 7am I was 10cm dilated.

The next couple of hours were the worst. Apparently Sydney was sideways now so her head was stuck in the birth canal. I pushed for 2.5 hours but Sydney wouldn't budge. I had been praying that I wouldn't have to have a c-section and we were so close but the doctors told me about 3 different times if she didn't come soon then we would have to do a c-section. The last resort was the vacuum and after about 3 pushes with that she finally came out.

It was the best moment ever. Born at 11:12 am weighing 8lbs 6ozs. She was perfect. Big. Full-term. Healthy. Everything we had prayed for. She was even able to nurse right after she was born, something the twins had never been able to do.

Then after a few hours she started spitting up a little blood. And a doctor came to say he was going to take her to get some test done in the NICU. We couldn't believe that our newest daughter had to go to the NICU too, but we convinced ourselves it would be nothing and there would be a simple explanation. About an hour later, the doctor came back and said her abdomen was filled with air and they had to do emergency surgery. We found out her intestine had ruptured and she came out of the surgery with an colostomy bag.

It took a few weeks to figure out what was going on with Sydney. We were told Hirschsprung's disease until the tests came back negative. When the newborn screens came back, we got our answer. Sydney was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, double delta-f508 mutations. Wade and I cried. Getting that news was ridiculously hard for me. All 3 of our children are NICU babies that had pretty intense issues. Sydney had to stay in the NICU for about a month. I was scared and I didn't want to go through all this again.

Even though it has been hard to receive this diagnosis, I began to see how God had prepared our family for this. He brought us through so much with the twins and He had us in a church that always supports us. He brought Wade's family up to Charlotte so that we now had help. God has always been with us and He wouldn't leave us now!

Our biggest prayer throughout Sydney's first year was that she would stay healthy and be free of coughs. And we got that! She has actually been the healthiest one in our family so far this year. We did go back to the hospital in 2013 to have her ostomy reversed and right after her first birthday for some stomach issues but she always recovered quickly.

One of the biggest changes has been in me though. I am now a mom to 3 girls that each have a medical issue/ special need and God has opened my eyes to show me how this is going to be quite a journey. A journey of learning more about God, growing as a mother, learning patience and more compassion, and  seeing each of my girls as His child first. My girls are beautiful, precious and have been formed perfectly by their creator!