Welcoming Ezra Mark Turner
Happy New Year! I can’t believe we are already one week into 2015. In case you missed it in social media, our sweet bundle of joy, Ezra Mark Turner unexpectedly arrived the morning of New Year’s Eve!
I have had a slow recovery and am just now feeling up for sharing the whole story. (Hopefully you follow me on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram and saw the news.)
On Friday, December 26, I saw my midwife and my b/p was slightly elevated and the swelling that I had been experiencing for weeks wasn’t looking great. I had preelampsia with Elias, and the midwife said to have a low threshold for calling the clinic if I wasn’t feeling right.
On Monday, December 29, I was 38 weeks and went to work as normal. By 10 am, I was REALLY swollen and not feeling great. A few colleagues said that I wasn’t looking well and affirmed that I should probably call the midwives. The midwives got me in within hours, tested my urine for protein (sign of kidney damage from preeclampsia) and found that my levels were elevated. They sent me home with a jug to collect my urine for 24 hours (fun!) and wanted to see me back the next afternoon.
Tuesday, I went back to the clinic, my b/p was still slightly elevated. The midwife said that I would get a call about the protein results and if they were elevated, I would likely need to come in for my c-section the next day (New Year’s Eve).
That night we received a call that my levels were very elevated and that the midwife on that night and the physician at the hospital wanted me to come in to Vanderbilt (the hospital that I work for and where we were delivering) and be monitored overnight. This was at about 9 p.m. and really got us scrambling. The kids were in bed, I wasn’t quite packed and was a bit overwhelming for Matthew and me.
I called Angie and she said we could bring the kids to stay overnight at her house. I quickly packed a bag for them, we woke them up and told them Mommy was going to the hospital and they got to go stay at Aunt Angie’s. This was all news to them, but thankfully they didn’t mind going have a sleepover!
We got to the hospital at 11:30 and I was monitored for fetal activity and my b/p was taken every 15 minutes. Around 6 am they made the call to do the c-section that morning.
My other children were delivered naturally, but because of a long recovery and delivery complications, we decided to do an elective c-section this time around. This was a decision that we spent a lot of time thinking and praying about and really felt like it was the best choice for our family.
I have never had surgery before and wasn’t nervous until they wheeled me back to the operating room. It was so sterile and obviously felt A LOT different than my other births.
That said, it was the best it could be because Vanderbilt offers family-centered c-sections, which was the kind of section I was going to have.
We saw Ezra enter the world through a window in the surgery curtain, he was brought to me for skin to skin for the finishing of the surgery and we had someone there to rely on and guide us through the experience. Plus they captured some great cell phone pics for us (many used in this post)!
One of the first things I said when he came out was he looks so little – and he was!
Ezra Mark Turner was born at 8:39 a.m. on December 31, 2014. Ezra means helper and Mark was chosen after Matthew’s cousin who unexpectedly passed away a few years ago.
He was 20 inches long and weighed just 6 lbs., 9 ounces. (My other kids were both over 8 lbs., so Ezra is just a peanut!)
His size didn’t impact his lungs as he loudly cried and cried.
The family-centered c-section made the experience so positive. I can’t say enough about it (and not just because I work for the hospital!). Everyone was so kind, attentive and loving.
One unique element about our c-section was that we were fortunate to have a Vanderbilt photographer present for the delivery. The photographs she shot will be used for a variety of marketing purposes and of course, in Ezra’s baby album. We’ve only seen a few shots (like the family photo at the top of the post and the one below of me and Ezra), but I can’t wait to get them all!
As a memory keeper, I am so incredibly thankful to have the birth documented in beautiful photos (something not many have when having a c-section) and be able to help the hospital.
While the c-section was very different from a natural delivery with a midwife, it was beautiful. Angie was there waiting as I was wheeled back to my room and was the first to hold Ezra (after Matthew, of course). Having her there was so special since she was present for Elias and Adeline’s births too.
On New Year’s Day we brought Elias and Adeline to meet Ezra and they were smitten. My heart was so full seeing the three of them together.
Check out this hilarious little video I shot of them.
While we didn’t plan to start 2015 as a family of five, it was a start I will never forget.
What a great story! And how cool that you had your own photographer there as well! What a treat. 🙂 So glad you are both doing well. And the added bonus is you get the tax credit for Ezra for the whole year! Haha! 😉 Oh and in case you don’t know, Ezra is also the main character in the new Star Wars Rebels cartoon. Since I know you have a budding Jedi in your house I thought he might find it fun.
Yes, Matthew was excited about the tax credit. 🙂
And yes, our jedi loves Star Wars Rebels and that there is a character on it named Ezra. SO fun!
Congratulations! What wonderful photos of those first special moments together!
Congratulations! Glad everything worked out so well for your delivery and c-section. Beautiful photos!
beautiful pics of a beautiful family! Congrats again!
Congrats Jessica! The family centered c-section is so impressive. I wish I could have seen Stella come out in that way when I had mine last year. Very cool. So glad everyone is safe and healthy! All the best to you guys!
Yes, it is amazing. I am surprised more hospitals don’t offer it.
So incredibly beautiful, Jess. So thankful for a great experience and safety for you all.
Not going to lie, I LOST it over the c-section window. Oh how incredible of an experience that would have been with the birth of our quads. So thankful your section had some warmth and good memories.
You are all beautiful people.
The window. I didn’t realize how thankful I would be. Tears rolled down my face. It was so beautiful to see him in those first moments.
Congratulations and blessings on your family of 5! Its the best 🙂
I love this so much—it feels like we’re there with you! {{{HUGS}}} to your beautiful family.
Thank you, Dawn!
Congratulations! I’ve been following your blog for a few years now! Can’t help but wonder if the cousin Mark would have gone to Clarion University in Pennsylvania? If so, I knew him well at college and he was a wonderful person.
How fantastic! Glad you are okay and your little family is adorable.
we have an Ezra! congratulations Turners! <3
Congrats on your wonderful little Blessing. Baby Erva is a cutie and so happy for all of you
Congratulations! Such beautiful pictures of everyone!
What a beautiful birth experience. Congratulations on your new arrival!
I’n a NICU nurse at vandy so I loved reading your story!! So wonderful about the window and your care!! I’m also 27 weeks pregnant and delivering with the midwives at vandy. I just love them!!
Yes, the midwives are wonderful. I love that is the best of both worlds – the experience of using a midwife at a world-class hospital should you need an intervention.
Congrstulations! What a beautiful boy! I held my son immediately after my c-section and it meant so much. I love the window in the curtain idea! Blessings to your family of five!
Thank you for sharing your sons birth story. I think that is wonderful that you were able to have skin to skin right away. That is the one thing that I really dislike about my c sections, no skin to skin. The pictures are amazing. Congrats to you and your family.
Yes, the skin-to-skin was a blessing. I think I have done more skin-to-skin with Ezra than either of my other two babies!
Congratulations Turner family! Welcome sweet Ezra.
Congratulations on your newest gift from God, he is beautiful!
Such a beautiful story! Congratulations on your new little boy and your sweet family!
Congrats and such a beautiful family 🙂 Fabulous story to tell for years of his birth 🙂
What a beautiful story! My daughter was born right when I hit 37 weeks…it was definitely a surprise. Love that your hospital offers a photographer to capture those precious moments. Blessings to you and your family!
Thank you, Meg. To clarify, Vanderbilt doesn’t offer a photographer. It was a special situation where with me being staff and the marketing team needing photos about this relatively new offering (family-centered c-sections) that I was able to “volunteer” my delivery to be photographed. 🙂
So happy for you! He’s beautiful! Congratulations to all of you! Wishing you a speedy recovery. What a wonderful way to start the new year!
What a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing. I am blubbering all over my computer now!! I, too, had to have a c-section and my experience was similar. So peaceful. Congratulations on the new addition to the beautiful family! ~Jaci
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I have seen a lot of negativity build up in the past couple of years towards c-section deliveries; like somehow delivering via c-section makes you less of a woman. It is always so refreshing to see these kind of stories. I had the blessing of giving birth to my daughter via c-section in a “baby first” hospital, and I could not have asked for a better experience overall. Wishing you a speedy recovery!
The window! Why do they not all do this?! It’s so simple and yet powerful.
The photos are beautiful, and you all look so happy and complete:)
We had a surprise baby after thinking we were one and done, and we look at him and think “Well, of course you had to be here! What were we thinking?” So wonderful that you chose to have another baby especially knowing what your body has to go through in pregnancy — congratulations!
Oh my gosh, I cried reading this! Such beautiful pictures of such an amazing family. What a great way to start the year! Love you guys so much and hope to see you all in 2015. XO
I had the Vanderbilt midwives as well (love them!) and ended up having a csection since the baby was breech. The surgery went horribly (failed anesthesia, etc) but the staff was so sweet the entire time. I would be thrilled to have another baby there. I didn’t realize one of the doctors had our camera until hours later and the pictures they got are so special to me.