Right before delivery… lovin’ the double chin!

Chris said “amen” and in came my team of doctors. Have you ever seen Father of the Bride 2? My favorite part is when Annie is about to deliver and they are wheeling her down the hall, the music is at the crescendo and all of a sudden Brian, her husband runs out of the elevator to make it just in time to delivery!!! You can’t help but cry! It’s my all time favorite movie! Anyway, I felt just like that! I completely felt the excitement of being wheeled out of the room down the hall! I felt like we were moving so fast, and had a team of 3 people pushing me down the hallway. Chris was walking (or floating) beside me, and everyone was telling me how excited they were to be delivering these triplets!!! I had such a peace and excitement in my heart. I was about to meet my boys. But first I had to have surgery…

We reached the OR and I had to kiss Chris goodbye for a little bit while they prepared me. I remember the OR being a very cold (temperature) room. It was so bright and the coolness felt so good to me… it’s July and I’m pregnant! They had me crawl – I’m sure that was an interesting sight from the gurney bed I was laying on, onto the operating table. That was very surreal feeling. I had the sweetest and prettiest nurse who helped me sit on the side of the table while the anesthesiologist administered my spinal. It really wasn’t that bad. I felt the sting as they numbed my back before they gave me the shot in my spine. As soon as they gave me the shot though, it was the weirdest feeling… my legs immediately felt warm and tingly in my legs and tummy. It was really relaxing. They wanted me to lay down, but I had NO control over my legs at that point and started laughing. The nurses had to pick my legs up and put them on the table for me.

One thing I was worried about was laying on my back. I hadn’t done this in a REALLY long time because the weight of my tummy was so great it would cause me to get out of breath. Well, it wasn’t terrible. They propped me up on my left side some, and then they tilted me down so my head was a little lower than my feet. This was the weirdest feeling and it was a little hard to breathe. I think that was a combo of the weight pushing against my chest plus the medicine. The nurses were just talking to me as they got me all prepped and ready. I felt fine and was amazed at how smoothly everything was going! They put this blow up plastic over my arms and chest, and a giant tube was connected to it. Warm air was then blown into the plastic to keep me warm. It was very snuggy and comfortable – even though I was about to be cut open… crazy!

Finally they let Chris back in. He looked so cute and doctorly in his scrubs.

Funny story about him (among many)… He was given a mask to wear so he didn’t get his germs everywhere. But, it was a mask with a plastic eye shield attached to it. Don’t know why he needed the eye shield. It’s not like he would be performing the surgery! Anyway, right before he came in to the OR, he had it where the mask was over his mouth and the plastic eye shield was over his nose. As he entered, one of the nurses helped him correctly move it into place. Well, I guess the combo of his breath plus the extreme cold of the OR collided and created instant fog on his plastic eye shield. He couldn’t see but out of the side. We were both so stinkin’ nervous to do anything that we didn’t dare do anything about it! hahah! I kept asking if he had the camera and he was like, “I can’t see anything, I don’t know how I’m going to take pictures!” which then gave me the giggles. What made it even funnier is that no one around us would help him. Oh the peace of the Lord that was in that room… we were laughing and carrying on waiting to meet our 3 boys.

At that point, I figured I better ask when they were starting to cut me open… just wanted to make sure I didn’t feel anything. Well, they had already started! Aaaahhhh!!!! I did feel some tugging and moving around as Dr. Kang tried to get boys out. I just sat there waiting and waiting for what felt like forever. And then I heard it. The sweetest sound in the world… the first cry of your baby. I didn’t think I would be emotional, but I just started crying at the sound of his tiny voice. Then, all of a sudden, Baby A (Warner) popped over the curtain and Dr. Kang called out, “Hi Mama!” I started laughing so hard I was shaking! There was some pulling and tugging as I think Dr. Kang went for the origianl Baby B (on ultrasounds & stuff) but couldn’t get him. So she pulled out Baby C, who became Baby B – is that confusing enough? That’s when I heard Baby B’s cry (Crews) and he popped over the curtain and said “Hi Mama!” (well, he didn’t, but Dr. Kang did). Then Maverick made his appearance just seconds later saying “Hi Mama!” Their three little faces over that curtain only last a second, but those seconds will be burned into my mind forever. New life that I was a part of Chris and I. The most amazing miracle.

I then asked Chris to go take pictures of the babies. He was hesitant and I thought it was because he didn’t want to stand up or chance seeing my insides. I told him its okay, he didn’t have to look… just keep his eyes on the babies. He told me it had nothing to do with that… he said he couldn’t see anything because his mask was still fogged up… that was the funniest thing to me! He got it cleared up and then went to capture some first pictures of our boys.

Baby A (Warner William) 5lbs 7 oz
Baby B (Crews Christopher) 5 lbs 1 oz

Baby C (Maverick Miller) 5 lbs 12 oz.

And then of me and each boy…

Warner sticking his tongue out saying “ha ha I made it out first! I’m the oldest!” (just kidding… still debating on whether or not to tell them who came out first. :-D)

Crews wondering what in the world just happened!
Maverick being his old laid back self!

One of the most precious moments came when the babies were being taken to the step-down/ transition nursery (between the NICU and regular nursery) to be checked out. Chris and I had discussed before that he would stay with me and we would send the babies to the nursery with the nurses. The idea of being “repaired” freaked me out! However, once I was in the OR with the GREAT staff, I told him to go with the babies. And I am soooo glad I did! They put 2 of our boys in his arms and let that proud Papa carry them himself to the nursery!!! Chris was beaming as he told me goodbye and that he would see me soon. Right after he left it was only a few more minutes until Dr. Kang was done with me. One thing I never thought about was how I would get from the operating table onto the gurney. (remember I had climbed onto the OR table myself!) My lower body was completely numb… not to mention I had just had major surgery! Well, it was the coolest thing. They rolled me from side to side and put this mat underneath me. Then, all of a sudden they inflated it… poof! I felt like I was on a raft. They pulled me onto the gurney, deflated it, rolled me from side to side to remove it, and I was all nice and cozy again. They piled warm blankets on top of me, and they felt soooo good. The nurses wheeled me out 30 minutes after the surgery had started! We had expected it to take maybe an hour to hour and a half… 30 minutes and we were DONE!

The nurses wheeled me to recovery, and on the way we got to pass the room where I had done all my preperations for the c-section. Our family was still in there and was standing at the door waving and clapping as I “drove” on by! ha! We were all teary eyed at the miracle that had just happened!

So, then onto recovery… not quite as great as the numbed surgery! Chris and I were all smiles as I arrived! He came to report the boys’ status to me. All were doing GREAT! Maverick & Crews (who we still hadn’t named at the time) needed some help with body temperature. Warner was doing well on his own! Chris came and showed me pictures and told me how they are all so cute.

The nurses had to come in and put all her weight on my belly every 15 minutes to get rid of any blood clots… oh dear Lord! I have never experienced that kind of pain before, but I know it could save my life. I was given morphine for the pain which only made me loopy, but did not help with the pain at all! I had trouble putting sentences together, and Chris and Mom were teasing me because I wasn’t making sense. Dr. Kang came by and had them switch drugs to help with the pain – she gave me toradol instead, and that to date is my favorite drug! I got to hug Dr. Kang and thank her for helping us get to this miracle day, and thank her for delivering our boys!

I had to stay in recovery with the belly mashing nurses from 10 am – 2 pm. Usuallly, you only have to stay for 1 hour, but I guess with multiples everything takes longer. I had made a book of different scripture that was about dealing with fear and putting your trust in the Lord. Chris read me this while we were sitting in the recovery and I was in pain. It was so precious to have him recite this and claim these verses over me. Over the next few days I got to see what a precious man I am married to (in case I didn’t know already! ;-)) After this surgery, I got to a place that even I had never seen myself. I was pale as a ghost, bloated from all the iv fluids, extremely weak, my hair had formed a “nest” in the back, and I hadn’t showered in a good while… not exactly the beautiful bride he had married 5 years ago. Yet, he kept telling me how beautiful I was and how I was his hero. He would tell me I was doing a great job and that he was so proud of me! This man is a treasure! (Girls, men like these are treasures, and they are out there! You PRAY for God to bring you the one HE has designed for you! Stop looking for yourself. Stop trying to find him!!! Focus on Jesus and find out as much as you can about HIM! Fall in LOVE with Him. Oh, and also ask that God make YOUR heart ready. Also, remember that men aren’t perfect… they have faults, but it is so cool to pray and watch your husband grow and transform into who God has called him to be!)

Also, while I was in recovery, Chris brought Baby A (Warner) to visit me! He was so alert and was just studying my face as I got to study his tiny features. It was so precious. I couldn’t wait to meet the other 2 boys!

After recovery, I was wheeled to my room : 7725. I was sooooo incredibly thirsty at this point. My nurse brought me what I now know as the best ice chips on the face of this earth! I ate a cup very slowly to make sure I would keep it down (which I did). I was still sooooo thirsty that I went onto drink a cup of water, some apple juice, cranberry juice, and sprite. The rest of the afternoon was kind of foggy to me. I think I slept on and off. Later that evening, they brought Warner to me. While we were spending time with him, Maverick rolls his way in followed by Crews. It was so incredible to have all 3 boys with us on the SAME day that I delivered them. We praised Jesus for them as we snuggled and tried to feed them for the first time. My heart was so very full as I pondered all that the Lord had done.

We sent them to the nursery for the night as I needed rest and had started to develop a fever. I was given 3 rounds of 3 antibiotics over the next 24 hours. Thankfully, all was well, and there wasn’t any bad infection. My time in the hospital was so precious and sweet. The nurses were amazing, and cared for me in such a wonderful way! I have such a DEEP appreciation for all that postpartum nurses do now! Wow, they are servants in the truest form!

We enjoyed time with our family over the next few days. It felt like time had stood still while we were in the hospital. It was so fun to see Harper meet the babies. She was so funny and precious as she met each one. She loves her brothers so much and always wants to make sure they are doing okay! Here is a video of the first time she met Maverick.

And, in closing, here is a video of our new additions on a quiet night in the hospital. God had done more than we could ask or imagine!

Praise be to HIM!

Love,
Mary Lindsey