Wednesday, June 29
I should start by saying that for months Brent and I had been working on perfectly coordinating Savannah's arrival and the our parent's trip to Saudi. The plane tickets were booked and our parents were set to leave that afternoon and would arrive Thursday night, the next day. A few weeks prior, I learned that Dr. Ashour, the doctor that had been seeing me for my entire pregnancy, was going to be going on vacation right before I was due. Needless to say, I was a bit paniced about the prospect of having our first child in Saudi Arabia without the doctor that I had grown accustomed to. My 38 week doctor appointment was that afternoon, and was the big one I had been waiting for. Dr. Ashour was leaving for vacation in a week, but if I was already progressing he had agreed to induce me before he left. I was hoping with all of my might that he would give me good news, and sure enough he did! I was already two centimeters dilated, and he felt confident that I would do well with an induction on Saturday the 2nd. He stripped my membranes, ouch, with the hope that it would help me progress a bit further before Saturday. As soon as he finished, I started having Braxton Hicks contractions, but didn't think anything of it. After I saw the doctor, they hooked me up to the monitor and confirmed that I was having very light contractions. I filled out all of the paperwork for the hopsital admission, and as we were leaving we learned that a cardiologist was going to have to see me before the scheduled induction due to mitral valve prolapse (have had it for several years). Unfortunately, the cardiologist couldn't see me that day, but could get me in the next morning, which meant making the hour and half trip again the morning. We left the hospital brimming with excitement and anticipation at the idea of being able to meet our daughter in just a few days!
That night we got together with our good friends here in Saudi, the Feimsters, the Perrys, and the Sperlings for a fondue party! It was quite the experiment, but everyone left with a full belly and a load of fun memories! :) After leaving the party, we headed home and called our parents to touch base since they would be boarding planes to head our way within a few hours (Saudi is 8 hours ahead of Louisiana time). That's when the fun really began! We learned that both my parents' flight and Brent's mom's flight had been delayed. This put them all in jeopardy of missing their connection in Houston. Unfortunately there was nothing we could do on our end, but wait and see what was going to happen. After an hour or so, I headed to bed, exhausted and having contractions on and off every fifteen minutes or so. A few hours later, I woke up and Brent still hadn't come to bed. I headed downstairs and learned that my parents hadn't made their connecting flight in Houston, but that Brent's mom had. Now that Tilou was on her way, Brent worked with my parents back in the States to try to get them on the next flight out.
Thursday, June 30
After HOURS of calls, negotiating, waiting, researching, etc (you get the picture) Brent finally came to bed at 5 am and told me that my parents were going to be able to fly out the next day (Thursday). They would arrive Friday night, just in time for the baby's arrival. Poor Brent was exhausted, but we had to wake up two hours later to head back to the hospital for my cardiologist appointment.
Thursday, June 30
After HOURS of calls, negotiating, waiting, researching, etc (you get the picture) Brent finally came to bed at 5 am and told me that my parents were going to be able to fly out the next day (Thursday). They would arrive Friday night, just in time for the baby's arrival. Poor Brent was exhausted, but we had to wake up two hours later to head back to the hospital for my cardiologist appointment.
Back to Khobar we went, and we got the final okay from the cardiologist! Yay! We were set to check into the hospital at midnight on the 2nd to start the induction process. We arrived back in Jubail about 2:00 in the afternoon, and were absolutely pooped! I had gotten little sleep the night before and Brent had gotten almost none, so we decided to head upstairs and take a nap. Brent immediately fell asleep, but I decided to send out an email update to close friends and family back in the States about everything that had happened over the past two days. Here's the email I sent, make sure you pay close attention to the last line.......
Hi Everyone!
That's right, about 3:30 while I was typing away, I felt a pop, almost like a rubber band snapping. It didn't hurt and nothing seemed wrong, so I thought "That's weird!" and kept working on my email. Within a minute I felt as if I had to go to the bathroom, so I got out of bed and started walking to the bathroom. I made an "Uhhhhhhhh" and Brent immediately woke up bewildered wondering what was wrong. I told him that I thought my water had broken, and then realized that yes indeed it had! He jumped out of bed and then we both frantically ran around for the next fifteen minutes during which we.......called for transport, got the bags together, texted my doctor, called friends, and I did my hair :). Our friends Dan and Heather Feimster met us outside and took pictures of us as we left the house. Our wonderful driver Sadju started booking it to Khobar. While we rode to Khobar, I did my makeup, and we called our families back home. My parents would be leaving to head our way within a few hours, but would likely miss the birth. Brent's mom was already on her third and final flight headed to Saudi, so we had no way to get in touch with her. Brent was planning to pick her up from the airport, but we arranged for the Feimsters to pick her up instead. Don't we have great friends! We sent Tilou a text and hoped that she would get the news once she got off the plane. My doctor had texted back letting us know that he wouldn't be able to deliver Savannah, but he had already contacted the hospital and set up a new doctor for me. So much for my careful planning!
What a crazy 24 hours it has been, but above all- God is good!!!! First things first, I went for my final cardiologist appointment this morning and was given the all clear to proceed with induction Saturday at midnight. The hospital arrangements are made and we will be arriving at the hospital about 11:30 tomorrow night (3:30 pm Houston time). I'll be admitted at midnight and will receive some medication to start early labor. The doctor will arrive later in the morning and will then evaluate me and see how I am progressing. I have been having contractions since last night, and have had other signs that labor is near, so it looks like things are coming together beautifully!
Now for an update on the parents, this is where things got eventful. Both my parents and Brent's mother's flights were delayed from their original cities. Tilou was able to catch her connection to Frankfurt just as they were boarding the plane, but unfortunately, my parents flight arrived 45 minutes after the Frankfurt flight left. Even though everyone was extremely disappointed, God is in control and He created a path for them. After standing in two different lines and initially being told that they would be able to fly out until Friday, Mom and Dad found a "continental airline angel" that helped them get connected with her supervisor. This supervisor was able to arrange a flight out with KLM for Thursday afternoon and got them squared away with food vouchers and a room at the Doubletree that is connected to the airport. Assuming they don't experience any more issues today, they should arrive in Saudi tomorrow night at 7:40 (11:40 Houston time), about 4 hours before we check into the hospital. Just enough time to get back to our house for some sleep before coming to the hospital later in the morning. Brent spoke with Tilou just about 30 minutes ago and she had successfully navigated through Frankfurt and was waiting at her gate. She should be boarding any minute now. While, the travel aspect has not gone "according to plan", we know that...
...wait...
my water just broke!
~Laura and Brent
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| Last pregnancy picture! |
My contractions had gotten much more intense, and were about three minutes apart by the time we got to the hospital. We arrived a little more than an hour after we'd left, 5:00 ish. They rushed me into the ER and started processing me. After all of my information was down, we headed up to admitting and the Dr. Jean Yokem examined me and determined that I was indeed in labor, but only dilated to a 3. My water had only partially broken, so he finished the job and that's when the real pain started kicking in. At this point Brent had to go downstairs to finish my registration and pay for the birth...yes, I know a little different. During the 30-45 minutes he was gone, my contractions got MUCH worse. I had to wait for him to return before going to Labor and Delivery.
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| Monitor Printout of My Contractions |
Friday, July 1
About 12:30 am, the doctor came in and said it was time to start pushing. After the most exhausting hour of my life, we weren't making lots of progress so the doctor utilized the vaccum extractor. One push later and we saw the most beautiful crying baby!
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| Savannah Louise Railey July 1, 2011 1:29 AM 6 lbs. 8 oz 19 inches Saad Specialist Hospital Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia |
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| 1:29 am |
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| First Family Photo |
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| Brent's Mom, Tilou, taking a first look. |
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| All bundled up! |
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| Stephanie, Heather, and Lindsey come to meet Savannah! |
Stephanie and Lindsey kindly volunteered to pick my parents up from the airport that night. Again, don't we have some great friends! After two days of traveling my parents finally arrived around 9:30 p.m.. They came straight to the hospital from the airport and met Savannah!
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| Honey and Papa meeting little Savannah! |
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| The entire family together- in Saudi! |
We were able to head home on Saturday morning, and boy, were we ready to be at home in our own space!
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| Daddy bringing in the baby for the first time! |
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| Our wonderful driver Sadju who took us to the hospital. |
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| Home! |
The Next Few Weeks
We enjoyed the next few weeks with our parents and our precious little girl! Here are a few pictures of the highlights...
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| Deep in thought! |
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| Salam! |
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| Cuddly Cutie! |
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| Snuggles with Momma! |
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| Grandma's angel! |
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| Daddy's girl! |
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| Honey and Savannah! |
We could never have imagined how much love we would instantly have for our precious girl and how much our lives would change. Parenthood isn't easy, and we've definitely had some tough days (weeks even), but we've also had some of the greatest highs and delights! We are so blessed by our baby girl and almost can't remember what life was like without her. The Lord has truly blessed us beyond measure, and we thank Him each day for allowing us the privilege of being Savannah's parents. :) Savy, Mommy and Daddy love you sooo much!
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