Kellen’s Story: Arrival

This part of the story has been the hardest part for me to write. It’s hard to know how much to share without sharing too much. But I think it’s finally ready for me to hit publish.

February 19th started out as a fairly ordinary day. Kellen’s official due date was in early March, but Serena’s doctor thought that Kellen would probably come early, so we were kind of expecting him to come any day. We had our bags packed, house cleaned, nursery set up, and everything all ready to go for when the time came.

Wednesday morning we were out running errands when we got the call from Serena telling us she had been admitted to the hospital! She had gone to the doctor for her regular check up, when they discovered that the baby was pretty much on his way! We rushed home and hurriedly loaded bags in the trunk, grabbed snacks, cameras, and placement day presents, all while making phone calls to the friends and family members who had agreed to help out (watch Mason, puppysit Lizzy etc…). Within about twenty minutes or so, we dropped Mason off at our friend’s house and we were on our way!

We got periodic texts as we drove several hours to the hospital. Serena’s labor was progressing so quickly that we wondered if we might miss it. But things slowed down right as we got to the hospital and we were happy to see that Serena was doing well and was fairly comfortable when we first got there. We had fun chatting with her and her Mom while we waited for Kellen to arrive.

I know this picture is a bit blurry, dang it, but look how happy she looks! That girl is one tough cookie, let me tell you.

Well, we waited and waited. Finally the time came for Serena to push and, bless her heart, Serena pushed for over two hours! It was very humbling, to say the least, to be in the delivery room watching her struggle to bring Kellen into the world. Serena is such a strong girl, but it was hard to see her in so much pain. Because Kellen was face up, labor was not progressing and they decided to do a C-section. Serena invited me into the operating room, so I suited up:

I didn’t dare watch what was going on on the other side of the sheet because I didn’t want to risk passing out, but I got to see Kellen when they first held him up all wrinkly and new.

I met Spencer in the nursery and our smiles quickly faded as we realized that Kellen wasn’t doing very well. He was not breathing on his own and we watched as nurses struggled to help him. We must have looked on the verge of tears because one kind nurse came up to us and told us not to worry. She said that there weren’t any doctors or nurses running, so that was a good sign.

Looking back, it’s weird to me to think about just how long we watched the nurses try to help Kellen. It was like time was suspended. When we were talking with Serena the next day, and piecing together the events of the previous night, was when I realized just how long we had watched Kellen struggle. It was a period of a few hours, but at the time we were so consumed by the present moment that time just seemed to stand still.

Finally, we were told that Kellen was going to have to be transferred to another hospital. This was alarming for several reasons. Of course the primary concern was for Kellen’s health and condition. But secondly it would have meant that Serena wouldn’t have gotten the time in the hospital with him that she had planned on since they would be separated. Of course, this was devastating. She asked for Kellen to get a blessing, and her dad came to the hospital and he and Spencer gave Kellen a priesthood blessing. Kellen’s condition began to improve rapidly and, one of the nurses commented on how it was like he was a different baby entirely. Kellen was able to stay where he was, but he did have to remain in the NICU for forty-eight hours. We were so grateful that he was doing better.

We stayed in a hospital room “overnight” meaning we only slept in there a couple of hours/laid in bed awake waiting to finally be able to meet Kellen. Finally, Thursday morning the three of us went to the NICU to finally hold Baby Boy. It was so good to finally hold him and see for ourselves that he was doing better. He was cute as a button, but poor little guy was all covered in wires. At one point, he even had an IV in his head, but even though the nurses reassured us it wasn’t any more uncomfortable in that part of his body, it just looked scary..





That first day, Spencer got to give Kellen his first little bath. Kellen had quite the audience through the NICU window! Though you can only see a couple people, there was a whole little crowd of Serena’s friends and family who had come to the hospital to see her and Kellen.

Serena and Kellen were in the hospital for over four days. We spent a lot of time at the hospital cuddling Kellen and visiting with Serena. We tried to find a balance of spending time with them and enjoying their company, but letting Serena have time with Kellen and an opportunity to rest and recover. We mostly felt very honored to be included and tried to be supportive as we could be but also give the appropriate amount of space. We were able to meet several friends and family members who came to visit Serena, and were touched that we got to meet people that were special to her.

(Kellen with his birthfather, Josh)

Kellen’s birthfather and his family also spent a good amount of time at the hospital, and it was wonderful to spend time with them as well. I have many good memories of all of us crowded around the hospital room just visiting and admiring Kellen. Spencer and I both agreed that those times with all of Kellen’s birth family were so special. It was very touching to watch Kellen be held and cuddled by various birth family members. He is loved by so many people.

The hospital staff were truly awesome. We had many conversations with Serena about how nice many of the nurses were. There were a few nurses in the NICU that we especially appreciated because they were so sweet and so good with Kellen. Most of the nurses seemed familiar with adoption situations like ours (in fact there were at least two other adoptions that took place at that hospital during the time we were there) and I think their understanding of adoption made the whole hospital experience run more smoothly for everyone.  

We were so grateful that we got to have that time with Kellen and his birth families in the hospital. Serena let us be a part of a very personal, very sacred time of her life and that meant everything to us.

Eventually it was time for us to go home…