Saturday November 27th:
Our baby gained two ounces from yesterday. 3 lbs 4 oz These increases are phenomenal! We are approaching the mark of 1500 grams, this is the point when things are supposed to pick up pretty quickly. The doctor is having them test Ele tonight to see if she can hold her body temperature without any extra heat circulating around her. If she can hold it through the night they might graduate her to a crib! This is big news because a crib is one of the 2 requirements she has left before getting to come home. I'm hopeful she will do awesome. Oh and we got to give Ele her bath tonight. It was so much fun, partly because it helped with bounding, but mainly because it was fun to see how our little girl has her Daddy firmly wrapped around her little finger. As we started to go through the process of weighing Ele and then getting to start the bath he was so concerned about her getting too cold or not liking it. He kept wanting to hold her and it was really cute. In fact as I put her down to start changing her he kept on almost pushing my hands out of the way because he wanted to hold her to comfort her and let her know he was there. So note to self, he is totally smitten by our little girl and I might have to make sure he doesn't spoil her too much.
Sunday November 28th:
Another 2 ounces! And passing the 1500 gram mark. 3 lbs 6 oz 1525 grams. She held her temp through the night so they removed her little water bed and she has been holding steady all day as well. So this afternoon they will test her in the crib! If everything goes well then she can stay in the crib unless for some reason she stops holding her body temp. Which could happen but I have a feeling with how much she is gaining each day, if she can handle it these first few hours she'll be able to stay in her crib. We are going back tonight and can't wait to see our little girl graduated to a crib. Mainly I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone that is praying for our family and especially little Ele. She is so strong and has done so well and we know we are being blessed and many times carried by the Lord and the prayers being offered in our behalf. We are so grateful for the support that has been given to us and for how understanding everyone has been. Thank you so much for everything. I'll try and keep everyone posted with updates on this blog. Hopefully in the next little while things will really pick up and before we know it we'll have our little girl home.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Friday November 19th:
Today we started non-nutritive breastfeeding. This is more of a training for Elenor. I pump off my milk and then she can practice without having to get suck, swallow, breath all at once. Ele did wonderfully. The Occupational Therapist was impressed Ele did so well.
Saturday November 20th:
We just hung with our little lady who keeps gainng weight and doing awesome. Continued with the non-nutrtive and she's doing awesome.
Sunday November 21st:
Same thing today, there aren't many updates which is pretty much awesome, If the only updates we need are that she is doing fantastic and just needs to gain weight we are totally okay with that.
Monday November 22nd:
Ele is gaining weight and started actaul nursing today. She did really good. She's still learning but she is amazing.
Tuesday November 23rd:
Elenor is two weeks today. I can't believe it's already been two weeks. I miss her so much when I can't be with her, but I realize she is where she's supposed to be. I just hope she won't need to be here for much longer. I just want to be able to hold her more often and just love her. She is 2 lbs 14 oz today.
Wednesday November 24th:
My Baby is 3lbs today! Since she lost 2 oz right after birth she has technically gained 50% of her birth weight. I'm so proud of her and I am so surprised at how different she looks. Her little face is so 'chunky'. I realize that it's only chunky for her and she's still half the size of most babies but I am still so excited and proud to be her mom.
Thursday November 25th; (Thanksgiving)
When we went in today there was a sweet present waiting for us on Ele's crib. It was a cute handprint from Ele turned into a turkey with a poem that said:
This isn't a turkey
As anyone can see,
I made it with my hand.
Which is a part of me.
It comes with lots of love
Especially to say
I hope you have a very Happy Turkey Day!
It was great to see her and to get this present, but it was hard to have this Thanksgiving and not be able to have her with us. We went from the hospital to our family dinner and then back to the hospital. It was a great but hard day.
Friday November 26th:
Today is basically the same as most just Ele sleeping and being adorable while Nate and I visit. Shes up to 3 lbs 2 oz every ounce counts. They measure her in grams and she is at 1425 she was born at 1015. They say the magical number is usually 1800 grams. This is when they start to really hold their body temp and start to really nurse well. So we are hoping she'll continue to get bigger so we can bring her home. Though we'll be on lock down until April or May because of RSV season, so we can't take her many places and won't be able to have many visitors, it will be amazing to have her home with us.
Today we started non-nutritive breastfeeding. This is more of a training for Elenor. I pump off my milk and then she can practice without having to get suck, swallow, breath all at once. Ele did wonderfully. The Occupational Therapist was impressed Ele did so well.
Saturday November 20th:
We just hung with our little lady who keeps gainng weight and doing awesome. Continued with the non-nutrtive and she's doing awesome.
Sunday November 21st:
Same thing today, there aren't many updates which is pretty much awesome, If the only updates we need are that she is doing fantastic and just needs to gain weight we are totally okay with that.
Monday November 22nd:
Ele is gaining weight and started actaul nursing today. She did really good. She's still learning but she is amazing.
Tuesday November 23rd:
Elenor is two weeks today. I can't believe it's already been two weeks. I miss her so much when I can't be with her, but I realize she is where she's supposed to be. I just hope she won't need to be here for much longer. I just want to be able to hold her more often and just love her. She is 2 lbs 14 oz today.
Wednesday November 24th:
My Baby is 3lbs today! Since she lost 2 oz right after birth she has technically gained 50% of her birth weight. I'm so proud of her and I am so surprised at how different she looks. Her little face is so 'chunky'. I realize that it's only chunky for her and she's still half the size of most babies but I am still so excited and proud to be her mom.
Thursday November 25th; (Thanksgiving)
When we went in today there was a sweet present waiting for us on Ele's crib. It was a cute handprint from Ele turned into a turkey with a poem that said:
This isn't a turkey
As anyone can see,
I made it with my hand.
Which is a part of me.
It comes with lots of love
Especially to say
I hope you have a very Happy Turkey Day!
It was great to see her and to get this present, but it was hard to have this Thanksgiving and not be able to have her with us. We went from the hospital to our family dinner and then back to the hospital. It was a great but hard day.
Friday November 26th:
Today is basically the same as most just Ele sleeping and being adorable while Nate and I visit. Shes up to 3 lbs 2 oz every ounce counts. They measure her in grams and she is at 1425 she was born at 1015. They say the magical number is usually 1800 grams. This is when they start to really hold their body temp and start to really nurse well. So we are hoping she'll continue to get bigger so we can bring her home. Though we'll be on lock down until April or May because of RSV season, so we can't take her many places and won't be able to have many visitors, it will be amazing to have her home with us.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Elenor's Birth Part 4
Saturday November 13th: Convinced the doctors to let me go home.
I wanted to go home so badly. I knew i wouldn't get to take ele home no matter how long they had me stay, and so i just wanted to go home and be able to sleep next to my husband and just have some sense of normalcy. My blood pressure was still high so they were concerned but I won out. :) I went up that morning and held Ele and then we went up again at 4:30 to have Nate hold her before we went home. Our nurse in the NICU today was Carolyn Stone, she is in my parents ward and watched Ele for a few of her shifts. She was and is fantastic and then Nate and I left the hospital. It was and is always hard to leave Ele but I was so excited to go home that did help a little. We ran up to my parents house to grab a few things we needed and ate dinner with them. Then we went home and I slept wonderfully in my own bed.
Sunday November 14th:
This was a pretty lazy day as well, I slept and relaxed and we went to see Ele. We get to hold her at least once a day now and it is so exciting. Our wonderful neighbor Jan Brimhall brought us dinner and it was really nice. Apparantly I have really been wanting to try her wonderful smelling pot pies because she came to visit me the day after Ele was born, the day I was on the Mag and couldn't even open my eyes, but i was aware enough to ask her for a pot pie on Sunday when she asked if there was anything she could do. :) And then the sweetheart that she is she said absolutely.
Monday November 15th: Monday was my first day I could go and see Ele but would have to go by myself. So I did, I woke up and drove over and was there by about 8 in the morning, held Ele and just stayed by her because I missed her and liked just sitting around her. I went and ran a few errands and then went home and picked up Nate, we went to hold Ele and then came back to another wonderful dinner provided by our awesome ward. We had an early night because we are just started to get used to this new schedule.
Tuesday November 16th:
I stayed with Ele the whole morning, Then went to my Doctor's appointment. They said I healed amazingly well. My blood pressure is still a little high so they are monitoring me and I am not quite cleared to go back to work. I went home and rested for a little while, then came back with Nate in the afternoon. I really do enjoy watching Nate hold our little girl. He is the most amazing man and is a great dad.
Wednesday November 17th:
Ele's heart rate started to drop occassionally, but she is still their star student in the NICU. Stayed with her for the morning, got my hair cut, went back with Nate.
Thursday November 18th:
I went this morning to spend time with Ele and they let me hold her for an hour and a half. It was so amazing, we sing together and have little chats, I love that time with her, it is so precious to me. I went home and worked on these blog posts. ;) and then headed back last night at 7:30 with Nate. As we walked in and turned the corner our abby was no where to be found. I said, 'Oh, our baby is missing.' and the nurse Cory jumped up and said, 'oh she got moved across the hall they didn't tell you?' We said no but were so excited. We figured she would be moved soon since she was doing so well, but they usually like for the kids to not be on an IV, any breathing help, and as close to 4 pounds as possible. She hasn't been on any breathing help basically since she was born, and her IV will be complete Friday night. And since she was doing so well they decided to move her over anyway even at her very petite 2 lbs 8 oz. Nate enjoyed about an hour and twenty minutes. She was so awake and just looked beautiful. I sat there and just cried repeated times because I was so proud of her. We've had talks, Ele and I, about how we want to get her home by Christmas, and I feel it's totally doable. And after her graduation I couldn't have been a more proud mother.
I wanted to go home so badly. I knew i wouldn't get to take ele home no matter how long they had me stay, and so i just wanted to go home and be able to sleep next to my husband and just have some sense of normalcy. My blood pressure was still high so they were concerned but I won out. :) I went up that morning and held Ele and then we went up again at 4:30 to have Nate hold her before we went home. Our nurse in the NICU today was Carolyn Stone, she is in my parents ward and watched Ele for a few of her shifts. She was and is fantastic and then Nate and I left the hospital. It was and is always hard to leave Ele but I was so excited to go home that did help a little. We ran up to my parents house to grab a few things we needed and ate dinner with them. Then we went home and I slept wonderfully in my own bed.
Sunday November 14th:
This was a pretty lazy day as well, I slept and relaxed and we went to see Ele. We get to hold her at least once a day now and it is so exciting. Our wonderful neighbor Jan Brimhall brought us dinner and it was really nice. Apparantly I have really been wanting to try her wonderful smelling pot pies because she came to visit me the day after Ele was born, the day I was on the Mag and couldn't even open my eyes, but i was aware enough to ask her for a pot pie on Sunday when she asked if there was anything she could do. :) And then the sweetheart that she is she said absolutely.
Monday November 15th: Monday was my first day I could go and see Ele but would have to go by myself. So I did, I woke up and drove over and was there by about 8 in the morning, held Ele and just stayed by her because I missed her and liked just sitting around her. I went and ran a few errands and then went home and picked up Nate, we went to hold Ele and then came back to another wonderful dinner provided by our awesome ward. We had an early night because we are just started to get used to this new schedule.
Tuesday November 16th:
I stayed with Ele the whole morning, Then went to my Doctor's appointment. They said I healed amazingly well. My blood pressure is still a little high so they are monitoring me and I am not quite cleared to go back to work. I went home and rested for a little while, then came back with Nate in the afternoon. I really do enjoy watching Nate hold our little girl. He is the most amazing man and is a great dad.
Wednesday November 17th:
Ele's heart rate started to drop occassionally, but she is still their star student in the NICU. Stayed with her for the morning, got my hair cut, went back with Nate.
Thursday November 18th:
I went this morning to spend time with Ele and they let me hold her for an hour and a half. It was so amazing, we sing together and have little chats, I love that time with her, it is so precious to me. I went home and worked on these blog posts. ;) and then headed back last night at 7:30 with Nate. As we walked in and turned the corner our abby was no where to be found. I said, 'Oh, our baby is missing.' and the nurse Cory jumped up and said, 'oh she got moved across the hall they didn't tell you?' We said no but were so excited. We figured she would be moved soon since she was doing so well, but they usually like for the kids to not be on an IV, any breathing help, and as close to 4 pounds as possible. She hasn't been on any breathing help basically since she was born, and her IV will be complete Friday night. And since she was doing so well they decided to move her over anyway even at her very petite 2 lbs 8 oz. Nate enjoyed about an hour and twenty minutes. She was so awake and just looked beautiful. I sat there and just cried repeated times because I was so proud of her. We've had talks, Ele and I, about how we want to get her home by Christmas, and I feel it's totally doable. And after her graduation I couldn't have been a more proud mother.
Elenor's Birth Part 3
Wednesday November 10th:
At sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 AM I woke myself up called the nurse and told her I needed to see my baby. I sat my bed up, I pulled myself over and with the will power of awesomeness I somehow managed to get myself turned around and into the wheelchair. I had my trusty bag with me in case I got sick, called to Nate to get his camera and come with me because I wanted to see my baby. I remember being incredibly shakey and feeling sick, but I wanted to see my baby more than anything. They wheeled me upstairs and into the NICU, Ele was in an open bed at this time and I couldn't really stand up very much, so I couldn't see her incredibly well. But I touched her little feet and was able to handle the heat from her warmer for maybe 5 minutes. Then I started to loose it (puked) and had to leave. I got back into bed and don't actually remember the act of getting back into bed. For most of the day I was incredibly out of it. I literally couldn't open my eyes. I remmber being nauseated still so they gave me some medicine. I wanted to see my baby and I kept asking Nate to turn on the TV or things like that to try and help me wake up but the Mag was so strong that I couldn't. With in seconds I would drift off again and couldn't wake mself up again. That evening some family stopped by. My sister Suzy and her family came right when they turned the Mag off and for the next 45 minutes I could literally feel it leaving my body. It was so nice to start to feel better. I was able to actually drink some water and keep my eyes open for longer than 5 minutes. Suzy said that the difference of when she first got there and her leaving was crazy. I finally was able to get up again and went to see my baby at about 10:00 PM. I was able to stand up for a little bit and touch my baby. It was so surreal, but she was just so darling. I absolutely loved getting to see her. I was still pretty sick and incredibly tired because of the Mag so I went back down to sleep.
Thursday November 11th:
Today I was finally awake and was able to walk a little. I took family members up to see the baby, and started to feel a little overwhelmed. I could tell Ele was getting a little overwhelmed and I felt like to protect my baby I couldn't touch her very much because I didn't want her to get overstimulated. So I started to get nervous and I started crying. Margaret our nurse that day told us Ele was getting a little overstimulated, so she suggested that we come back that night at 7:30 and try skin to skin, and then we would put her in an enclosed isolette, to help keep out some of the noise and things like that. I was so excited at the prospect of holding my baby. I was counting down the time until we could go back up. I started to get nervous but was still oh so excited. We headed up stairs and they took my precious little girl out and handed her to me. I got to hold her next to me and for the first time I felt a little relief. I just hugged her and cried because I finally got to hold my baby. It was the most amazing moment. I just sat there and relaxed, loved that I got to finally hold my 2 day old baby. I think every mother longs for the moment when they get to hold their baby. I wanted to hold her so badly and couldn't for those first two days. I think that's why it was the most amazing feeling ever. It was so hard to leave her and have her be taken away from me. Even though I knew it was what she needed I just wanted to be with her. Later that night I was pumping and just wanted to be nursing my baby more than anything. I cried for an hour straight and just missed her and wished I could be next to her and nursing her.
Friday November 12th:
Today was a little bit of a lazy day. I had to start my recovery as well and I was working on getting my blood pressure down. So I went to see my baby twice today inbetween naps and recovering. Then Nate came in after work and we went upstairs for his first time to hold the baby. I was so exxcited for Nate to finally get to hold her. It was the most precious thing to watch him hold her and see how she just snuggled into him. I was just beaming the entire time. She was so small and Nate felt like a Giant compared to her. Nate is such a good Dad, he is seriously amazing and has been so good with Ele and I through all of this. I am so grateful he is mine and that I get to go through this with him. I don't know if I could do this without him.
At sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 AM I woke myself up called the nurse and told her I needed to see my baby. I sat my bed up, I pulled myself over and with the will power of awesomeness I somehow managed to get myself turned around and into the wheelchair. I had my trusty bag with me in case I got sick, called to Nate to get his camera and come with me because I wanted to see my baby. I remember being incredibly shakey and feeling sick, but I wanted to see my baby more than anything. They wheeled me upstairs and into the NICU, Ele was in an open bed at this time and I couldn't really stand up very much, so I couldn't see her incredibly well. But I touched her little feet and was able to handle the heat from her warmer for maybe 5 minutes. Then I started to loose it (puked) and had to leave. I got back into bed and don't actually remember the act of getting back into bed. For most of the day I was incredibly out of it. I literally couldn't open my eyes. I remmber being nauseated still so they gave me some medicine. I wanted to see my baby and I kept asking Nate to turn on the TV or things like that to try and help me wake up but the Mag was so strong that I couldn't. With in seconds I would drift off again and couldn't wake mself up again. That evening some family stopped by. My sister Suzy and her family came right when they turned the Mag off and for the next 45 minutes I could literally feel it leaving my body. It was so nice to start to feel better. I was able to actually drink some water and keep my eyes open for longer than 5 minutes. Suzy said that the difference of when she first got there and her leaving was crazy. I finally was able to get up again and went to see my baby at about 10:00 PM. I was able to stand up for a little bit and touch my baby. It was so surreal, but she was just so darling. I absolutely loved getting to see her. I was still pretty sick and incredibly tired because of the Mag so I went back down to sleep.
Thursday November 11th:
Today I was finally awake and was able to walk a little. I took family members up to see the baby, and started to feel a little overwhelmed. I could tell Ele was getting a little overwhelmed and I felt like to protect my baby I couldn't touch her very much because I didn't want her to get overstimulated. So I started to get nervous and I started crying. Margaret our nurse that day told us Ele was getting a little overstimulated, so she suggested that we come back that night at 7:30 and try skin to skin, and then we would put her in an enclosed isolette, to help keep out some of the noise and things like that. I was so excited at the prospect of holding my baby. I was counting down the time until we could go back up. I started to get nervous but was still oh so excited. We headed up stairs and they took my precious little girl out and handed her to me. I got to hold her next to me and for the first time I felt a little relief. I just hugged her and cried because I finally got to hold my baby. It was the most amazing moment. I just sat there and relaxed, loved that I got to finally hold my 2 day old baby. I think every mother longs for the moment when they get to hold their baby. I wanted to hold her so badly and couldn't for those first two days. I think that's why it was the most amazing feeling ever. It was so hard to leave her and have her be taken away from me. Even though I knew it was what she needed I just wanted to be with her. Later that night I was pumping and just wanted to be nursing my baby more than anything. I cried for an hour straight and just missed her and wished I could be next to her and nursing her.
Friday November 12th:
Today was a little bit of a lazy day. I had to start my recovery as well and I was working on getting my blood pressure down. So I went to see my baby twice today inbetween naps and recovering. Then Nate came in after work and we went upstairs for his first time to hold the baby. I was so exxcited for Nate to finally get to hold her. It was the most precious thing to watch him hold her and see how she just snuggled into him. I was just beaming the entire time. She was so small and Nate felt like a Giant compared to her. Nate is such a good Dad, he is seriously amazing and has been so good with Ele and I through all of this. I am so grateful he is mine and that I get to go through this with him. I don't know if I could do this without him.
Elenor's Birth Part 2
Monday November 8th:
Monday morning they took me in for my ultrasound, ironically I had an ultrasound scheduled for that afternoon, so I told them they shouldn't plan on me coming in later on. They just went through and measured Ele and thought she would be around 3 pounds which was spot on for a 31.5 weeker. though they are only accurate within about a pound or so. They discussed with me that they felt she would be alright and they have many kids that early do incredibly well. They also said since I was now closer to 32 weeks than 31 was a huge benefit. Most babies born at 32 don't have developmental issues, and they tend to do incredibly well. It was really comforting to hear that. They sent in a NICU consult to tell me what I should expect. Basically they said lungs were the main concern and it's great it looks like I'd be able to get both steroid shots before she would be born. There were a few other concerns but nothing they felt they couldn't fix. That was Dr. Stoddard, and he is the sweetest man ever. They then started talking to me about what would be happening tomorrow, first they would try to soften my cervix tonight so I could try for a vaginal birth. Then they would start pitocin tomorrow and see how it went. They told me I needed to be aware that a c-section was a real possibility, again I felt a huge peace about everything I knew I was in good hands. I had a few friends and families come and visit throughout the day and it was going well. Apparantly I wasn't incredibly coherent or didn't realize I wasn't explaining well because Nate didn't realize that Tuesday was baby day. So I settled in for another long night, sent Nate home but told him to come in as soon as he woke up.
Tuesday November 9th:
They gave me the last dose of medicine before the pitocin, and then waited until noon to start the pitocin. I was starting to progress slowly but after every contraction Ele's heart rate was dipping. This is a sign of distress and so they had to turn off the pitocin. I was only dilated to a 1, so in last efforts to have a natural birth they broke my water. And we were able to get a heart rate monitor on Ele's head. I went into natural labor and didn't need any pitocin. After about four hours I was only dilated to a 3. Ele's heart was still dipping after each cotraction and my blood pressure wasn't looking good. We discussed it with our doctor and decided that a c-section would be the safest option for both Ele and I. So I received my epidural a little before 7PM. I was taken into the operating table and I still had a very calm comforted feeling. I remember feeling relaxed and not even nervous about the surgery I was about to go through. As they told me there would be a lot of pressure as they delivered her, I started repeating, 'everything is going to be okay, everything is going to be okay.' Nate said, 'Don't worry honey it will be alright.' And out came our baby screaming away. ( 2lbs 2oz , 7:39PM) It was the most amazing thing to hear her lungs working so well. Nate got to stand up and take pictures or her, and because she was doing so well they even held her over the curtain for me to see. The NICU respiratory team took Ele into the next room and Nate went with them. Doctors Dayton, and Gamette were closing me up and told me how vigorous she was, I found out later that vigorous is a medical term that means her heart rate was above 100 and she was breathing on her own. He continued to close me up and was so impressed that he could hear her crying for the next room, he commented again saying, 'Seriusly listen to her go, she's so strong.' It made me so happy. As they got me back into the bed to go to recovery they raised my dose of Mag (Magnesium Sulfate) and I started to drift off pretty quickly. They admitted Ele to the NICU and put a precautionary CPAP machine on here to help keep pressure in her lungs so they wouldn't colapse. They didn't need to use it but felt it was better to be safe.
I don't know how long I was in the recovery room before Nate came back, because I was pretty out of it. they then switched me down to the 4th floor. I remember that they got the bed and IV stuck going into the elevator. As they shook the bed around I started to get sick and threw up everywhere. I thought it was weird because they just kept shaking the bed around while I puked my guts out. I also don't know why but they didn't take me through the NICU like they normally do. I don't remember much after getting into the elevator. I know that Nate and my Mom went up to the NICU to got everything taken care of.
Monday morning they took me in for my ultrasound, ironically I had an ultrasound scheduled for that afternoon, so I told them they shouldn't plan on me coming in later on. They just went through and measured Ele and thought she would be around 3 pounds which was spot on for a 31.5 weeker. though they are only accurate within about a pound or so. They discussed with me that they felt she would be alright and they have many kids that early do incredibly well. They also said since I was now closer to 32 weeks than 31 was a huge benefit. Most babies born at 32 don't have developmental issues, and they tend to do incredibly well. It was really comforting to hear that. They sent in a NICU consult to tell me what I should expect. Basically they said lungs were the main concern and it's great it looks like I'd be able to get both steroid shots before she would be born. There were a few other concerns but nothing they felt they couldn't fix. That was Dr. Stoddard, and he is the sweetest man ever. They then started talking to me about what would be happening tomorrow, first they would try to soften my cervix tonight so I could try for a vaginal birth. Then they would start pitocin tomorrow and see how it went. They told me I needed to be aware that a c-section was a real possibility, again I felt a huge peace about everything I knew I was in good hands. I had a few friends and families come and visit throughout the day and it was going well. Apparantly I wasn't incredibly coherent or didn't realize I wasn't explaining well because Nate didn't realize that Tuesday was baby day. So I settled in for another long night, sent Nate home but told him to come in as soon as he woke up.
Tuesday November 9th:
They gave me the last dose of medicine before the pitocin, and then waited until noon to start the pitocin. I was starting to progress slowly but after every contraction Ele's heart rate was dipping. This is a sign of distress and so they had to turn off the pitocin. I was only dilated to a 1, so in last efforts to have a natural birth they broke my water. And we were able to get a heart rate monitor on Ele's head. I went into natural labor and didn't need any pitocin. After about four hours I was only dilated to a 3. Ele's heart was still dipping after each cotraction and my blood pressure wasn't looking good. We discussed it with our doctor and decided that a c-section would be the safest option for both Ele and I. So I received my epidural a little before 7PM. I was taken into the operating table and I still had a very calm comforted feeling. I remember feeling relaxed and not even nervous about the surgery I was about to go through. As they told me there would be a lot of pressure as they delivered her, I started repeating, 'everything is going to be okay, everything is going to be okay.' Nate said, 'Don't worry honey it will be alright.' And out came our baby screaming away. ( 2lbs 2oz , 7:39PM) It was the most amazing thing to hear her lungs working so well. Nate got to stand up and take pictures or her, and because she was doing so well they even held her over the curtain for me to see. The NICU respiratory team took Ele into the next room and Nate went with them. Doctors Dayton, and Gamette were closing me up and told me how vigorous she was, I found out later that vigorous is a medical term that means her heart rate was above 100 and she was breathing on her own. He continued to close me up and was so impressed that he could hear her crying for the next room, he commented again saying, 'Seriusly listen to her go, she's so strong.' It made me so happy. As they got me back into the bed to go to recovery they raised my dose of Mag (Magnesium Sulfate) and I started to drift off pretty quickly. They admitted Ele to the NICU and put a precautionary CPAP machine on here to help keep pressure in her lungs so they wouldn't colapse. They didn't need to use it but felt it was better to be safe.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Elenor's Birth Part 1
Nate has been asking me to write this for awhile now and I agree it needs to happen. I want to make sure what I'm feeling is written down and recorded so that some day I can look back at this with Ele and tell her how she was born. So I'm going to do a day by day. Some may be longer and I might break up this post, but I am going to start with Friday November 5th. Also please note that I'm going to put in some of my personal feelings as I went through everything so there will be some personal things inside these posts.
Friday November 5th:
Today I woke up and had just bought a bunch of cute shirts from the Shade outlet closing. I wore this super cute striped shirt that made me look ridiculously cute and pregnant, so I took a picture and uploaded it to Facebook. I had just hit my 31 week mark the day before, so I had 9 weeks left. Nate was heading to California for his Grandma's 90 birthday party. I wasn't allowed to travel so I was going to be without a husband for the weekend until Sunday afternoon. This wasn't very long especially since we went to lunch together before he left, but I was having a really hard time with him leaving. Before I left work I stayed late because I wanted to get more cauhgt up, for some reason I kept thinking, what if I can't come in on Monday? My little sister Sarah came and spent the night on Friday just to keep me company. I had a hard night and really missed Nate and for some reason I just really wanted him home, I cried a few times and even told him I didn't know why I was having such a hard time, I sort of feel now that it was because my body knew what was coming and knew I would need him.
Saturday November 6th:
I really missed Nate today, seriously cried and called him a few times. I just wanted my husband back. I went over to my mom's house and did some homework and relaxed because I wasn't feeling well. It was kind of a lazy day. I went home, went to bed, slept horribly and missed my husband lots.
Sunday November 7th:
This morning I woke up and was getting ready for church. I walked into the bathroom and noticed my face was really swollen. I knew this was a sign of Pre-Eclampsia, it made me nervous. I called Bro. Black (we do Primary Music together) and told him I wouldn't be able to make it because I thought I needed to go in for a non stress test. He was understanding and concerned and told me to take care. I called Nate and told him through the now streaming tears that I felt something was wrong and I just wanted him home. He told me when his flight was supposed to land and I called my mom to tell her my symptoms. She told me to lay down and drink water and she'd come to get me after church. So I waited and was doing alright, when she came to get me my blood pressure was incredibly high but we thought we might be able to bring it down. I really was just waiting for Nate to get home. So I looked up the other symptoms of Pre-Eclampsia and started watching for them. Nate got home and I felt so much better just knowing he was there. I got a headache (symptom) and then started to get nauseated (symptom). We went down the street to my sister's house for a family birthday party and I just started feeling worse. My brother and my dad both said we should go to the hospital, so I called my midwife and she said she felt I should go in as well. So my dad and Nate gave me a quick blessing and we jumped in the car. I know it sounds weird but as we drove to the hospital I knew I had pre-eclampsia and I knew I was going to have to have the baby. Though I thought they might be able to hold off for at least a week or something like that.
We walked into the Labor and Delivery at Orem Community Hospital and they started watching my vitals. Almost immediately they called the midwife to have her come in and she confirmed I did in fact have Pre-Eclampsia. And it wasn't just Pre-Eclampsia but severe Pre-Eclampsia. For people who don't know what this is, basically I was having a reaction to the placenta. It raised my blood pressure incredibly high and I was at risk for seizures (Eclampsia) I didn't think I was at that point already but they confirmed I was in fact in the danger zone for having seizures. They started me on Magnesium Sulfate which is basically a strong muscle relaxant to help me not have a seizure. The only way to fix Pre-Eclampsia is to end the pregnancy. So I needed to have the baby for my own safety. They also started me on a blood pressure medication, and gave me my first steroid shot to help Ele's lungs to develop faster. They called for a paramedic transfer and got me ready to be moved to UVRMC because they have an amazing NICU Newborn Intensive Care Unit. They work with babies as early as I believe 24 weeks. Dena Walker was the midwife that came in to talk with me. She started to tell me what was going on and that the baby needed to be born. I just had a peaceful feeling and told her I knew Elenor needed to be born because of the Pre-Eclampsia and that I trusted the Doctors to do what needed to be done for both of us. I just kept smiling and tried to talk with all of the nurses, Susie and Donna were the two that had run my labs. As the paramedics took me out I had a farewell party waiting, they all waived goodbye and the paramedics were very impressed. Nathan followed us down so that he would have his car at the hospital. They took me into Labor and Delivery, I called Nate to tell him what room I was in and got ready for a very long night. I had Nate stay for a little while but then told him to go home (remember he hadn't been home yet since his trip) We needed him to go to work and so I told him to go home sleep and go to work and that I would call him if I needed him.
My night was spent with a wonderful nurse named Cynthia, she and I became fast friends since they had to have a consistant monitor on my babies heartbeat as well as checking my blood pressure every 10-20 minutes. I felt much better about having Nate go home because it would have been a miserable night for him and I knew the next few days would be interesting to say the least. The nurses learned quickly that I wasn't exaggerating that I had a very active baby. Every hour or so they had to come in and move the heart rate monitor because they would loose her. Nate said he pictured her kicking the monitor and then swimming away and hiding while she laughed at her own cleverness. It became part of the shift change briefing that my baby would be swimming everywhere. So each nurse came in and introduced themselves and then said, 'we hear we have an active one.' I laughed and told them absolutely. The best part of this is that normally the Magnesium Sulfate really affects the baby, but it didn't seem to touch Ele.
Friday November 5th:
Today I woke up and had just bought a bunch of cute shirts from the Shade outlet closing. I wore this super cute striped shirt that made me look ridiculously cute and pregnant, so I took a picture and uploaded it to Facebook. I had just hit my 31 week mark the day before, so I had 9 weeks left. Nate was heading to California for his Grandma's 90 birthday party. I wasn't allowed to travel so I was going to be without a husband for the weekend until Sunday afternoon. This wasn't very long especially since we went to lunch together before he left, but I was having a really hard time with him leaving. Before I left work I stayed late because I wanted to get more cauhgt up, for some reason I kept thinking, what if I can't come in on Monday? My little sister Sarah came and spent the night on Friday just to keep me company. I had a hard night and really missed Nate and for some reason I just really wanted him home, I cried a few times and even told him I didn't know why I was having such a hard time, I sort of feel now that it was because my body knew what was coming and knew I would need him.
Saturday November 6th:
I really missed Nate today, seriously cried and called him a few times. I just wanted my husband back. I went over to my mom's house and did some homework and relaxed because I wasn't feeling well. It was kind of a lazy day. I went home, went to bed, slept horribly and missed my husband lots.
Sunday November 7th:
This morning I woke up and was getting ready for church. I walked into the bathroom and noticed my face was really swollen. I knew this was a sign of Pre-Eclampsia, it made me nervous. I called Bro. Black (we do Primary Music together) and told him I wouldn't be able to make it because I thought I needed to go in for a non stress test. He was understanding and concerned and told me to take care. I called Nate and told him through the now streaming tears that I felt something was wrong and I just wanted him home. He told me when his flight was supposed to land and I called my mom to tell her my symptoms. She told me to lay down and drink water and she'd come to get me after church. So I waited and was doing alright, when she came to get me my blood pressure was incredibly high but we thought we might be able to bring it down. I really was just waiting for Nate to get home. So I looked up the other symptoms of Pre-Eclampsia and started watching for them. Nate got home and I felt so much better just knowing he was there. I got a headache (symptom) and then started to get nauseated (symptom). We went down the street to my sister's house for a family birthday party and I just started feeling worse. My brother and my dad both said we should go to the hospital, so I called my midwife and she said she felt I should go in as well. So my dad and Nate gave me a quick blessing and we jumped in the car. I know it sounds weird but as we drove to the hospital I knew I had pre-eclampsia and I knew I was going to have to have the baby. Though I thought they might be able to hold off for at least a week or something like that.
We walked into the Labor and Delivery at Orem Community Hospital and they started watching my vitals. Almost immediately they called the midwife to have her come in and she confirmed I did in fact have Pre-Eclampsia. And it wasn't just Pre-Eclampsia but severe Pre-Eclampsia. For people who don't know what this is, basically I was having a reaction to the placenta. It raised my blood pressure incredibly high and I was at risk for seizures (Eclampsia) I didn't think I was at that point already but they confirmed I was in fact in the danger zone for having seizures. They started me on Magnesium Sulfate which is basically a strong muscle relaxant to help me not have a seizure. The only way to fix Pre-Eclampsia is to end the pregnancy. So I needed to have the baby for my own safety. They also started me on a blood pressure medication, and gave me my first steroid shot to help Ele's lungs to develop faster. They called for a paramedic transfer and got me ready to be moved to UVRMC because they have an amazing NICU Newborn Intensive Care Unit. They work with babies as early as I believe 24 weeks. Dena Walker was the midwife that came in to talk with me. She started to tell me what was going on and that the baby needed to be born. I just had a peaceful feeling and told her I knew Elenor needed to be born because of the Pre-Eclampsia and that I trusted the Doctors to do what needed to be done for both of us. I just kept smiling and tried to talk with all of the nurses, Susie and Donna were the two that had run my labs. As the paramedics took me out I had a farewell party waiting, they all waived goodbye and the paramedics were very impressed. Nathan followed us down so that he would have his car at the hospital. They took me into Labor and Delivery, I called Nate to tell him what room I was in and got ready for a very long night. I had Nate stay for a little while but then told him to go home (remember he hadn't been home yet since his trip) We needed him to go to work and so I told him to go home sleep and go to work and that I would call him if I needed him.
My night was spent with a wonderful nurse named Cynthia, she and I became fast friends since they had to have a consistant monitor on my babies heartbeat as well as checking my blood pressure every 10-20 minutes. I felt much better about having Nate go home because it would have been a miserable night for him and I knew the next few days would be interesting to say the least. The nurses learned quickly that I wasn't exaggerating that I had a very active baby. Every hour or so they had to come in and move the heart rate monitor because they would loose her. Nate said he pictured her kicking the monitor and then swimming away and hiding while she laughed at her own cleverness. It became part of the shift change briefing that my baby would be swimming everywhere. So each nurse came in and introduced themselves and then said, 'we hear we have an active one.' I laughed and told them absolutely. The best part of this is that normally the Magnesium Sulfate really affects the baby, but it didn't seem to touch Ele.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
One Week
Carrie was released from the hospital on Saturday and is doing great. Elenor is still in the NICU but she has gained 4 ounces! She is starting to look around and recognizes us. The nurses say Carrie has a very calming influence on Ele.
Carrie bought a monkey (its a stuffed animal) to announce to me that she was pregnant and now it is Ele's companion since we can't be with her all the time. The monkey and Ele are about the same length so I figure it will be fun for comparison down the road.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
New Baby Gross News!
Some people may have missed parts, so I'll start with the important stuff:
First, Carrie was pregnant and due on or around 01/06/2011; our baby (her name is Elenor Marie) was delivered 11/09/2010 at 7:39 PM and is doing great. For those who are not mathematically inclined, that makes Elenor about 2 months early.
Carrie only saw her for a moment as Elenor was lifted over the surgical curtain.
Elenor was as ready as a 2 month preemie could be under the circumstances. Her APGAR scores were 7 and 8 which basically means she was (and still is ) doing awesome! After some initial measurements and tests were completed (2 lbs 2 oz and 15.5 inches), she was taken to the NICU.
Wednesday was thankfully uneventful, Carrie was recovering from surgery and mostly incoherent due to the lingering effects of the medication she had been on. Around 2 PM The NICU doctor called us to give us an update, Elenor was breathing without any assistance! Which is frankly amazing because she had been born only 18 hours earlier and 2 month preemies do not typically have well developed lungs.
On to the story:
This past Sunday Carrie was not feeling well, went to visit her mother. Carrie had a headache and her blood pressure was well beyond the threshold for inducing seizures we found out later. This condition is known as pre-eclampsia and as Wikipedia simply states, "Apart from Caesarean section or induction of labor (and therefore delivery of the placenta), there is no known cure."
I was travelling from California most of Sunday so once I arrived at my mother-in-law's I took Carrie to Orem Community Hospital to see how severe her condition was. Once we arrived she was immediately put on Magnesium Sulfate (and others) to prevent seizures and to try and bring her blood pressure under control and preparations were made to transfer her to UVRMC in Provo. Before the transfer, Carrie was given a shot of steroids to help with the development of Elenor's lungs.
Carrie was transported in an ambulance and I followed in my car; admittedly, I got a little lost because I thought Carrie had been admitted through the Emergency Entrance. However, after a minute or two of running around I found the correct room. The hospital staff told us the baby would have to be delivered soon, one way or another. They wanted another day for the steroids to take effect before inducing labor or preparing for a c-section. On the plus side, our room had a nice view of Mount Timpanogos.
On Monday I went to work so I don't know all the details but the nurses/doctors gave Carrie shots, more meds and possible scenarios of delivery - there were also many visitors and encouragement via text message and Facebook... thank you for your support and prayers.
I was in the hospital on Tuesday and I thought it was going to be more of the same: shots, waiting, monitoring etc. However, around noon-ish, they started Carrie on Pitocin to try and induce labor. We had high hopes and after a few hours it looked like avoiding a c-section might happen, but she was not progressing fast enough. Around 7 PM we were told to expect a Cesarean Section delivery within the next half hour. Carrie wanted to go natural but not at the risk of losing the baby and with the combination of medicine Carrie was on and the effect it was having on Elenor, the doctors did not want to risk a longer labor.
Carrie got an epidural and was taken into the operating room. Elenor was delivered in a matter of minutes and started crying immediately. 
Carrie only saw her for a moment as Elenor was lifted over the surgical curtain.I followed Elenor into post-op while Carrie was being stitched back together.
Elenor was as ready as a 2 month preemie could be under the circumstances. Her APGAR scores were 7 and 8 which basically means she was (and still is ) doing awesome! After some initial measurements and tests were completed (2 lbs 2 oz and 15.5 inches), she was taken to the NICU.The NICU doctor explained some procedures and what to expect in regards to a release date. Basically a preemie is expected to be in the NICU until the initial expected delivery date. I expect/hope Elenor will be coming home well before January 6th. :-)
I was woken up by Carrie's maternal desire/iron will to see her baby at 3AM Wednesday morning. Me and a couple of nurses took Carrie in a wheelchair to the NICU. I barely remember the event but Carrie wanted to see her baby.
Wednesday was thankfully uneventful, Carrie was recovering from surgery and mostly incoherent due to the lingering effects of the medication she had been on. Around 2 PM The NICU doctor called us to give us an update, Elenor was breathing without any assistance! Which is frankly amazing because she had been born only 18 hours earlier and 2 month preemies do not typically have well developed lungs.In short Carrie and Elenor are doing great.
Thank you for your love, prayers and support,
Nathan and the Gross Girls ;-)
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