The Newest Monkey

Pictures of the New Monkey!!

Happy Birthday, William Hughes!

Hi everybody! (this is copy and pasted all over the internet!)

My sweet boy, William Hughes was born this afternoon at 1:36pm. He was 28w5d gestation. I was able to have him vaginally (thank goodness!) and I did finally relent to the epidural.

William is a very large baby at 3 pounds 7 ounces and 17.25 inches. Yes, you read that right- 17.25 inches. I seriously doubted the measurement but it is right. Tall like his Daddy. His apgars were 7 and 9.

When he was born, William screamed his little head off. By that I mean he screamed in the delivery room. And then he screamed so loudly in the resuscitation room (he didn't require resus), that I could hear him through the closed door! The nurses all said that they had a hard time giving him surfactant because he was fighting so hard. Very fiesty. I love that.

They did have to intubate him but the neo commented that she doesn't expect him to need it long. For a while they didn't think he would need it at all. His vent settings are currently 25% O2 but I can't remember the rate. They don't expect for him to need his belly lines for very long either.... and then I can hold him!!!

I am doing fine since I could deliver vaginally and did not have an episiotomy (just a very small tear). I am just tired and wish I could get into the isolette with baby Willam for a nice cuddle nap.

I will get pics up as soon as possible.

Thank you all for your support and prayers.

Hard Days

Oh, I miss my baby girl and my husband so much.

Add to that a very pessimistic Perinatologist and you have a sad Mommy. I'm just trying to plug through these long days and keep my eyes on the prize. But it is hard. Very hard.

Life is Crazy.... crazy

Today my nurse came in to talk to me about a patient in a room next to me who came into the hosptial funneled to her stitch. This patient was here for a little while before she ruptured. The nurse said she is very nervous and wanted to know if I would speak with her and tell her my own experience... about my wonderful outcome. (Of course)

When I visited an Incompetent Cervix Support board I go to, I said a few sentences about the patient in a post I wrote- asking for prayers for her. The next time I visited the board there was a thread addressed to me. In it the poster asked if my nurses name is Chantelle... which it is.

The person who is in the room next to me is someone I've been talking to on this message board. How crazy is that???? I've even tried to encourage her with my story online.

It is such a small world!

Magic Motrin

I get my last dose of Motrin (for stopping contractions) at 5 tomorrow morning.... I'm terrified that they are going to come back and I won't know it! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

The Original Miracle Baby

Happy Birthday to my "baby" brother, born at 32 weeks 24 years ago! I always loved taking your milk to the hospital before school... because I got to see you, too!

Wish I could see you to give you a big hug!

Whose Cervix is THAT???

Today has been a busy day for me.

Started my second 3 hour GTT at 6:30am.... much better test when the staff comes to you and you can just continue whatever you were doing.

Perinatologist rounds.

OB rounds.

IV infiltrated. I kept telling the nurses that it wasn't going to last much longer but I think they thought I am just a big whiner. Sure enough.... pop... and then my arm started swelling up. So the OB just said to take it out! Yay! Now I'm on all oral meds. Still two antibiotics and Motrin.

Then I went for an unexpected TVU/S. I get them every Wednesday in the hospital, I am told.

Anyway..... drumroll, please.....
My cervical length has doubled since Monday!!!!

So it went from 0.6-0.8cm Monday to 1.7cm today! I was crying like, well, a little baby. Scared the nurses when I got back. Scared my MIL who was waiting in my room when I returned from the u/s. How amazing is that? The MFM guy said that apparently I am/was having lots of contractions and that is what has been shortening my cervix. I apparently only feel a few of them. I'm anxious to hear what my regular MFM guy has to say about it.

Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts and fingers crossed! You have helped more than you know!!! OMG, I'm so happy!

Hospital Again

Well, I'm back in the hospital. This time for the duration, I think.

I got the fast track here when I had a contraction in the middle of my tvus. The contraction completely thinned my cervix. So, before contraction I was down to 0.6cm and during I was 0.0cm. I was immediately taken to L&D where I am now.... waiting.

Right now I'm getting IV fluids, antibiotics, and something to stop the contractions. I was having them 4-5 minutes apart when they first started the monitoring... but I couldn't feel them. I think they have slowed down now but can't be sure. I've also started another 4 day round of Motrin.

The nurses are all zipping around me like I'm going to have this baby any minute. Making me nervous... AND, they have me on the clear liquid diet. Yum. I'm hungry. Somehow chicken broth just doesn't hit the spot.

I'll update again later when things are a little more settled.

Living with Blackbeard

Margaret's "language" has taken on a new tone lately. It went from a sing-song romantic language to some strange German dialect and this week she has thrown in some pirate noises... her favorite being the classic "Aarrrrggg!" It is so funny to hear her doing this over and over while "reading" a book... where do they get these things???

Iffy Test Result

I went to the OB today and had another fetal fibronectin test performed. This time it was positive. Although I understand that a negative result is much more reliable as a way to rule out preterm labor, I am really nervous about my result. The doc said with my risk factors, history, and the fact that I am symptomatic the positive result is a bit more valuable for its predictive value. So, delivery within 14 days? I pray not.

I think part of the reason I'm so nervous is that I could tell that the doctor was very concerned.... the same doctor that never has been worried about anything. He told me to go lay down and stressed that I should call him if anything at all comes up.

My next MFM appointment is next Monday so I'll know how my cervix is looking then. The OB said I am a fingertip dilated now... I'll update when I get my new measurements. I'm actually wondering if I will be admitted again... I hope not. I've already cooked Thanksgiving dinner. (read: called in an order)

No Change

Good news! My cervix has not changed for the worse since last week. I am still measuring 1.3cm without fundal pressure but 1.2cm with... up from 0.8cm last week. They are certainly going to release me today and I'm just waiting to see my doc before I know what is going on.

I will get another fFN this week even if I don't get it today- since Friday it will have been two weeks since my last one. And I'm hoping that the MFM doc I saw yesterday wrote in my orders yesterday that I could get Procardia upon discharge in case I start contracting more. We will see. I have noticed with as many doctors as I have, sometimes things get lost in the shuffle. Good thing that doc has a phone and I have a lot of time on my hands to pester a doctor.

I'll update later after things are all settled.

The Menopause

Steroid shot + Progesterone shot = hot sweaty grossness.

I have never been so hot in my life. And sweaty. I don't even want to sleep in the same bed as me.

Celestone Sweats

Well, I made it into the hospital. For now it is just for the Celestone (steroid) shots to mature the baby's lungs and to monitor me for contractions.

So far as a result of my shots, I am sweating like I'm going through menopause. Even my thighs are sweating. And I feel like getting up and doing some exercise. Other than that, I'm good. It is only been five hours or so and my usually very painful wrist is feeling quite normal. I was hoping that the dosage would be such that it would relieve some of my tendonitis pain.

Dinner was okay. I can't get what I've been craving until tomorrow for lunch. So sad that I have been craving certain dishes from the cafeteria here for a while. Trying to watch the carbs and sugar, though, since Celestone can really mess up my blood sugar and this boy is big already.

Speaking of... baby looked good. He is still measuring two weeks ahead in all areas except for his femur (thigh bone) which is measuring more than three weeks ahead. The tech asked if my husband is tall... well, yeah. And then she told me that he is really long and because of that his estimated weight is 2 pounds and 10 ounces... that is HUGE for 26 weeks.

My cervix had shortened some but am unsure of the actual measurement. I think 0.8 cm but I will ask the doc when I see him in the morning.

So sweating and hot and missing my baby terribly... that's me!

Daycare Day Two

At least she wasn't snuffing today when she was picked up. And she wasn't totally wracked out by the time she got home so I was able to give her the bottle that the daycare could not get her to take. This will bode better for today and tonight. Last night was rough.

Still, she wouldn't eat any food or drink anything. I'm hoping that as she starts to trust them more, she will be able to eat or take a bottle. We are really going to have to step up the sippy cup usage. I've been pretty lax about it.

I can tell that she cried a bit today but she really did seem okay when she got home... still feeling guilty. On an average day at home, she doesn't cry at all.

As a whole, better than yesterday. Let's hope that tomorrow is better, still.

Well that went abysmally.

When her Grandparents picked Margaret up, she was crying... she refused to eat any food and she refused to drink her bottle.

On the way home she fell asleep in the car so I didn't get to comfort her any before her nap. And she snuffed (you know after they cry too hard- that involuntary inhale) for an hour and a half while she slept. She wasn't even that upset after the ER IVs.

Ugh. I hate this. I feel so guilty. And we have big problems if she won't take her bottle from the daycare workers....

A New Adventure

My Sweetie is at daycare for the first time right now... I'm so nervous that she is okay. She is being picked up at noon and I'm praying that everything will be okay!

David said that when he left, she didn't even notice. She was having a good time being carried around by one of the employees and getting her to name all the things in the room.

Margaret has learned the power of pointing. She has been doing it for a while but has only recently realized that it can be used to ask for things or to get us to tell her what something is. Lately as her Daddy carries her around, Margaret will hold her hand in the pointing position... just in case.

I'll update with how daycare went a little later.

A special day

Today is the first anniversary of the happiest day of my life... the day Margaret came home from the NICU. Upon release she was 41/4 weeks gestation and weighed a whopping 8 pounds and 15 ounces... looking back at her pictures, she looked down right chubby!!! As soon as we got her to the house, she and her Daddy took a nap while I stared at them both nervously. I couldn't believe that we were home.

Here is the email I sent to our family and friends that day:


Today has been a Big Day for us... full of firsts and lasts for our sweet Margaret.

-it was the last time Margaret would wake up in the hospital
-it was the last time Margaret was weighed on the hospital scale
-it was the last time to hear her monitor alarms

-it was the first time I have seen Margaret with no wires, no tubes
-it was the first time that Margaret has been outside
-it was Margaret's first car ride
-it was Margaret's first nap at home

It has been a wonderful, busy, very tiring day. It is so good to have her home. There are no words to describe.

Tomorrow is a big first for me, too. It will be the first day in 131 days that I won't be at the hospital.


Thank you all for your love and continuous support. I can't believe this day has finally come!

Love,
Lisa



There are still no words to describe that feeling. Of being a family at home... finally.

fFN testing..... NEGATIVE!!! Hopefully that means two more weeks of baby baking!!

Update on Hospital Stay

So I didn't get admitted to the hospital on Wednesday and I'm still not sure why since the same doc had given me the option a week before. My cervix has shortened even more and is now measuring 1.3cm. I saw one of the tech's other measurements as 0.7 but they didn't choose to use that one for some reason (I thought they were always supposed to use the shortest measurement... ?)

I've been trying to take it extra easy since then but it has been really hard with Margaret.

I have an OB appointment this morning at 10:25am and he is going to do fetal fibronectin testing on me.
http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/681_1149.asp

Hoping for that negative test result!!! If it is positive, I'm pretty sure I will get admitted today for the steroid shots. But now I'm not so sure. The doctor might change his mind again... grr.

On a cute note, Margaret was watching Sesame Street Wednesday morning and when The Count came on, she started squealing and laughing. She then scooted over to her bat costume and brought me the bat hat to put on her. I could die from the cute.





Well, I'm off. Wish me luck!!!!

Trick or Treat?

Last night David took Margaret to a few houses in our neighborhood for trick or treat. She LOVED it and when he brought her home and took off her costume, she kept scooting to the door to go again. She is an incredibly social little thing... add that to loving to go outside and you have a baby who loves to trick or treat.

She thought carving the pumpkin was just fascinating too! As David was carving, Margaret sat mystified. Then she helped him "clean" off the jack-o-lantern lid. I can't believe she even touched it.

So some pictures (click on for a bigger view):