Right On Time

We have just finally found some down time to update the blog.  If you haven't heard yet, the last few days have been very emotional for Justin and me, but our new family is doing really well.

The whole thing started Friday with mid-level contractions that escalated to very painful ones around 2am Saturday morning.  After being at home all night we decided to call the doctor around 8am. She believed I was in the beginning stages of labor and told us to come in.  We did, but soon found that not much progression had been made.

Only a few hours after we arrived, the contractions became less frequent and they decided to send us home to labor a bit more.  After another long night of strong, regular contractions, the pain was too much to bear and we called in once again.  She again told us to come in.

They weren't surprised to see us again, but seemed to under estimate how much pain I was having and how much progress had actually been made.  After checking to see how far we had come in the night they found that I was 4 cm dilate and 90% effaced and the decision was made for us to stay.  Thank goodness because I was starting to feel out of control from the pain.

Soon after getting the news we would be staying, we settled in and I started working on getting this baby moving. The midwife decided to break my water so that contractions would increase and move the baby farther down the birth canal.  After doing this I was begging for meds! They gave me some Fentynl that held of the pain for about 20 min but it just was not enough.  I opted for the epidural about another hour after the fentynl.  once the epidural was in place and taking affect they checked me again and found I was 6cm and 100% effaced.  At this point i was proud of myself for making it this far and knew there was no slowing this labor down!  I was relieved of pain and ready to take a little nap while we waited for things to move along on their own.  

Now, 4 hours in the hospital contractions were frequent but not increasing in strength so the nurse and midwife determined it was time to add some extra Pitocin to the mix to really ramp things up.  Immediately we saw a major change in the strength and effectiveness of the contractions on the monitor and knew the time to push was coming close.

After another hour of waiting for the contractions to reach the peak of their effectiveness and the baby to move well into the birth canal, it was time for the main event.  Because of the great job done with the epidural, I had some feeling still in my legs which gave me the ability to really push well.  There was no pain and Justin was monitoring the screens to tell everyone when it was time to push.

He was in charge of my left leg, watching the monitor to call out contractions, as well as count through the contractions to keep me pushing effectively.  Everyone in the room worked as a team and the baby was out in only about 45 min of pushing!

This is about the time when things got a little haywire.  As soon as the baby came out, they immediately saw that she had a very short umbilical cord, but it was when they lifted her up so I could see her that the cord tore completely in half!   This is a rare and scary thing so see and medically very dangerous.  It was at this point they took the baby to the warming table, clamped he cord and tried to get a good cry out of her, which didn't come.  All they were able to get were a few agonized whimpers.  

Justin and I had planned long before we even got to this point that if anything was going wrong with the baby, that Justin stay with the baby.  This being the case he did exactly as we had agreed and rushed out of the room with the baby to the NICU.  

When they arrived at the NICU the baby was very pale and still not crying effectively.  After taking blood samples and starting an IV, they determined she had still come fluid in her lungs.  After suctioning as best they could she still wasn't improving. The neonatologist decided to do some x-rays.

The x-rays showed a pneumothorax (a collapsed lung) which was not allowing her to take full breaths.  He quickly decided to syringe the air out to allow her to breathe normally to see if that would get her vital signs to a more normal range.  He sucked the air out and Lydia immediately sighed, seemingly in relief.   Her breathing became steadier, and her oxygen saturation levels began to normalize.

We thought the worst behind us.  It wasn't until we got the results of the blood work back that they found an elevated white blood cell count, indicative of an infection of some kind.  They cultured the blood to see what they could find.  They immediately however started her on a round of broad spectrum antibiotics to hopefully start fighting whatever it was giving her this abnormal situation.

After 2 hard days we still found nothing.  The cultures were negative, but the suspicion is still something to do with possible sepsis.  It was a hard blow to take.  Here we are the birth of our baby girl and she is whisked away from me immediately, rushed to the NICU, and we don't even know what we are fighting.  It again didn't seem like it could get worse, but it was soon apparent that the doctor was not going to let us go home with the risk of an infection still so high.  He decided that she would continue the antibiotic treatment for a total of 7 days (5 more at this point)!  Seven days our baby was going to be in the NICU?  Seven days of being in a hospital room, hooked up to monitors with nurses constantly watching?  Feeding at the hospital and not bringing our little Lydia home was almost too much to handle. 

Lydia with Mommy

The worst part about it was that where to be discharged on Tuesday, and our baby would have to be here alone.  I would have to travel back and forth to the hospital all day to feed and spend time with my little girl. It was emotionally traumatic.  It wasn't until Tuesday morning that we got some good news. 

The doctor, and nurses worked to get us a boarding arrangement in the pediatric wing, only yards from the NICU.  Whether it’s because I am a nurse at Memorial or what, God definitely gave us this gift.  We could be near our baby, I could feed and visit at any time and attempt to keep things as 'normal' as we could.  So here we are, at the hospital still.  It’s been 2 days since I was discharged, and we are still in the room we were given.  But it’s getting so much better!  

Yesterday (Wednesday) the nurse wheeled Lydia in at 6:30am and told us that the doctor wrote and order that we could room in during the day and they would only take her at night and as needed to give her the antibiotics and do their checkups. This has allowed me to feed as I would normally throughout the day, change diapers, and make things even that more normal.  It’s been amazing spending time with our little lady.  

So what is the outlook?  Well, over the last few days her white blood cell count has slowly been trending downward, which is good news.  The track is still set for 7 days of antibiotics which would set us to go home Sunday or Monday as long as everything keeps going as well as it has been.  She is eating well, sleeping and breathing perfectly.  The pneumothorax has not come back so it seems that we are out of the woods as far as that speed bump is concerned.  When her cord ripped in half during delivery, she lost some blood and her hematocrit level is low so they are wanting to see that rise before she leaves.  But she is acting like a normal little newborn and we can't ask for much more.  

Tomorrow they will do another blood sample and see where she falls with the numbers.  As long as things keep moving toward normal all is going as planned.   Please keep Lydia and us in your prayers.  God has provided us with the most beautiful little angel, and has kept us close through this challenge.

Grandma and the little lady.

The 'Little Burrito' as Justin calls
her when she is swaddled.

Taking a little nap on Daddy.

Watermelon cap!