We got released from NICU earlier today and have spent about 5 glorious hours at home now. Jude is doing great and as long as we triple feed him (breast feed, pump and give him breast milk and then offer formula) everything seems to be fine. We are hoping once S’s milk comes in full force we can stop doing the triple feeds as they take forever and we’d like him to have as little formula as possible but we will see what happens this week and what our pediatrician says. Thanks for all of your comments of support. This has truly been the hardest week of our lives and it can only get better from here!
We will try to post some of the cute 200 pictures I’ve take of him by now tomorrow.
-Liz
Two Moms, two boys, too much fun
Showing posts with label Hospital. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hospital. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
At the NICU
It has been a ROUGH few days for this new little family of 3. On Saturday we got released from the hospital and went home. We thought everything was fine and we were all doing really well. Then on Sunday things went down hill. We realized that it had been about 12 hours since Jude had a poopy diaper and that he had only peed once in his whole short life, on Friday evening and hadn’t since then. We called the after hours pediatrician line and our doctor told us that he might just not be getting enough to eat because S’s milk still hadn’t come in. So she had us after every feeding try to give him about half an ounce of formula to see if that got things started and to call back at 5 if he still hadn’t peed.
The formula helped get him to poo and at 5:00, he did the deed, though it had been at that point almost 24 hours and only the 1 diaper. So we called the Dr. back and she told us to feed him an ounce of formula once he was hungry again and wait an hour and half to see if he would pee and if he didn’t she wanted us to take him to Dell’s Children’s hospitals ER to see if he had any sort of blockage. So by 8:00 he had eaten the formula and still not peed so the ER we went.
At the ER they practically tortured the poor guy. He had blood drawn, his vitals taken, an EKG done on his heart, an ultrasound on his bladder, two antibiotic shots, spinal fluid drawn and an IV put in. The IV was the worst because they figured out he was dehydrated from not getting enough to eat and so it took 3 nurses, the anesthesiologist, and 3 NICU nurses to finally get it put in and of course each person tried twice before the next person stepped in. They finally got the IV in place on his head.
They thought that his heart rate was lower than normal and that between that and dehydration they thought it was possible he had an infection so thus all of the testing being done and being finally after 5 hours in the ER, being admitted to the NICU at Dell. So it was a bad night. I don’t think I need to describe how we felt through all of this because you can imagine how hard it was to see all of this being done to him.
At this point S’s milk has come in and so they are having her nurse him, then pump and then feed him what she pumped with a bottle. So far this is working great and between the breast milk and IV he is back to his normal self. They are keeping him here till noon tomorrow just to make sure his vitals stay normal and all of the cultures come back clean. So they are thinking his heart rate is just naturally low and that everything else was being caused by hunger and dehydration.
We will let you know how things go but they are looking up at this point. Here is the little guy all hooked up to a million machines.
The formula helped get him to poo and at 5:00, he did the deed, though it had been at that point almost 24 hours and only the 1 diaper. So we called the Dr. back and she told us to feed him an ounce of formula once he was hungry again and wait an hour and half to see if he would pee and if he didn’t she wanted us to take him to Dell’s Children’s hospitals ER to see if he had any sort of blockage. So by 8:00 he had eaten the formula and still not peed so the ER we went.
At the ER they practically tortured the poor guy. He had blood drawn, his vitals taken, an EKG done on his heart, an ultrasound on his bladder, two antibiotic shots, spinal fluid drawn and an IV put in. The IV was the worst because they figured out he was dehydrated from not getting enough to eat and so it took 3 nurses, the anesthesiologist, and 3 NICU nurses to finally get it put in and of course each person tried twice before the next person stepped in. They finally got the IV in place on his head.
They thought that his heart rate was lower than normal and that between that and dehydration they thought it was possible he had an infection so thus all of the testing being done and being finally after 5 hours in the ER, being admitted to the NICU at Dell. So it was a bad night. I don’t think I need to describe how we felt through all of this because you can imagine how hard it was to see all of this being done to him.
At this point S’s milk has come in and so they are having her nurse him, then pump and then feed him what she pumped with a bottle. So far this is working great and between the breast milk and IV he is back to his normal self. They are keeping him here till noon tomorrow just to make sure his vitals stay normal and all of the cultures come back clean. So they are thinking his heart rate is just naturally low and that everything else was being caused by hunger and dehydration.
We will let you know how things go but they are looking up at this point. Here is the little guy all hooked up to a million machines.
Still cute as a bug and twice as sweet. Little guy luckily has slept through most of this and only gets upset when they take a band aid or sticker off of him
-Liz
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Birth Story Conclusion
When we last updated it was about 4:00 pm and S was dilated to a 7. Her contractions were all over the place no matter how much Pitocin they gave her. They came and checked around 5:30 and she was still at a 7. More contractions, more Pitocin, checked again at 7:00, still at a 7. At that point our doctor discussed doing the C section due to the lack of progress. At this point, despite the epidural, S was exhausted, it had been over 24 hours at that point. She had only slept maybe an hour that night and took an hour and a half nap and hadn’t eaten anything in ages, nor would they let her. Our doctor explained that if we didn’t do the C section soon then she was afraid it would turn into an emergency C section. S was done with labor, done with trying and was glad to see a light at the end of the tunnel. We agreed to go forward with the C section.
Of course, I was somehow able to stay strong and sure in front of S, but in reality I was out of my mind with worry. I went to the lobby and called S’s mom to let her know what was going on and then I called my mom and just broke down. I was so scared that both of my babies wouldn’t make it through this. Rationally I knew that they would be fine and no one was in distress, but in my heart, I was so afraid. It makes me feel teary right now just thinking of those moments. Luckily my mom knows me so well and calmed me down in a matter of minutes so I could go back to the room and be strong for S.
The C section itself was the most intense thing I’ve ever been a part of. They had S pretty drugged up but she wouldn’t let them give her everything that they wanted to because she didn’t want to be dopey or too out of it to be aware. So she did feel quite a bit of what they were doing. I held her hand and tried to distract her. I’ll leave the details of it to her to share (not sure if she will want to or not, but just in case). The doctors had a CD playing and it was really cool because Jude was born during one of our favorite songs, Coldplay’s Viva La Vida.
Everything since then has been great. I couldn’t love him more, and he is so strong and healthy. We are actually about to go home, they are letting us check out early because both S and Jude are doing so great. So we are packing up and this family is going home.
And of course, more baby photos!
Of course, I was somehow able to stay strong and sure in front of S, but in reality I was out of my mind with worry. I went to the lobby and called S’s mom to let her know what was going on and then I called my mom and just broke down. I was so scared that both of my babies wouldn’t make it through this. Rationally I knew that they would be fine and no one was in distress, but in my heart, I was so afraid. It makes me feel teary right now just thinking of those moments. Luckily my mom knows me so well and calmed me down in a matter of minutes so I could go back to the room and be strong for S.
The C section itself was the most intense thing I’ve ever been a part of. They had S pretty drugged up but she wouldn’t let them give her everything that they wanted to because she didn’t want to be dopey or too out of it to be aware. So she did feel quite a bit of what they were doing. I held her hand and tried to distract her. I’ll leave the details of it to her to share (not sure if she will want to or not, but just in case). The doctors had a CD playing and it was really cool because Jude was born during one of our favorite songs, Coldplay’s Viva La Vida.
Everything since then has been great. I couldn’t love him more, and he is so strong and healthy. We are actually about to go home, they are letting us check out early because both S and Jude are doing so great. So we are packing up and this family is going home.
And of course, more baby photos!
Jude and his Uncle Brandon
Jude and Aunt Sandy
Jude and Uncle Duck
Jude and Aunt Lulu
Jude!
Love, Liz
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Labor Update
It’s been almost 24 hours now and it has been intense. Jude still isn’t here with us but we are confidant that he will be by the end of the day. Yesterday we checked and got admitted. Answered tons of questions and got hooked up to a fetal heart monitor and a contraction monitor. S got administered Cervidil around 6:45. She had been having contractions on and off all day and after the Cervidil kicked in they started coming harder. We tried really hard to sleep but it really just wasn’t happening. It was a long night and by about 2am the contractions were probably about 2-3 minutes apart and pretty intense.
Things continued like that for quite a while. The Cervidil came out on its own around 5am and we had to wait an hour before they could start the Pitocin. Poor S was in a lot of pain and labored on the birthing ball, in the bed, and standing but nothing could make her comfortable. By time they started the Pitocin around 6:30 she was dilated to a 2, so we were seeing some progress. Our doctor came in around 7:30 and tired to break her water but discovered that it had already broken, but we arn’t sure when that happened.
Around 9am one of the other doctors on call came in and put in an internal monitor for contractions because the external one wasn’t registering them regularly. It was rough getting that in place and it really hurt poor S a lot to get it done. I have to say, S has been amazingly strong through all of this. She has been in more pain that I have ever seen anyone be in and she has done it with an amazing grace and dignity.
She progressed slowly and by 1pm was at a 5. By 1:30 the pain was too much for her and she was so so so tired and decided to get an Epidural. That was such a relief and once it kicked in we both took a much much needed nap. I had no idea how exhausted we both were until I sat down for just a minute and immediately nodded off.
After some sleep they checked her again and now she is at a 7. Contractions are very strong at this point but the time between isn’t staying steady. They go from right on top of each other to 2-3 minutes apart. We are watching the Ellen show on TV and waiting for them to come adjust the Epidural a bit stronger. Hopefully this baby will be here in the next few hours.
Thank you for all of your love and support. Each comment really means the world to us and is truly helping us get through this. We feel so blessed to be part of such an amazing community and to have so many wonderful friends, both in real life and through this blog.
Can’t wait to give the final update!
Love,
Liz
Things continued like that for quite a while. The Cervidil came out on its own around 5am and we had to wait an hour before they could start the Pitocin. Poor S was in a lot of pain and labored on the birthing ball, in the bed, and standing but nothing could make her comfortable. By time they started the Pitocin around 6:30 she was dilated to a 2, so we were seeing some progress. Our doctor came in around 7:30 and tired to break her water but discovered that it had already broken, but we arn’t sure when that happened.
Around 9am one of the other doctors on call came in and put in an internal monitor for contractions because the external one wasn’t registering them regularly. It was rough getting that in place and it really hurt poor S a lot to get it done. I have to say, S has been amazingly strong through all of this. She has been in more pain that I have ever seen anyone be in and she has done it with an amazing grace and dignity.
She progressed slowly and by 1pm was at a 5. By 1:30 the pain was too much for her and she was so so so tired and decided to get an Epidural. That was such a relief and once it kicked in we both took a much much needed nap. I had no idea how exhausted we both were until I sat down for just a minute and immediately nodded off.
After some sleep they checked her again and now she is at a 7. Contractions are very strong at this point but the time between isn’t staying steady. They go from right on top of each other to 2-3 minutes apart. We are watching the Ellen show on TV and waiting for them to come adjust the Epidural a bit stronger. Hopefully this baby will be here in the next few hours.
Thank you for all of your love and support. Each comment really means the world to us and is truly helping us get through this. We feel so blessed to be part of such an amazing community and to have so many wonderful friends, both in real life and through this blog.
Can’t wait to give the final update!
Love,
Liz
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Hosptial Tour
Last night we went on the hospital tour to check out the maternity section. It seems a little early to be doing stuff like that, but the tour at our hospital is only Wednesday nights and with our Bradley Birthing class starting in just two or three weeks which will also be on Wednesday nights, it was either do it now or wait until the first week of January. And with S due January 23rd ish, that seemed a bit late, so we decided to get it done. I’m glad we went, we learned a lot of good information about where we are supposed to go, and how the whole big event is going to work.
We were on the tour with three other couples, all of whom where much further along than S, all of the women were between 28-36 weeks, and all of them were expecting girls. In many ways, we were the odd couple. For two of the moms, this will be their second child, so they both each had a little girl with them, both little girls were probably about 3 years old. And before we started walking around and seeing the rooms and such we sat and talked and asked questions and the whole time the two little girls were running around like crazy giggling and chasing each other. It was pretty cute, but it did make me nervous for my future as a parent because they whole time that they were running circles around us shrieking, I was thinking, “Dear God, someone shut these little monsters up or have them play some where else.” They were loud and distracting and the nurse giving the tour wasn’t a super loud talker.
We learned during this talk a few surprising things. I think that the thing that surprised me the most was that in the state of Texas your baby has to be given a Vitamin K shot to aid in blood clotting, and an antibiotic eye ointment to prevent eye infection. If you refuse to let them do this, then they have to call CPS and CPS will at the very least start a file on you. I think that it goes without saying that as a lesbian couple in a state like Texas
Next we got to see the rooms. The rooms weren’t that exciting, especially after our previous tour of the Birthing Center, where each room was nicer than even any hotel I’ve ever stayed at and nicer in some ways than my own house. Each room did have it’s own bathroom and a cot for “Dad” to sleep in along with a glider, a TV (and I have my fingers crossed for room 12, which randomly gets HBO even though it isn’t supposed to) and all of the other stuff you would expect in a maternity hospital room. They did say that S would have to been in the bed when it came time to start actually pushing, but that they can lower the bed almost all of the way to the floor and have a bar she can use for support if she wants to be squatting or on her knees or anything like that. They also told us that we can video tape the birth if we want, but all of our video has to be waist up sort of stuff, no actual videos of the baby coming out. Not that we want a video of that, yuck, but I thought it was weird that it is a state law that you couldn’t take video of it. The nice thing about the room is that it is set up so that once the baby is born it doesn’t leave the room hardly at all. I think she said that they have to do two basic tests on the baby before it leaves but other than that, it is in the room with you the whole time, which is nice. They seem to really encourage skin to skin contact with the baby and breastfeeding and establishing a bond with your baby right away, all things I support.
The other thing that the nurse really seemed to stress was that they will do whatever they can to let you have the experience you want for your birth. So if you wanted to bring in fans, aroma therapy, music, or whatever, you can do it. The pregnant ladies discussed playing music for a minute and one was wondering aloud what song she’d want to give birth to. I suggested Salt-N-Pepa’s Push It, which no one thought was very funny, to my surprise. I think that would be a hilarious song to give birth to. But I guess they were all thinking that they wanted something soothing and soulful like Enya or something like that. Well, that is just so not us.
And lastly, the most exciting part was when S asked the nurse if I could be on the birth certificate, and she said yes! She said that we would have to fill out some sort of form/paper work to make that happen, but that I could be on the birth certificate too! I’m so excited, I didn’t think that it was even possible for that to happen, because again, we are in Texas
**After some basic googling on this issue, I just don’t see how what the nurse told us about being able to put my name on the birth certificate is true. It doesn’t appear to be legal in Texas
-Liz
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