NICU- Day 3

Today has been an incredible day!  Audrey is making huge strides.  Today she has tolerated ALL feedings (increasing by 1mL every 3 hours) from a BOTTLE- no feeding tube since late last night!  I am so proud of how hard she is working.  She's also still on the nasal cannula with NO talk of CPAP at all.  She got to wear clothes today and I got to dress her, change her diaper, check her temperature, and best of all, do "kangaroo care" with her, where she got to snuggle on my chest.  I held her like that for about an hour and then Paul took a turn with her as well.  It was pure HEAVEN to hold her like that...I can't wait to bring her home and get to do it whenever we want!  It was also really nice to see all her monitors reading perfectly while she was in our arms- her O2 saturations were great, respirations slowed down, heart rate remained steady and at the correct speed.  I am so, so proud of her. 

We are now looking at a release date of late this week- tonight she is "tanning" under the bili lights due to a slight case of jaundice.  They are also only increasing her feedings by 1mL every 3 hours so tonight she will be just about halfway to the goal feeding amount of 50mLs (a little more than 1.5oz).  It will take about 3 days to get her up to this amount so we're looking more at Thursday or Friday to bring her home. 

It is hard having her away from us but at the same time I am so grateful for the incredible level of care she's getting.  She is doing so well and I am so thankful for this and also thankful that places like the NICU exist- she is a whole different baby now that she is getting bigger and healthier.  My birthday is this coming Saturday and I am so hopeful that she will be home celebrating it with us....that would be the best present I could get! 

I have some pictures from today but I'm not uploading them tonight- the camera is out in the trunk of the car and it's time for me to go pump and go to bed.  I'll post more tomorrow- she was BEAUTIFUL today so be sure you check back so you can admire how pretty she is! :)

NICU- Day 2

Today was a better day.  Audrey worked really hard today!  She had her first poop (and second, and third, haha!) and was also able to wean down OFF the CPAP machine and onto a cannula!  We are thrilled.  Emily visited her again and it was great for her to see her looking so much better.  Paul and I both spent time with her and also with Emily.  We're trying to divide our time but it is definitely challenging...I can't imagine what it will be like when she comes home!

Audrey also finally got to eat today.  She had a tube inserted through her nose down into her tummy and was able to tolerate 15mLs of expressed milk tonight.  She looked SO peaceful when I left this evening...she is such a beautiful, gorgeous princess! 

NICU- Day 1

So after my rough night I talked with Audrey's doctors and my own.  Together we made the decision that since I was fine and she was going to be in the NICU for several days at minimum, I could be discharged!  I was so happy- I hated having Emily at home without me (and she did marginally well with that, from what Paul said), and I knew I would be able to sleep better at home.  So, I went to lunch with Paul and realized during lunch that just 20 hours before, I had had my sweet girl!  The hours were just running together.

We went home and took a quick nap before picking Emmy up from school.  We brought her home, gave her a bath, and took her back to the hospital to meet Audrey (she had come to see me on Thursday night but hadn't gotten to see Audrey as they had already taken her to the NICU). 

We went back to the hospital and introduced the sisters to each other.  Emily did SO well and was so sweet with her- just held her hand and talked so sweetly.  Audrey looked so so tiny and had a velcro band holding the CPAP machine on her head.  She had some wires and monitors and things but looked much more peaceful than when I had seen her earlier in the night (before the surfactant), when her respirations were about 140/ minute.  We spent about an hour with her and then I came back later and spent about 3 hours with her.  Emmy was upset when we left and wanted to stay with Audrey.

The CPAP machine is potentially making her breathe faster than usual and they have been able to decrease the amount of oxygen that she is receiving through it.  If she can be moved to room air (21% oxygen) soon they may be able to take her off the CPAP and put her on only a nasal cannula!  The respiratory therapist, Bryan, says that CPAP makes them very irritable and that she will likely slow down a lot once she is able to move to the cannula.  I am so hopeful that that might be as soon as tomorrow!
 

NICU Admission

Audrey was having some breathing issues after she visited the Newborn Nursery so she was admitted to the NICU for observation.  Around 11pm a doctor came to tell me that they would be intubating her and administering surfactant, which would help her lungs develop further.  Then after they finished they would remove the intubation tube and put her on a CPAP machine to help keep her lungs open.

I couldn't sleep at all- my room was outside the nurses' station and it was very loud.  Ambulances kept driving into the parking lot with their sirens on (really? they need a siren in the parking lot?!), plus I was upset that Audrey wasn't with me.  It was a really restless night.  I asked for a sleeping pill around 1am, it arrived at 2am and I slept until they came to check my vitals at 4am.  I couldn't fall back to sleep so around 5am I got up and went to see her in the NICU.

Welcome to the World, Baby Audrey!

Hello friends!  We are so excited to welcome sweet Audrey Grace!  Here's her birth story:

Thursday, September 2, 2010:

    We all woke up and headed to work and daycare like any other day.  After my exam on Wednesday night I continued to be uncomfortable- cramping and contracting, but I didn't think much of it, really. (My exam on Wednesday revealed a 4cm dilated/ 75% effaced cervix). Once I got to school around 7:30 I started getting some contractions that were not really painful at all, but very fast and very close together- about 4-5 minutes apart.  I called Paul and asked what he thought I should do and we agreed that I needed to call my doctor's office and see if they wanted to see me. 
 
     I called the OB office and they told me to come in ASAP- they had a spot and could see me at 8:45.  At this point I had been at school for about 40 minutes and had had 8 contractions.  I packed my things up and headed out as fast as I could and drove quickly to the office, where Paul met me.

     By 8:50 we were at the office I was seen pretty quickly.  I did note that my weight was exactly the same as the day I delivered Emily- 151lbs.  Maybe this is the point at which I can't take it any more? :)  My doctor was not in the office, which disappointed me (more on that in a moment).  I was examined by another doc in the practice who said I hadn't changed really since the night before but he noted some bleeding and that Audrey had moved much lower in my pelvis and made the comment that he bet I "wouldn't be pregnant tomorrow".  Paul and I exchanged very, very SHOCKED glances and headed down the street to the hospital.

    I arrived at Triage at about 9:30 and was checked again, and this time was 5cm and about 80% effaced.  I was still getting a lot of contractions about every 5-6 minutes but they were manageable...I kept telling Paul I was sure we were going back home!  The nurse returned in another hour (around 11) and checked me again...this time I was 6cm and 90% effaced.  We knew then that today would be Audrey's birthday!!

We're having a baby today!

    I was admitted to Labor and Delivery by 11:15 and quickly requested my epidural.  The contractions were still manageable but coming faster- every 2-3 minutes, and I wasn't getting much of a break in between.  In addition, the hospital is a busy place and I was concerned if I didn't ask soon enough I would end up needing to push and it wouldn't have been given yet.  The anesthesiologist arrived pretty quickly and administered it and I immediately was glad- the contractions got to be about 1-2 minutes apart but I wasn't feeling anything!  It was so nice to know my body could do its thing without killing me in the process. :)

    I sent Paul back to the house around 1pm to get our cameras and bags- everything was packed for the most part but I hadn't anticipated having a baby that day so none of it was with us.  He was absolutely TERRIFIED to leave me but I insisted on having all our cameras there to document Audrey's big debut.  He drove like a madman and made it out to the house and back to the hospital in record time. 

    It's a good thing he got back when he did- it hadn't been 15 minutes after he got back that I suddenly got a lot of pressure and told him I thought Audrey was coming....NOW.  The room quickly filled up with nurses, my doctor (what are the odds that MY doctor would be on call that day?? I was thrilled!), and the NICU staff since Audrey was only 35 weeks and 5 days gestation.  I got the go- ahead to start pushing shortly after 2pm.

    One thing I did differently for Audrey's birth that I didn't do for Emily's was to use the mirror.  She is truly our last baby and I really wanted to see her being born...I regretted it a lot after Emily was born.  We got into position and I gave about 10 pushes or so and she was here!  It was incredible- the most amazing thing I have ever seen.  She was SO tiny but the NICU team looked her over and then left the room.  I was able to keep her with me for about 2 hours before she went to the nursery and I went to my room to wait.  I was so excited and overwhelmed- she is beautiful!

    Official birth stats:  Audrey Grace
                                 5lbs 10oz
                             19.5 inches long

Isn't she lovely?! :)

Birth Plan...

In talking with some girlfriends recently it came up that I didn't have a birth plan in place for when Audrey arrives.  So, being the little worker bee that I am, I took a few moments to jot down some things that are important to me when giving birth.  It is a little personal, but I thought it might be helpful to anyone who is giving birth soon and could provide some insight into how you want YOUR baby's birth to go down.  So, without further adieu....I present:

Audrey's Birth Plan

1.  Meet me in parking lot with epidural. Administer epidural before real contractions start to bother me.

 

2.  Allow me to eat ice cream during labor (you know, for the baby).

 

3.  After only a few hours of labor (pain-free...remember my friend Mr Epidural?), push again for 11 minutes (or maybe only 10..I can go faster now that it's number 2!)

 

4.  Hand me beautiful baby girl who will come out like a TV baby with no nasty cottage cheese all over her.  Doctor and nurses shall proclaim it was the smoothest delivery they ever attended and shall remark how gorgeous said child is and how perfectly shapen is her head.

 

5.  Baby will immediately latch on and breastfeed like a champion right from the start.

 

6.  Deliver my almost 3 year old to the room to greet baby, where she will become completely enamored and not act out or be jealous in any way. This shall continue, in peaceful tranquility, through to their adult years.

7.  Provide me with pre-pregnancy clothing to wear home, since I will have lost all weight gained and will also have a toned abdomen.

 

8.  Leave 2 days later (on a Monday so Emily has the entire week at school to be "normal" and not be stuck at home watching me take care of new child).  New baby will continue breastfeeding successfully and will lose no weight. Emily will show no signs of regression or remorse at having a sibling; in fact, evenings shall be spent as a family of 4, all of us gazing adoringly at one another and remarking how wonderfully easy it was to add a second child. 

 

 

The end. 

34 Week belly...

Here's my 34 week belly in ALL it's glory!

PS- Audrey has a ROOM now!! Paul and I have worked SO hard this weekend on her nursery...just a couple final finishing touches and I'll post pictures.  It's precious!!