Saturday, September 11, 2010
Two Weeks Old
These past couple of days have been a little more challenging for Lucy. We came into visit her on Thursday night and learned she had been throwing up. The cause has not been found yet. No problems have shown up in the two x-rays they took of her stomach but we are still waiting to hear back on the third x ray done this morning. They have taken Lucy off the feeding tube, have given her more antibiotics, and started pumping out green fluid from her stomach. Lucy also received her second blood transfusion yesterday morning since her hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were low. Even with these challenges, the nurses tell us Lucy is still doing pretty well. They tell us the bradycardias (episodes where she forgets to breathe) are fairly normal for her age and the fact that she is still breathing without a tube is great. Mark and I were able to give her a sponge bath and rub lotion on her for the first time this week. Lucy's last weigh in was 1 1b. 14 oz.. She is two weeks old today.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
8 Days Old
Lucy is eight days old today! She made it past her first big hurdle without any problems. The doctors did an ultrasound on her head to make sure there was no cerebral hemorrhaging and she came out in the clear. Way to go Lucy! Today was one of my favorite visits so far. I was able to touch her sweet little body without any gloves on. I even got to feel her tiny fingers wrap around mine for a couple of minutes. Mark and Grandma Mari also got to touch her and rub her back . Last night, Grandma got to change her diaper for the first time. Lucy is weighing just under 1 1b. 12 oz. and is able to feed more often now. She is still learning to remember to breathe all by herself. Luckily there are some kind nurses there to help her in case she forgets for a moment. I got to take home her first pacifier
Lucy's pacifier compared to a normal bottle top
today. What a priceless gift!
Lucy's pacifier compared to a normal bottle top
Saturday, September 4, 2010
91 Days
Lucy loves her mini pacifier. She also loves to grab onto anything close to her hands. She held onto Mark's finger during one of Mark's first visits and had a death grip on one of the cords today as she was being picked up and weighed. :) My heart almost broke when she cried during the blood draw tonight. She gained one ounce and is back up to 1 lb. 11 oz.. Hang in there Lucy. 91 days to go.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Firsts
We were able to hold Lucy Kate for the first time! Mark held her yesterday and I got to hold Lucy for the first time today! I felt like I was going to break her she was so little. I also got to change her ultra mini diaper and heard her squeal for the first time. She is now 6 days old and is weighing in at 1 lb. 10 oz. She was able to get her first drop of milk today. We are so proud of you, Lucy! Only 92 days until you get to come home!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Happy Birthday Lucy!
Lucy Kate Baker was born on Saturday, August 28 at 10:27 a.m. weighing 2 lb. 3 oz. and measuring 13 inches long. She was eager to meet us and surprised us all by coming after only 26 weeks of pregnancy.
After Mark went to see Lucy, he came kept telling me how beautiful she was and how much he loved her.
I wasn't able to go see her for a bit since I was in the ICU, but was relieved that she was alive.
When I saw her the first time, I also had an overwhelming feeling of love for her.
At about 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 24 Mark got home just in time to drive me to the hospital. About 3 or 4 hours later, I was informed that I was totally effaced, dilated to a 2 or 3, was having regular contractions about 2 to 3 minutes apart, and my bag of waters was bulging. I was then told that I was being admitted to the hospital on complete bed rest until I delivered the baby.
I was given magnesium sulfate to stop the contractions, being warned that the medication rarely worked. If they could get the contractions to stop, I would be able to receive injections for a couple of days to help the baby's lungs to mature and receive some antibiotics to help the baby with infection since her immune system was immature. Besides making me really nauseated, the magnesium sulfate luckily worked. By Wednesday morning, my contractions had almost completely stopped. I had a couple contractions daily but it was nothing like it had been. The nurses helped my confidence to grow in the fact that it was now possible for me to be on bed rest in the hospital for a long time. I was hopeful that the baby would stay inside and continue to grow.
Everything was going fine until early Thursday morning when I felt my lungs tighten up and breathing was difficult, especially on my left side. The nurses kept telling me, "you're just nervous, just relax" while I kept trying to explain that I could barely breathe and it was making me nervous. The doctor on call ordered that a chest x-ray be done. Results came back negative for any problems. I kept having more trouble breathing and was put on oxygen. A CT scan was ordered next to be done of my chest. By this time, I was even more nervous because of the radiation effects it could have on the baby but having no other option, I proceeded to do it. The CT scan showed that I had secondary pneumonia in my left lung which was probably caused by a bad reaction to the magnesium sulfate. Although I wanted to keep the baby in for as long as I could, I didn't know how I was going to stay on hospital bed rest. With the complications, the rock hard bed, bed pans, blood draws, IVs, vital checks, bad sleep, medications, being in the same room all day, not being able to shower, the constant adjustments of the belly band keeping track of the baby's heartbeat, and not being able to lift my head higher than my stomach, I really didn't know how I was going to stand it! The only thing that was keeping me emotionally sane was having my sweet husband with me every second and getting visited by many kind friends each day. Fortunately, after the pneumonia episode, the next day was pretty calm and I got a pretty good night sleep on Friday night.
After I woke up on Saturday, Mark and I were hopeful that things were going to be okay and the baby would continue to grow. About 5 minutes after we thought that, I sat up a bit and the contractions started again, each getting more and more painful. An ultrasound was ordered which showed the baby was breech and that I had an abrupted placenta. It then became an emergency situation. They needed to do a c-section but couldn't do an epidural because they had given me a blood thinner as a result of preventive treatment with the pneumonia. They were afraid that blood would leak into my spinal cord during the epidural. The anesthesiologist didn't want to put me out through a breathing tube because it was dangerous with pneumonia. I told him they had to do something quick because I was having so much pain. Next thing I knew, I was being put out without an epidural and woke up in the ICU. Mark told me that they had to put me out again while I was waking up because I was trying to grab the breathing tube and pull it out of my throat. I remember signing the words "air" with my hands because I couldn't breathe or talk.
Mark wasn't able to be there when the baby came out but he was told that if Lucy had been inside me one second longer she would have died because of my abrupted placenta. My doctor still doesn't know what came first, the early labor or abrupted placenta, or what caused what. At this point, I am just grateful the hospital nightmare is over and that Lucy is still alive. I feel blessed and amazed that she was able to make it out and still be alive after so many complications during that week.
We have had wonderful support from our family and friends. I have been blown away at the love we have received through texts, emails, phone calls, packages, visits, and dinners. The support has made all the difference. We love you family and friends! Thanks for being there for us!
These are the first pictures Mark took of Lucy Kate Baker during her first two days.
Everything was going fine until early Thursday morning when I felt my lungs tighten up and breathing was difficult, especially on my left side. The nurses kept telling me, "you're just nervous, just relax" while I kept trying to explain that I could barely breathe and it was making me nervous. The doctor on call ordered that a chest x-ray be done. Results came back negative for any problems. I kept having more trouble breathing and was put on oxygen. A CT scan was ordered next to be done of my chest. By this time, I was even more nervous because of the radiation effects it could have on the baby but having no other option, I proceeded to do it. The CT scan showed that I had secondary pneumonia in my left lung which was probably caused by a bad reaction to the magnesium sulfate. Although I wanted to keep the baby in for as long as I could, I didn't know how I was going to stay on hospital bed rest. With the complications, the rock hard bed, bed pans, blood draws, IVs, vital checks, bad sleep, medications, being in the same room all day, not being able to shower, the constant adjustments of the belly band keeping track of the baby's heartbeat, and not being able to lift my head higher than my stomach, I really didn't know how I was going to stand it! The only thing that was keeping me emotionally sane was having my sweet husband with me every second and getting visited by many kind friends each day. Fortunately, after the pneumonia episode, the next day was pretty calm and I got a pretty good night sleep on Friday night.
After I woke up on Saturday, Mark and I were hopeful that things were going to be okay and the baby would continue to grow. About 5 minutes after we thought that, I sat up a bit and the contractions started again, each getting more and more painful. An ultrasound was ordered which showed the baby was breech and that I had an abrupted placenta. It then became an emergency situation. They needed to do a c-section but couldn't do an epidural because they had given me a blood thinner as a result of preventive treatment with the pneumonia. They were afraid that blood would leak into my spinal cord during the epidural. The anesthesiologist didn't want to put me out through a breathing tube because it was dangerous with pneumonia. I told him they had to do something quick because I was having so much pain. Next thing I knew, I was being put out without an epidural and woke up in the ICU. Mark told me that they had to put me out again while I was waking up because I was trying to grab the breathing tube and pull it out of my throat. I remember signing the words "air" with my hands because I couldn't breathe or talk.
Mark wasn't able to be there when the baby came out but he was told that if Lucy had been inside me one second longer she would have died because of my abrupted placenta. My doctor still doesn't know what came first, the early labor or abrupted placenta, or what caused what. At this point, I am just grateful the hospital nightmare is over and that Lucy is still alive. I feel blessed and amazed that she was able to make it out and still be alive after so many complications during that week.
We have had wonderful support from our family and friends. I have been blown away at the love we have received through texts, emails, phone calls, packages, visits, and dinners. The support has made all the difference. We love you family and friends! Thanks for being there for us!
These are the first pictures Mark took of Lucy Kate Baker during her first two days.
After Mark went to see Lucy, he came kept telling me how beautiful she was and how much he loved her.
I wasn't able to go see her for a bit since I was in the ICU, but was relieved that she was alive.
When I saw her the first time, I also had an overwhelming feeling of love for her.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Sewing Fun
It seems like it is the season of babies right now. I have been spending much of my free time sewing baby items lately. Some of the things I have been making are nursing wraps, blankets, bibs, tie onesies, and burp cloths. It has been so much fun! I thought it would be neat to start making a blessing dress next. We'll see how it goes though because I am not a fan of patterns. Those are for real sewers. Last time I tried one I ended up in tears because I was so frustrated. Why do they have to make them so confusing? Honestly.
These are a couple of the things I have made lately.
My mom requested that I post a pregnancy picture so this is me a couple of weeks ago around 21 weeks. I have gotten a little bigger since then along with feeling even bigger kicks. It started getting a little embarrassing yesterday during a temple session when I couldn't keep a smile off my face. I looked down and kept seeing my belly moving over and over because of her kicking. Seriously, does life get any better? I am loving this!
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