Katelyn, Conner and Caleb! » July 2006 Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

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Mon, Jul 31, 2006 7:03 PM
Yesterday I met with a lactation consultant. I was concerned with Caleb's nursing because even though he'd latch on initially he just didn't seem to know what to do once he did. Even with mouth full of milk he didn't even swallow. We talked it over and I made an informed mommy decision to try a bottle to get him to learn to suck food down.

He did that and last night and today he latched on amazingly well.

The only bummer about this is that I was told (by a doctor, not a nurse) that the NICU doesn't know how to measure the intake of a breastfed baby so it takes longer to get them home when they're getting most of their food from nursing. My thought is that they can measure output and weight gain just like in a full term baby... but even there takes longer to get them home then if I just did a bottle all day for a day. That's weird... he comes home later if I do what is better for him by giving him fresh breastmilk instead of frozen... anyways...

But... since he's finally been approved for unlimited nursing whenever I want to feed him, I'm going to continue to try to get there for 3 or 4 of his 8 feedings a day and nurse him.

He's growing well though with all this food! And he's definitely pooping well (finally, LOL!). So his output is very good. Unfortunately the neonatologist upped the amount of IV nutrition because he was concerned that Caleb wouldn't handle the increase in food. I hope that by tonight that goes back down or is totally removed. Removing the IV (or rather, the PICC line) seems to be Caleb's last big thing before being allowed to come home.

I say bring him home!

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Sun, Jul 30, 2006 3:26 AM
Check it out!!! Caleb surpassed his birthweight!!!

The nurse said she checked the weight twice because she was so surprised by the massive gain.

He didn't poop today so that may be part of it but this is still great news! And he's not showing any signs of not tolerating his feedings either. They keep going up and he keeps doing great.

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Fri, Jul 28, 2006 8:37 PM
Eric called and requested to talk to the neonatologist today and found out that he considers the test results to be inconclusive. I'm still holding out hope though. Basically I think this is an attitude of it not being totally ruled out so we can't say for sure. But... I'm much more confident now. To me it sounds like a case of the test being negative but symptoms (the meconium ileus) showing a possible positive so we can't say for sure because the two do not agree.

Eric's comment was that a negative doesn't always rule out a positive.

That's discouraging. But still good news that the first test didn't show any CF.

The next test is the sweat test. So it sounds like a series of tests until there's just enough negatives that it's ruled out. The more I read about CF though, especially on forums with parents of children who have CF, it sounds like doctors just don't like to say that it's not CF... there are a bunch of posts complaining about not getting good answers from tests and continually having to go back for more and more expensive tests.

And it sounds like the hospital is planning on having specialists come in to look at Caleb sometime later.

We had to call to find this info out though. I'm surprised by that.

My neighbor was talking to a friend of her's in town whose son had 3 different tests be negative before it was admitted that he didn't have CF. This boy also had meconium ileus as an infant.

Anyways... that's that.

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Fri, Jul 28, 2006 8:21 AM
My mom and I were at the hospital visiting Caleb late last night. While we were there I did my usual look through of his charts and we saw the lab results from his CF DNA probe. This all needs to be confirmed with a doctor of course but we both read the report and both agreed on what we read.

The DNA probe was negative for Cystic Fibrosis.

There was a note later in the report saying that this test has a 99% accuracy rate but that it can miss some of the more unusual mutations of CF. So it's reccomended that we do further testing at a later date.

We are so relieved.

Thank you for praying with us about this!

In other news, Caleb is out of his isolette. He also started oral feeds again this evening and a second test of his bowels came back showing good results from his surgery.

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Thu, Jul 27, 2006 6:17 PM
Just heard about the contrast study..

There was meconium in the colon. That's good news. Apparently it just hadn't quite made it's way out yet. But after the enema it did.

The surgeon wasn't able to see what he wanted to see but he said that was mostly for technical reasons... he just wasn't able to get it to work right, not because there was anything wrong with Caleb.

However, what he did see looked good.

So between this and Caleb's aspirates being clear, he's back on oral feeds!

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Thu, Jul 27, 2006 2:53 PM
Caleb did have a small meconium poop but apparently not enough for the surgeon to call off the test. :( I'm disappointed but still encouraged that things are moving through. Just slowly.

There was also no aspirate this morning which is also a good sign... that the contents of his stomach (the ones produced by his stomach even without food) are moving the direction that they should be. And the very small amounts of aspirate that were there last night were clear (not full of the dark greenish/blackish gunk that was there when he was given some food).

Caleb's bilirubin levels are also down to a 10.0 from an 11.1 yesterday even though he wasn't under the spot light. The last time he was taken out from under the spot light, his bilirubin levels went up so this is also a good sign of his bowels starting to work even if slowly.

Today is a week from his surgery.

I didn't get to go in this morning because the sitter didn't come. But I'll go in this evening I hope after the Shower that the church is throwing for Laura.

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Thu, Jul 27, 2006 8:10 AM
I just called about Caleb. No poop yet. Keep praying for that please!

But his aspirates (the fluid pulled out from his stomach) were low last night and clear. So nothing is backing out of his intestines at least. The surgeon said that if the test result from the contrast study is inconclusive he might go ahead and approve small oral feeds anyways. We'll see. Caleb gained more weight on breastmilk even with the bowels no being ready yet. So I'm hoping he gets even more.

The contrast study is scheduled for 3 this afternoon so please pray that it goes well. Or that he poops first which would be even better.

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Wed, Jul 26, 2006 8:34 PM
I realize I'm posting late today but pray for poop. A big mess of poop. Yep... apparently the bowels should be producing poop even though they've not had much by way of solid food and even though they were cleaned out during the surgery. I didn't know that.

So pray for poop. The surgeon said today that this is what he was waiting for before trying oral food again a second time... poop.

Caleb's bilirubin was down to a 11.1 today. Yesterday it was 15.9 so this is a good decrease even though it's still high. His pulse ox monitor thing is off again which is nice. And his scar is looking great.

But his bowels are apparently slow to get started. The surgeon said that if there's no poop tonight that he's going to have Caleb have another "contrast study" which is similiar to a barium enema but an infant form. This is the test that started the downhill spiral to the first surgery so it has me nervous.

I don't want Caleb to have to go through another surgery. We're still working through our emotions from the first one. And he's still healing from it.

So please pray for poop tonight. A messy diaper full of poop.

I think I'm going through some sort of greiving process with all of this right now. I've gone from amazingly intense anger mixed with huge emotional swings to this deep exhaustion. I won't be going in tonight to see Caleb because I am so exhausted and scatterbrained. I'm not focusing nearly well enough to even drive myself there. And Eric is going through a similiar set of emotions.

The nurse last night was amazing though. I really like her. I've liked the nurses in general but she's been wonderful. There've been a number who've really stood out. Eric and I bought cookie dough to take the cookies because we appreciate those so well.

Right now though I just want to get Caleb healed up so he can eat and come home. Amazingly enough I'm having a harder time dealing with this whole surgery and all that then I am with the prospect of CF. Which when you consider how much I am praying and begging God that the results from the blood work come back negative for CF... that tells you how much I'm struggling.

I have a friend online who's been sending me these great bible verses that I'm just clinging too. I feel like there's not much else to cling too.

There's also the struggle that I saw two babies go home today from NICU. They were so tiny. Especially compared to Caleb. I wanted to be the one going home with my son. I have no idea what those parents went through to get their baby to that point though and that's what I keep reminding myself of.

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Tue, Jul 25, 2006 1:49 PM
I got to go in this morning and even though nothing really has changed - except bilirubin - it just seemed better overall.

The neonatologist who examined Caleb this morning was so nice. He was there yesterday too in the morning and I got good vibes from him. Mostly because he does his exam, talks while he does it, talks to Caleb, and then comes back after looking at all the info from the past day and explains it to me. I really appreciate that. I told him so too.

He said that any time the bowels are bothered, they shut down. Caleb had his played with and manipulated so much that they're taking longer to get over the shock of it. I had these fears yesterday that they were going to be totally shut down and just not work. Yes, I know that's not a reasonable fear and it's jumping to a worst case senario... but it's where my mind was going. Talking to the neonatologist this morning was very calming. I need to note his name so that I remember that he's a good one to ask questions of.

If you want to make a NICU mom cry good tears, offer to let her hold her child when she wasn't expecting to. Caleb's bilirubin levels went up again so they put the spotlight back onto him. A nurse a bit back (before the spotlight was removed) was very iffy about letting me hold Caleb for a feeding even for 5 minutes because of the spotlight on him. I understand that she was being protective but it was hard to hear her saying that when I was told that the reason a biliblanket was being used for part of the treatment was so that I could take him out for short times. And the other nurses had let me hold him before.... You understand why I had a hard time emotionally with her not wanting to let me hold Caleb.

So I went in today and saw the spot light and assumed that I just wouldn't be able to hold him since he wasn't being fed. When the nurse asked if I wanted to hold him... I asked, "Really?" and just started crying. She seemed surprised until I told her that I hadn't expected to be able to. I hope she knew how much I appreciated her doing that! I tried to tell her but sometimes words don't say it all.

Other then the bilirubin he's basically unchanged. Yesterday he gained weight and I hope he is still today. The no oral feeds issue is the same as yesterday. They're still getting goop out of his stomach again.

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Mon, Jul 24, 2006 11:46 PM
Rough night for me tonight. I went in at 9 for his feeding and found out that at noon they got lots of junk out of his stomach and had since stopped feeding him orally.

I wish they'd called then instead of letting me go the whole day thinking he was doing really well and then having the rug totally pulled out from under me. But the nurses are also still figuring out what sort of info I need and all that.

I've been told he'll be off oral feeds for at least 2 more days.

He did gain 30 grams today though. That's good.

And i got to hold him for about an hour and a half before I needed to go home to pump again. I really need more sleep too. Lack of sleep is not helping my hormones or how I handle this stuff.

I could really use prayer for how Eric and I are doing with this stress. We're weathering it very well as far a couple stuff but it's stressful and difficult on us emotionally. Keep praying for a miracle for Caleb too.

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Mon, Jul 24, 2006 11:55 AM
Caleb is doing very well. Everyone keeps saying that to me. But it's nice to feel it yourself.

His bilirubin levels are down substanially. Not totally but enough that I'm thrilled. The doctor took him off the spotlight so he's only on the biliblanket right now.

He's also completely caught up on the digestion thing. While I was there basically nothing came up... a drop or so. Not enough to count.

He sure did enjoy the feeding though! Slurped it right down. The nurse on duty wasn't so comfortable getting him out of the isolette so I put him back as soon as he was done. No extra snuggles. I didn't want to push. I really missed those extra couple minutes of snuggling but I knew the nurse was outside of her comfort zone with having taken him out at all. This nurse had been more on the protective side of Caleb when it comes to holding time... this is the first time that she's let me do it. So I was grateful for her working with me.

I took a ton of pictures between yesterday and today! It's hard to get a good photo of him in the isolette so I just shifted the camera around while takng a string of photos. It worked out very well.

I need to download them though...

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Mon, Jul 24, 2006 1:51 AM
Yes, that time is correct.

I wanted to get one more feeding in with Caleb this evening and totally missed the 9:00pm feed so I went in for the midnight feeding. I got to teach the nurse about finger feeding. She'd never heard of it. It's so simple that it surprises me a little that so many haven't heard of it. They've heard of the SNS (supplemental nursing system... google it if you don't know about it) but not about finger feeding. They're really similiar though. The finger feeding is basically a SNS but it attaches to the finger.

Caleb just slurped it right down. I was very pleased. It went down faster then his first feeding and he didn't let as much (and it wasn't even a lot the first time) slip out of his mouth. Just a drop this time.

He fussed a little bit but I got to sing "Bye-o-baby" to him. That's a family lullaby that goes back to at least my grandmother. He calmed right down with that and when the nurse came to get him again, he was slowly letting his eyelids fall closed. Another mother was in the NICU and she thought the song was beautiful. :)

I was concerned right before feeding him. The nurse suctioned out whatever liquid that was in his stomach to see if he was digesting his last meal properly or not. I really didn't expect that, nor did I expect to see so much. It was 6 ml. It made me think of his other feedings before the surgery not being digested... that was what started this whole surgery thing.

She reassured me after checking the records...
At 3:00 he drank 5 ml.
At 6:00 he still had 3ml in his stomach and ate an additional 5 ml.
At 9:00 he still had an additional 5 ml in his stomach and ate an additional 5ml.
At midnight he still had an additional 6 ml in his stomach. And we fed him 5 more mil.

If he hadn't been digesting anything he would have had 15 ml in his stomach by then. So some is digesting. Just not all of it yet. But he's digesting more and more each time!

If I'm figuring this correctly...
From 3 to 6 he digested 2 ml.
From 6-9 he digested 3 ml.
From 9-midnight he digested 4 ml.

Yeah, I'm a math geek. But it's comforting to see that amount that he's digesting slowly go up! The nurse said it's not uncommon after not eating for a few days to not digest it quickly right away. That makes good sense.

His bilirubin levels are still the same. They're not increasing. The nurse said that bilirubin cells are passed out of the body in stools and since he hasn't been eating anything by mouth, he's not had stools. So this will hopefully start going down quickly now that he's getting breastmilk again. Or at least moving down some. Any downward movement is good.

Ok... time for bed. I'm finally feeling sleepy again after driving. I'm hoping to get in again for his next 9 o'clock feeding.

And take a look at his weight! He's gaining!

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Sun, Jul 23, 2006 5:02 PM
We got to feed Caleb! I mean, really truly feed him again. This is the first time since his surgery. The surgeon apparently stopped by this morning and decided that he could start oral feeds again. So a little after 3, Eric and I were up there and fed him 5 cc of my breastmilk. He's on his way now! I'm hoping this will help him gain weight faster and ultimately that he'll take to these feeds so well that he'll be able to come home quickly.

We took a look at his charts while we were there and he scored in the 90th percentile in everything when he was born as long as you looked at 33.5 weeks instead of 34 weeks. If you looked at 34 weeks he was a little lower but not much.

It's fun to see those charts and how he compares. I forgot to look at how his weight is tracking on the "normal" curve.

He has started getting fats and proteins via his IV. He'll be on the IV for a while until he is drinking what is considered enough nutrition for his weight. And as he is allowed to drink more and more we'll start trying to get him to latch on. I hope that goes well. For now he's not sure what to do with things in his mouth. We're feeding him with a system referred to as finger feeding where a feeding tube is taped to our finger and then a syringe is used to slowly push the food into his mouth. It's closer to nursing then a nipple is. I hope he catches on to nursing well.

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Sun, Jul 23, 2006 10:46 AM
A very hard part of being home without your baby is that you don't feel like you even have a baby. It's like the whole pregnancy/hospital stay thing didn't happen. Like I just disapeared for a month and now am back and things are different but without a good reason for being different.

I hadn't quite expected that reaction.

I'm looking forward to Caleb being home so that it actually feels like I have a baby again.

I don't even feel like I've just given birth aside from the engorgement stuff. I could be say 4 months pregnant... a little big, not huge, no longer having morning sickness but not yet feeling movement.

So there we are. I'm not pregnant (obviously) but I don't even feel like I've had a child. And I'm not even a week postpartum! I definitely didn't expect this!

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Sat, Jul 22, 2006 9:04 PM
I'm home. Caleb is not. It's hard.

But I felt better leaving him there then I did leaving Katelyn there after discharge. I know he's there for a very good reason. And getting a level of care that I can not provide at home right now.

The nurse today was wonderful about letting me hold Caleb for 5 minutes or so before I left. I didn't want to interrupt his bilirubin therapy but I did want to be able to snuggle him one last time, even if for only a few minutes. She let me and it was much, much appreciated. Those 5 minutes were wonderful and meant more then she will probably ever know.

Katelyn and Conner are thrilled to have me home. Conner sat on my lap for the first time since I'd been admitted. He wouldn't move which was very nice but occasionally painful because my milk is coming in. I'm still not doing so well with stairs but I'm getting better as the evening progresses. A good nap helped a lot. I know a good night's sleep will too.

A PICC line was finally inserted into Caleb. It's in the side of his head where the last IV was placed. They shaved a very small portion of his hair but saved it for us.

And I forgot to notice that today he's been breathing without any assistance at all. The nasal canula came out. It wasn't doing anything so they just took it off. One less string holding him down. Even wtih the bili treatment going, the isolette temp was lower then his body temp so he's doing wonderfully at maintaining that. His sugar levels, bp etc are all great too.

I'd like to go into see him tonight but I know that I really need the sleep. I'm sleeping so much better here that I know getting to bed now will do wonders for my extended health. I'll be able to go in during the morning probably. Or the afternoon when Katelyn and Conner nap. Or maybe both.

But the sleep will be good for me.

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Sat, Jul 22, 2006 12:26 PM
For those who don't know (but I know many of you do), Caleb and Joshua were 2 of 12 men who were sent into Canaan by Moses when the Children of Israel had left Egypt. The men were sent in pairs to explore the land that God had promised them. They saw amazing lands, good soil etc. But also cities with huge walls and men who were called giants. 10 of the men saw those walls and men and armies and told everybody else (the Israelites) to run because they'd never be able to conquer the land.

Joshua and Caleb both stood up to this and told everybody that God had promised them this land so they should trust him and go take it.

No one else agreed wtih Joshua and Caleb.

God got so angry that the Israelites wandered around in the wilderness for another 40 years until everyone except Joshua and Caleb had died. Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who got to go into Canaan and conquer it. They had faith in the strength of God and God honored it.

But one thing I really like about Caleb was later in his life.

When Caleb was 80 or so, Joshua (I think it was him) was divying up the land. There were still pockets that needed to be conquered but it was being divided up. Caleb saw a mountain he wanted and it was pointed that the mountain was full of enemies and Caleb wasn't exactly at a prime fighting age. Caleb simply said, "Give me this mountain..." And he went in and took it.

The mountain wording is from the King James Version but this is the verse in the New Living Translation..

"So I'm asking you to give me the hill country that the LORD promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the Anakites living there in great, walled cities. But if the LORD is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the LORD said."

I find that so appropriate for our little Caleb.

Caleb means "faithful as a dog". When you think about how faithful dogs are this makes sense. Not only was Caleb faithful but so was God.

We chose as a middle name, David. We wanted to use a name from one of his grandfathers. We looked at all four names (first and middle from each) and chose this one. David means "beloved of God" which is so appropriate for Caleb. Not only did it sound very good with Caleb's first name but it also added to the meaning of "Caleb" in a very special way.

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Sat, Jul 22, 2006 12:12 PM
I didn't want to update too much yesterday because I wanted people to look at the post about praying first. We want a miracle here. My mom found a statistic that 90-95% of infants with meconium ileum are diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Please pray that Caleb is in that 5-10% that doesn't!!! God is the Great Physician. So many things this pregnancy and birth have fallen into the "highly unlikely, nearly impossible" category that I'm praying for one more.

Please, please, pray for God to show his hand once again!

Blood work has been sent to Mayo Clinic and we should know in about a week.

Caleb is healing very well in other ways. He seems to not be in much pain. He's given drugs as needed for when he is though. The suction tube in his mouth that is keeping his stomach clear is no longer showing left over blood from the blood in the amniotic fluid. It's coming out colored but otherwise clear.

His bilirubin is high so he's currently under a light for that and on a blanket. I'm not surprised between his blood being very thick at birth and then the vitamin K shot and then having major abdominal surgery. This will give his body one less thing to worry about as he heals from the surgery.

The nurses are attempting a PICC line today. They tried yesterday and it didn't work. They poked him multiple times each in an arm and both legs before giving up. But since then the IV in his head needed to be replaced with another on the side of his head.

Before the bili lights, I was able to get about 1/2 hour of skin to sking time with him. It was wonderful for me but I could tell that he liked it too. He squirmed around a little, got comfortable and just relaxed into me. More so then even when he's being held but swaddled.

Before the bili lights, he was also maintianing his temp so well that his isolette temp was down to 83 degrees. I'm looking forward to the bili treatment being done so that he can move out into a crib instead of being in the isolette. It'll be very reassuring that my opinion of him doing well is actually the truth.

And... my milk is coming in. By the times he's allowed to try oral feeds again, I'll have a good supply of milk there for him. Good bye donor milk! I'm so grateful for being able to have the option of donor milk instead of formula. But I'm thrilled to not need it any more!

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Fri, Jul 21, 2006 10:37 AM
A friend wrote this to me today...

"God doesn't give us more than we can handle, no matter how much things seem to the contrary! Lean on Him. Pray fervently. He will never leave you nor forsake you. And He is always with Caleb. Pray that God will take Caleb in His almighty hands and heal his little body. There is utmost strength in God - for you and Eric, and for Caleb, too."

I saw that and realized that I am having a hard time praying more then, "Please God, Please God, Please God..."

So please everybody! Please help me out here by praying more specifically. He gave Caleb back to us when we left him in God's hands during surgery yesterday. Please pray for extraordinary miraculous healing now for him. Thank you.

Kimberly

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Fri, Jul 21, 2006 7:09 AM
I got to hold Caleb. Really hold him. Hold him tight and snuggle and just enjoy having him my arms.

The tears just flowed. I've not been able to sleep since I woke up a little before the nurse told me Caleb had pulled out this breathing tube.

I think I can sleep now. I'm going to try.

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Fri, Jul 21, 2006 1:35 AM
Caleb is breathing well. He has a nasal canula now. So not quite down to a CPAP but an improvement over the intubation.

He's all splayed out, totally relaxed as he sleeps off the anesthetic. It's very cute.

I talked to the nurse about how often in her experience she's seen a child with this end up having cystic fibrosis... she said it usually is. So it sounds like "a significant number" translates as "I'd be surprised if it wasn't".

I'm ready for good news!

But other then that, Caleb appears to be doing very well at this moment.

I'm starting to absorb the fact that Caleb most likely has CF. When I've not been able to sleep (I did sleep some this evening... I just woke early) I've been reading about CF.

It sounds like outcomes have very much improved in the last few years. And changes that we've made to our family diet in the past year are ones that are very needed by a child with CF. It sounds like increasing protein, fat and salt intake for a child with CF is currently one of the best ways to improve the life expectancy and desease rate of children with CF.

Right now I'm looking for positive things that we can do as a family to help Caleb do the best he possibly can.

It is helping me deal with this. I'm still struggling emotionally with the idea of all this but I'm getting there.

Yesterday seemed like a game of "bigger and better" except it kept getting worse and worse. It started out wtih a small issue... he wasn't digesting properly. And it just kept getting worse. Everytime one thing was ruled out or found to be OK, another thing came up that was worse. I felt like we kept trading one diagnosis for one that was worse.

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Fri, Jul 21, 2006 1:15 AM
Caleb just pulled out his breathing tube. He didn't like it in there any more then his Mommy and Daddy liked seeing it in there.

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Thu, Jul 20, 2006 9:41 PM
Caleb came through well. Eric and I were down there with him as well as my parents and Tim and Laura.

He is currently intubated but he's on the same amount of oxygen as normal room air. So this is just keeping him breathing. He'll be taken off that within the next day and then put on a CPAP which will require him to do the remembering to breathe but will make sure that he's getting enough in when he does breathe.

There is a surprisingly small incision (about 2 inches) and he lost about a cm of intestine. Everything is cleaned out though.

Potential complications of his surgery... the connection between the ileum and his colon is basically going from very big (from the blockage) to very small (because nothing had really gone through) which may not take well or may cause problems later on. The surgeon said that many surgeons will not connect these until everything matches up better because there may be a need for a second surgery still. But he chose to connect them and hope that it went well. This has the possiblity of saving Caleb a second surgery. If he's left them unconnected for a while, there would definitely be a second surgery. There's also the problems of scar tissue causing this to be a more narrow area of his intestines. This also may cause problems as he gets older. And similiar types of things can be problems but I can't think of them right now.

The other potential problem that concerned us is that this problem is more common in babies with cystic fibrosis. Or as he said, a significant number of babies who have this problem also have cystic fibrosis. So Caleb will be checked for this. It's a simple cheek swab but I don't know when that will happen or how long it will take to get results.

Caleb is now sleeping comfortably. He's getting pain meds.

It's time now for his parents to sleep. I was going to try to get some sleep during the surgery but I wasn't in the mindset to do so. It probably would have helped now but it wasn't happening.

Caleb will be on tiny feedings for the next 7-10 days. Those will be gradually increased but are being kept low to give his bowels time to heal. So that will also give time for my milk to come in. I'll have a wonderful supply for him by the time he really needs it.

Please keep praying for him as he heals. Pray that he heals well and doesn't need additional surgeries and that there are no long term complications from the surgery.

Caleb's appendix was also removed. Apparently just because it was out. Eric and I are dissapointed because God obviously created an appendix for a reason and we hate to see it being taken out without a good reason. The surgeons opinion was that this way he'll never have appendicitis. It can't go back in though so Caleb will just have to live with the surgeon's decision.

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Thu, Jul 20, 2006 6:13 PM
An obstruction was found... it was a hard plug of meconium that just wasn't moving. So no problems with missing pieces of bowels or anything like that.

While I hate that he had to have surgery for this, I'm very grateful that this is all that it was.

He should be out of surgery in another hour and a half or so.

I'll continue to update as I can but if I don't update quickly enough, please don't jump to the worst conclusion... just assume that I'm down in the NICU with Caleb.

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Thu, Jul 20, 2006 4:50 PM
Caleb is in surgery now. I'm back in my room. Eric is waiting in the waiting room.

The surgeon said he'd let us know when he starts and then give an update every hour or so.

This is hard!

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Thu, Jul 20, 2006 12:48 PM
We've hit a complication with Caleb.

He is going to be going into surgery - most likely this afternoon - for a bowel obstruction. Something is going on in there... it might be something creating a plug, it might be an area where the bowel is not connected properly... but we can't tell without surgery at this point. Everything that might be corrected non-surgically has been ruled out at this point.

This was discovered last night because there hadn't been any meconium poops yet and his stomach was looking a bit too full. They checked his stomach and he hadn't yet digested his food from his earlier feeding. So he was sent down to x-ray and this morning had another test to look at it but everything easy has been ruled out.

Please keep him in your prayers!!!

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Wed, Jul 19, 2006 12:15 PM
We do indeed have a baby. And it was an extremely low intervention birth too!

When I started contracting last night, the peri on call (one I hadn't met) wanted a vaginal exam done right away. I'd already let the nurse know that I was not interested... I'd made it too long without infection without chancing introducing one then. So she called the OB on call - who turned out to be the one I wanted! - and she offered terb as an alternative. When that didn't work, I was moved down to labor and delivery.

I labored through the night. The OB was very good about going over each of my birth wishes with me and making sure she knew them. She also agreed to delay cutting the cord until it stopped pulsing. That wasn't on the list but I added it.

I did concede to an IV and antibiotics because of being ruptured for so long. I wasn't thrilled about that but was willing to give on it.

She made mention that the other doctors didn't think that a "high risk" pregnancy could have a low intervention birth but she told them "Tough, this is my patient." A midwife in disguise!!!

Come morning, she mentioned that we needed to try doing natural things to get labor going... she was going off shift and knew that I wanted her to deliver if at all possible. Eric and I talked it over privately (with our doula) and decided to discuss pitocin with her. She agreed and we went on it.

She also rearranged her morning appointment schedule to buy us a couple of hours. She needed to leave by 9 though.

I spent the last few contractions lying on my left side in bed trying to get things really going. That was not fun at all! But we were trying to shift positions to get things moving along. Those contractions were nearly enough to convince me that

All of a sudden I wanted a hot compress on my butt... got that through to them and started yelling, "Baby! I feel a baby!" And I was pushing. They tried to get me to wait until NICU got there. Panting does not work when the body is pushing by itself! About two good pushes (so the OB said but I think there were a couple more) and he was out. Totally out.

NICU showed up a little later. :D Apparently people just can't be on time to my births.

The OB had planned to let Eric catch and even had gloves laid out for him. But there wasn't time. She did let him cut the cord and made sure that baby was placed on my chest first and that he stayed there for as long as possible. It was longer then usual for even many full term babies. She was great.

She also made sure that NICU had read my birth plan because there were things there relating to the baby.

We were amazed at his size... 5,13. We started laughing because we either matched or beat my niece's birth weight and she was full term. That had been a joking goal for us. We did it!

The OB noticed a small tear in the placenta so that was probably the cause of labor. Not infection from PROM.

So all in all, we had an amazing birth. I dont' regret the pitocin because we'd have gone from the best OB in the group to the worst. Not worth it. Sacrificing that one thing gave me multiple other wonderful parts that I'd definitely not have gotten with the other doc. Given that, pitocin was a very good trade.

So welcome to the outside world, Caleb!

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Wed, Jul 19, 2006 8:37 AM
baby boy larson born at 8:04am ~ 5lbs 13oz, apgars of 8/9, healthy and breathing well, although off to the nicu via daddy's arms. mama's labor began to slow around 5:00am, and a slight pit drip was conceded to at 7:00am in order to birth before the larson's favorite doctor had to leave for appointments. two pushes and baby was born, cord around the neck one time. the baby was placed on mama's belly and remained there for some minutes. everyone doing well.

~ kim woodard (midwife posing as doula)

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Wed, Jul 19, 2006 2:11 AM
We moved to Labor and Delivery. The contractions are getting stronger.

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Tue, Jul 18, 2006 10:49 PM
Kimberly is back on the monitor and feeling crampy. Eric is spending the night at the hospital.

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Tue, Jul 18, 2006 9:22 PM
So far I've only had one contraction with the shot. Hopefully it stays that way. If not, we'll see what happens.

The terb shot is making me very shaky. This is a normal effect from what I'm told.

The OB that I like best is on her way in to spend the night here. If baby comes tonight, I'll be thrilled to have her here. If not, then I'm nervous about who is on tomorrow.

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Tue, Jul 18, 2006 8:52 PM
Here's the scoop.

I've been feeling small contractions for the last hour or so. I was put onto the monitor and they were being picked up there. They started out very small (from my interpretation) and about 3 minutes apart. Over time they moved apart but were gaining strength. It was enough that I requested going on the monitor and I called Eric. He's on his way in.

My leaking is also increased and is much more red.

I've declined internal exams because that introduces the risk of infection and if I'm not in labor, I don't want to introduce infection after avoiding for this long. Not a good way to make friends and influence OBs though. But the OB on call tonight is the one I like best out of the group. (Yay!) She know I want this baby in as long as possible so she offered the option of a terbutaline shot. This is a shot that should stop contractions.

If it does, great. If not, I'll try to post. Actually I'll try to post either way.

If this doesn't stop the contractions then I get to discuss where we go from here. Hopefully it stops the contractions and I get more time with Baby inside!

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Tue, Jul 18, 2006 10:14 AM
Hanging in there another day.

I had more cramping/contracting last night that was enough to disrupt my sleep but not enough to fully wake me up. It tells me that progress is being made but it's not full labor by any means... just a step closer toward labor.

The OB I like best stopped by this morning. She's on today apparently. We chatted for a little bit. She admired Conner's hat (which is now finished), she looked at the blanket I'm crocheting, and she agreed that knitting takes more concentration then crocheting.

The fun part about the conversation was that I've held of labor longer then any other patient she's had with PROM. Yay! She seemed to think that I could go longer without induction too.

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Mon, Jul 17, 2006 11:17 AM
Ok... we're geeks (but you probably already knew that!) Instead of asking for a picture of the baby we asked for a printout of the results of the ultrasound. So here you go... google things if there are initials that you can't figure out. :D

Ultrasound results:

AFI: 6.6 cm (very good for being ruptured)
BPP: 8/8

Complete OB:
BPD: 35w0d+/-22d 8.67cm
HC: 35w0d+/-21d 31.22cm
AC: 34w6d+/-21d 30.88cm
FL: 32w4d+/-21d 6.28cm
HUM: 33w4d+/-19d 5.79cm

Estimated Fetal Weight: 2374+/-356g (5 lb,4oz +/- 13 oz)

An averagely sized baby this size would be around 34w2d. I just grow them big.

I guessed pretty well when I said 5.25 pounds!

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Mon, Jul 17, 2006 8:33 AM
Bummer... the other perinatologist reinstated the blood glucose testing.

Not a big deal... I don't mind testing because I'm confident that the numbers will remain normal. The only thing is that it's a hassle. I tend to graze when I eat especially in here. So figuring out when to do a 1 hour post prandial is harder. And annoying. Because I'd rather just snack around a bit here and there instead of doing a meal and then waiting an hour before I eat anything else. The freedom of being able to grab another couple of bites after I'd officially "finished" was very nice.

There's also been an ultrasound ordered for this morning... it'll check AFI, look at the biophysical profile and also check the size of the baby. So we'll have a bit better guess of Baby's size today.

Everything else is very normal.

I wonder if this is leading up to a discussion about induction?

I started Conner's hat yesterday afternoon. I will most likely finish it today and then he can take it home with him.

Eric brought me nail clippers yesterday. Oh, it's so nice to be typing with shorter nails again!

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Sun, Jul 16, 2006 7:48 AM
33 weeks!

I asked the perinatologist what improved and he said that at this point we're working on temp control (though that's nearly there), that the breathing will be pretty much solidified by 34 weeks and that the suck/swallow thing comes right around 35 weeks. But that at this point feeding can happen through a tube in the nose.

With a larger baby I'm hoping that the temp control thing will be there already. So I guess we're working primarily on finalizing the breathing and the suck/swallow ability. So that's what to pray for right now... that these items develop well and early in this baby.

According to the prenatal growth chart (the ultrasound one) that I posted a link to on the main page, baby is probably over 2400 grams right now which means just over 5 and a quarter pounds. (2400g = 5.29 pounds) Obviously I don't know for sure and this is just a guess but it's the best guess I have right now. I'm going by the 90th percentile line because Baby has always scored in the 95th to 97th percentile when measured on ultrasound.

Another week should get Baby to 5.73 pounds. So right now we're looking at an additional half pound per week.

I have been feeling generally crampy which could mean pretty much anything. Being on bedrest means that I notice these things more then I would otherwise. If I were up and moving I might not even realize it was happening. But here in the hospital I'm asked at least twice a day about cramping or not. But... it does make me wonder if this means that labor is close. Please pray that I hold out until Baby is really ready to be born and that Baby stays safe until then.

I mentioned to the perinatologist that my ultimate goal is to have baby be able to room in with me after the birth. I hope this is sowing seeds to help me delay an induction until Baby is ready for that stage. When I was admitted I was told that we'd be looking at induction at 34 weeks. As long as everything is looking good, I'd like to get past the 35 week mark. That's only 2 more weeks!

Ultimately though, only God knows when this baby will come. And that's already known to him.

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Sat, Jul 15, 2006 9:02 PM
What a great day!

Katelyn, Conner and Eric stopped by and we took a wheelchair ride outside (I even walked around in the grass for a few steps... Eric was too nervous for me to do any more).

It was a lot of fun! Conner especially liked the pool in the atrium. He went down on his belly so he could pick up "moneys" and then would throw it back in. His belly was soaked but he had a ton of fun. We also explored some of the gardens around the hospital. There's one spot with 4 statues of people so we had Katelyn trying to stand like the people. Conner had fun climbing up and down the steps.

I think Eric said the kids fell asleep before they got home. How's that for a great deal? He took them the playground this evening so they got lots of outside time.

When Katelyn left she was quite insistent that mommy needed to take a nap. She didn't want to leave until she saw me laying down.

Then after they left and I got a short (but perfect length) nap, my Aunt and Uncle stopped by. That was a ton of fun. We chatted and chatted and chatted.

It's actually a day that hasn't felt like every single other day! This has been really cool.

I did skip lunch. I'm just not all that hungry. But I ordered basically a double supper so I can eat in a few hours without a problem.

When Eric was here he pointed out that I've now been in here 4 weeks. Wow. That is really a long time. But I'm hoping for another 2-3 weeks for Baby's sake.

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Sat, Jul 15, 2006 11:09 AM
Still hanging in here.

No baby outside yet! Tomorrow is 33 weeks which is wonderful. Each week is closer and closer to full term. I think I've calculated "full term" to be around August 13. That's a month away though...

It's also when we can expect to bring baby home from the NICU unless things go very well.

But each day I get closer to that date, the more likely it becomes that baby can come home earlier.

Or so I've been told.

Eric is on his way up with the kids. I'm looking forward to that.

Nothing else much to report... just more days here with not much going on.

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Wed, Jul 12, 2006 8:13 PM
Katelyn and Conner and Eric just stopped by.

Conner did a couple of firsts... He volutarily kissed me, he asked to be picked up so he could hug me, He said, "Love you mommy"

And he prayed aloud while his dad was praying for supper. I identified "Jesus" and "Amen" and there was lots of talking in between that I didn't catch because Eric was also praying.

That was all so sweet.

For the first time Conner seemed comfortable to be here. He still didn't want to get up and sit on the bed but he did involve me in so much of the things that he was doing. And he kept checking on my to see what I thought of what he was doing.

Katelyn wanted up with me on the bed. She loves that I have a bedside table that she can eat at while sitting on the bed.

Conner has obviously missed my voice too. Even though I talk to him on the phone, if there was instruction to be given, he listened better if it was me giving it then if it was Eric. Usually it's Eric that they listen to better because he's not around during the day as much.

I cried when they left.

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Wed, Jul 12, 2006 7:09 PM
Something really hit me today. By saying that I'm 32 and a half weeks, I might be induced in as little as a week and a half.

Wow.

I"m still mentally thinking of this baby coming in September, espeically mid September. Something like the 16th. So for me this is looking at a birth that is 2 months early.

Wow.

That thought is just zooming around my mind so fast that I haven't gotten a good hold on it yet.

I'm just so overwhelmed by the thought.

Everything appears to be going well though. I'm very pleased by that.

And I'm so thrilled with the perinatologists that are here and the OB that stops by to check on me.

This morning both perinatologists stopped by to see me. I thanked the second one for that. She smiled and told me that they really like me. Wow... That's a big complement! And the OB stopped buy to chat for about 20 minutes. I was so impressed. I've been impressed with her anyways because of the way she's made sure to stop and see me every time she's been on call and has seemed to go above and beyond to make sure that I'm keeping busy here with crafts and stuff. She even bought me a crochet kit so that I'd have something to do with my hands while I was sitting here in bed.

Well, today she stopped in and sat down and chatted. Thinks like church, our families, the christian schools in the area, gardens, fun stuff like that. I'm just so impressed with her kindness and caring.

I've said it before but it bears saying again... God has really planned this all out and has put the right people into place for this Baby's pregnancy and birth to be amazing.

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Tue, Jul 11, 2006 11:08 AM
Good news.

The nurse came in this morning and announced that I didn't need to monitor my blood glucose levels any more! They've been so amazingly normal that she talked to the perinatologist and the daily testing had been discontinued. She didn't say anything about them continuing to do anything but I suspect that they might check the fasting levels on my twice weekly blood draws. But that's not a big deal at all.

Breakfast isn't sitting well. I'm trying something different now. The kitchen questioned me about this because "the patient has already ordered breakfast". So I explained a bit of what was happening.

But no contractions this morning on the monitor. Baby is moving a lot. And it seems to me like baby has turned totally anterior (spine away from my spine). I hope that's the case and baby is not posterior because posterior births are notoriously long and painful.

The interesting thing about the monitoring was that the heartbeat was picked up extremely low on my abdomen. That's rather curious. Makes me wonder if Baby has dropped some. Conner really dropped weeks before birth so I wouldn't be surprised if this one does too.

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Mon, Jul 10, 2006 9:52 AM
I slept on my left side last night. The nurses really encouraged this even though I leak more when I do that. I had some contractions yesterday... very irregular but still noticable. And 2 showed up on the morning monitoring (none in the evening). So they were concerned.

I must say that I did sleep a lot better. But I also leaked a lot more. I woke amazingly thirsty. But... this is the first night since I've been in here that I've been able to fall asleep without the TV on for white noise. That was very nice.

Today a physical therapist stopped by and gave me exercises to do to maintain range of motion and some strength. That's cool. I like that. I've tried doing some of this myself but this way I have some guidelines. If I find the exercises too easy then she'll bring up an exercise band of sorts. Apparently I'm a little late getting these instructions... usually they're ordered on day 10 of a patient's stay. Oops! The ankle ones I've been trying to do myself just because they made sense. The others are ones I had not thought of.

I finished the hat last night. Katelyn said she wanted a big hat and even though I followed a pattern that said it should fit her, it fits me perfectly. Even a little loosely. So I'm modifying the pattern and making an extra small one. When you look at the way they adjust for small, medium and large, this adjustment just looks right. So that's not a problem at all. I hope to have it finished by whenever she stops by next.

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Sun, Jul 9, 2006 6:31 PM
I added a link on the main page. It's a chart of average weights for premature babies.

I've been asked if we know how big Baby is right now and we really don't know. At 29 weeks (3 weeks ago) Baby was 3 pounds 10 ounces according to ultrasound. Those can be off but it's the best guess we have right now. And it was the 3rd ultrasould we've had this pregnancy that approximated weight. Each of those ultrasounds guessed that Baby was between 2 and 3 weeks ahead.

So based on that and this chart, I'm guessing that Baby is between 4.5 and 5 pounds. That's a pretty good size for a preemie!

Size doesn't affect maturity of course but the extra size will definitely make things easier for this baby when s/he is born.

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Sun, Jul 9, 2006 3:21 PM
I'm 32 weeks!!!

Everytime I read about preemies, this seems to be a magical week. It's all flexible of course but the chances of long term complications are now the same as the risk to full term babies.

Les,
PROM is premature rupture of membranes... that's what has happened to me. My amniotic sac has been ruptured since probably 27 weeks.

I'm about 2/3 of the way finished with Katelyn's hat. It's... big. I'd say it will fit me. I might make another one for her that's a bit smaller. I chose which size to make based on the size of her head at her last well baby check and even though I'm using a smaller needle, I must be using larger yarn then the pattern called for. I'll see how it is when I finish it.

Then I'll do Conner's hat and then I'm planning to do another blanket. Eric picked me up some beautiful yarn and the 2 skeins I asked for are huge. So I have plenty of yarn to keep me busy for a bit.

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Sat, Jul 8, 2006 7:44 PM
The kids came up this evening with Eric. Eric was so tired that he asked if I thought I could watch the kids for a little bit while he went over to the waiting room and took a nap. So Katelyn snuggled up with me and Conner sat in a chair (he doesn"t like sitting on the hospital bed with me) and we watched TV for a while. It worked out really well. And Eric definitely needed that nap time. He was pretty wiped out.

The kids are fascinated by the laundry thing and the trash can in my room... you can step on a pedal for each and the lid goes up. They played with that for about 10 minutes. Giggling the entire time. Conner especially would turn around and look at me to get giggles from me whenever he did it.

When Katelyn left, she wanted to just snuggle in with me. She"s really missing me. I had Eric take her and Conner to the fabric store and they each picked out yarn and I"m going to knit each of them a hat. I also told her to go home and snuggle up in a quilt that I made her so because that had lots of my love in it and that way she could be wrapped up in my love. She liked that idea.

I admit it... I fell apart a bit when they left.

One thing they brought up to me when they came was amazing though... some friends of mine got together and made me a bracelet to wear while I"m here in the hospital and while I"m in labor to remind me of their prayers. At first I thought this was just a beautiful bracelet.... one designed totally with me in mind. But then I read the note that came with it. Not only was it made for me but each friend picked out a bead that represented them and it"s there in the bracelet. It is just amazing... just beautiful. I cried when I got read that note.

I guess I"m emotional today but it"s been special things each time that have brought it on... I am so blessed to have the family and friends that I have!

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Sat, Jul 8, 2006 2:19 PM
No contractions on the monitor again this morning. And I've not even felt any maybes.

Eric called me around lunch time today... he was having trouble getting the kids to eat anything so I talked them through it on the phone. That was a lot of fun. But then Katelyn started asking for the baby to come out. She knows that I'm staying here until baby is born. I tried to explain that baby needs to grow inside more but I don't think she wanted to hear it. I know that she understands but it's sad to hear her want the other.

Today makes 3 weeks of being in the hospital. 3 weeks that she's been missing me and wanting me home. That's a really long time for her. And she'll be wanting so much from me when I am home that I don't think she'll understand me being at the hospital trying to spend as much time as I can with the baby.

It will be hard trying to split time between everything and everyone.

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Fri, Jul 7, 2006 8:51 PM
It was pointed out to me that I hadn't posted today.

Sorry about that everybody!

The days are totally running together here. It's getting easy to forget if I've done something or not. And even though I can look outside and see sunlight, it's even hard to remember the normal day/night cycle. I'm even forgetting to order dinner before the food stuff closes. I keep finding myself ordering *just* before they close but not being hungry yet.

Interesting thing about the food service... it's amazing how few times they get the order right! Usually it's just something little like forgetting a salad dressing or a sauce or a milk or something like that. Today it was the milk and the A1 sauce. Not a big deal. I've saved unused A1 packets from other meals. And the milk I can get on the floor.

But yesterday. They forgot the main entree and gave me side dishes that I had not wanted. I didn't discover it until 9:00 at night and that was too late to do much about it. It's frustrating but not too bad. I'm learning how to preapre for it. Or at least be OK with it.

Contractions... not really happening today that I can tell.

Movement... really good. My belly keeps poking out in weird directions all the time.

Leaking/gushes... about the same as yesterday by way of amount but it's more continuous. I've been drinking a lot today though. I woke up feeling amazingly dehydrated so I've been trying to drink a lot.

By afternoon, the lunch and water just wasn't sitting well in my stomach. But when I put a little cranberry juice into the water, that feeling went away. I'm not sure why cranberry juice did it but I wan't going to complain!

I'm feeling like I'll make it into teh 32 week range and am even feeling confident that I'll go longer. But I also remember how I felt earlier this week... when I didn't think I'd make it through to the end of this week.

I'm positive that it's prayer keeping this baby in though! I know everything about this pregnancy has been unusual but it's unusual for a woman with PROM to stay pregnant past the first week after her water breaks. Since mine probably sprang a leak two weeks before I was admitted, I was in the unusual category even then. But then after I had the big leak and was admitted, they didn't even move me out of L&D at first because it was so common for woman like that to go into labor during the first few days. So I'm unsual for going this long. It's all prayer and God!

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Thu, Jul 6, 2006 10:45 PM
No contractions on the monitor again. And I was on there for an hour this evening.

I'm wating to get hungry enough for supper. So far I've just not gotten hungry. I'm about to eat just so that I can get the glucose taken before I fall asleep.

Nothing much else going on.

I'm enjoying working on a puzzle magazine that I was given today. I'm not getting very far but I'm enjoying it.

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Thu, Jul 6, 2006 8:15 PM
Nothing major to report today. No contractions during the morning monitoring but I think I'm getting some right now... pretty far apart though. But still there. The fact that I'm noticing them means that they're getting stronger.

I'm at 31w4d right now so I have a couple of days left to make it to 32 weeks. But still, the longer I can go, the better.

Life here today has been pretty boring. I finished another hat, this one a bit girly. I'm going to do the same pattern in pink because it's cute. Eric is going to bring me some new yarn tomorrow (hopefully). I could try to make a small sweater with the yarn that I used for the blanket and one hat but I'm still a bit nervous about the skill level for that. I'm saving that yarn so that I can do a sweater later though.

Today I picked up my books again and started reading. That was a nice change of pace.

But my days are still really running together. I don't have a lot to do that's defined by the day of the week.

But today is the weighin day. Not that it matters but I'm currently at the same weight as when I was admitted to the hospital. I lost 2 pounds compared to last week. That surprised me. But I'll take it!

I'm no where near the weight gain that I had with both Katelyn and Conner. That's kind of cool but it's also a bit strange feeling. Everything relating to this pregnancy is different compared to my other pregnancies!

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Wed, Jul 5, 2006 12:33 PM
This morning saw 3 contractions during the monitoring. It was just over 1/2 hour so I'm still "allowed" that. But it was strange that I only maybe felt one. But I'm getting closer and closer to that 32 week mark.

I read an e-mail from a mom who had PROM and delivered at 29w4d. It was so encouraging to read. Her baby was started on oral feeding at 32 weeks! The further that I get to keep baby inside, the shorter the NICU stay will be and the more likely that I'll be able to have Baby come home from the hospital with me. Or at least very quickly after I'm discharged. That's my ultimate goal... to be able to bring Baby home with me.

I just finished my 4th baby hat. The two I just did fit inside each other. I did the same pattern but two different sizes. I need to decide what to do next. For now I'm working on adding length to the brown blanket I'm crocheting.

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Tue, Jul 4, 2006 10:44 AM
Still here... baby is still inside.

No contractions were recorded yesterday. Today showed one but I only felt it in the maybe sense.

I've been working on a list of birth wishes. Basically a birth plan but a bit more flexible and more of a list of the way I'd like things to go (like pushing positions to avoid) then a specific long list of requests. They were things that I believe will help avoid the PTSD that I had following Katelyn's birth.

I'm encouraged because the perinatologist said it all looked very reasonable. I was afraid I might come across as adversarial but she seemed very positive about it. I also told her that already, this hospital stay has been completely different and *much* better then the experience during and following Katelyn's birth. She was quite surprised by that but it was the truth.

Eric spent last evening and most of last night here. It was so nice to fall asleep next to him like that. It's hard for him to com in and see me here just because it's in the hospital. But he knows that it makes a huge difference to me. It truly does. I sleep better and everything.

And even though evening is a normally active time, baby gets even more active then usual when he's here. It's like the baby senses his presence.

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Sun, Jul 2, 2006 1:45 PM
I'm 31 weeks!!!!

Had an ultrasound this morning. Eric skipped church and came in for it. I'm glad he did. It was nice having him there. The transport came sooner then expected though so they held off until Eric arrived. I thought that was kind of them.

AFI was a little more then 4. And it was in one big pocket of fluid. With all the huge leaks I've had lately I'm thrilled with that.

Baby scored an 8 out of 8 and that was probably upped to a 10 out of 10 after the morning monitoring session.

The cervical length though... that was about 1.5 though that's not super exact.

When I was monitored today I thought I might have felt a couple of contractions but nothing showed up on the monitor. I let the nurse know though.

Our favorite OB was on this weekend and she was so sweet about everything. I'm hoping she's the one on call when I do finally go into labor.

Eric spent most of the day up here which was very nice. And I'm nearly through the 2nd skein on the blanket I've been crocheting. It's not the size I want it yet, nor is it close. But it's useable now. I'm going to do a couple more hats when I'm done with this skein. That should happen today sometime.

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Sat, Jul 1, 2006 2:19 PM
So the monitoring this morning... I had 3 contractions in an hour. I'm "allowed" up to 3 in a half hour so I'm ok there. The contractions honestly felt more like my sinuses suddenly filled up then like a contraction. It makes me wonder if I've had these for a couple of days and just not made the connection.

Overall, things feel positive to me though. As my mom says, if anyone can turn off or delay labor, it's me. And I'm doing everything I can to do that.

I have an ultrasound tomorrow to see if I'm dialating or not.

And both the perinatologist and my OB have assured me that a birth at this point will probably have little to no long term effects on baby. But there will be a NICU stay. I'd rather avoid the long NICU stay. So that's my goal.

My parents return from their vacation on the 8th so please pray that I go past the 8th! And that'll get me past the magic 32 weeks point.

It wasn't that long ago that a July birthday felt out of reach... now we're in July and it's time to aim at another seemingly unreachable goal! I've been in the hospital for 2 weeks now. The perinatologists and OB's are thrilled with that. But another week or two would be very nice at this point!

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Sat, Jul 1, 2006 6:55 AM
Yes, the time is correct. I had a larger then usual gush last night and it was also darker red then usual. The red is expected with PROM but it really scared Eric who was up for the evening.

Then I was put on the monitor and it picked up 2 contractions. Both small, one about a minute and a half long and one shorter one.

The nurse came in at the end and asked, "Did you feel that?" Eric and I both asked, "Feel what?" We'd dosed off during the monitoring.

Well, with both of those happening, the OB asked for a strip during the night but the nurse was kind and let me sleep until now. We did the fasting blood poke(87), the vitals and now I'm waiting for my every 3 days blood draw. This is the one that checks for infections and checks my hemoglobin.

So I'm sitting her on the monitor right now wondering if I'm contracting but just not feeling it.

Hm... looks like one on the monitor right now. I feel ever so slightly crampy but nothing major. If I weren't thinking about it, I wouldn't have felt it.

I am confident that I'll make it to tomorrow though... 31 weeks!!!

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