Hi All -
Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but things have been a bit crazy. When I posted on Monday, I talked about how Bea needed to learn to eat before she could come home. On Tuesday night, Bea got her first bottle. And,instead of spitting half of it up like a normal preemie, she guzzled it down. By Wednesday, she had gone 24 hours without a feeding through her tube and was cleared to come home. They gave me the choice of whether I wanted her to come home Thursday or Friday.
Well, needless to say, we were a little surprised by this turn of events. We had some work to do around the house, etc. We chose for her to come home Friday and then spent the next two days crazily running around getting the house ready. Then on Friday morning, she came home!! It is so wonderfully surreal to actually be home as a family. Saturday was the first day in 79 days that I hadn't been to the hospital.
Things are going fairly well. Bullet and Bea are learning about each other. We are learning more about Bea, etc. She has some sniffles that have me worried a bit, but other then that she has been great.
We have some pictures to post and some more stories to tell, but right now, I need to get to sleep.
Love, Melissa
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
Four Pounds!
Hi everyone! Just a quick note to let you know that over the weekend Bea broke the four-pound barrier (kind of like breaking the four-minute mile). On Saturday she weighed 4 lbs 0.9 oz, Sunday she was up an ounce, and today she gained nearly three ounces, making her 4 lbs 4.6 ounces! She's huge!! Well, she's relatively huge...
She has been doing pretty well outside of the incubator. She had a cold spell last night, and we had to kangaroo hold her to get her temperature back up. They also put her in some warmer clothes, including some fancy socks which looked suspiciously like baby-size versions of the compression socks I wore when I was pregnant. Now we just need to get Matt some compression socks to match. She had her second bath yesterday, which might have been part of the reason why she got cold. But, usually, when they are cold, they burn calories and lose weight -- obviously that wasn't a problem for Bea last night.
We are moving closer to getting her home. There are a bunch of procedural things that need to get done before she goes home, and they are all scheduled for this week. First, today she had a head ultrasound. Apparently, they do head ultrasounds in all cases where one twin died to make sure there is no brain damage to the surviving twin. It's kind of scary, but the doctors have told us that it's mostly just a precaution. Then, Thursday, she has a car-seat evaluation. For that test, they put her in her car seat for an hour with all of her monitors on to make sure that she doesn't stop breathing while sitting in that position. It's kind of common for preemies to have trouble because they are so little that they don't fit the seat right. Lastly, Matt and I have elected to take a baby CPR class.
Besides the procedural stuff, all Bea needs to do is learn to eat from breast/bottle consistently and she can come home. Sounds easy enough. Ha! Bea does really well when she actually decides to be interested in eating, but she's a little inconsistent. I'm now going to the hospital for more feedings, so we can try to get things ironed out and get her home as fast as possible - maybe next week sometime. We'll have to see.
We'll keep you updated!
Melissa
She has been doing pretty well outside of the incubator. She had a cold spell last night, and we had to kangaroo hold her to get her temperature back up. They also put her in some warmer clothes, including some fancy socks which looked suspiciously like baby-size versions of the compression socks I wore when I was pregnant. Now we just need to get Matt some compression socks to match. She had her second bath yesterday, which might have been part of the reason why she got cold. But, usually, when they are cold, they burn calories and lose weight -- obviously that wasn't a problem for Bea last night.
We are moving closer to getting her home. There are a bunch of procedural things that need to get done before she goes home, and they are all scheduled for this week. First, today she had a head ultrasound. Apparently, they do head ultrasounds in all cases where one twin died to make sure there is no brain damage to the surviving twin. It's kind of scary, but the doctors have told us that it's mostly just a precaution. Then, Thursday, she has a car-seat evaluation. For that test, they put her in her car seat for an hour with all of her monitors on to make sure that she doesn't stop breathing while sitting in that position. It's kind of common for preemies to have trouble because they are so little that they don't fit the seat right. Lastly, Matt and I have elected to take a baby CPR class.
Besides the procedural stuff, all Bea needs to do is learn to eat from breast/bottle consistently and she can come home. Sounds easy enough. Ha! Bea does really well when she actually decides to be interested in eating, but she's a little inconsistent. I'm now going to the hospital for more feedings, so we can try to get things ironed out and get her home as fast as possible - maybe next week sometime. We'll have to see.
We'll keep you updated!
Melissa
Friday, April 20, 2007
2 Weeks
Today is Bea's two week birthday. Her adjusted age is 34 weeks and 2 days. Yesterday she migrated to her big girl bed. They took her out of her incubator and put her in a normal bed. She's holding her temperature really well so they wheeled away the incubator. It's very possible she'll need to go back in the incubator if she can't hold her temperature quite yet, but so far so good. She has to be really bundled up since she has less body fat then Melissa and I did in high school which is really saying something.
Her weight bottomed out on day three and she's steadily been gaining about an ounce a day to reach 3 lbs 15.7 ounces today. In the last day she gained two ounces. What's really impressive is her solid and fluid "waste" was 10 ounces a couple of days ago. That's over 25% of her body mass. That's impressive.
Beatrice Anita R. [no last names on the internet]. We knew her initials would be BAR and we figured she'd just be really cool in college. What we didn't realize until recently was if she buys one of those fancy monogramed sweaters it'll be BRA. So much for monograms. Almost as interesting is her two initials will be BR, as in Brrrrrr, please put me back in my incubator.
Tomorrow Melissa gets to have her first nice dinner out in quite a while, which might be the last nice dinner out in quite a while. Of course with her new motherhood responsibilities she has a short window to be out.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Busy, Busy! (More Pictures)
First, I want to apologize to everyone who has sent emails, greetings, and gifts. All well wishes are greatly appreciated. Thank you notes and return messages are on the way - as soon as I catch my breath. It's amazing how busy we are. Between visiting Bea, getting the house ready for Bea, trying to rest -- it's exhausting. Matt also has work, and I spend at least eight hours a day on breast-pump-related activities alone. My friend, Janis, who also had a preemie told me that I should be prepared to be best friends with my pump... and she was definitely right!
Until those thank you notes arrive, you can check out some more pictures of Bea. People have commented that she looks like a normal baby for being born so young. What the previous pictures we posted didn't show was scale. In one picture below, you can see my hand in there for comparison. In the other picture, she is being held by her nurse, Margi -- who is a very small person. So, you can see, Bea is pretty darn tiny. The blue wire in her nose is her feeding tube. The big thing on her arm WAS her IV (it's gone now-hooray), and the wires near her legs are for her heart and respiration monitors.
It was another good day for Baby Bea. She breastfed lots, pooped lots (that's been a worry), and is still barely avoiding more jaundice lights. Tomorrow, she will have her first real tub bath. From what I can tell from the other babies in the special care nursery, baths are not actually enjoyable experiences the first couple times -- but maybe Bea will enjoy splashing around in the fluid, since she had so little in the womb...
Enjoy! Talk to you soon, Melissa
Until those thank you notes arrive, you can check out some more pictures of Bea. People have commented that she looks like a normal baby for being born so young. What the previous pictures we posted didn't show was scale. In one picture below, you can see my hand in there for comparison. In the other picture, she is being held by her nurse, Margi -- who is a very small person. So, you can see, Bea is pretty darn tiny. The blue wire in her nose is her feeding tube. The big thing on her arm WAS her IV (it's gone now-hooray), and the wires near her legs are for her heart and respiration monitors.
It was another good day for Baby Bea. She breastfed lots, pooped lots (that's been a worry), and is still barely avoiding more jaundice lights. Tomorrow, she will have her first real tub bath. From what I can tell from the other babies in the special care nursery, baths are not actually enjoyable experiences the first couple times -- but maybe Bea will enjoy splashing around in the fluid, since she had so little in the womb...
Enjoy! Talk to you soon, Melissa
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Whirlwind Weekend
Hi All! Bea continues to do well. So well, in fact, that the nurses advised us to take time this weekend to "get the house ready." Although Bea will probably not come home in the next week, she will be taking more and more of her feedings by breast -- which means I will need to be in the hospital with her more often and won't have much time at home.
Because I went on bedrest so early in the pregnancy, we didn't have too many things ready in the nursery. So, this weekend was split between spending time with Bea and spending time with our credit cards. After visits to baby stores across the metro we are now proud owners of diaper pails, a bottle drying rack, a baby bathtub, millions of preemie outfits, etc., etc. Who knew a little person less than four pounds needed so much stuff.
Many people have asked if we are going to have any type of shower. The answer is yes -- several friends and relatives have offered to throw us a party, but I guess it will be a bit unconventional since Bea has already arrived. We'll let you know more as plans firm up.
Well, that's all for now. Got to get to bed.
Love, Melissa
Because I went on bedrest so early in the pregnancy, we didn't have too many things ready in the nursery. So, this weekend was split between spending time with Bea and spending time with our credit cards. After visits to baby stores across the metro we are now proud owners of diaper pails, a bottle drying rack, a baby bathtub, millions of preemie outfits, etc., etc. Who knew a little person less than four pounds needed so much stuff.
Many people have asked if we are going to have any type of shower. The answer is yes -- several friends and relatives have offered to throw us a party, but I guess it will be a bit unconventional since Bea has already arrived. We'll let you know more as plans firm up.
Well, that's all for now. Got to get to bed.
Love, Melissa
Friday, April 13, 2007
7 Days Old!
Bea is already a week old in the outside world or 33 weeks 2 days old since creation. She continues to impress across the board. She hasn't been under the jaundice lights for the last two days so we've been able to hold her longer. There has been at least two good periods of breastfeeding each day. She's beginning to recognize the pattern that after her diaper is changed and she comes out of the isolette, she gets to eat, thus she emerges from the isolette with her mouth wide open ready for some food. The feedings are strictly every three hours, so anywhere from 30-10 minutes before the hour she starts to wake up and get antsy.
Her body temperature is becoming stronger so they've turned down the heat on her isolette. When they let her come home, she'll be so small she'll probably need at least two layers of clothes plus a blanket to keep her body temperature up. She's doing so well that some of the staff have speculated whether she's really as young as she is. Earlier estimates of Melissa's gestational period during pregnancy indicated she may be as much as five days older than the current estimate. Either way we're not being picky.
I should also reiterate that she's never needed any oxygen and they haven't monitored her for oxygen since she was one day old. Her respiratory and heart rates are very consistent and strong, and while she's had very, very short episodes of low heart rates once a day or less, she hasn't had any apnea. I just knocked on some wood as I hope the splendid progress continues. Oh yes, she emerged at 3 lb 9 ounces and dropped to 3 lb 3 ounces on the third day. Since then she's gone to 3 lb 5 oz, then 3 lb 7 oz, then 3 lb 8 oz and today she's around 3 lb 9-10 oz.
Matt
Her body temperature is becoming stronger so they've turned down the heat on her isolette. When they let her come home, she'll be so small she'll probably need at least two layers of clothes plus a blanket to keep her body temperature up. She's doing so well that some of the staff have speculated whether she's really as young as she is. Earlier estimates of Melissa's gestational period during pregnancy indicated she may be as much as five days older than the current estimate. Either way we're not being picky.
I should also reiterate that she's never needed any oxygen and they haven't monitored her for oxygen since she was one day old. Her respiratory and heart rates are very consistent and strong, and while she's had very, very short episodes of low heart rates once a day or less, she hasn't had any apnea. I just knocked on some wood as I hope the splendid progress continues. Oh yes, she emerged at 3 lb 9 ounces and dropped to 3 lb 3 ounces on the third day. Since then she's gone to 3 lb 5 oz, then 3 lb 7 oz, then 3 lb 8 oz and today she's around 3 lb 9-10 oz.
Matt
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Bea-utiful Day
Today, Bea had another good day in the hospital. She breastfed twice for 8 minutes and 10 minutes. The second time she had her mouth open before they even got her out of the incubator! It was pretty funny. She still needs to keep the lights on for the jaundice. Additionally, her IV has been moved to her head, which bothers Dad a lot, but it is nicer for Bea then on the leg or arm, since she likes to move her limbs a lot. But, other then that, she's doing real well.
I (Melissa) am feeling better each day. My legs are really swollen from the birth, IVs, and walking for the first time in months. So, walking is not pleasant, but all of the other birth-related stuff is healing nicely as far as I can tell.
Well, that's all to report today. We'll let you know more as it happens. :) - M.
I (Melissa) am feeling better each day. My legs are really swollen from the birth, IVs, and walking for the first time in months. So, walking is not pleasant, but all of the other birth-related stuff is healing nicely as far as I can tell.
Well, that's all to report today. We'll let you know more as it happens. :) - M.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Meet Bea! (Pictures)
Hi, it's Melissa (and I'm home again)! Here are some pictures of Bea. Sorry for all the nude shots, but she hasn't graduated to clothes yet. You have a picture of her getting weighed (the full body nude), a picture of her sitting up, and a picture of her with her shades and pacifier under the blue billi lights (used to treat jaundice). (Sorry the format is so screwy - the blogger program is fighting me!)
Bea is now three days old, and she is doing well.
Thankfully for the nurses and mommy, last night my milk came in. Now that Bea has some food in her tummy she has stopped yesterday's non-stop wailing and squirming. I guess I can't blame her for screaming when since she hadn't eaten in two days, had a million IVs and pokes, and had to come out into the world. When she is unhappy, however, she still lets you know about it. Today we saw her get up on her knees and elbows so she could scream better. Yesterday, we saw her arch her back so hard she hoisted her whole body onto her feet.
They mostly give Bea the milk through syringes and a tube that goes from her nose to her belly. But, she also breastfed for 8 minutes today -- which is pretty advanced stuff for a 32-weeker.
Tonight Matt is at the hospital with Bea, where he got to do some "kangaroo care." Basically he gets to hold Bea against his bare chest, so they can have skin-to-skin contact like marsupials. Studies have proven that contact helps babies grow faster. I held her today for a whole hour while she tried to breastfeed.
That's all for now. Talk to you soon.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Guess What?
Guess where we are? Not the heart hospital. Not the public computer in the birth unit. We're at home! In our very own house. Yes, that includes Melissa. Hurray for home.
Bea is still doing really well. She was very, very active today. So much so that the first nurse of the day was at her wits end by the end of her shift. Bea likes to move around and cry a lot (well not actually cry, more of a wail). She moves around so much they've surrounded her body pillows to keep her from migrating across the incubator so quickly. The nurses have indicated she's pretty wild, which is consistent with the discription of her provided by the ultrasound technicians, and doctors and nurses trying to monitor her heart rate. It appears we could really have our hands full. The nurses are very nice and have good intentions, but it currently appears they might not be too sad when vocal and flailing Bea comes home with us.
(Readers note - Melissa has finished her every 3rd hour responsibility and has left me/Matt to wrap up our blog of the day so she can sleep).
Twice when we were there her heart skipped a couple of beeps however she continued to breathe. We're used to tons of false triggers on her heart rate and her respiratory rate, however this was apparently the real thing because the nurse went flying across the room to see what was going on. She only skipped around 5 seconds of heart beats, not nearly enough to be considered apnea, but enough to get Mom & Dad worked up. That was apparently the first time she's done that yet - which is really good because she's at 32 1/2 weeks and has been monitored for nearly two days. Things have been going so well, we're not used to normal responses for a 32 week old girl. Essentially she's not perfect and isn't going to fly through the special care nursery with zero incidents, but she's doing really, really for her age. Mom and Dad would prefer to focus on little issues like does she have crooked toes or bad eye sight and would like to skip past the more major issues we faced in pregnancy, but it looks like we're not going to get a free ride through the special care nursery. That's okay because our expectations were probably becoming a bit to unrealistic.
Melissa's requested first meal at home: Macaroni and cheese (not the cafeteria stuff) with cheese-stuffed hot dogs and a big serving of milk in a glass, not cardboard, followed by vanilla ice cream with her Mom's hot fudge.
Bea is still doing really well. She was very, very active today. So much so that the first nurse of the day was at her wits end by the end of her shift. Bea likes to move around and cry a lot (well not actually cry, more of a wail). She moves around so much they've surrounded her body pillows to keep her from migrating across the incubator so quickly. The nurses have indicated she's pretty wild, which is consistent with the discription of her provided by the ultrasound technicians, and doctors and nurses trying to monitor her heart rate. It appears we could really have our hands full. The nurses are very nice and have good intentions, but it currently appears they might not be too sad when vocal and flailing Bea comes home with us.
(Readers note - Melissa has finished her every 3rd hour responsibility and has left me/Matt to wrap up our blog of the day so she can sleep).
Twice when we were there her heart skipped a couple of beeps however she continued to breathe. We're used to tons of false triggers on her heart rate and her respiratory rate, however this was apparently the real thing because the nurse went flying across the room to see what was going on. She only skipped around 5 seconds of heart beats, not nearly enough to be considered apnea, but enough to get Mom & Dad worked up. That was apparently the first time she's done that yet - which is really good because she's at 32 1/2 weeks and has been monitored for nearly two days. Things have been going so well, we're not used to normal responses for a 32 week old girl. Essentially she's not perfect and isn't going to fly through the special care nursery with zero incidents, but she's doing really, really for her age. Mom and Dad would prefer to focus on little issues like does she have crooked toes or bad eye sight and would like to skip past the more major issues we faced in pregnancy, but it looks like we're not going to get a free ride through the special care nursery. That's okay because our expectations were probably becoming a bit to unrealistic.
Melissa's requested first meal at home: Macaroni and cheese (not the cafeteria stuff) with cheese-stuffed hot dogs and a big serving of milk in a glass, not cardboard, followed by vanilla ice cream with her Mom's hot fudge.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
The Big Day Arrived!
Beatrice Anita and Elizabeth Hope were born at 6:27 pm on Friday, April 6th. The girls came out together in the same push. Beatrice is an incredibly healthy girl for her age. Elsa was suprisingly beautiful and intact. Mom is doing well after a speedy natural delivery.
Bea weighed in at 3 pounds 9 ounces and is 18.9 inches long. She did so well at birth they let Mom and Dad hold her in the O.R. before transfering to the Special Care Nursery (no NICU yah!). Today she is doing so well they quit monitoring her oxygen level and even tried to breastfeed. She does have jaundice and will need to be under the lights for a while. The current estimate is she can come home between 2 and 5 weeks. Across the board everyone is extremely surprised how well she is doing for someone of her age. And, she's awful cute with her full head of dark hair.
Elsa was down to 4 ounces (she was 13 ounces in January) and was probably 11 to 12 inches long. She looked just like she did in the ultrasound with her feet crossed and her hands together under one side of the head like she had just gone to sleep. She had a smile on her face and looked so peaceful. We were very fortunate that we could hold her, take pictures, and wrap her in a blanket. We were each able to spend some time alone with her and the grandparents were also able to spend some time with her. Matt walked her over to the Children's hospital where the cremation society will pick her up.
Melissa is doing spectacular. She's up and walking around for the first time in months. After a few false starts, when labor began everything went extremely fast. After having significant contractions for 3 hours the nurses told us to expect another 12 hours. However just one hour later a startled nurse who was examining Melissa pronounced she was ready to go. Nurses immediately starting throwing furniture around the room to get Melissa's bed out of the room. As they wheeled her down the hall they were shouting out they had not notified the O.R. of her arrival but the babies were coming out. Seventeen minutes after arriving in the O.R. Melissa gave birth. The doctor said she was an exceptionally good pusher. Unfortunately the placenta was not nearly as easy to deliver and took another 45 minutes to an hour (not to mention a lot of muscle from the doctor - more details at your request) to come out.
We'll provide more details of the busy day and future events and milestones in coming blogs. We are so thankful for all of the love and support we have received over the course of this pregnancy. We couldn't have done it without all of you. Now back to the breast pump for Mom and Dad (yes, Dad has jobs, too).
Love,
Melissa and Matt
P.S. Kelly K. and Craig B./Emma won the baby pool and will be sent pictures of Bea ASAP. We thought there was another person who picked April 6th, but our independent accounting firm has not been able to verify the official entry (that means we lost it - if it was you let us know).
Bea weighed in at 3 pounds 9 ounces and is 18.9 inches long. She did so well at birth they let Mom and Dad hold her in the O.R. before transfering to the Special Care Nursery (no NICU yah!). Today she is doing so well they quit monitoring her oxygen level and even tried to breastfeed. She does have jaundice and will need to be under the lights for a while. The current estimate is she can come home between 2 and 5 weeks. Across the board everyone is extremely surprised how well she is doing for someone of her age. And, she's awful cute with her full head of dark hair.
Elsa was down to 4 ounces (she was 13 ounces in January) and was probably 11 to 12 inches long. She looked just like she did in the ultrasound with her feet crossed and her hands together under one side of the head like she had just gone to sleep. She had a smile on her face and looked so peaceful. We were very fortunate that we could hold her, take pictures, and wrap her in a blanket. We were each able to spend some time alone with her and the grandparents were also able to spend some time with her. Matt walked her over to the Children's hospital where the cremation society will pick her up.
Melissa is doing spectacular. She's up and walking around for the first time in months. After a few false starts, when labor began everything went extremely fast. After having significant contractions for 3 hours the nurses told us to expect another 12 hours. However just one hour later a startled nurse who was examining Melissa pronounced she was ready to go. Nurses immediately starting throwing furniture around the room to get Melissa's bed out of the room. As they wheeled her down the hall they were shouting out they had not notified the O.R. of her arrival but the babies were coming out. Seventeen minutes after arriving in the O.R. Melissa gave birth. The doctor said she was an exceptionally good pusher. Unfortunately the placenta was not nearly as easy to deliver and took another 45 minutes to an hour (not to mention a lot of muscle from the doctor - more details at your request) to come out.
We'll provide more details of the busy day and future events and milestones in coming blogs. We are so thankful for all of the love and support we have received over the course of this pregnancy. We couldn't have done it without all of you. Now back to the breast pump for Mom and Dad (yes, Dad has jobs, too).
Love,
Melissa and Matt
P.S. Kelly K. and Craig B./Emma won the baby pool and will be sent pictures of Bea ASAP. We thought there was another person who picked April 6th, but our independent accounting firm has not been able to verify the official entry (that means we lost it - if it was you let us know).
Friday, April 6, 2007
Slow Progress
It appears that like everything for this pregnancy, this delivery is going to take a little extra time and effort. Progress is being made but it's slow. Things could kick in high-gear tonight or tomorrow, but nothing is going to happen right away. We're reluctantly bracing for a long night. The bed Melissa is in now if for labor and delivery and is much harder than the bed she was in on the antepartum floor. So her hips are extremely uncomfortable but like everything else Melissa is handling it like a trooper. She just received a massage and I was given a few techniques to give to Melissa to help her feel more comfortable.
One of the weird things for us is that all of the little "bad" indicators in the antepartum unit are now "good" indicators. We're suddenly encouraging contractions among so many other things now. We're actually rooting for bigger, longer and more intense contractions because that means we're that much closer to the finish line.
While we're very excited to great Bea in the outer world and start our life together, we made further preparations for handling the delivery of Elsa. We're coordinating her cremation and my personal feelings for Elsa were the strongest yesterday that they've been since Cincinnati. Melissa said it's somewhat similar to what we went through in Cincinnati where we preparing to celebrate a lot of happiness with a bright future with Bea while feeling sorrow for Elsa. I feel a little bitter about that because it would be really nice for Melissa and I to embrace 100% happiness and I feel bad for Bea that we're going to have a little bit of sorrow mixed in with her greetings when she arrives. I feel the need to respect Elsa and her great contribution and can't ignore her entirely either. It's an awkward little balancing act. Today there's overall more excitement and happiness for me. The anxiety is a little less, and I think it is for Melissa too. We're currently looking forward to more intense labor and our little daughter, however I suspect some not so happy moments surfacing for Melissa and I'm readying myself for whatever temporary emotions may emerge from her. Being a guy can be pretty cool sometimes. However the massage therapist was sharing with Melissa how her delivery was the most special day of her life and how she felt so many amazing emotions and feelings throughout labor, so there's a little (and I mean little right now) sense of regret I can't experience that and join that club.
One of the weird things for us is that all of the little "bad" indicators in the antepartum unit are now "good" indicators. We're suddenly encouraging contractions among so many other things now. We're actually rooting for bigger, longer and more intense contractions because that means we're that much closer to the finish line.
While we're very excited to great Bea in the outer world and start our life together, we made further preparations for handling the delivery of Elsa. We're coordinating her cremation and my personal feelings for Elsa were the strongest yesterday that they've been since Cincinnati. Melissa said it's somewhat similar to what we went through in Cincinnati where we preparing to celebrate a lot of happiness with a bright future with Bea while feeling sorrow for Elsa. I feel a little bitter about that because it would be really nice for Melissa and I to embrace 100% happiness and I feel bad for Bea that we're going to have a little bit of sorrow mixed in with her greetings when she arrives. I feel the need to respect Elsa and her great contribution and can't ignore her entirely either. It's an awkward little balancing act. Today there's overall more excitement and happiness for me. The anxiety is a little less, and I think it is for Melissa too. We're currently looking forward to more intense labor and our little daughter, however I suspect some not so happy moments surfacing for Melissa and I'm readying myself for whatever temporary emotions may emerge from her. Being a guy can be pretty cool sometimes. However the massage therapist was sharing with Melissa how her delivery was the most special day of her life and how she felt so many amazing emotions and feelings throughout labor, so there's a little (and I mean little right now) sense of regret I can't experience that and join that club.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Waiting for tomorrow
Things weren't starting up real quickly today, so the drugs have been turned off for the day. They're prepping Melissa to get ready to start up again tomorrow morning. We'll see what and who tomorrow brings.
Induction Begins
They've started giving Melissa induction drugs. She was moved from her old room into a room on a birthing wing at 7 am. So her old telephone number doesn't work.
The doctors indicated that nothing will happen for a while, a quick afternoon delivery is unlikely. It's more likely things could go on for a day or two before delivery. If at 5 pm she isn't into active labor, they might shut off the drugs for the night and start again tomorrow morning. So this phase of waiting continues. They won't give her any intensive induction drugs as they're in no rush, so they're giving her milder drugs that react more slowly.
Maybe the most unusal and shocking thing this morning was seeing Melissa out of her room! Eight weeks in the same place. That was much more shocking to me than the fact that we're going to try to start labor and Bea's going to come out soon. That reality is just now slowly beginning and the waiting is going to be pretty annoying.
Melissa didn't sleep well last night, so I didn't either. She took some sleep pills at 3 am and was able to get a few hours of sleep before they transferred her into a new room/floor. She's still groggy so she's trying to get a little more sleep if she can.
More action packed suspense and drama to follow.
The doctors indicated that nothing will happen for a while, a quick afternoon delivery is unlikely. It's more likely things could go on for a day or two before delivery. If at 5 pm she isn't into active labor, they might shut off the drugs for the night and start again tomorrow morning. So this phase of waiting continues. They won't give her any intensive induction drugs as they're in no rush, so they're giving her milder drugs that react more slowly.
Maybe the most unusal and shocking thing this morning was seeing Melissa out of her room! Eight weeks in the same place. That was much more shocking to me than the fact that we're going to try to start labor and Bea's going to come out soon. That reality is just now slowly beginning and the waiting is going to be pretty annoying.
Melissa didn't sleep well last night, so I didn't either. She took some sleep pills at 3 am and was able to get a few hours of sleep before they transferred her into a new room/floor. She's still groggy so she's trying to get a little more sleep if she can.
More action packed suspense and drama to follow.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Wednesday Evening Update
Melissa is here writing with me, in possibly her last calm and sound state of mind for a while (and thus mine, too). Pending room in the NICU (just in case Bea needs to go there), Melissa will move rooms tomorrow to the labor and delivery floor - where we started eight weeks ago. They will induce her using several kinds of fancy drugs, if everything looks good for a natural delivery. A natural delivery can take several days especially since this is our first baby and an induction. We will update the blog when we can but no promises.
The doctors were very surprised by how developed Bea's lungs are. She's still pretty little to be born (she's still two months early), but we're all optimistic she'll be a healthy girl. The doctors here have prepared us that Bea may need to go to the NICU for a day or two to get stabilized after birth. We have hopes she'll be in the special care nursery soon if not right after birth. We've already busted the Cincinnati stats. They expected she'd be born at 29 - 30 weeks. So we're feeling pretty good. Matt's feeling better than Melissa because he doesn't have to go into labor.
Please send us your good vibes. Thank you!
The doctors were very surprised by how developed Bea's lungs are. She's still pretty little to be born (she's still two months early), but we're all optimistic she'll be a healthy girl. The doctors here have prepared us that Bea may need to go to the NICU for a day or two to get stabilized after birth. We have hopes she'll be in the special care nursery soon if not right after birth. We've already busted the Cincinnati stats. They expected she'd be born at 29 - 30 weeks. So we're feeling pretty good. Matt's feeling better than Melissa because he doesn't have to go into labor.
Please send us your good vibes. Thank you!
Green Light!
It looks like Bea will be born this week. Today is 32 weeks, hooray! They tested Melissa's amniotic fluid as planned today. The first test was inconclusive but after a second opinion from the U of M they confirmed that Bea's lung development was essentially complete.
We haven't heard confirmation from the doctors from when it'll happen, but based on previous conversations we expect they'll deliver Bea today through Friday. It's our guess it won't be today based on the lateness in the day and the NICU is pretty busy today apparently. So we're thinking tomorrow or Friday they'll assess Melissa for delivery and will induce her or give her a C-section if everything isn't aligned properly.
Lots to do, gotta run. I'll post as able.
Matt
We haven't heard confirmation from the doctors from when it'll happen, but based on previous conversations we expect they'll deliver Bea today through Friday. It's our guess it won't be today based on the lateness in the day and the NICU is pretty busy today apparently. So we're thinking tomorrow or Friday they'll assess Melissa for delivery and will induce her or give her a C-section if everything isn't aligned properly.
Lots to do, gotta run. I'll post as able.
Matt
Monday, April 2, 2007
Monday April 2nd
Melissa and Bea are still moving along. Nothing exciting to report here other then Melissa and Liz got lost in the hospital on their wheel chair ride. They kept running into the same startled little boy and mother which caused Melissa and Liz to start laughing real hard and they immediately passed one of Melissa's primary peri-natal doctors who was in a hurry and did a double take for seeing Melissa in an odd part of the hospital laughing hysterically.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
April 1st
Yesterday Melissa and I were discussing that we didn't think we were going to make it to March. April was long out of the question. Now we know Bea will have an April birthday, but what day? Only time will tell.
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