At about 8 pm, I started having some cramping that was concerning. I called the doctor's office and the on-call doctor told me to go to labor and delivery to get checked out just to be on the safe side. We went to the hospital at about 10 pm. She "checked me out" and I was dilated 2 cm and 90% effaced. I was actively contracting. They gave me a shot to stop the contractions and a shot of steroids to help the baby's lungs develop in case delivery was in the near future. The contractions slowed down but came back after about 2 hours. I got another shot. I thought they would stop the contractions and send me home on bed rest. Ashlyn had other plans! At about 4 am my water broke. Wow! That was an experience. The nurse came in and told us that we just got upgraded to the delivery room. We were going to have a baby within the next 24 hours!
They started me on lots of antibiotics and moved me to the new suite! I started having pretty strong contractions about 6 am. I got my epidural at 7...that is good stuff! I didn't feel any pain after that. All of our family started arriving. My parents and Sarah and Chance's parents were all there for the excitement. Nothing was really happening and I was only dilated to a 3 at 9 am when they checked me again. We all just hung out in my room. I felt great! I got a second dose of steroids at 11. We met with the Neonatologist who would be present at the delivery to take care of Ashlyn immediately. She had a team of about 8 people ready for her! At about 2 pm my nurse checked me again and I was dilated to an 8! Chance was downstairs getting a tour of the NICU. I called him and the nurse called my doctor. Within 10 minutes I was fully dilated and the nurse told me not to laugh or cough or this baby was going to fall out! Yikes! Well, she didn't fall out, but I only pushed for about 20 minutes and there she was. The cord was wrapped around her neck and was too tight to slide over her head so the doctor had to clamp it and cut it right then. Chance missed out on that experience, but I think it is safe to say, he experienced plenty! He was right in the middle of the action and really surprised me! He was very hands on with the delivery! I couldn't have done it without him!
I was able to hold Ashlyn for about 10 seconds before they rushed her down to the NICU.
Chance went with her and her team of doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists. My placenta wouldn't deliver so I lost a lot of blood during that process. I was in recovery for about an hour. They wheeled me down on a stretcher to the NICU before taking me to my room in postpartum.
Ashlyn was on a CPAP machine initially giving her lungs a little assistance to expand. She also had an IV for fluids, antibiotics and nutrition, a feeding tube in her mouth and lots of monitors! It was pretty scary to see it all.
She progressed VERY quickly and was off the CPAP the next day and on a nasal cannula.
She needed that for about another day and then she was on room air, breathing all on her own! She was able to maintain her temperature with a couple of days and no longer needed the warmer. She was tolerating her tube feedings very well and they were going up on those fairly quickly. Her bilirubin was elevated so she spent a day under the UV lamps. She really liked laying under there, Chance told her not to get too use to it because he was not going to buy her a tanning membership!
I was able to start breast feeding trials very quickly, but the doctor told us not to expect much. 34 weeks is really too young for her to be able to coordinate the suck, swallow and breath pattern required to nurse effectively. We were doing 2 feeding trials per day, but spent most of the time snuggling while she got her food through her tube. As her tube feedings went up, the IV nutrition went down. She got rid of her IV on day 4 which made holding her a lot easier! One of the neonatologist heard a murmur in her heart. He told us not to worry about it (yeah right!) that it was most likely a patent ductus arteriosus which is fairly common in premature babies. It is a hole that bypasses blood from the lungs while in utero. It usually closes at birth, but sometimes can take a little longer to close. He thought it would most likely close on its own and never cause any problems. We were pretty worried about it, but the next doctor that saw her didn't hear it again and no once has heard it since.
On Saturday she was moved to an "overflow" NICU where they put their most stable babies. We were a little anxious about the move at first because we had gotten pretty comfortable with the staff and routine downstairs. It has turned out to be ok...the room is bigger and we can hang out with her as much as we want!
She still has her feeding tube and is hooked up to the heart monitor to check her heart rate and respiratory rate, but other than that she is wire free!
She took her first bottle on Monday and did very well. We are up to 2-3 bottle feeds and 2 breast feeds per day. We got to help with her bath for the first time on Tuesday. She didn't mind it as much as I thought she would. She settles down very quickly with her pacifier. She is gaining weight everyday and weighed 4 lbs 15 ounces tonite!
Tomorrow she should hit 5 lbs! We have finally settled in to a little bit of a routine. I come up to the hospital for her 9 am feedings and hang out with her all day. Chance comes up and brings me lunch and holds Ashlyn for a while. I meet Chance at home around 6 for a quick dinner and to do some stuff around the house...laundry, dishes...the stuff that doesn't stop just because you have a baby! We go back up to the hospital around 8:30 and stay for a couple of hours. It is really hard to leave her up there at night! They started her on some supplements to increase her calorie intake and pack on the pounds...okay...ounces and some vitamins. The vitamins look and smell really nasty! But for now they go through her feeding tube. The doctors are very pleased with her progress so far. She is what they call a "feeder/grower" meaning she is here mainly to work on taking all of her meals orally. She has to be able to eat 8-10 meals a day orally, keep it all down and continuously gain weight. We are on the right path...it just takes a while to get there. The doctor explained it really well. He said asking Ashlyn to eat 45 ml of milk every 3 hours is like asking you to do 45 push-ups every 3 hours. It is fatiguing and something she has to build up to.
We feel very blessed with the outpouring of support from our family and friends! It has truly been amazing. All of the prayers, calls, visits, texts, flowers, gifts, thoughts, etc have been much appreciated! Ashlyn is one lucky girl to have so many people who care about her so much! We feel pretty luck too! We couldn't do it without all of the support. Thanks to everyone for everything! If a thank you didn't make it your way, I apologize for overlooking it! Now that we are up to date, I will try to make more frequent posts to keep everyone updated on her progress and flooded with precious pictures of our sweet baby girl. She is a miracle...a real fighter! Keep the prayers coming and hopefully we will have our family home soon. Love and laughter to you all!
Chance, Kristi and Ashlyn
Ashlyn - you are so pretty! And my goodness, you are strong! I can't wait to meet you! I was near your neck of the woods today but with two sick kids - gross. You need to stay as far away from them as possible! Kristi and Chance - I think of you guys so often and am SO excited for you both and this newest addition to your family. She is beautiful, and she certainly has a strong spirit and will. :) I can't wait to meet her and to catch up with you both. Please let me know if you need anything!! Take care - and thanks for the detailed posts! I know how long that must have taken! :) Hugs to you THREE!
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