It's Empty Again........Our little boy is here

Things had been going better since last Monday (Nov. 15th), until Wednesday.  That morning my contractions started getting more intense and more frequent.  They tried giving me a mag bolus, but that barely touched them.  I also got a dose of nubain, which had helped before, but wasn't much help this time.  So things continued to progress and Dr. Bemenderfer came to check on me around 3 pm.  She did an ultrasound to check on Luke, and then tried to check my cervix, but all she could feel was my bag of water.  Since labor had already progressed to that point, she said it would probably be best to have a C-section to avoid the possibility of complications.  Matt and I both called our moms and told them that it was time.  So they started prepping me for the O.R.  My nurse for the day, Chrissie, who was supposed to go home at 3 pm, insisted on staying until I delivered, even though I told her she should go home.  What a great friend.  The whole time they were prepping me for the OR, my room was full of other nurses who just come in and wish us well and make sure we were ok.  I love the people I work with.

They took me back to get my spinal in, which turned out to be quite an ordeal.  The CRNA was having trouble getting it in because I had to lay down instead of sitting up to avoid breaking my water.  They finally got the spinal in after about 45 minutes and then went to get Matt.  Shortly after he arrived they started the surgery.  My leg had been pulled up with my knee bent in the air when it went numb, so the whole time I felt like it was in that position even though they had straightened my leg and laid it down again.

Once Dr. Bemenderfer got into my uterus, I think Luke changed his mind.  She kept trying to pull him out and he kept trying to go back inside.  I couldn't see anything, but Matt said he saw his feet sticking out 2 or 3 different times, but they kept disappearing.  So they had to cut my uterus a little more, vertically this time instead of horizontally like the first incision.  This ensures that if we have any more children, I will be having a C-section.  Then she was able to get him out and they laid him on my chest to suction his mouth and nose before the NICU people took over.  They immediately started to intubate him and check his heart rate and temperature.  They had a little trouble getting the tube into the right spot, but eventually got it in and got him stabilized.  They did an awesome job!!!!!  Matt was bouncing back and forth between me and Luke the whole time trying to make sure both of us were ok.  While they were working on him, we heard him let out a few small cries.  It was amazing!!!  Once the tubes were in and they had checked his breathing, they quickly took Luke from the room and upstairs to the NICU.

The official time and stats were:

Lucas Matthew Healy
Born: 5:13 pm, Nov. 23, 2011
1 lb. 13 oz. - 13 inches long

Then Dr. Bemenderfer finished stitching me up and they sent me back to my room.  We had a wait of about 2 hours before anyone could go see Luke, with not a lot of updates.  We just kept being told they were working on his IV and feeding lines and getting his breathing and heart rate stable.  Finally around 8:30 or 9 Matt was able to go up and check on Luke.  After both sets of grandparents were able to go up and see him everyone headed for home or hotels around 10.  I was feeling pretty good after the surgery, so Matt and I went up to see him around 11.

So far he is doing well.  He is really bruised from the delivery, but his skin color is improving daily.  He was  black, blue and purple from head to toe Wednesday night, but is starting to turn pink in his chest, hands, feet and even a little in his arms and legs today.  His heart rate and blood pressure are doing well along with most of the other levels that the NICU is monitoring.

This morning when Matt and I went up to see him, they let Matt take his temperature and change his diaper (Matt's first ever).

Right now we just hope and pray that our little guy can keep going strong and slowly improve with each day that passes.

We really appreciate the thoughts, prayers and support that all of our family and friends have given us this far and we know they will continue to be there as we move forward.

It's Been a Rough Couple of Days

Monday's cervical length started out ok.  Luke looked good and my cervix measured 3.5 cm. . . . but then I had a contraction and it went down to 0.6 cm with some pretty bad funneling.  I was HORRIFIED.  A little later one of the doctors came in and checked my cervix and said I was dilated and she could feel his head.  That got me extremely worried and I was just sure that he was coming out.  Luckily that was not the case.  There was also some bleeding and fluid coming out.  Dr. Bemenderfer was concerned that my water may have broke, but again, luckily that was not the case.  They gave me some more meds and upped my mag in the evening and things seemed to quiet down overnight.

Tuesday morning brought more contractions starting at about 5:30 a.m.  I got some more meds to help, which they did, but I am still contracting.  Some hours it may only be one or two, while others it seems to be 8 or 10.

A nurse practioner from the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) came down to talk to us about what to expect if I were to deliver today or in the near future.  It was not a very pleasant conversation, but it was probably a good thing that we did it.  For now we are just hoping that doesn't happen for awhile.  Every day and week counts a lot right now and we are just hoping for the best.

Since all of happenings on Monday I have been restricted to my bed, I don't even get bathroom privelages.  My wonderful and loving husband (he is the one doing the typing now, so I don't really have control over what he says about himself) has had to do and see things that he is not particularly fond of.  He doesn't do well with dog poop, not to mention mine.  All in all, it has been a rough couple of days, but we are hanging in there and Luke is still inside - where he belongs.

Everyones' thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated.

The Day Has Come...

Just when I was starting to relax....NOT! So let me update you on the latest....
Tuesday I had a scheduled ultrasound to check my cervical length. I went just like any other appt thinking everything would be fine and I would be back home in 30 mins. Again, NOT! The ultrasound started off just fine. She measured my cervix and it was 3.0 (this was shorter than Friday's measurement but only by 0.1 cm). Then we were just watching him move around (he has taken to head butting the ultrasound probe and it is quite comical) when I saw my cervix opening on the big screen and she saw it too. She asked what I was feeling and I was feeling a contraction, but not a bad one. What we were seeing was something called funneling (for my non-nursing friends it is too hard to explain, just Google it) and that isn't good. While this was happening my cervix shrunk to 1.6 cm, which isn't good again! She had me get dressed but placed me in a waiting area while she got my doctor. I knew what was coming so I started alerting the media (Matt, mom, etc). My doctor came in and basically said we knew it was probably coming and I was going to get taken over to the unit for some monitoring and then we would go from there. For some reason (why, I don't know...I should know better) I was starting to get hopeful that I would still go home.

Got to triage on the L&D unit (my second home) and got my monitoring started. It showed that I was very irritable (crampy) with a few contractions...which wasn't a change for me. But that was enough for my doctor to say, were done and it was time for me to be admitted. Not only was I going to be admitted, but I was also going to be started on a medicine called Magnesium Sulfate (Mag), which is an IV medication to stop my uterine activity, along with a slew of other medicines. This did not excite me one bit. I have see what this medicine does to you and I didn't want that. But I knew it would help keep him in there which is where he needs to be!

Luckily, a lot of my friends were working so they all were eager and ready to help get this going. They took me to my room (which was an inside room...without a window to the outside....not going to work...now I am in a new room with an outside window) and got everything going. They got the Mag started and it did everything I expected it to. Now, lets fast forward to today....

The Mag is still going, but I feel tons better than I did. My only big problems would be that I can't focus, so that make reading, etc (all things I was doing) not possible/much more difficult. Also, I am a walking furnace.  My room is kept cold (Matt is even saying he is cold) and I have a fan on me at all times, my face is also a wonderful "blush" color. The Mag also burns my arm, for which I keep an ice pack on it! Matt has moved our house into our room, and that is sad. I already miss my dogs (never thought I would say that) and my home. I have been told that I am going to be here until he comes out (unless my cervix decides to cooperate). We had another ultrasound yesterday (we will have many more) and the ultrasound lady who I have gotten to know quite well switched it over to 3D/4D so we could really see his little features and OMG! I wasn't sure how good it would look since he really doesn't have any fat on him yet, but it came out perfect....

I am in love with his little nose and chin. Too cute!!!

Well, that is all for now. I leave you with this...I am always welcoming visitors and if anyone has an idea how I can see Breaking Dawn I am all ears (I am not above breaking the law).  I will update more since now I REALLY have nothing to do!!!!