The rollercoaster

Our docs said that the next while will be a rollercoaster ride and the last 2 days haven proven them correct. I'm a bit out of it, so I apologize if this is incoherent...

Yesterday, Kristy and I were faced with the most difficult decision that we've faced. Since Jack's decelerations were advancing so rapidly, the docs said he would be much better outside than in utero. However, Ella seemed to be doing fine and Kristy's contractions were still minimal. Since the pregnancy wasn't termed a rupture but IUGR (slow growth), even if the contractions increased she could be given magnesium sulfate to assist. On the flip side, if we decided to continue the pregnancy, then they would stop monitoring Jack. Kristy and I huddled for a while and jointly decided that we had to give him a chance.

With the decision made, the rest of the day flew by quickly.

Our main doctor was in Europe for the last couple weeks and flew back home on Saturday night. We asked to call for her advice. Amazingly, she decided to come into the office and run the delivery. We were initially a bit apprehensive about delivering on a Sunday, but the crew of about a dozen were incredible. There was never a moment where we felt we weren't getting the best care possible and there will never be words to express how much gratitude we have for the teams here.

During that time, Kristy's parents were coming down to watch the Colts game (I've never cared so little for one of their losses...), so they waited in the room while Kristy and I went to delivery. Kristy's mom was with her during Claire and Gracie's births, but yesterday she held it together very well.

The delivery process went exceptionally well. We were in and out in about an hour. I assume that by a good start that the neo meant that there wasn't a lot of trauma during delivery. Kristy has a hard time getting an IV, so I can't imagine the difficulty with their small veins and arteries.

After the delivery, Kristy rested for a couple hours and then we went over with both our parents to visit. They had stabilized both Jack and Ella and we went back to the room exhausted, excited, worried, scared, you name it...

Today started about 6:30 when I stopped by to see them. The lady neo (neonatologist is too difficult..) was extremely pleased in how the night progressed. Jack had stabilized on his respirator and Ella was still just using the C-PAP (similar to a sleep apnea device). This was the up part of the day...

It's amazing how many numbers and body parts that are monitored, but in the first couple days, respiration is key. Oxygen levels (usually 97% in adults, 85% in preemies), CO2 levels (don't want these to get too high), breath rates (lower is better) and oxygen assistance (<50 is good) are some of the most important. Basically, the docs want to stabilize levels while weaning them off oxygen assistance.

As today progressed, Jack's levels (especially CO2) were increasing while his assistance was also going up. Also, Ella's levels were stable but her assistance was increasing. So, they moved Jack from the respirator to the oscillator. Instead of injecting oxygen into his lungs (similar to a assisted but normal breath), this device fills his alveoli and then keeps them full of oxygen. The first neo was quite happy that we didn't need to use it overnight, so we were a bit worried when they switched. Also, if Ella's assistance continued to increase, she would need to be intubated. This was the downswing...

This evening, blood gases were taken again. This is a drawing of blood from them to determine the levels noted above. Jack's CO2 levels were much better with the new oscillator and his assistance also declined. Ella also had a decrease in assistance and didn't need to be intubated. We're back on the upswing and Kristy can now take a nap.

Needless to say Kristy has done exceptionally well. She was quite a bit crampy from the c-section, but has been over to see them many times in her wheelchair. She tears up every time that Ella cries. Ella is quite the persnickety baby. She does not like to be annoyed and let's us know. After delivery, the team let us move back into our antepartum room instead of a postpartum one. The antepartum is closer to the NICU and we didn't have to remove our 42 days worth of stuff.

Also, Kristy started pumping today. She is doing great. We got a couple drops on the second one, put it in a syringe and asked the nurses if they could use just a couple drops. They were emphatic in noting that this is like liquid gold to the babies. They won't feed the babies the colostrum for a couple days, but it's great for Kristy to have something to give them during this time.

Our neo told us this morning that a normal preemie will be in the hospital until their normal delivery date, which is April 10th. We were a bit worried, but quite happy that they were even talking about them going home. We can't wait.

On a funny side-note, it had been since Saturday that I had been home, so when Thad stopped by today, Lucy, our Turkish Angora cat, had burrowed her head into the cat food container. Somehow, she got her head stuck and was wearing a cereal container top around the house. She's fine, but we're glad Thad was able to stop by today.

If you got to the bottom of my longest post ever, thanks very much for your support and prayers.