Post by dehayes35 on Jul 26, 2009 14:43:23 GMT -5
Hey Everyone! I've been a ghost for the past 4 weeks and I wanted to let everyone know why. As you probably know, my wife was due August 11th, but life had different plans for us.
In mid-June my wife went for an ultrasound which revealed the fluid levels surrounding the baby were a little on the low side. Nothing to be worried about, but to be sure, they scheduled a follow-up ultrasound in 2 weeks. Well 2 weeks later, her follow-up ultrasound showed they had dropped even further (measuring 10cm 2 weeks previous and only 8.4 this time - anything below 5cm is cause for concern), but they still weren't too worried. Since it had dropped, they put her on modified bed rest and instructed her to drink lots of water. This was in attempt to increase the levels or prevent them from falling further. They also requested another ultrasound a week later.
On Monday, July 6th we went for her 3rd ultrasound. After a full week of bed rest and drinking about 16 glasses of water a day, her fluid levels had fallen to 5.4cm. Still above the level to be considered an emergency, but they were falling so quickly the doctor ordered us to the hospital so they could perform a non stress test on the baby.
While at the hospital waiting for this test, our doctor called and said she's thought of all possible options and the only one she's comfortable with at this point is inducing labor. So it began. They gave her some drugs to get her body physically loosened for pregnancy and allowed those to work overnight. She went into labor a few hours after she received these meds. They gave her medicines to increase the contractions in the morning, and those worked well, but the medicine to loosen her body didn't have an effect. Her contractions were pushing the baby down, but there wasn't an opening for the baby to pass through.
After about 12 hours labor, our doctor gave us 3 options.
1) We stop all the drugs and try again in 48 hours
2) We stop all the drugs, send us home and have another ultrasound in 24 hours to see where things are at
3) Perform a c-section and have a baby within a few hours
Shelly and I thought over the options, and given the quick reduction in fluid levels, we weren't comfortable with options 1 or 2. We told our doctor to deliver our baby (5 weeks early)!
On Tuesday, July 7th at 4:27pm, Kahlen Elizabeth Hayes was born - 5 pounds, 2 ounces and 17 3/4 inches long.
Due to being 5 weeks premature, she was immediately taken to the NICU, where she was being monitored. The doctors told us she was wheezing when breathing because her lungs weren't fully developed. She had premature lung disease. Common in premature babies, but meant she had to be monitored for a few days. The question of whether or not we had made the right choice was answered upon delivery when the doctor saw the umbilical cord was tied in a knot - a VERY VERY serious complication during vaginal birth (or before birth - resulting in a high rate of still borns).
About 36 hours after birth, we received a call from the NICU doctor. Kahlen had developed an air pocket in her chest and the doctor had to perform an emergency procedure to release the air pocket by inserting a needle into Kahlen's chest. Her tiny baby under-developed lungs had developed a leak. The pocket reformed 2 more times in a matter of minutes, and again they had to release it through a needle into her chest. After the 3rd time, they were able to calm her down enough and sedate her via IV.
Once sedated, they hooked her up to respirator to monitor the air in and out of her lungs. They kept her sedated for about 3 days while this machine did the breathing for her - ensuring no additional stress on her lungs, allowing them time to heal and finish development. Once awake, they removed the oxygen tube in her mouth and gave her a breathing tube through her nose. They also inserted a feeding tube and began giving her the frozen breast milk that Shelly had been pumping the past few days. They also kept an IV in her to administer additional fluids.
It wasn't until after she was awake that we FINALLY got to hold our baby girl. 4 days after she was born; which at this time, Shelly had been discharged from the hospital, so we started our daily routine of driving to the hospital 3-4 times per day for 2-4 hour visits each time! It was such a difficult and stressful experience, but we needed to be by her side as much as possible.
Gradually, Kahlen began breathing slower and requiring less and less oxygen through the nose tube. She also began to get hungry faster, meaning her appetite was growing. She was doing so well the nurse began talking to us about going home in just a few days.
The next morning, the site of her IV (on her wrist) became infected and the doctor informed us she would need to administer antibiotics for 5-7 days. We were heartbroken!! Our baby had already been in NICU for a week and a half, and now we learned a minimum of another 5 days. They did some blood work to check for infection and began the antibiotics (via IV, of course - which frustrated us even further, but what can you do?).
Kahlen decided it was time for her to go sooner than the 5 day estimate. Within 2 days, the red swollen spot on her wrist had disappeared, she was breathing on her own, so the oxygen tube was removed, and she was breastfeeding/bottle feeding about 50% of the time (as opposed to the feeding tube). She was so ready, she pulled out her feeding tube on 2 different occasions! The 2nd time, we convinced the nurses to leave it out and begin 100% oral feedings.
Finally, on Monday, July 20th we went to visit Kahlen (hoping to bring her home in about 48 hours), the doctor asked if we were ready to take her home today. We were ecstatic! In all, Kahlen spent 14 long, hard days in the NICU and underwent some very painful and scary procedures while there. It was the most difficult thing I have been through in my life, but we've been so happy having her at home with us for the past 7 days. Sleep the first few days was nonexistent, but the past few nights have been better, but I won't complain about that - just happy to have our baby girl at home with us!
The doctors and nurses in the delivery room and in the NICU were amazing! They saved our baby girl's life!! We are forever grateful to the staff at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Katy, TX.
Here she is just a few hours after birth:
Here is a photo from our first time holding her. You can tell she liked it!
And finally, here's a few photo's of her at home with us:
In mid-June my wife went for an ultrasound which revealed the fluid levels surrounding the baby were a little on the low side. Nothing to be worried about, but to be sure, they scheduled a follow-up ultrasound in 2 weeks. Well 2 weeks later, her follow-up ultrasound showed they had dropped even further (measuring 10cm 2 weeks previous and only 8.4 this time - anything below 5cm is cause for concern), but they still weren't too worried. Since it had dropped, they put her on modified bed rest and instructed her to drink lots of water. This was in attempt to increase the levels or prevent them from falling further. They also requested another ultrasound a week later.
On Monday, July 6th we went for her 3rd ultrasound. After a full week of bed rest and drinking about 16 glasses of water a day, her fluid levels had fallen to 5.4cm. Still above the level to be considered an emergency, but they were falling so quickly the doctor ordered us to the hospital so they could perform a non stress test on the baby.
While at the hospital waiting for this test, our doctor called and said she's thought of all possible options and the only one she's comfortable with at this point is inducing labor. So it began. They gave her some drugs to get her body physically loosened for pregnancy and allowed those to work overnight. She went into labor a few hours after she received these meds. They gave her medicines to increase the contractions in the morning, and those worked well, but the medicine to loosen her body didn't have an effect. Her contractions were pushing the baby down, but there wasn't an opening for the baby to pass through.
After about 12 hours labor, our doctor gave us 3 options.
1) We stop all the drugs and try again in 48 hours
2) We stop all the drugs, send us home and have another ultrasound in 24 hours to see where things are at
3) Perform a c-section and have a baby within a few hours
Shelly and I thought over the options, and given the quick reduction in fluid levels, we weren't comfortable with options 1 or 2. We told our doctor to deliver our baby (5 weeks early)!
On Tuesday, July 7th at 4:27pm, Kahlen Elizabeth Hayes was born - 5 pounds, 2 ounces and 17 3/4 inches long.
Due to being 5 weeks premature, she was immediately taken to the NICU, where she was being monitored. The doctors told us she was wheezing when breathing because her lungs weren't fully developed. She had premature lung disease. Common in premature babies, but meant she had to be monitored for a few days. The question of whether or not we had made the right choice was answered upon delivery when the doctor saw the umbilical cord was tied in a knot - a VERY VERY serious complication during vaginal birth (or before birth - resulting in a high rate of still borns).
About 36 hours after birth, we received a call from the NICU doctor. Kahlen had developed an air pocket in her chest and the doctor had to perform an emergency procedure to release the air pocket by inserting a needle into Kahlen's chest. Her tiny baby under-developed lungs had developed a leak. The pocket reformed 2 more times in a matter of minutes, and again they had to release it through a needle into her chest. After the 3rd time, they were able to calm her down enough and sedate her via IV.
Once sedated, they hooked her up to respirator to monitor the air in and out of her lungs. They kept her sedated for about 3 days while this machine did the breathing for her - ensuring no additional stress on her lungs, allowing them time to heal and finish development. Once awake, they removed the oxygen tube in her mouth and gave her a breathing tube through her nose. They also inserted a feeding tube and began giving her the frozen breast milk that Shelly had been pumping the past few days. They also kept an IV in her to administer additional fluids.
It wasn't until after she was awake that we FINALLY got to hold our baby girl. 4 days after she was born; which at this time, Shelly had been discharged from the hospital, so we started our daily routine of driving to the hospital 3-4 times per day for 2-4 hour visits each time! It was such a difficult and stressful experience, but we needed to be by her side as much as possible.
Gradually, Kahlen began breathing slower and requiring less and less oxygen through the nose tube. She also began to get hungry faster, meaning her appetite was growing. She was doing so well the nurse began talking to us about going home in just a few days.
The next morning, the site of her IV (on her wrist) became infected and the doctor informed us she would need to administer antibiotics for 5-7 days. We were heartbroken!! Our baby had already been in NICU for a week and a half, and now we learned a minimum of another 5 days. They did some blood work to check for infection and began the antibiotics (via IV, of course - which frustrated us even further, but what can you do?).
Kahlen decided it was time for her to go sooner than the 5 day estimate. Within 2 days, the red swollen spot on her wrist had disappeared, she was breathing on her own, so the oxygen tube was removed, and she was breastfeeding/bottle feeding about 50% of the time (as opposed to the feeding tube). She was so ready, she pulled out her feeding tube on 2 different occasions! The 2nd time, we convinced the nurses to leave it out and begin 100% oral feedings.
Finally, on Monday, July 20th we went to visit Kahlen (hoping to bring her home in about 48 hours), the doctor asked if we were ready to take her home today. We were ecstatic! In all, Kahlen spent 14 long, hard days in the NICU and underwent some very painful and scary procedures while there. It was the most difficult thing I have been through in my life, but we've been so happy having her at home with us for the past 7 days. Sleep the first few days was nonexistent, but the past few nights have been better, but I won't complain about that - just happy to have our baby girl at home with us!
The doctors and nurses in the delivery room and in the NICU were amazing! They saved our baby girl's life!! We are forever grateful to the staff at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Katy, TX.
Here she is just a few hours after birth:
Here is a photo from our first time holding her. You can tell she liked it!
And finally, here's a few photo's of her at home with us:
