NICU Day 25

Well today Lincoln did really well. He finished his whole feeding yesterday and last night so today they moved him up to 3 bottle feedings a day! The speech therapist worked with us again today and I started out feeding him with a slower nipple on the bottle and he kept collapsing to nipple so the therapist switched the nipple to a faster one. She then took over since it's harder to feed him with that because he isn't used to the faster flow. He did really well with it though and finished the whole feeding! It's so complicated feeding him! So many things to remember! Today the therapist would let him take 2 sucks and then sit him up to catch his breath and then 2 more sucks and then sit him up again. It was slow going but it worked because it helped him learn to go slower and that he needs to breathe between sucks.

Also today Lincoln weighs 4 lbs 13.9oz! He's just growing like crazy! Before we know it he'll be out of those preemie clothes! Keep praying for us as we now are in the "waiting" phase of the NICU. Just waiting for Lincoln to learn to suck, swallow and breathe! Here are a couple pictures that Hope took today, he was so alert when they went to visit him!

Challenges...

Lincoln is now over 4lbs 12 oz! He's growing like crazy and will probably be over 5lbs by the beginning of next week! Him and I have been meeting with the speech therapist and she's been showing me ways to help him eat from a bottle better. There is SO much to remember and so many different cues to be looking for when feeding him. Raised eyebrows, wide eyes, slow blink, fingers spread out are all signs that he needs to be paced and is on the verge of gagging or "freaking out." This morning he took his full feeding again and it seems like he's getting more consistent in the amount he is taking. Waiting for him to learn to eat is what everyone keeps telling me, is the most frustrating for parents. He's doing well with everything else and ALL we are waiting on is for him to learn to suck, swallow and BREATHE! I'm sure he'll still be in the NICU for at least a couple more weeks.

As much as I really want my baby to come home, I am also really scared to bring him home. Preemies have so many more needs than full term babies and right now I can just look up at his monitor and know for sure that his heart rate is fine, his breathing and blood oxygen level. When I bring him home there are no monitors or nurses nearby to help if something happens. Full term newborns don't scare me and I think God just wanted to challenge me just a little bit more (I think I've had enough challenges to last me a lifetime! haha) but He obviously wants to stretch me a little more.

I'm so amazed at how much energy it takes to run simple errands or do a load of laundry or cook a meal. Yesterday I decided to go get groceries for the first time and wow I was wiped out after getting home and unloading them all and putting them away. I hate just sitting in my house looking at everything that needs to be done and knowing I don't have the energy to get it done.

Well that's about all I have energy to write about now, I think I'll go take a nap :)

Under Construction!

This is all the furniture and stuff from the basement stuffed into our dining area.
The stairs or lack thereof
Laundry room
Tyler pretending to work :)
Bathroom

So not only have we had a really rough pregnancy, on top of that Tyler has been trying to fix our water leakage problem in the basement. This is a big problem for us since we need to actually use the space in our basement. So this whole time Tyler, bless his heart, has been back and forth (while I was on bedrest at the hospital) spending time with me and working at home. I didn't get pictures of the destruction process (I was at the hospital) but here are pictures of our progress and current state of our house. Tyler is doing an amazing job and I'm so thankful for all his hard work.

Baby Steps

I know it looks strange but when feeding Lincoln a bottle we have to do cheek and chin support by putting one finger underneath his chin and squeezing his cheeks with two other fingers. Then you have to do all that AND hold the bottle....it's a little awkward but I think I've figured it out! This picture was the first feeding that Lincoln took his full feeding from the bottle!
This is the same feeding....he did such a good job! Since then he has taken two more full feedings and a half feeding. So he's doing really good!
Here is daddy changing Lincoln's diaper. He does a really good job for never changing a diaper before!

Today Lincoln is 3 weeks old already! He weighs 4 lbs 9oz today. He is just growing so fast! Before we know it he'll be over 5 lbs!

Today was also the first day that I drove to and from the hospital instead of having other people give me rides. I drove for the first time to church yesterday since May 13th! It was a little weird and I felt like I was driving a little "choppy" but that worked itself out today. It felt more normal towards the end of the day today. It's so nice to have some freedom back and not have to rely on other people to get me places. (I'm SO thankful though for all the rides and offers to give rides that so many people gave me! It blessed me so much!)

We're So Proud....

....of our little boy! Yesterday was the first day I was able to feed him his bottle. It's just once a day right now and he took 23mL of his 39mL. That was really good for him. Well today he just decided to surprise us all and took his entire feeding of 39mL's!!! Even better was that I was able to be there AND I fed it to him!! It was so exciting! The nurse thought that since he took his entire feeding that tomorrow (Sunday) he will get moved up to two bottle feedings per day! We're making some progress! This is so good because this is what we're waiting on now in order for him to come home! Once he can eat all of his feedings from either a bottle or breastfeeding and has his feeding tube removed, we can bring him home!!! I don't see this happening for a couple more weeks but who knows.....Lincoln is known for doing amazing things already so we'll see!

Prayer requests:
-Continue praying for Lincoln that he progresses well and continues to grow and learn to "suck, swallow and breathe" all at the same time.
-My kidney's as they are still not back to the normal level. I go back to my Kidney Doctor in a month to see if they have gone back down and if they haven't it won't be good. Pray that they go back to normal!
-Strength for me as I recover...and patience as I'm starting to realize just how long this is going to take.
-That Lincoln will show some interest in breastfeeding
-For Tyler as he works hard to get our basement finished

Day 18 in the NICU

Here are a few updates on Lincoln lately:

-He is 2 1/2 weeks old already! Wow the time is going really fast.....!

-Gestationally yesterday (Thursday) he is 34 weeks along which means to us this is the time when babies usually start learning how to suck, swallow and breathe at the same time. So now hopefully he will start showing more interest in eating from a bottle or breastfeeding.

-The physical therapist was there when I was yesterday so I got to see her assessement of Lincoln. He's doing well in all areas except mainly one. He always wants to lay on the righr side of his head and when the therapist was trying to turn his head from one side to the other it was really stiffwhen she tried to go to the left side. So now at every assessment time (every 3 hours when he is fed and changed) the nurses are supposed to strentch his neck. The therapist said the problem should be fixed by the time he's ready to come home (whenever that is).

-Lincoln has a fungal infection called thrush on his tongue. The neonatalogist was informing me that it is probably caused because of the antibiotics that Lincoln is on have killed even the good bacteria causing this little infection. He isn't worried about it though and said it should be gone in about a weeks time.

-Lincoln now weighs 4 lbs 5 oz.!! He's doing really well at gaining weight!

-He's has now had two days where he has taken have of a feeding, 19-20 mL, from a bottle! That's a pretty huge step for right now!! I'm so proud of him!

Well that's all I've got for now! Keep praying for our little guy!

Processing It All

Well it's been a week since I've been discharged from the hospital and I'm feeling SO much better! It sure was a hard week filled with ups and downs but I feel like I'm finally done with the setbacks and able to just continue forward. My strength has gotten better, I no longer have to be dropped off at the front of the hospital I can walk all the way in from the parking lot without getting exhausted! I can do more around the house for myself instead of asking everyone else to get things for me all the time. It feels so good to finally be on this side of everything that happened. This past week I've had a lot of time to just sit and process what has happened and I think it scares me more now that I look back and think about the "what ifs." I very well could've not made it out at all or with very little function in organs but I'm almost fully recovered (at least from the H.E.L.L.P. syndrome) and am able to live my life. I guess I can't really even put into words what I'm feeling right now, basically completely in awe of God right now. We saw first hand how perfect His timing is in EVERYTHING. How Lincoln truly is a miracle. Everything he is doing now he really shouldn't be able to do. Breathing for example, the fact the he was only on oxygen for a little while after he was born and never has been since is only because of God. Lincoln's lungs shouldn't have been this developed but he's breathing away all on his own with no apparent problems! He is growing so well and putting on weight like crazy! A lot of times babies lose a lot of weight after they are born but he barely lost any and already is over 4 lbs 2 oz! We have so much to be thankful for. Sitting in church Sunday (the first time in over 9 weeks!) during worship it was all I could do to just sit there and be in awe of God and all He has done for us.

I have learned so much through this whole experience. Mainly about patience and trust. I was put in a situation where there was nothing I could do but wait. I waited for 7 1/2 long weeks in a hospital room knowing that in the end it would all be worth it and it is! I would do it again in a heartbeat because of the amazing gift that Lincoln is. I learned a great deal of patience during that time. Patience is always something that I've struggled with. I've always found myself discontent with the season of life that I'm in. Yes I was happy and love my life but I was always so so ready to begin the next step without taking the time to see what God wanted me to do with where I was at. Being in the hospital really taught be to use each and every situation that is given to me. Not to let any of them go to waste. The other day the Neonatologist was talking to me and telling me that we just have to wait for Lincoln to learn to eat and he said it takes a great deal of patience on the parents part at this point. I was actually able to tell him that I am patient and can wait as long as it takes for Lincoln to eat. I've waited 2 months for this little man, I can wait a few more weeks! :)

Trust was another thing that was thrown on my plate and we just had to trust that God had us and Lincoln in His hands this whole time. There was nothing that the doctors could do to stop me from leaking the amniotic fluid, there was nothing I could do, it was all God. Trusting that He truly had everything under control and that this wasn't something that surprised him like it did us. He knew the outcome and what we would have to go through to get there but must've known that somehow we would be able to do it. And now as I think about bringing Lincoln home soon I start to worry about the "what ifs." What if he won't eat, what if he stops breathing, what if he needs something that I can't give him....what if, what if, what if. I just have to stop that way of thinking and remind myself of what we just went through. I can't let myself get sucked into worrying, all I need to do is trust.

I'm a Big Kid Now.....Well Not Quite But Getting Closer!

All wrapped up in my big boy crib! :)
The crib itself.
My cute little guy.
Airing out the isolet to make it room temp before moving to the crib
Our little family :D

NICU pictures

Getting some quality mommy/son time. This was the first day back after being released from the hospital...I feel so free!!

I love how he positions himself when he sleeps........this one with one thoughtful finger up to his mouth.
Looking at momma :) He was wide awake the whole hour or so that I held him!
Another position picture.....One arm just dangling off the side!! Don't mind the blurriness my camera doesn't work so well w/o the flash.
Daddy and Lincoln time......Tyler is going to be an amazing Father!!
Another position picture........this one always makes me laugh.....he just likes to spread out and make himself comfy!!

ER Visit That Could've Been Avoided

So last night was interesting to say the least. All day I was feeling chills and then would get hot again and chills. I thought it was just my body getting used to the different temperature changes as we went to different stores, the hospital, home, outside, etc. Well when we got home at 6:30 from seeing Lincoln in the NICU and as soon as I sat down, I threw up. My Dr. said to call her if my temp reached 100.8 degrees or higher so I took my temperature under my arm pit because I had just drank some 7-up and it was 97.1. So I didn't do anything about it. Then at about 8 I could just feel myself burning up so I took it again this time in my mouth (which I should always do from now on!) and it was 102.0! So I called my Dr. and she asked different questions to try and figure out what type of infection I had. Well we eventually got to the point where she thought it was probably a bladder infection. Now let me back up a little here, I've had a catheter put in twice while I was in the hospital once for a 24 hour sample and once when I had the c-section. After the first time, they made sure to do a lab on my urine after it was taken out to make sure it hadn't caused a bladder infection. The second time, they didn't do that. I had the catheter in for 5 days and so when it hurt to urinate I figured for awhile that it was just because the catheter was in for so long. Well I finally asked a Dr. (a resident to my Kidney Dr.) about it and he said nonchalantly "oh no, it's just from the catheter." He didn't write anything down in my chart and so my Dr. didn't even know I had asked about it. So when I called my Dr. last night and told her some of the symptoms she asked how long I'd had then and it had at least been from Friday. She was frustrated that the resident didn't look into it more or at least write it down. So we get to the ER (I had been to almost every place in the silly hospital except the ER, now I suppose I can check the ER off of my list). So lucky me, when we got to the ER they had to put in ANOTHER catheter to get a clean urine sample (it wasn't as bad because they didn't keep it in). They found it was a very big bladder infection and said from the blood work that my Liver was looking better but my kidney's were really dehydrated. They put in another IV and gave me lots and lots of fluids. They kept me there until the fever broke and my heart rate went back down to about 110bpm. (normal is between 60-100bpm) At it's highest it was 146bpm. The Dr. said that for every degree above 98.6 your heart rate increases 10 bpm. So they pumped me fulled of antibiotics and gave me prescriptions to fill today (yay, more drugs!) Oh on a side note when we came in and they learned how long I had been in the hospital and when they went to start the IV the nurse had a hard time finding a vein that wasn't already "injured." I had to laugh after they asked if I smoked, drank, or did drugs because I told Tyler I bet they didn't believe me when I said no I didn't do drugs because just take one look at my arms and it looks like I'm a drug addict! So they let us leave about 12:15am and hopefully I'll start feeling better soon. I was just sooooo sooooo frustrated, first because I had JUST left the hospital Monday night and was already having to go back and second because it could've completely been avoided had that Dr. taken my complaint seriously and looked into it a little more. I just accepted what he said because he was a Kidney Dr., he should know what he's talking about right? Well now I know to always get a second opinion!!!!!

Some Serious Stuff

I don't think anyone of us (especially me, I was on so many drugs) realized just how serious last week was and really could've been had God not done a miracle. This is what happened as best as I can remember it. My blood pressure was taken later Sunday evenong and it was 183/119. For those of you who don't know that's the point when they start worrying about seizures happening. And it defined me as having severe preeclampsia. So my Dr. came in and simply said it's time to have the baby, I was of course in complete shock b/c I felt completely normal. So since it's was considered an emergency c-section they couldn't wait for all my supper to digest and got me prepped for the surgery asap.  Because of the high blood presseure they loaded me up on magnesium sulfate (to keep from seizing) but it made me so so so so sick. Lincoln was born and they started putting me back together and I started throwing up. FYI: Not fun while your stomach is cut open! It took them alot longer to put me back together b/c they essentially had to start over each time I barfed. (I later learned that this was a reflex when they would put pressure on my uterus to stitch it back up, so eventually they just had to do it even though I was vomiting through it all).  Oh AND before the c-section I had told Tyler to follow Lincoln to the NICU after he was born to make sure he was ok, not thinking that I would be in worse condition than Lincoln!  So I had to endure that horrible experience without him by my side.

After they had finished they rolled me to the recovery room (which I should've only been in for two hours turned into 4 almost 5 hours. Little did anyone know that I was actually a lot sicker than anyone thought.  I had this incredible pain right under my rib cage and above my stomach.  I've never felt so much pain.  (I found out later that my liver enzymes were 300 times their normal levels and had basically doubled in size and if it had ruptured it would've been fatal).  They kept me on Magnesium Sulfate until Tuesday morning. A normal level of it is "1" and I was up to "13" by the time they took me off of it.  I was throwing up multiple times per hour because of it's effects.  The Magnesium Sulfate's function is to decrease the risk of seizures and progress to eclampsia. 

Monday is when the H.E.L.L.P. syndrome (Hemalytic anemia, Elevated Liver enzymes, Low Platelets) started and my liver enzymes went 300 times their normal levels, my platelet count came down from above 200,000 to 24,000 and at some point my kidney's stopped receiving blood and basically stopped functioning. They told me if my platelet levels would've reached below 20.000 they were going to give me a blood transfusion. Luckily it never dropped that low! They were really worried about my kidney's and almost put me on dialysis.  Luckily I turned the corner right before they had to start dialysis and never was put on it.  My kidney doctor was always very positive about my kidney's returning to their full function and always reassured me that each day my numbers were looking better and better. 

The chance of getting this H.E.L.L.P syndrome is about 1/1,000 and can be deadly. I think this actually set in for me yesterday (right after being dismissed from the hospital) when my mom went to get all my prescriptions filled and told the pharmacist what I had had and she asked if all my organs came back. I was just like "wow, this really could've been bad!" So slowly but surely everything did come back to normal but for the first three days they were drawing my blood and doing labs every 4 hours. That's why my arms looked like I was a drug addict. I was so out of it at first that I really don't remember what happened until late Wednesday evening. My family keeps saying things like, "well your nurse this day did this," and "you don't remember so and so visiting?" I remember seeing and holding Lincoln on Monday, hardly anything on Tuesday and then seeing Lincoln again on Wednesday. I remember being sick and throwing up all over the bed and all our family being there on Monday but this is really everything. I'm glad that they didn't let on to me how serious everything was but I really wish they would've told Tyler more information. He really didn't know what was going on with me until afterwards.

Lincoln's birth was completely God's perfect timing. I was able to keep in him there as long as I could and my Dr. told me that Sunday evening she really didn't have a "scientific" reason to take Lincoln, she just knew it was time. If we would've waited any longer, I still would've gotten the H.E.L.L.P syndrome and it possibly could've fatal for Lincoln and much worse for me than it already was. I just Praise Jesus for keeping us all safe during it all and most importantly for being alive! I'm so glad to be on this side of it now. Lincoln is doing wonderfully and I'm slowly recovering. The main kind of recovery for me now is gaining back my muscles. After 8 1/2 weeks on bedrest, my muscles have basically atrophied and I'm incredibly weak. I'm so glad my mom is here to help take care of me for a few days, I can't drive until next week so she's able to help that way and just getting things for me because I tire out so easily. The physical therapist said not to get frustrated because this will be a long term recovery. Little by little I'll get my strength back.

I think it was completely a God thing as well that I didn't get emotional throughout the entire thing (I'm am now as I look back and see what really happened) but if I would've been emotional throughout it all, I think I would've taken longer to get well. Lincoln was doing so well that I didn't have to worry about him 24/7 which was an amazing gift.

So that's really all I have right now, just wanted to fill everyone in on what really happened last week and to give God all the glory He deserves from it because He was the only one in Control the Entire Time!!!

A New Day!

Today is a landmark day is many ways. First of all it's Lincoln's 1 week birthday! Secondly it marks exactly 2 months that I've been here at St. Joe and thirdly it might be the day that I get to be discharged! I haven't blogged since before Lincoln was born, I had my sister update everyone last week after Lincoln was born so that everyone could kind of stay up on what was happening. It was completely a God thing with the timing of Lincoln's birth. They've now diagnosed me as to having severe preeclampsia which probably caused the H.E.L.L.P syndrome which probably caused loss of blood to my kidney's. All of which they think still would've happened last monday whether I had had Lincoln or not. So getting him out of me was perfect timing. I probably would've been even more sick if they would've waited even longer and it probably would've gotten to Lincoln as well and made him sick. It was perfect timing because we made it long enough that Lincoln was small but that's really the only problem he has. Miraculously enough he has no repiratory problems! That was the main concern before he was born because of the lack of amniotic fluid.

This has been quite the week, to say the least and I will blog more about that in the next few days. It truly is a miracle that I am here typing this today on my way to full recovery and I have a small but very healthy baby! I am just still in awe of everything that has happened and have not fully processed it all but that will come with time.

I'm just so excited to finally join the outside world again! Please continue to pray for Lincoln as he grows a little each day. Pray that he would continue to do so well and not have any future problems. Also pray for me that my strength would build back up. I've already noticed how tired I get just walking down the hall to the NICU. Pray I would know how hard to push myself and when to rest as well. This is still going to be a long journey but this more of the "fun" part of the journey. God is good all the time, all the time God is good!

Lincoln Tyler is born!

Marie is unable to update this (she is very weak) so I as the aunt am going to try to include as many details as I can. :)

Lincoln Tyler Rempel was born July 6th at 12:56am. Weighing in at 3 lbs. 6.8oz and 15 3/4 inches! He was 31 1/2 weeks along!

Sunday evening was a total shocker! Marie had had a very high blood pressure all day (which had been kind of typical) but it was abnormally high (189/118). So around 10pm Her, Tyler and I were all just sitting around in her room and Dr. Mroz came in all serious and said "well we have just decided your son's birth date" (if the blood pressure would have been any higher the baby would be at risk and wouldn't be getting as much blood. The doctor said she wanted the best circumstance for both a healthy mom and healthy baby.) Marie said "what sometime this next week?" "Nope, it's going to be tonight" Marie was shocked and didn't know what to do, given such little notice. So they started prepping her for her C-section then realized that Marie had eaten supper around 6:30pm and in order to get the full 8 hours without eating before surgery, they were going to wait until 2:30am to deliver. They started her on magnesium to help the blood pressure, which made her sick. But around 11:45pm they decided that her blood pressure was still really risky so they did an emergency c-section around 12:30am. I'm told that they c-section went as well as it could, but she got nauseous during (because she still had food in her system) and had to throw up while they were trying to sew her back up, causing gas bubbles in her system that she is still feeling in her stomach, chest, shoulder etc.

Lincoln cried right away after being delivered (they had told her to not expect any crying because of the circumstances). She was able to see Lincoln for about 20 seconds after they washed him up before taking him to the NICU.

Marie went into recovery which was supposed to be for about 2 hours, which ended up being 4-5 hours because she was having sharp pains in her chest and back (caused from the manipulation of her organs during surgery when she got sick).

Because Marie was on the magnesium still (which still was making her sick) she wasn't able to move to postpartum and since Lincoln was doing so well, they were able to bring Lincoln to Marie in her room around 10am! This is unheard of when a baby is in NICU! She was able to hold him for a short while until she started getting sick again.

Lincoln is doing fantastic! They had to put him on oxygen for a very little time right after birth. He is now without any oxygen, he has a feeding tube through his nose but has been able to suck 3 bottles so far! The sucking motion isn't usually learned until 33-34 weeks along and he is only 31! The nurses are calling him a wild man because he is so active and fights the nurses when they are tending to him. The doctors and nurses are all so amazed at how well he is doing, they say Lincoln thinks that he is 34 weeks along instead of 31! Marie has been able to see Lincoln 3 times now, he was able to come to her room all of these.

Marie is still in her labor and delivery room, being watched closely. All day on Monday she was sick and drowsy from the magnesium (they had to do a round of over 24 hours of the magnesium, which helps keep the blood pressure down, reducing the cause of seizures) then another of the meds she got made her really loopy. Family was all here all day on Monday and we just sat with her while she would get sick and then fall right asleep, which happened continuously all day. Monday evening is when she started getting loopy from the medicine and it was kind of interesting the things she would say and such. (Tyler and I were entertained) I think she was replaying Sunday in her head and she didn't even realize she had had Lincoln already. She thought she still had to go into surgery and her nurse D.D. was going to be with her etc. We have lots of stories to tell if anyone asks :) Anyways, so she would be talking then one second later be fast asleep.

Today they took her off of her magnesium (which has been really good for her) her blood pressure is looking a little better but is still a little on the high side. Her platelet count is high which is good, liver and enzyme level is lowering, which is good and they were worried about her kidneys but they ran some tests and they are both back to normal. She is REALLY weak and tired right now. It was hard for her to suck out of a straw and to chew earlier today. She cannot stand or walk on her own from weakness. They have been taking her blood every 4 hours to check the platelets and they started out at 24,000, then 29,000, back to 24,000 and then tonight it rose to 31,000, which hopefully means she is on the downside of the hill and is getting better. The doctor said that if it got down to 20,000, she would need a blood transfusion, so any rising is good!

So that pretty much sums of the past 48 hours or so in a nut shell. Please keep praying for both Marie and Lincoln as they get through these next couple of days.

Avoiding Lab Work and Angry Ex-Smokers

So I just successfully avoided getting my blood drawn again and have to give another urine sample! My blood pressure was high again a few hours ago and so as soon as the resident saw that she ordered more lab work done! When my nurse came in I told her that I didn't have any other symptoms of pregnancy induced hypertension and asked if she could page my Dr. and ask if this lab was necessary. She came back and said the order was canceled! It's just so funny to me that this keeps happening (only funny because I can avoid it).

Today was so nice, I finally got the chance to sit outside in my wheelchair again! Perfect weather for me! I hadn't done that in probably at least 2 weeks because it's been SOOO hot! The excitement of my day was while I was sitting outside and this older man with an oxygen tank came out and started cussing out this other guy, who was quite a ways down the sidewalk, smoking a cigarette. He kept yelling at him to put out his cigarette because it's illegal to smoke on the premesis (he was right) but man he was calling that guy all sorts of names and said that he has smoked for over 50 years and now wishes he wouldn't have. As much as I HATE smoking and this it's rude when people stand right outside of a building and I have to walk right through all their second hand smoke to get out of the building, this was not the way to ask someone to put out their cigarette. I had to keep myself from laughing because the older man was just so outraged and just yelling explitives all over the place! Eventually the other guy put out his cigarette because the older man went in to get security. What was nice though was that the guy who was smoking came up to me afterwards and apologized for smoking since he could tell I was clearly pregnant. He said he had seen me and tried to smoke as far away from me as he could. So anyways, that's about it for the excitement around here.

Please keep praying for baby Lily, they had a rough night last night but she pulled through and is down to 32% oxygen today. J is doing okay but I know this has got to be so hard.

31 Weeks!

31 Weeks!!

Yay! We've made it to 31 weeks and 2 days so far! Dr. Mroz said that yesterday Lincoln made a milestone. I didn't know what she was talking about and she went on to explain that the daily Nonstress Test that they do on his heart rate passed by making jumps of 15 bpm instead of the normal 10bpm that they expect for a baby of his gestational age. It's not until 32 weeks that they expect him to daily have spikes of 15bpm. This is another good sign that he is doing really well in there! Praise Jesus! We have another sonogram and biophysical profile Monday morning and they will take some more measurements to make sure he is still growing normally.

I'm starting to get kind of frustrated with the fact that since I have so many different doctors (between the residents, laborists and OB's) that I have a different one almost everyday. That wouldn't be bad except for the fact that I've been having high blood pressure and and soon as they see that on my chart they don't bother to flip back at my history and see that I've already had all the tests done and they have all come back fine. They just automatically order bloodwork and urine samples to be done. So then the people come to take my blood and I have no idea what is going on! I talked to Dr. Mroz this morning and she said that if that happens again to tell them to wait and have them page her to make sure it's something that I NEED to have done! I'm so thankful to have an OB like her! She's so willing to go out of her way to see that I'm taken care of.

Tonight we're going to celebrate the 4th by hanging out with some friends here in my room and watching the fireworks display downtown. I actually have one of the best views to see it (I've been told by numerous dr.'s and nurses). It won't quite be what we normally would do for the 4th of July but it will suffice for this year :) Still so thankful that I'M here and Lincoln isn't born yet rather than him being born and in the NICU.

Baby Lily

My friend J went into labor last night and ended up having an emergency c-section early this morning. Lily was born at 26 weeks, 1 lb 8oz. So, so, so tiny! Please pray for her and her new parents! Pray for strength for her as her little body works so hard to breathe. Also pray for J and her husband as this is going to be a long road in the NICU for all of them. I'm going to go visit tomorrow sometime.

Praying for a new friend

Just a quick update....things are going well for Lincoln and I, still have high blood pressure, still no cause for it though. I had a new high the other night 169/110. And my pulse was in the 40s! My body is just going nuts! haha.

If you think of it please pray for J and her baby. She is the one with a similar situation to myself but is only 25 weeks along. She was moved Wednesday night from postpartum side to labor and delivery because they wanted to monitor her all the time and thought they might have to induce her because the baby wasn't doing well. After monitoring throughout the night they decided things seemed stable and she moved back to her old room on this side. She just called me and said that during monitoring this morning her baby's heartrate dropped significantly, two times during the 20 minute duration. So they are moving her back to the labor and delivery side. Please pray for her and her baby. Pray the baby's heart rate stays stable and they don't have to decide whether or not to induce her. I feel for her and pray that she can keep her little baby inside for as long as possible.

Results.....

Well the results from my bloodwork that was sent to Mayo came back completely normal. My thyroid is just acting a little slow right now but it's not a problem that they are worried about, right now at least. Also the results from that wonderful 24 urine sample came back normal as well. They found just a few traces of protein but again nothing that they are worried about. So right now theonly reason we have for my high blood pressure is possibly because my pulse is really low (usually in the 40s or 50s when the normal is between 60-100). So my doctor thinks my body might just be compensating for the low pulse by making my blood pressure higher. We only need to make it 3 more weeks so please pray that nothing comes from my high blood pressure and that my last three weeks aren't extremely miserable. Yes you heard me right, only 3 weeks left! My doctor said when we get to week 33 we'll start talking about a date for the c-section.

That's all for now!

a sigh of relief.....

Disclaimer: This post might be a little more information than some people might care to know so I'm just going to let you know you can stop reading now if you can't handle certain details.

It's 9:42am Wednesday morning and I've been up out of bed and moving around more than I have in the past 24 hours. Yesterday morning the OB specialist order a 24 urine speciman for me to test for proteins and signs of preeclampsia. Well that wouldn't be a big deal except for the fact that my water is broken and I continue to leak all the time. So just putting a bucket in the toilet wouldn't work because the amniotic fluid would taint the urine since it has protein in it. They wouldn't be able to get a good sample and the test would be pointless. So....lucky me, I got to have a catheter (sp?) put in at 9am yesterday and had to keep it in for 24 hours. I've decided, rather quickly, that is so good that they usually put those in after you've been put under for surgery or for a c-section after you've gotten your spinal block. I can't tell you how miserable I was all morning yesterday! I think my nurse finally saw the side of me that can't handle much pain! Thankfully my mom was here all morning and was a great encouragement even though I was very crabby and irritable. I think it was one of the longest stretches of 24 hours (besides the first few days I was here) I've had in a long time! The pain/burning eventually went away and then the rest of the day it was just uncomfortable. Since I didn't need to get up to use the restroom all day, I got up once last night to get ready for bed and that was it! I'm such a baby.

What frustrates me about this is I am almost positive that they aren't going to find any proteins or anything wrong with me. They also took some more blood this morning, I'm starting to get used to getting poked so much! Dr. Mroz ordered some tests to be run on my blood on Monday to see if my high blood pressure could be caused by my thyroid. We won't know the results until at least tomorrow since my blood apparently was shipped off to Mayo Clinic. Part of me hopes it's being caused by my thyroid because that seems like a more simple "fix." But we'll see what happens.

Today marks 7 weeks being here! Wow! Only about 3 weeks left! I've never thought that 3 weeks seemed like such a short time! It seems to easy compared to the 7 weeks I've already done! Tomorrow I will be 31 weeks pregnant! Yippee! We're slowly but surely getting to 34 weeks!