SOCIAL MEDIA

March 9, 2017

Adilynn's Arrival | Part 3- NICU Stay

After a successful and dare I say easy arrival into this world at a whopping 9 pounds, our sweet girl had some issues with her blood sugar. Before we were even able to spend the rest of her birth day with her, she was whisked away to the NICU to help her figure out her levels and I was left with no baby to hold. My new mommy heart broke into a thousand little pieces as they took her away from me. 
Michael and I were allowed to go see her every 2 hours. Seeing her attached to those pumps and machines was the worst. We were able to spend a little time with her, let her eat, love on her and then give her back to the nurses. We would go back to the room where I would pump, wash all the parts, try and get a little sleep, wake up, take the elevator down to the 3rd floor, feed our girl, love on her, and repeat. I felt like I was in auto pilot but I just wanted to do whatever I could to help make her better. I was very lucky that my milk came in so well and I was able to pump a good amount of milk each time to take to the ladies in the NICU so that they could feed her. 

I don't know if I even have the words to explain how important the nurses were to us. Kartar, the first nurse we met after Adi went to visit the NICU was by far our favorite. Each time we went to visit Adilynn, she was so kind and helpful. She explained all the different things that were going on to us in terms we could understand. She would sit with me during the time I was there, helping me with feeding Adi, showing me different techniques, and talking with me about all the little things that were going to have to happen so that Adilynn could leave the NICU and go home. She was Adi's biggest cheerleader and my NICU best friend. There is no doubt in my mind that she loved her job and all of the sweet babies in there. 

After 2 full nights in the NICU, lots of extra fluids, milk, and love from the nurses and doctors, our girl was released to go to my room with me and eventually home that same day. It was definitely a relief because I had over stayed my welcome in the hospital room and they were kicking me out. We brought her down to our room, where she got her first bath, changed out of her hospital tshirt, and prepared to make the trek home. 
It's amazing that just a few days can feel like an eternity. We arrived at the hospital ready to have our sweet girl and got to leave with a healthy, precious, little love. Our life has not been the same since. What a journey it was to meet her and what a journey it has been to watch her grow, learn, and explore in the big, crazy world.
March 8, 2017

Adilynn's Arrival | Part 2

I started Adilynn's birth story a few months back and with her first birthday one week away, I figured that I better go ahead and finish her story. Read about her arrival then continue reading to see how our stay went so differently than I could have planned.

After our sweet girl arrived, our family came in to meet her. The hospital that we were at does not allow any one in the room for 2 hours after the baby is born to give the parents time to bond with the baby. I am so thankful for this because there was so much going on afterwards and it was so sweet to have those moments with just Michael and myself.

When our family came in, they passed our sweet girl from person to person, loving all over our 9 pound bundle of joy. After spending a few hours there with her, we were transported upstairs to the 5th floor for recovery. The 3rd floor was for delivery, the nursery, and the NICU so up we went. Unfortunately this wouldn't be my last time on the 3rd floor.

As we got settled in our new room, the nurses started coming in to take care of me and Adi. She had her own nurse who I did not care for at first. She was very pushy and I couldn't always understand her which made me frustrated because what she was saying was important. See, when Adi was first born, she was big for her gestational age. So they automatically started watching her blood sugar levels. It was low right after her birth but nothing too concerning yet. When we got to the 5th floor, they came in and did another test, which entails her getting a prick in her foot to make her bleed, then testing the blood on a digital reader. 

Her nurse continued to monitor her levels and they were still a little low. I had already begun to breastfeed Adi and the lactation consultant had come in to help with that. Everything was going great until Adi's nurse checked her levels again an hour later. The levels just continued to either drop or stay at a level that made the nurse uncomfortable. She decided to try to give Adi some formula to help. This caused a big ripple with the lactation consultant and the nurse but the pushy nurse that I didn't think I liked pretty much told the lactation consultant to get back because Adi's health was most important. She wanted so badly for the formula or my breastmilk to help get her levels up so that she didn't have go to the NICU. She kept trying and trying anything she could to get Adilynn to eat. It was pretty amazing to see how much she cared about her and how concerned she was that I would have to be away from her if we couldn't get her levels up. 

The pediatrician on call came down to see us when her levels still wouldn't rise. She gave me the news I really didn't want to hear. If Adi's levels didn't rise, she would have to go to the NICU. If blood sugar numbers stay too low, it could cause all kinds of issues so it was important that we figure this out. I never even thought about something like this happening. Definitely not how I saw my first few hours with my girl going. I continued to breastfeed (she latched like a champ just a few minutes after birth) and pump/try any means I could to get that liquid gold out and to her but it was to no avail. Her levels got low enough that the doctor said that we had to get her upstairs almost immediately.

There is no doubt that this moment was the hardest one I have faced since meeting her. Forget giving birth to a 9 pound baby. Letting her leave my eyesight after waiting 9 months to see her pretty much broke my heart. I was so sad and overwhelmed and the tears started flowing. I had this beautiful baby girl and now I wasn't going to get to spend those precious moments with her. Instead, she would be taken down to the NICU and be hooked up to machines that I had no idea what they were or when they would be taken off. How was I suppose to let them take my girl away from me when all my instincts just wanted to hold her and kiss all the little parts of her that I had been dreaming about the past 9 months?

March 7, 2017

Arrival

Our sweet girl is officially here. I guess that would have been more exciting if she wasn't already almost 5 weeks old. It's amazing how much time you don't have even though you really do have time with a newborn. Anyone relate to that? 

Adilynn graced us with her presence on Thursday, February 2nd at 7:42 in the morning and was every bit as perfect as we thought. My induction pretty much went by the books and maybe even better than what I and the nurses expected. I had heard horror stories about induction and labor in general so I definitely planned for the worst case scenario. Thankfully, my labor and delivery was anything but worst case. 

We arrived at the hospital on Wednesday at 3 pm after being called off 2 days in a row due to a high number of women having babies. To say that I was frustrated is an understatement. I am not a sit and wait type of gal, especially knowing the end result was our baby girl. But it's amazing how things work out exactly how they should. More on that in a bit. 

The sweet nurses got us all set up and ready to begin the process of the induction. Our doctor had ordered 3/4 of the induction medicine and we had to do it in 1/4 sections. They said that after they did 1/4 of it, they would check to see when I needed the next one. Unfortunately, the nurses who got us all settled in left after just a few hours with us. I was so bummed because they were so helpful and relatable and I just wanted them to stay all night. Little did I know that our next nurse, Patti, would be our angel in disguise of a nurse. 

Patti took over and was actually the charge nurse so she was extra attentive. When my family and Michael went for dinner, she and I had some good discussions and that was when I decided to get the epidural. I had been having contractions for a while, and they got to the point of being uncomfortable. She guided me through the decision and the incision with Dr. Cherry. She was with me every step of the way and I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay her for that. 

After the epidural, it all went fast from there. The medicine they had given me for induction was doing it's job x2. Patti had to give me some medicine to make the contractions slow down. Thankfully it didn't stop my progress at all but definitely gave me some relief. She made that call and it turned out to be the right one. She checked on me every hour and during her check in around 3:00, she decided to go ahead and check to see how far along I was. To her surprise, and mine, I was already almost to 8cm dilated. She decided to go ahead and call my doctor as it seemed Adilynn was ready to make her appearance, even before they gave me the pitocin which is what is suppose to really get the party going. 

Patti was in and out and on the phone with my doctor. Around 6:45 or so, she checked again and could already feel baby's head so she started getting every gathered. Michael had gone to get coffee and she told me to get him to the room asap. My mom and sister were still in there hanging out as all the nurses started making their way in to the room to get set up. Patti told me we were going to do some practice pushes to get me ready for the doctor. We got through about 2 and she made me stop because Adilynn was already in position to make her debut. 

Thankfully Michael walked in about 5 minutes before my doctor and we did a few more practice pushes. Once my doctor came in, I pushed for about 12 minutes and our sweet girl was here. All 8 pounds 15 ounces of her and her dark hair. Patti grabbed Michaels phone, put Adi on my chest and snapped picture after picture for us. Our sweet girl was officially here.