Lorelei in the NICU

what's been going on

 Lorelei Josephine

But wait!  She wasn't due until January 16th, right??  Yep, that's right.  Sit back and et me tell you the story of what has gone down in the past 3 weeks...

December 17th - A regular OB check up

On Thursday the 17th, Alex and I went to my OB check up.  My blood pressure was still creeping up, so my doctor decided to run some tests on the baby to see how she was tolerating things.  The first test he ran checked for variations in her heart rate when she moved.  She was super asleep when we started that test, so they had to use this funny little baby taser on my belly to wake her up.  But even with movement, she wasn't having very good variations on her heart rate.  So, the doctor sent me to ultra sound for another test that would measure her all over to see if her growth was where it was supposed to be.  

And it wasn't.

Her head measured out to her exact gestational age, but her little belly measured 5 weeks younger than that.  That told my doctor that she was no longer getting the nourishment she needed from my placenta - and since the only thing my placenta seemed to be doing well was making me sicker and sicker by the minute - it was time to get the baby out.

So, the doctor instructed Alex and me to go to the hospital, directly to the hospital, do NOT pass go, do NOT collect $200.  We were going to have a C-section pronto.  There was no time to even stop by our house to grab our already packed hospital bags...  We just had to GO GO GO GO!

The next hour and a half were a whirlwind, and to tell you the truth, I don't remember a whole lot of the details...  There was an awful lot of sticking me with needles, starting IVs, monitoring of my blood pressure (which was 200/100 at one point), and general running about on the part of the nurses.  I remember getting into the OR - and it being approximately 8 degrees in there.  I remember my spinal - the anesthesiologist had to stick me twice to get it.  It wasn't pleasant, but to be really honest - it wasn't as painful as I had worked it up in my head to be.  Really, the worst part was I was terrified, overwhelmed, and FREEZING - therefore shivering.... oh - and alone.  Because until the spinal was in place, Alex couldn't be in the OR.

At 6:12pm, the doctor brought Lorelei into the world.  He put her little face over the drop cloth, and although it was purple, it was SO CUTE!  Right away the team of nurses began to check our baby out – and they soon called Alex over to see her.  They put her feet prints on his scrub shirt (IMPOSSIBLY PRECIOUS!!).  While they worked on stitching me back up, they whisked Alex and Lola off to the NICU, and I was alone again.  The rest of the surgery and getting to the recovery room is a complete blur.  I remember being in the recovery room, and the nurse (who wasn’t allowed to leave me) taking my blood pressure every 2 minutes for at least the first hour post op.  I felt fine.  I didn’t like that I couldn’t feel (or wiggle) my toes, but by about 1am, I could – and I was able to get out of bed & go to the bathroom (one of the first hurdles for a post op person).

I didn’t get to go to the NICU to see Lorelei until the next morning.  But as soon as I was allowed – I was up and walking around that hospital like a crazy person.  We had TONS of visitors that day – and I was walking back and forth from my room to the NICU all day long.  I felt remarkably good.  Not a care in the world – a little sore at the incision site, but nothing that was even going to slow me down.

Lorelei was in an isolette to help regulate her temperature.  There were 2 portholes on either side of the isolette for people to put their hands inside.  We were allowed to hold her at certain times, but only then – so we didn’t over stimulate her.  It quickly became apparent that she was healthy and she was put in an open crib after just a few short days.  Lorelei – the trooper that she is – was improving all the time.  Her Mommy on the other hand, was SWIFTLY deteriorating. 

It seems that I had an illeus, or a small bowel obstruction.  I had gas built up in my stomach to the point that I was in EXCRUCIATING pain (to the point of hallucinating).  I have never in my life been in such pain.  After a couple of days dealing with this pain, my doctor had tried everything else he could think of, so he had an NG tube placed in my nose that went down to my stomach.  The idea here was that it would suck out all of the contents of my stomach INCLUDING all the gas.  I had that tube in for 3 days.  Lorelei had an NG tube too – hers was for feeding though….  I didn’t get to eat for the entire time I had the tube, and oh – by the way, I was still pumping and providing breastmilk for Lola…  On zero calories.  ZERO.

Needless to say, my spending 10 days in the hospital was rough.  Lorelei, on the other hand, had to spend 3 weeks in the NICU.  Her problem was simple…  She couldn’t stay awake through an entire feeding.  Being so tiny, the doctors couldn’t allow her to not finish a feeding, so whatever she didn’t finish by mouth had to go in the NG tube.  This went on for at least a week – and then all of a sudden, she got it!  Now she eats with no problems!  She is gaining weight everyday, and she is getting stronger all the time.  

She does have a small issue – an inter ventricular heamorage.  There are 4 levels of this type of bleed in the brain, Grades 1-4.  Grade 1 is no problem, Grade 4 is BIG PROBLEMS.  Hers appears to be a Grade 2.  From what we understand, this should resolve itself with little or no impact on her long term.  However, in an abundance of caution – she will be seeing a neurologist this coming week, and we will be keeping a VERY close eye on her.

It was a crazy 3 weeks.  And now, having her home – there are new challenges all the time.  Not enough sleep for me – getting her used to her new surroundings and schedule.  Being a family.  It’s been fun, but definitely challenging at the same time.

All in all – I’ve never been happier.  I feel like my old self.  I am within 6 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight.  I have a precious little beautiful baby.  I have the sweetest husband in the world.  My Mother is HANDS DOWN the BEST MOTHER IN THE UNIVERSE!  She has been here every weekend cleaning, cooking, organizing, helping in any way she can since November when I went on bedrest.  I cannot express how much I appreciate everything she has done/continues to do.  I feel bad that she’s my Mom and not yours – because honestly, everyone should have a Mom this great.  But I’m glad (and thankful) that I’m the one who has her.  She’s AMAZING!

I’ll probably stop updating this site soon.  Now that Lola is home, there is much to do – and little time for blogging.

Thank you so much for reading!

- mama g

sneak peek

if you don't have a Facebook page, you haven't gotten to see these pictures of the little girl.  I am working on a HUGE post to let you know all the details surrounding Lorelei's arrival...  It's taking me much longer than I anticipated.

Until I have that ready - here are 2 pictures for your enjoyment. 

this one was taken Monday, Dec 28th. 

this one is from today (Dec. 30th)















more to come!

- mama g

"not ideal, but okay"

that's the official line from our doctor today. 

okay - let's go in order...  first - the blood pressure is still up.  swelling is down, as is my weight - I lost 2 more pounds this week.  but I'm spilling more protein in my urine than I was even last week - which is a symptom of the blood pressure issues.  he said that my preeclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy) is not severe enough to be SUPER concerned, but we're wanting to keep a close enough eye on it that I'm now going to be having 2 doctor visits per week instead of 1.  so I'll be going back to the doctor this Thursday.

next up, they did my Group B Strep test today.  It takes 3-4 days for the results, and frankly if I have Group B Strep...  I'll have an extra IV drip in the hospital when I deliver, and that's about it.  So - either way, it's no big deal.  then - he checked my cervix.  and guess what!  I'm already dialated to 1cm.  I've completed 36 weeks of pregnancy, so I'm officially 9 months pregnant - officially 1 more month to the due date - but we will not be making it that far.  it looks like in the next 2 or 3 weeks - I'll stop being a pregnant woman, and start being a Mommy!

they also did a blood draw to check my iron levels again.  I imagine the results of that will be just fine.  I've felt pretty good in that department since they put me on the iron supplements.

so... aside from all the doctor stuff - things here are going well.  marmee came over Saturday and cleaned our house.  It looks like a whole troop of Merry Maids came through here!  she is just incredible, and alex and I are so thankful for everything she has been doing for us the past few weeks.

it has to be said - yet again - how blessed I feel to be surrounded by so many wonderful people who are so willing to help...  laura came over last night and made me some cookies, jsut because I've been craving sweets, our friend john delivered a box full of cookies, bread, chocolate dipped pretzels, and fudge...  it's been a parade of people wanting to help - and we have felt humbled AND thankful!!

for me - it's back to laying down.  I'll update again after my next appointment (if not sooner).

- mama g

doctor day - or as I like to call it... "yard time"

I got to get out of the house today to go to my weekly OB checkup.  I may have gotten a little over excited...  I woke up at 430 am, and then once I did shower & get dressed - I decided to straighten my hair.  (hey - it's not everyday I get to see the outside world, you know?)  Today I was particularly excited because not only was the OB appointment on the schedule, but there was also the prenatal pediatrician appointment - and they were 2 hours apart, so that meant LUNCH OUT!!!  (It was Panera, it was DEEEELISH, and if you haven't been there in a while, GO AND GET THE MAC & CHEESE...  it's WAY WORTH IT!)

Ehem..  Sorry - I got distracted by non-takeout/delivery food.  :)

So, the OB appointment went well.  My blood pressure is still "creeping up" so I am going on medicine now.  The Dr was pleased with everything, though - even the blood pressure, because there's really not much else he or I can do to control it - and it's not SUPER CRAZY or anything.  My blood sugars have been great, and he complimented me on my diet, telling me to "keep up the good work"...  The sycophant in me loved the metaphoric gold star!  All my measurements were on target, and I did not gain any weight this week - which made me very happy.

At 35 weeks, we have very little to fear...  If Lorelei were born today - she'd be fine.  She should weigh approximately 5-5 1/2 pounds at this point, and should be about 19-20" long.  We are just trying to give her a couple more weeks for lung development and a bit more weight gain. 

The pediatrician is going to be great.  He's super laid-back just like the OB, and very friendly.  He gave us 15 or 20 minutes of his time today to just talk to us and make sure we didn't have any questions - which we did NOT expect, but MUCH appreciated.

So - things are set in motion, and I just have to focus on laying down as much as possible. I'm reading the new Dan Brown book today.  It gets uncomfortable to read too long while laying on one side or the other.  Whichever arm is on bottom inevitably falls asleep, and that gets way uncomfortable pretty quickly.

I'm getting yelled at (not really) by my husband that it's time to put the computer away and lay down - so I'll end here for now.

Thanks to everyone for your supportive comments, emails, phone calls, etc...  :)  You are making it easier for me to endure this (much improved) version of confinement.  (never heard of "confinement"??  Look it up!!!  People used to make pregnant women do CRAZY stuff!)

- mama g

greetings from the green corduroy sofa

As has been the case with every major piece of furniture we've purchased together - I am so thankful that Alex and I chose an extremely comfortable sofa. We rearranged our living room to make it more conducive to my laying on my left side and still being able to see the TV, and be part of any conversation that might be going on. 

I am starting to get used to not getting up and doing things.  I think this might be a problem later when I am fully capable of doing things myself - but we'll worry about that later, shall we?  :)

Aside from becoming a baker and making me a delicious batch of sugar cookies on Sunday...  Alex has blossomed into quite the homemaker.  He went to the grocery store on Tuesday - and came back with everything that was on the list.  He said he didn't even mind doing the shopping.  He made dinner the past 2 nights, and then for lunch, we eat whatever is leftover from the night before.  He has been Johnny on the spot for everything I've needed during this past 2 weeks of bed rest.  What an amazing husband!

I am approaching 35 weeks.  This is wonderful news.  Any day past 37 weeks will be icing on the cake, and since I haven't even been started on blood pressure medication yet - I'm thinking we'll be able to get to 37, and possibly even go a bit further! 

Lorelei is still very active.  She kicks quite a bit - but her new favorite trick is to push out on my tummy as hard as she can.  It's normally her little butt that she's pushing out.  I wish I could look in there and see how she's doing it - what she's pushing against...  But I'll feel my tummy stretching, and look down - and there will be a huge mountain on one side of my tummy or the other.  I think it's pretty funny - and I'll tell Alex "She's trying to escape again".  He responds by telling her "It's not time yet...  Gotta stay in there a little bit longer."

I think about the strangest things.  WTE says that babies at this stage have REM sleep.  Does she dream?  If so - what about?  Does she feel cramped in there at all?  Is she aware enough to feel cramped - or is she like an amoeba in a petrie dish, just used to the surroundings she's always known, and not apt to question?  She has to be aware enough to realize that she has less room in there than she did, right? 

According to WTE - she's grown as long as she's going to before birth, and she is gaining half a pound each week.  This I believe.  My belly feels heavy.  I can't imagine being on my feet all day long - I think my back would die!  I also feel a bit off-balance most of the time.  My center of gravity is NOT where it used to be, and I'm definitely front heavy.  :)

With all this bed resting, I've been trying to heed my friend Lindsay's advice...  I've been trying to take some time to just enjoy being pregnant.  This is easiest to accomplish when Lorelei is kicking.  I focus on feeling her little kicks - and knowing that this is like a little secret that just she and I share.  I think about the possibilities that lay ahead of her.  I think about what she'll look like.  I think about what kind of a Mother I'll be.  I think about Alex as a Father.

It's true that not everyone gets everything they've always wanted.  But, I have to say...  right now, my life is coming pretty darn close.

- mama g

overall - good report

OB checkup day.

Predictably - my blood pressure was up when I arrived at the OB's office this morning, but after having me lie down for a bit, it came back down.  That's been my experience the whole last week - if I'm up doing things, the BP goes up...  When I lay down, it goes back down.  Now, when it goes down, it's still higher than my normal - but it's not in the scary high danger zone, so we're still okay.  The doctor said to keep doing what I've done this week (mostly lay on the couch), and said it's not time for medicine yet.   Oh - AND I lost 6 pounds in the last week.

I'm at 33 weeks and really if Lorelei had to be delivered today, although she'd be in the NICU for a bit - she'd be just fine.  (RELIEF!)

It has to be said that I have the most amazing and supportive family.  Marm & Gram came over Wednesday-Saturday and they cleaned my house, did laundry, set up my Christmas tree and - of course - handled Thanksgiving dinner.  Also - my friend Laura (Lola's Godmother) came for Thanksgiving, helped with all the cooking and clean up - AND helped Alex assemble baby things (like the pack n' play, the swing, etc...).

And let's not forget my amazing husband!!  Yesterday, I was laying on the couch and he asked me what I was thinking about.  I told him I was thinking about cookies - after inquiring what kind of cookies, he got up and went into the kitchen and MADE ME SUGAR COOKIES.  He has never baked on his own before today, but he was FEARLESS.  He made the dough, rolled it out, and cut it into Christmas tree shapes.  The cookies were delicious - and I was so impressed with him.  He is truly THE BEST HUSBAND!  I couldn't (and wouldn't) ask for a better one.  :)

My hands are starting to feel better.  I can knit a row or two in a day without too much pain.  But I can't do too much more than that - or I regret it.

We're getting close to baby time.  Alex and I are really excited to finally meet our baby girl!

- mama g