March 5, 2010 started very early in the morning. Joey and I did not get much sleep the night before due to Mommy heartburn as well as just big anticipation. We were so ready for 4:00 a.m. to come around so that we could get ready and get to the hospital.
It was much more relaxing filling out paperwork, getting blood work, and chatting with the nurses when your c-section is scheduled. We were very laid back waiting on 7:15 to come around.
What a wonderful experience to actually be awake and a part of your child's birth! In only 8 minutes, at 7:23 a.m., Mom was on the table and Dad was watching baby Spencer being tugged and pulled out into the big world. Although we all thought that squeamish Daddy would pass out, he did great and was amazed to see him come out one little body part at a time. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is for Mommy to get to hear his very first cry in this world!
Our big boy! 7 lbs. 11.5 oz.
19 1/4 inches long.
Meeting Mommy. The very first thing Mommy noticed was the head full of hair...dark brown!
Hanging with Daddy while Mommy's belly got repaired. The second they pulled him out, I got to take the biggest, deepest breath! You don't realize how much of your body these little ones take up!
Baby Spencer.
The hair!
We got to spend a precious couple of hours with our little man. Spencer was having trouble breathing due to being born by c-section, and therefore, having a great deal of fluid in his lungs. The pediatrician was called, and she referred him to the neonatologist. He didn't seem to be able to clear his lungs on his own, and after a chest x-ray, it was determined he should be whisked off to NICU. We are told that he might be there from two days to a week or more.
As hard as it is to not have him downstairs in our room with us, we are thinking positively that he is stable and will overcome this before we know it. There are many worse stories in the NICU than ours, even though it doesn't make it any easier to not be able to hold your little boy or worry endlessly about him. Mommy is busy getting milk ready for when he is allowed to eat sometime this week. Yesterday and this morning, he got a pacifier when he was hungry and a few nutrients from an IV. The fear is that he would aspirate his food and end up with pneumonia. He is on preventative antibiotics, and they are continually checking him and taking care of him. As the on-call OB said this morning, we just need to get these wimpy white boys whipped into shape and get him back up here with us! Granna said that Big Brother Alden has already been asking for Baby Spencer today!
Spencer's second day had a scary beginning, but a happier ending. We finally got a call from the neonatologist this morning. He said that his white count was really high from his blood work and that he felt they needed to do a spinal to check for meningitis and infections. We freaked out and ran downstairs to meet with him. He gave us about one very tearful minute with our little boy and a list of all the horrific side effects of newborn meningitis before he allowed us to kiss his head and hurry back upstairs.
The good thing was as soon as we got in our room, the phone rang. He had drawn the spinal fluid and told us that it was completely clear which was a great sign. We were able to stop boo-hooing, but not being truly sick at our stomachs with worry for the next few hours. Luckily, when we went to visit him later in the morning, the results came back negative. Praise to God for an answered prayer!
The nurse practitioner filled us in that his breathing should greatly improve and clear over the next few days. They have put him on IV antibiotics for the next seven days as a prevention. She said that sometimes if we don't treat an infection in a newborn before you know there is an infection, that it is too late. His little IV on his arm is totally pitiful. It is attached to a giant splint, so it looks like he has a broken arm. Our hope is that his breathing will be normal by mid-week, and he will be home by next Saturday, after he finishes his antibiotics are complete. This would put him home on March 13th which is ironically his due date.
When we visited him this afternoon, we were so excited to see them feeding him from a little tube. He only gets a tiny amount of formula, but this is the first time he has eaten. This is huge, because it means that they think his body has recovered enough to take it. They did not think he would be here until early next week. The good thing is that by the time he is taking milk from a bottle, which will be two days or so, my milk should come in for him. By the end of the week, they hope that Mom will be able to feed him. I can't wait!!
He is just so sweet curled up on his pillows. He even held my finger for a few minutes tonight. The hardest part of our day is leaving him to come upstairs. We are so encouraged by the great blessing we got today and the wonderful nurses that took a great deal of time to comfort us and give us real answers. Thank you God that they were the answers we wanted to hear! As one nurse said, if you have to have a baby in the NICU, this is the best case scenario. We are already counting the antibiotic doses until we get to bring him home.
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