About an hour after Emerson was born they came to move us from the labor and delivery room to a family care room where we would be the remainder of our stay. Our room was right next to the nursery and as they wheeled me past the nursery they took Emerson to get him ready for his first bath. They came in a very short time later to tell us that they had to place Emerson under an oxygen tent because his oxygen levels were dipping. (Something that had happened during the labor as well). We were able to go in and stand next to his bassinet and hold his hand while he laid under the oxygen tent. They told us that sometimes babies have trouble adjusting to being outside and they forget to breath and after a little bit on oxygen they figure it out.
At 11 pm Tuesday night they came in to tell us Emerson was off the oxygen and they were going to give him his bath. I was exhausted but Robert went to watch and take pictures. At 12:30 they came in and said they had to put Emerson back on oxygen because his levels had dipped yet again. At 2:30 am our nurse came in and told us that they had moved Emerson to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) because he was still on oxygen (after 6 hours) and needed more supervision than they could provide in the nursery. (By the way, they just remodeled the NICU at Swedish Hospital and the new unit is amazing. The babies have their own rooms so the parents get a lot of privacy and one on one time with the baby). They told us they would come get us when we could see him. At 6:30 am they came to get me (Daddy was exhausted and passed out) and took me to the NICU where I was finally able to hold my little boy again. Emerson had an oxygen tube under his nose and was hooked up to monitors but at least we could hold him. They had done a chest xray on him which came back normal and had done some blood work which showed that he had high levels of immature white blood cells and low levels of mature blood white blood cells which might indicate that he had an infection. I went back to the room, Robert and I showered and had breakfast and then headed back to the NICU to check on Emerson. The pediatrician from the NICU was there to check him and said he didn't think Emerson had an infection and that he was just adjusting to life outside the womb and trying to figure out how to breath. They said that this happens sometimes and that he would probably be fine soon. It seemed that his oxygen would dip when he was sucking on a pacifier or a bottle. Some babies have trouble coordinating breathing, sucking, swallowing which is what they said was happening to him. At 11 am they took Emerson off oxygen because he had gone long enough without a dip. We spent the rest of the day going back and forth to the NICU each time Emerson woke up and needed to eat so that I could try nursing. He did great all day.
Unfortunately Wednesday night Emerson's oxygen levels dipped while sucking on a pacifier which meant he lost pacifier priveledges. Then it dropped again while we were there at 11:30 pm which meant he had to go back on oxygen. We spent the rest of Wednesday night going back and forth from our room to the NICU. Thursday morning I was discharged but it was obvious Emerson couldn't go home. We needed to stay at the hospital so that I could be around to feed him. Then, things got worse. Denver was going to have a blizzard by mid day. The nurses in family care and the NICU were amazing and found a room where we could stay for the night as borders. Not pay, just a place for us to stay out of the kindness of their hearts. We were so relieved that we would be able to be near Emerson and not risk being snowed in away from him. We spent all day Thursday with Emerson, feeding him and then holding him. He had an echo-cardiogram Thursday morning to make sure that his heart was okay and they said all was normal. At 5:30 pm Thursday night they took Emerson off oxygen again. They said that he would have bloodwork the next morning and if it came back fine and his oxygen didn't dip again he would be able to go home.
The next morning we learned that Emerson's bloodwork was fine and he had no more dips in his oxygen over the night. So, at 10:30 today (Friday) they gave us the good news that our baby boy could go home (and without oxygen even)! We got him dressed in his going home outfit and were at the house by 12:30! Emerson is doing great and nursing like a champ. Obviously we have to keep a very close eye on him for the next week but the doctors are convinced he just need a few extra days to coordinate his breathing. Robert and I are so happy to be home with him and are adjusting to life with him here. Lots of looking at each other going "We have a baby!" and lots of checking to see if Emerson is breathing - but what new parents don't do that.
Thanks to all of our friends and family that have supported us and prayed for us through the pregnancy, delivery and the last couple of days. We are so blessed and feel so loved. We promise to keep the blog updated with Emerson news and photos so stay tuned!
See all our Emerson photos so far at our Flickr site. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29804361@N04/
Keep in mind that they aren't really in any order.
No comments:
Post a Comment