Friday, February 25, 2011
The beginning of a long journey
The new little addition to our family came on Feb 22, 2011. He had only been in the womb for 26 weeks and 6 days, so he was just 1 lb 14 oz at birth. He was delivered by C-section after Brittany developed HELLP Syndrome and it was no longer safe to continue the pregnancy. He was born at 10:10 am and immediately gave a tiny cry, to my surprise. His APGAR scores were 4, 5, and 8. His little, underdeveloped lungs were not strong enough so he was intubated and placed on a ventilator to breath for him. Also during the first couple of minutes of life his heart rate slowed down below a safe level and CPR was briefly performed to bring it back up. He was stabilized, wheeled over by Brittany so she could look at him, then whisked away to the NICU. IV lines and monitors were placed. From the very beginning he was very active and feisty.
Less than 24 hours after being born and put on the ventilator they were able to wean him off. He was instead given sipap, which is like cpap, that gives him positive pressure to assist him with his own breathing. He has been maintaining very well on sipap.
Yesterday he started sucking on a tiny pacifier and the nurse said that he has a great sucking reflex. Although the pacifier is very small it is still a little bit too big for him.
I was able to give him a blessing last night and feel very strongly that the Lord will be with him to fight and to take on the many challenges that stand in his way.
The doctors have told me every day so far that our little guy is doing as well as they could possibly hope for up to this point.
Less than 24 hours after being born and put on the ventilator they were able to wean him off. He was instead given sipap, which is like cpap, that gives him positive pressure to assist him with his own breathing. He has been maintaining very well on sipap.
Yesterday he started sucking on a tiny pacifier and the nurse said that he has a great sucking reflex. Although the pacifier is very small it is still a little bit too big for him.
I was able to give him a blessing last night and feel very strongly that the Lord will be with him to fight and to take on the many challenges that stand in his way.
The doctors have told me every day so far that our little guy is doing as well as they could possibly hope for up to this point.
How we got here
There are many of you that don't know much about how Brittany ended up in the hospital and how our little man had to be delivered so early. Hopefully we can use this blog to keep you all informed and updated. There are so many people that have contacted us to show their love and support. We would like to thank all of you and hope you don't feel like you've been ignored. We feel every prayer that is sent our way.
Besides feeling nauseated a lot, Brittany's pregnancy was going well. She and the baby were both healthy. As recently as a couple of weeks ago Brittany had an OB appointment that went well, no problems. Then she started to feel things that were a littlt strange, such as pains in her legs and shortness of breath. Then came the facial swelling in the mornings. On Thurs Feb 17th she felt more swollen so she went to see her OB. Her blood pressure was way up and she had protein in her urine so she was admitted to the hospital for preeclampsia. In the hospital she was monitored very closely. She was only 26 weeks and 1 day along at that point and we were told that she would be on strict bedrest in the hospital until delivering the baby. By Tues Feb 22 she had developed HELLP Syndrome, a severe form of preeclampsia, and they needed to deliver the baby via C-section.
HELLP Syndrome has really taken a toll on Brittany's body, causing anemia, dysfunction in her liver and kidneys, and a lot of swelling of her entire body. It is a very severe disease that can be deadly. She is making great strides now in her recovery and continues to improve daily.
Besides feeling nauseated a lot, Brittany's pregnancy was going well. She and the baby were both healthy. As recently as a couple of weeks ago Brittany had an OB appointment that went well, no problems. Then she started to feel things that were a littlt strange, such as pains in her legs and shortness of breath. Then came the facial swelling in the mornings. On Thurs Feb 17th she felt more swollen so she went to see her OB. Her blood pressure was way up and she had protein in her urine so she was admitted to the hospital for preeclampsia. In the hospital she was monitored very closely. She was only 26 weeks and 1 day along at that point and we were told that she would be on strict bedrest in the hospital until delivering the baby. By Tues Feb 22 she had developed HELLP Syndrome, a severe form of preeclampsia, and they needed to deliver the baby via C-section.
HELLP Syndrome has really taken a toll on Brittany's body, causing anemia, dysfunction in her liver and kidneys, and a lot of swelling of her entire body. It is a very severe disease that can be deadly. She is making great strides now in her recovery and continues to improve daily.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
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