Day 9/3

Today is my 9th day in the hospital and Elizabeth's third day of life.  She is 26+6 weeks gestation right now. Tomorrow, I will be released and then our full NICU journey will begin as I juggle home and NICU.

I'm thrilled to report I have tiny amounts of milk for Elizabeth tonight!!! Yay.  I cannot wait until my milk is fully in.  She began receiving some donor milk yesterday to "prime her GI tract"... they gave her 1ml every three hours.  Today that increased to 2ml.  Hopefully in another day or two, I will have enough milk to meet those minimal demands. Since there isn't a whole lot I can do for our sweet baby at this time, milk is my obsession.

Elizabeth is doing amazingly well.  She still has the noninvasive vent on- the Dr said this allows her to decide how much breathing work she does... she has a couple apnea spells each day- and rebounds on her own within 30 seconds.  The Dr said he's not worried, but he's not the parent (in other words, its not worrisome from a medical stand point). They did increase her caffeine slightly to help reduce the occurrence of the apnea spells.

I was able to have our first kangaroo care time with Elizabeth today.  We only got 10 minutes because her temp dropped a bit... tomorrow we will add overhead heat so we get more snuggles. I wish I could just snuggle her all day! 

Elizabeth continues to amaze the Drs with her resilience.  She isn't sick... despite having e.coli meningitis. She is wrapped up in God's mighty arms and doing well.  She will have another lumbar puncture (spinal tap) on Saturday to check on the bacteria growth.  We are praying that there will be no remaining bacteria to culture.  We haven't been able to run Elizabeth's karyotype yet-- we don't want to compromise her by doing another draw when it won't change the course of her treatment right now.  We can wait a few weeks until she is bigger before confirming Turner Syndrome.

Our God is good. Sweet Elizabeth you are so loved!

Welcome Baby Elizabeth Joy!

Day 6... I began having contractions over night.  They only came 1-2 per hour, but were painful enough to wake me up. By mid morning, I was contracting every 4-7 mins for 20-30 seconds each.  In general, I wasn't feeling well... no tv/movies/etc... I breathed through them, napped in between, and sat in agony. By mid afternoon, we were at every 2-3 minutes.  I commented how with a planned c-section, I shouldn't have to go through labor as well! lol. I had developed an infection which may be why I was contracting. Around 5pm it was decided I was moving to labor and delivery and sweet Elizabeth Joy was delivered via a classical (vertical) c-section at 7:23pm.  She weighed in at 1lb 13oz and is 13" long. Such a tiny little peanut!!!!  We made it to 26+3 weeks.  Doctors and nurses are commenting on how well she is doing for her age and how even her skin is mature.  This is great news. Elizabeth shares her grandmas birthday-- Grandma Cheryl went to heaven seven years ago.  I think these two are in cahoots.

Day 7--   She had a platelet blood transfusion early this morning (before she was 12 hours old) and had a spinal tap this afternoon because she had a positive blood culture.  Preliminary results show white blood cells in her spinal fluid, which indicates an infection.  She was put on a different antibiotic and we now wait for the culture to see what's going on.  Elizabeth is under the billi lights as well... and Mommy still hasn't gotten to hold her. Hopefully soon!

Day Five

Not much going on here... and that's a good thing.

My kiddos and hubby took me out for a short spin in the wheelchair.  It's HOT out there... Julia fell down and bloodied her knee and wanted Daddy (Mommy weeps). The kids walk in and immediately start checking out my food tray... come on people! Mama needs this food so Elizabeth can GROW!!!! :-)

I'm now seeing nurses who took care of me a couple weeks ago when I was in for kidney stones... everyone is all "what are you doing here" and "you knew this was going to happen". It's true... I did. For some weird reason I have a sixth sense about my body and this did not take me by surprise.  Perhaps that's why I'm coping so well (so far...).

I've had a few moments of almost tears... when I think about how fast things might change from stable to emergency and when I really allow myself to think about what we are facing.

I'm 26+2 weeks today.  Every day matters. Every day is a victory for our sweet Elizabeth.

26 Weeks & My Defunct Uterus

Evidently, my broken uterus is still a better incubator for little Elizabeth than the NICU down the hall... so we are focusing on keeping her INSIDE for as long as possible.  Here's the risks we are facing:

Placental abruption- higher risk once water has broken
Distress- cord compression and other issues could send Elizabeth into distress
Infection- this is the biggest one that prompts delivery after PPROM
Labor- if labor starts, they will not stop it... we will go in for a c-section

We are monitoring Elizabeth with twice daily Non Stress Tests (NST) which watch her baseline heartrate-- if her baseline shifts high or low or if she starts having deep decels, we will know something is going on and that she needs to be delivered.

I am also getting weekly AFI ultrasounds and every other week growth scans until we deliver- this will assess if any fluid is pocketing around Elizabeth again and if her growth is being overly restricted by her uterine environment.  Friday marks my scan day, so it'll always coincide with another week milestone!

Being born at 26 weeks poses A LOT of challenges and it's in Elizabeth's best interest to stay inside for as long as possible. Every day, every week, gives her a better chance of survival and less issues once on the outside.

Tonight hubby brought us Outback for dinner (some sweet friends put together some funds for us to have a dinner!)... what a treat! Yummy steak and shrimp followed by a gluten free brownie. :-)

Incarceration Day 4...

 26+1 weeks

It's really not that bad... yet. :-)  I was given a pass to take a 30 minute wheel chair ride once a day... so my sister and darling niece wheeled me down to the coffee shop. Yumm.

On call Dr rounded today... I will meet all the partners while I'm in... I'm sure.  Everything is pretty stable which is GREAT.  The usual questions... fluid color (clear yellow), any bleeding (no), contractions (no), tenderness in uterus (no)...

My sisters came to visit... and a couple friends stopped by today.  It's great to have company! It does feel isolating in here already... and I talk the nurses ears off. :-) Jessica brought me amazing gluten free chicken tenders made with Gluten Free Heaven flour.  Oh my were they good! I meant to take a picture-- but I ate them up much too quickly!

I've decided my job is to stop worrying about weight and just eat... this little girl needs to GROW as fast as she possibly can.

We are sitting on the brink of leaving the micro preemie zone (usually 26 weeks/1lb 12oz).  I've decided I will be a bedrest success story or a NICU success story.  Positive attitudes will go a long way!

What I am thankful for today:
I'm STILL pregnant!!!!!
My first coffee beverage in 7 months (thank you baby for letting mama enjoy it!)
Friends and Family
Flowers
My Rosary, Miraculous Medal, and prayer.

My Amazing Nursing Staff

I've had wonderful nurses so far... I'm very chatty and enjoy having conversations with them.  I'm trying hard to make sure I thank them every time they come in... it's the little things.  These ladies are my life line for the next weeks/months... Maybe I'm lucky with nice nurses... or maybe they are nicer when they are treated kindly (we are all human after all). 

I wasn't pleased with the RD I talked with about my gluten free dietary needs-- I have Celiac and a 100% gf non contaminated diet is the only prescription for me to be healthy. The RD basically told me the kitchen couldn't accommodate that... why on earth can a hospital NOT meet the dietary needs of its patients? I asked her if she would be okay giving me just a tiny bit of peanut if I had a peanut allergy-- her response was of course not.  So, what is the difference? We will keep working on this issue and hubby is bringing in a refrigerator and some food to help me get by.

My Drs are great... but they aren't very forthcoming with odds.  My OB did say today that if I make it two weeks (40% deliver in the first two weeks with PPROM), then I stand a much better chance of going several weeks. That is reassuring.

I've received two visits from my parish priests and have had the hospital chaplain and social worker stop in... plus friends. It sure helps the days go quicker!

Today's Ultrasound

I got a wheelchair ride over to MFM today for an ultrasound.  Little Elizabeth has NO FLUID around her currently. She's measuring at 1lb 11oz.  Dr has said that as long as she is not in distress and I don't have an infection, we will continue to buy time. I'm 26 weeks today. Every day matters.