My parents, Jay, and Amanda kept me company and helped to ease my jitters the day of delivery. After around noon I was wheeled to pre-op. I was grateful I got to pick one of my favorite nurses to be assigned to me for the day. She walked me through this journey and held my hand a few times too. My wheelchair ride to pre-op was fun as the nurses, transportation, housekeeping, and others all came to the hallway to cheer us on, giving us high fives and fist bumps. As I passed the double doors heading to the O.R., my bed was dressed with my own pillow and throw which I was told was done by our favorite transporter.
I walked right into the O.R. which was strange. Anesthesia took their time administering the epidural which delayed the start of the c-section, which I'm sure caused many of you to worry because we weren't exactly in a position to let family know. Things moved more quickly once Jay was able to come in. They pulled out Spud 2 and said "it's a boy!" We were both tickled, but worried as we waited for Jack to breathe and cry. He was a slow start, but how relieved we were to hear him. Apparently, that's common with c-sections because they need help getting the fluid out of their lungs first. The c-section was more painful than I anticipated so Jay stayed at my side rather then being with the baby. He got to cut the cord and they brought Jack to me before he was taken to NICU.
Jack Christopher
born at 2:29pm
4 lbs 12.2 oz
17.72 inches
Jay stayed at my side while they tied my tubes and then left to go tell family and visit Jack. In recovery, my family got to visit me and then when I was given clearance to move to postpartum, our favorite transporter arranged for me to take a detour through NICU so I could see my lil man.
Proud daddy
Proud grandparents
The next day I got to hold Jack
for the first time.
The rest of my stay was spent resting and going to NICU. Although Jack was a slow start to breathe, he only was on oxygen for a short while and had an NG tube to help with feeding.
Loves from Uncle Jim
Cuddles from Nancy
Nothing but smiles from the proud Godmother Amanda
On Monday August 25th it was up in the air if I'd be discharged. My parents were visiting me that day since Jay had gone home Sunday to be with Kate. Once it was confirmed I'd be going home that evening (they let us wait until traffic died down) hospital staff spoke with me about transferring Jack to a local hospital. It was a stressful day, but what a relief to go home after 74 days in the hospital. I was greeted by Jay and a very happy energetic Kate. It was hard to be away from my lil man, but Jack was transferred to Children's Hospital Orange County (CHOC) NICU the following morning.
Jack is doing well. CHOC repeated an echo (originally done at UCLA) and found a very small hole between his upper two chambers, but they aren't concerned. His Bilirubin kept fluctuating even while at UCLA, so at CHOC he finally had light therapy to help with the jaundice. Our friend Gina is one of the dieticians for CHOC NICU, so she's been keeping an eye on Jack for us too.
Aside from being closer to come and having better vising hours, another positive aspect about CHOC is Kate is allowed to be in the NICU and touch her brother. When we brought her in to UCLA NICU and they wouldn't let her get near her brother, you can imagine just how upset she was. Kate loves her baby brother and says "aww he's SO cute!" She prays for him at dinner and calls him "her baby." She likes to tickle his little feet and ooh and aww over pictures.
Initially, we were told he'd be in for at least two weeks, then they said he'd be home in a few days, but now we're not so sure. It all just depends on him. He has to eat, taking full feedings and gain some weight before coming home. When Jay visited Saturday his NG tube had been put back in. He starts out well eating and then falls asleep or loses interest and doesn't finish. We have yet to talk with cardiology or in detail with the physicians to gain a better understanding of his care and needs from both NICU stays.
As for me, I'm working with cardiology because my body is having trouble adjusting to the fluid volume changes, causing me lots of swelling. We're trying to manage with a diuretic to avoid any ER or hospital or clinic visits. I'm finally seeing some improvement, but I am told the fluid volume changes will continue to happen for a few weeks after delivery, so I should expect intermittent swelling. These changes are normal postpartum, but it's harder for cardiac patients bodies to adjust to these fluid fluctuations. I try to balance between resting, visiting Jack and playing with Kate. The hard part about being home is not being able to be active. My body is still healing and telling me to take it easy.
We can't thank you enough for supporting us through this journey. We ask that you continue to pray for our health and adjustments and that Jack will join us at home soon. Jay has started his six week family leave, but we still are dependent on family to help. For those of you who are local and are interested, meals would be a big help. Below is a link with a meal calendar that you can sign up to bring meals. We're starting out asking for just a few meals a week up through to Jay's first week returning to work. We may change requests depending on when Jack comes home and how I'm feeling too. If you'd like to help in other ways, please call, email, or text me. Our deepest gratitude for all you've done to support us; this has been quite a journey!!!
http://www.takethemameal.com/meals.php?t=TXTR3498
