Wow, time surely does fly. My God, this could be the theme of my blog, really. Secret Agent Time Keeper? Secret Agent Time Waster? Secret Agent and Papa the Pilot Flies Time? It could work? Maybe. Maybe not.

It’s true, though. Time is slipping through our hands so quickly that sometimes I just want to stop it so that we can take more of it in. Day in, day out, we go about our business, and just like that–another day is over.

I still remember last Christmas so vividly. I remember the cold Buffalo weather. I remember Christmas Eve when I wrapped presents with my mom, and how we laughed until we wet our pants. I remember how I was nervous that Michael would not be home due to him cutting it close with his work schedule (but he got home in plenty of time). I remember how I felt at the last home school co-op that we attended before the break, and how I couldn’t wear any of my (maternity) clothes in comfort. I remember feeling that precious life move within me, and I remember how sweet it was to share that joy with the kids. I remember it all, and more….. Buuuuuuuuut, just in case I ever forget I have some great documentation in this blog. I wish I would have been blogging way back when Mikey was born. What a great reflection this blog will be for all of the kids, though, especially Davey.

If you want, you can read David’s Birthstory!

Then, yesterday, I found a thread, at a bulletin board that I’ve posted at for as long as I can remember, updating about Davey. I had posted these updates about Davey’s stay in the NICU, up until he came home. Here are the excerpts:

December 30th, 2006

Feels good to be home and I really don’t know where to start. I’ll need to do the birth story to make sure I get everything out and right. LOL

So, my water broke on Thursday morning at around 7:15am; that was strange, to say the least, but I digress. I took a shower and by 8:45am we were at L&D. I was started on pitocin (level 2 – very low) and regular contractions started around noon. I labored for about 3 1/2 hours until he was born and it was with contractions about 1.5 minutes apart for the last hour. I pushed for a good 40 minutes and it was the hardest work I’ve ever done in my entire life. No pain meds. No epidural. I joked with my friend Jodi that after he was born I ate the placenta, too. LOL Both David and I were the talk of the whole L&D ward. My labor nurse had to take him out to show him off just to stop all the nurses from barging in on us.

Our boy’s so big!!! I knew he was gonna be big…but not THAT big!! Since he’s so big he had issues with his blood sugar being low (hypoglycemia). He’s got an IV and is slowly being taken off it. Before each feeding his blood glucose level is measured and every time he gets the *magic* number they take the IV down a notch or two. Once he’s off it and has three good blood glucose readings we will be free to bring him home. Also, his breathing was labored for the first 24 hours after birth but I’m pleased that it has since leveled off and he’s breathing easy. Another little complication was that his right clavicle was fractured (by Dr. C). Thankfully he has no brachial plexis nerve damage, though. We just have to be mindful of his arm so it doesn’t hurt him but you’d be surprised how fast they heal up.

He should be in the Special Care Nursery for a couple more days (at least). Today he nursed for a good 10 minutes on my left breast. I was so happy about that! Michael and I will be on our way up to the hospital so I can feed him again, in a little bit. We’ll stay up there for the 5:30 and 8:30 feedings. My mom was with me today and he was so wide eyed and content. ::::::LOVE::::::

OK, I feel like I’m rambling without sense. Birthing a butterball turkey will do that to you, ya know?!?

I’m soooooooooooooooo in love with our little boy. Can’t wait to bring him home and show him off with tons of pics!!!

later…

I promise to write the full story out. There are so many little moments of the labor and delivery that I need to document! It was something else and I’m still in shock that *I* did it.

Also, to update on Davey (you knew I’d call him Davey, didn’t you?):

His blood glucose levels are really good and they have him down to a “3″ on his IV. Once he’s down to “0″ and has three good readings w/o the IV we’ll be hopefully bringing him home. He’s jaundiced now and wearing the little glow-worm thingy b/c of his arm and the fact that it needs to be immobilized.

I’m really sore and feel like I’ve been beat up today. I guess that’s par for the course, eh?

Ohhh and… I have what my doctor called a “brush burn tear”. I do have one stitch but he said that I didn’t really need it, he just wanted to make sure I healed faster with it. My doctor and the hospital midwife were so awesome to do perineal massages all through active labor. I reckon I can thank them for my not tearing any more than I did.

December 31, 2006

The IV is out and he’s had one great glucose reading since it’s been out. He needs to have two more to be in the clear. We’ll know more in a couple hours when we go up to see/feed/hold/kiss/snuggle him.

later…

Michael and I went up there around 2pm today and we tried to feed him. He was so sleepy that he didn’t eat too much. I tried to breastfeed him…nothing…and he only took about 10ml’s of formula. We ended up just putting him down to rest and came back for the 5:30pm feed. My fave nurse up there, Chris, had us take him off the Wallaby light and over to the lactation room. There he BREASTFED LIKE A CHAMPAROO!!!! I was so happy. He got a good 20 minutes on my left and 25 on my right. And, he had about 15ml’s of formula. I snuggled with him and he was just so alert and content; I ate it up! After that he blew out a nice green and seedy poop for us. I finally got to change his diaper (1st of many, many more to come), and we headed back to his pod.

Once we got there was a different story. He started to cry and became very unsettled. I was beside myself b/c I knew it was a painful-type of cry. The pacifier didn’t work, stroking his eyebrow didn’t work, more milk didn’t work, nothing seemed to work. So, I had him in my lap and was rubbing his belly and suddenly he tooted really big. He made a happy-toot face and then his Pulse Ox monitor started to beep. Then he gasped for air and it really started to beep. His nurse came in to make sure he was ok and it seemingly was. But, he was still very unsettled and I was wrecked with worry, we both were. Finally, he quieted down and we left. I didn’t want to leave and I was a mess.

I called back and the nurse said that he had another episode with the Pulse Ox thingy going off. She said she thinks it’s all related to pain from his broken clavicle. I’m just so upset and worried about him now. I want to take off and go there but I need my rest.

My gut tells me that it’s related to the pain (and all the different positions I had him in while breastfeeding and burping and changing diaper) and it’s nothing to worry about but I can’t help but worry over it all. I’m pretty much at the end of my rope with it b/c he’s so close to coming home and I just want him home so badly.

*sigh* Prayers for our little big boy would be appreciated. Pray that his bili level is low and that after being off the lights it’s low and that he comes home tomorrow or Tuesday. I’m so sad just thinking that he’s not here. So, pray for me too.

January 1, 2007

I called at 1am and the pod nurse told me that David desaturated again, so the NICU doc ordered some tylenol for him and oxygen therapy. The nurse said that at the 8:30pm feed he was inconsolable and his respiratory rate was higher while the pulse ox was lower. *sigh* They seem to think it’s his response to pain (the broken clavicle) coupled with the jaundice. If his pulse ox goes below 70, he will be fed with a feeding tube. I didn’t get a call in the night so that means so far so good. However, after they Tylenol and oxygen (via the nasal tubes), at the 11:30pm feed he took 42ml’s of formula and was very content and looking around and such.

Of course, this means he has to stay in there -at least- another 24 hours. I know it’s for the best but I just want my baby home now.

Deep down, my guttural mama instinct says that the whole breathing thing is in response to pain and that there’s nothing like infection or what not. I know they have to watch him but I just feel it’s nothing other than what it is. My poor baby has a broken clavicle *broken by the doctor to get the butterball out of me*.

On the up note: He’s free and clear of the hypoglycemia. He had three VERY good readings after being off the IV. Now we’re dealing with this other stuff.

January 2, 2007

I’m trying to pump while I type, so bare with me..

After my last update, the next morning, I called to hear the words “chest xray” and “echo cardiogram”. I quickly woke Michael up and told him that we needed to get up to the hospital. Well, the words were scarier than what actually is the case. First off, David is fine. He’s healthy and happy and doing really well. The thing that is the problem with his pulse ox is that his little lungs are not big enough for his body. So, he’s had a bit of trouble “normalizing”. That with jaundice and pain from the clavicle was enough to make the monitors react. However, it was never bad and the NICU doc was very confident that there is nothing major going on.

I was able to stay up in a NICU family suite last night. Davey is a breast feeder, all the way, and doesn’t really take the bottle well. He takes it but not like he does my breast. So, staying up there was wonderful. I’m going to be staying for another night tonight, too.

To update:
1) His bilirubin level has come down. He’s off the lights and his level with be checked for rebounding, in the morning.
2) He’s been weaned off the nasal canula/oxygen and is breathing room air again. While feeding he does not desaturate, either.
3) He’s eating well, pooping well, alert and happy.
4) My milk is in!

I hope he comes home tomorrow.

January 3, 2007

HE’S HOME!!!!! We got home about 6pm tonight!! It wasn’t without an eventful day, though.

They were concerned about his urine output (it was kinda on the low side) so they had to rule out some things. They did a kidney ultrasound and ran some metabolic tests; all of which came back normal and in the clear. Finally, we got the “OK”. Oh and today he got circumsized, too. All these things together made for a memorable last day. Lucky for Davey and I, we had an awesome pod nurse for the day shift.

So, he’s home. I’m so happy I could burst. Riding in the wheel chair down to the truck I got many a congratulations and it felt ohhhhh sooooo goooood!!

—————————————————

Thinking and looking back, that first week was really tough. All the ups and downs, the back and forth, the worrying about it all; it was really stressful. But, here we are! One year later. The boy is happy, healthy, and the cream of the crop. Ok, sure he doesn’t sleep worth a damn, and he’s a little whiny at times, but who cares. For the better part of the day he’s smiling, laughing, learning, alert, playful, and so much more. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t like more sleep. (Can you see where I’m coming from here?)

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y D A V E Y ! ! ! ! ! !

A Must See Video:
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Time Like These
by: Papa

This entry was posted on Friday, December 28th, 2007 at 9:47 am and is filed under Dude. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.