We had scheduled a csection for March 6th because of all the different issues. It would have made him 36weeks and 2 days. So still early but things were just not looking good for him and we were grateful to have already made it that far. I was being monitored twice a week for fetal distress and blood flow. We went to an appointment Wednesday and Thursday he passed both of them. We had packed our bags bc we knew as soon as it was a bad test we would go straight to delivery.
On Monday February 27, we were going in at 11 for another nst. It monitors his vitals and my contractions. I recieved a phone call from the doctor office that morning asking if we could come on in earlier. Our doctor had a surgery at noon and wanted to make sure we had plenty of time on the nst for little guy to show us he was doing good and get another ultrasound.
We had to take Savannah because Andrews parents were not going to be able to get to our house in time. We've taken her many times and she does well. It is just hard with her cast now. I was hooked up and Ethan was doing good actually moving around. Our doctor said she would be in and out checking on us. Then I had a contraction and Ethan's vitals dropped. The doctor was in another room with a patient and heard the heartbeat slowing and came right in rolling me. Ethan's heart rate started slowly coming up. She said time to deliver and called the or. Andrew had his parents come get Savannah, while I was being prepped.
He was born at 12:18 pm weighing 4lbs 9 oz and 18.5 inches long. He initially had apgar scores of 8&9 but once they were in the NICU assessing him, he became angry and passed out. Then they put him under a hood and gave him an IV. He had the hood maxed out at 40% oxygen so they moved him to a CPAP. It pushes the air in through his nose down to his lungs. Then they gave him a tube into his stomach. The tube was for venting and eventually feeding him. His heart rate was to high to introduce food. After three days they tried giving him 10 cc of breast milk. He tolerated it and now is receiving 10 cc every four hours. It seemed very strange to me not to feed him right away but they informed me it was best not to overwhelm his system.
He doesn't like to be touched at all. They said since he's early his body gets over stimulated very easily. He gets very upset and his oxygen levels start dropping. So, they bundle everything together - like diaper change, temp check, measurements, etc. that way he has long periods of uninterupted sleep.
He's doing real good but we don't know when he's coming home. We were told he's not due till 40 weeks( march 31) and not to expect him till then. One of our nurses said it would probably be before then but sometimes you can't tell. He has certain criteria to meet. His first step is to be breathing room air on his own.
It was very sad to be discharged from the hospital with no baby but we are managing. I like the fact he's on all kinds of monitors and being watched super close. He looks pitiful with wires and tubes everywhere though. He will continue to grow and come home when he's ready :)
I will continue to post periodic updates on Ethan's status. Sorry, it took so long for an update about his delivery.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers.
