1st Day

Here are my thoughts and memories of the first day of Katie’s life.  I am writing this on day twelve now that I have a moment to breath.  Sorry for the delayed update, but our week has been crazy!

Katie was only in the hospital for four days, which is absolutely amazing.  She is already a fighter and we are incredibly proud.    When we went to the hospital we were optimistically hoping for only a week to ten days, but it was possible she would be there for months.  None of the doctors were willing to give us any hope that her stay could possibly be that short.  I was really hoping we could be home in time for Thanksgiving.

Katie was in the NICU the full four days.  The NICU has three different types of cribs, ranging from totally environmentally controlled to open air.  Katie was moved into the best crib on the first night.  She never needed any oxygen, she had an IV for about two days, and was monitored for her blood sugar levels regularly.  In the pictures, all the wires look daunting but they were only monitoring her blood oxygen levels and heart rate.  Every baby in the NICU had those wires, she didn’t need anything extra!

Once she was born we noticed immediately that she was screaming and pink!!  Two huge hurdles passed.  If she had been blue or lethargic it would have been a sign that she would need emergency heart surgery or heart medication.  She was immediately cleaned up and I got to have a few kisses and Mike got to hold her.  Then they took her off to the NICU.  They would not let Mike go with her while she was settled in the NICU, so he stayed with me while I was sewn up.

  

 This sums up the delivery to me.  Lots of hands and an immediate heart check.  

 

The hospital staff had a grand time with Mike during the 45 minutes or so while they finished my surgery.  They found out quickly that he was a research biologist so they all talked ‘science’ in the operating room.  I was awake the whole time but didn’t follow the conversation, I do remember them talking about the placenta, Mike got to see how Katie’s umbilical cord only had two of the usual three vessels, they talked about what chemical my spinal block was and how it dulled the pain sensors but not the pressure sensors.  I’m sure there were many more exciting topics but I don’t remember any more.

I was then sent to the recovery room where a nurse stayed with me for three hours to make sure I recovered and could be moved to my final room.  Mike moved back and forth between Katie and I, getting updates and passing the information to me.  

I have some of the excitement preserved in texts to my mother:

1^st update: Her blood sugar was a little low so she is on IV.  Her blood oxygen was fluctuating but stabilized in the healthy range.  They did the heart exam and we are waiting to hear what the doc says.  They seem pretty positive.  She is sucking her lips hard and wants to eat!!

2^nd update: Only noticeable Ds marker she seems to have is a deep grove on her left hand, no effect on hand function.  Her mouth is structured fine.  Hearing test in a few days.  (She later passed the hearing test!)

3^rd update: I’m in our final room.  Got to see Katie for a few minutes.  Cardiologist said it is a different diagnosis than they thought…no drugs for now, and a fix it surgery in 2-5 months.  The heart valves are separate!  The hole is in a little different place.  Function is good, blood flow is good.  No immediate concerns.  Should get a better brief soon.

This is when I got to see Katie for a few minutes on the way out of recovery and into my final room.

4^th update: They are taking an x-ray of the intestines because her belly is a little extended.  Hopefully it is nothing, especially since the ultrasound looked so good.  (Her intestines were fine, must have been air from all the crying.)

 Here you can see her big belly that they were a little concerned about.

5^th update: She got a bath.  Her bloated belly is going down.  If she keeps up the good work they will move her to a crib later tonight!!!

6^th update:  Feeding Katie!!

That night at 7pm the nurse helped me walk.  Once I could walk, they would take me off the IV and let me go to the NIC U.  Talk about incentive!  The NICU is on a three hour schedule where they take vitals, change diapers, then feed the babies.  The parents can stay the whole time, but we were encouraged to be there on those three hour cycles so we could change her diaper and attempt feedings.  Once I was allowed to go up there, we attended every single session, except one that they asked us to skip because they had a traumatic hour trying to replace her leaking IV (I counted six attempts on her hands and feet).  The first night Mike took me up there in a wheel chair, then after that I walked.