Sugar Baby

This is what I looked like last Saturday, the 3rd at 8:50 PM:

And to my utmost joy, this is what I was seeing at 10:38 PM:

The first contraction I felt and recognized for what it was came at 5 PM.  I had had four in an hour, and so I ran to get the pregnancy bible.  Sure enough, I decided I was in early TRUE labor.  I had all the symptoms.  I decided to continue with the plan I had laid to induce labor--a spicy dinner and a walk with Lucy.  Things progressed pretty rapidly, and at 7:00 we decided we had better pack up and head out.  We left at 8 to take Lucy to her grandparents' house.  This is when I realized that I had taken only two pictures the whole pregnancy, hence: the intro picture.

We arrived at the hospital a little after nine.  And good thing too.  In the triage room, contractions started getting quite painful.  And lots closer.  I was at a 5.  

The nurse wheeled me to the delivery room and there we stayed for an hour while she finished checking us in on the computer. Sometime in there, the next check for dilation found me at 7.  When the nurse finally had all the necessary information, she said, "I know you wanted a Jacuzzi room, but I don't think you have enough time.  Do you want to forego the tub, or do you want to still try?"  I said, "Fill it!"  If there was time for even one contraction in the water, I wanted to test the potency of the "natural epidural."  

And I am telling you, it wasn't real high.  It may be just because I was so far progressed on the labor timeline--I had two nearly unbearable contractions on my way to the tub--but, I felt very little relief when in the water.  It was nice between the two contractions I had in the actual tub, but I was sure thinking that the water could have been a LOT warmer and several inches higher.  During that second contraction, I knew I would need to push the next one.  So Eric ran for the doctor.

I had three more super-intense (make me yell, "AHHHHH!") contractions in that bed.  I pushed twice through the third one, and my 5 lb 7 oz sweet, sweet Sam was on my belly. 

Are you all just loving the detail!?!

After an hour of the most painful recovery ever, another nurse wheeled us upstairs to a different room for the rest of the stay.  Unfortunately, our stay turned out to be longer than the usual.

After a short time in the room, the nurses took Sam for his first assessment.  They called our room and told us his glucose levels were low.  We had the option of taking him to the NICU then, or we could try to raise his levels with supplemental feeding.  I chose supplement feeding with some high calorie formula.  Although I am normally vehemently against formula, anything sounds better than the NICU, right?  

I took this picture around 4 AM, right after a feeding and just before we had a nap together. I had hardly seen him since midnight, and it was the first time I was able to sleep.  I was so thankful for that time with him-- especially when they took him away and told me they were taking him to the NICU at 6:30 AM on Sunday.  He had had three low readings in a row, (21, 37, and 24 when the lowest in newborns should be 45).

His glucose levels were low due to low stores of body fat, particularly brown fat.  Brown fat burns calories into heat, keeping him warm, but he had no energy left to keep up a good sugar level.  They said these 'sugar babies' are often very tired and lethargic.  His low levels surprised the nurse that did the first sugar reading upstairs because she thought he seemed normally active and alert.

So, they hooked him up to a 10% sugar-water IV drip at 8.2 mL/hour. They told us that they would wean him off slowly and when he could show he could remain at a level of at least 55 for 24 hours, he could go home.  It seemed to take forever.  

After the first day, they weaned by two mL/hour and his levels dropped so they raised it back to 8.2.  After several more good levels, and some low readings, he finally got to go home on Friday, when he was six days old.  He was also treated throughout his stay for jaundice.  

The hospital has some 'family support rooms' for NICU parents to stay in.  Unfortunately they have only two.  Once I was discharged upstairs on Monday, I held priority in the family room for only two nights.  Thursday night I stayed in a recliner in Sam's room and his very vocal 7 lb roommate.  I slept two hours.  The next night I went to sleep at Eric's parents' for six hours and felt well rested for discharge day!

They surprised us on Friday with a car seat test for Sam.  They tested his oxygen saturation while sitting up in a car seat.  He failed twice.  Both times he made it to 45 minutes before his oxygen level dropped.  So now he travels in a car bed that he lays flat in until his neck muscles become stronger.  The only problem I see is that he is already too long for it.  

Each day, the NICU closes between 6:30 and 7:30 AM and PM for shift change.  As I sat outside the doors one night, I decided I might as well take a picture of their favorite quote.  It can be found in each child's room on their message board.  

I am so thankful for our tiny, skinny little Sam.  I am thankful for his recovery and pray for his continued good health.  He is a beautiful, sweet tiny baby and we love him!