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| I lost 47 pounds...didn't really have a baby belly! |
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| Getting ready for surgery. |
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| Below: 4 months!!! :) |
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
NICU Pictures
I apologize...apparently I can not "rotate" my pictures, so some are sideways. Eek! :)
Casey's Story
A lot of people have been asking about Casey and how's he's doing and exactly what caused him to be a preemie. Well, I have decided to write it down in one spot to avoid having to write it multiple times. If you're interested read on, if not, that's cool too! :)
Last year, about this time I found out I was pregnant! YAYYY! We thought we couldn't get pregnant due to PCOS, so we were surprised to say the least but over the moon. My pregnancy was full of the normal pregnancy symptoms at first, but then I developed Hyperemesis Gravidarum and proceeded to puke every single day, more than once through the remainder of my pregnancy. Also, a couple months into my pregnancy, my hips decided it was time to turn out and caused my hips to pop in and out of joint. With the combination of these symptoms and the regular ones I was taken off of work and put on scheduled rest.
That summer we found out we were having a lovely little boy, we also found out my blood pressure was creepin' up. One one of the routine ultrasounds they noticed Casey wasn't growing as well as he should and he was only in the 23rd percentile. Not a big deal, they said, just something to watch. We have additional ultrasounds coming up anyway due to lack of heart views, so we weren't too worried. Our next ultrasound showed Casey coming in at the 14th percentile, the next one the 9th...and then they started to worry. For some reason Casey had developed IUGR . The doctors aren't sure of the cause, but they mentioned that he would have to be monitored carefully.
The months ticked away and I was on and off bed rest, and Casey was slipping in the ranks. By the end of September he had gone down to the 3rd percentile. Not good news. He had also stopped moving in the womb, so I was at the doctor everyday being monitored and issued a Non-stress Test. He was hanging in there, but when we came in for our appointment on October 1st we knew something wasn't right when the doctor gave us steroids to take for Casey's lung development and got on the phone with Mayo Clinic. I was put on strict bed rest for the weekend and was asked to come back on Monday.
October 4th we reported for our appointment, only to be met with a flurry of nurses and doctors, but my doctor was still on the phone with Mayo Clinic finalizing a Medic Flight for me to their hospital. I was scared, but somehow they talked Mayo in to letting me stay in my city and stay in our local hospital. I was admitted by the end of the morning and would remain there until Casey was born. He wasn't due until November 25th, so I was in shock about spending 2 months in the hospital but the doctor informed be we would be lucky to be able to keep Casey in for a week.
Well let's just say he lasted more than a week! I was hanging out, bored to death on hospital bed rest but I knew it was worth it to save Casey. I had lots of family and friends coming to visit, making sure I wasn't losing my mind and I made some friends with the nurses. I even started charting my own paperwork at one point. Casey was passing his tests and I was catching up on Project Runway one day at a time.
On October 25th we had our bi-weekly biophysical profile when the ultrasound tech looked a little alarmed. I had learned not to panic but between the look on her face and the lack of amniotic fluid I was already nervous. They asked me to turn on my side and drink juice. They started using the buzzer and jiggling my belly...nope, Casey was not going to move. His heartbeat was strong, but after a half hour he had yet to move which meant he failed his test. Before I knew it nurses were coming in, asking me to call my husband and surgery had been scheduled.
I was 34 weeks and 4 days...Casey was going to be born exactly a month early. I was prepared to do this, the kind nurses had already taken me in a tour of the Special Care Nursery where he would need to be taken for assessment. I was scared but J let me know everything was going to be ok and the entire staff was reassuring. While I had planned on a "natural birth" we knew that couldn't happen, Casey was too small to go through the stresses of induction and labor and also the little stinker was breach! At 6pm I was wheeled into surgery and at 6:36pm Casey was born! 4lb8ox and 18.5"!
He made it though the surgery ok, but took a little while to "pink up" and his oxygen levels were a bit low. He was taken straight to the NICU and my husband went with him while they delivered my placenta and stitched me up. In recovery they wanted to give me morphine but I insisted on seeing my baby first, so once I was stable the wheeled my entire bed into the tiny little nursery and I got to touch Casey for the first time :) We were not able to hold him yet, but it was nice to know he was doing ok.
They had an oxygen dome on him for a day, but after that he didn't really need it. On day 2 we were able to hold him for the first time. I was so nervous, there were so many wires and monitors but nothing could've stopped us. We were already so in love. The had mentioned that he wasn't able to take food yet, so they would have to insert a feeding tube. I was terrified but knew he needed it, and it really wasn't that bad.
We spent the next 18 days in the NICU. Casey was doing good, except the occasional Brady, he was in and out of his incubator. He had to learn to eat on his own, gain weight and be able to maintain his body temp. He was such a trooper and before we knew it we were heading home!
4 months later Casey weighed in at a hefty 14lb12oz and 25 inches and is hitting all of his milestones. He's such a happy baby and loves to smile and roll around. It's only a matter of time before he takes over the world! Yay Casey!
I will make a post of NICU pictures, which aren't on my facebook. I wasn't sure people wanted to see a baby all wired up with a feeding tube, but we think he's a beautiful little fighter. :)
Last year, about this time I found out I was pregnant! YAYYY! We thought we couldn't get pregnant due to PCOS, so we were surprised to say the least but over the moon. My pregnancy was full of the normal pregnancy symptoms at first, but then I developed Hyperemesis Gravidarum and proceeded to puke every single day, more than once through the remainder of my pregnancy. Also, a couple months into my pregnancy, my hips decided it was time to turn out and caused my hips to pop in and out of joint. With the combination of these symptoms and the regular ones I was taken off of work and put on scheduled rest.
That summer we found out we were having a lovely little boy, we also found out my blood pressure was creepin' up. One one of the routine ultrasounds they noticed Casey wasn't growing as well as he should and he was only in the 23rd percentile. Not a big deal, they said, just something to watch. We have additional ultrasounds coming up anyway due to lack of heart views, so we weren't too worried. Our next ultrasound showed Casey coming in at the 14th percentile, the next one the 9th...and then they started to worry. For some reason Casey had developed IUGR . The doctors aren't sure of the cause, but they mentioned that he would have to be monitored carefully.
The months ticked away and I was on and off bed rest, and Casey was slipping in the ranks. By the end of September he had gone down to the 3rd percentile. Not good news. He had also stopped moving in the womb, so I was at the doctor everyday being monitored and issued a Non-stress Test. He was hanging in there, but when we came in for our appointment on October 1st we knew something wasn't right when the doctor gave us steroids to take for Casey's lung development and got on the phone with Mayo Clinic. I was put on strict bed rest for the weekend and was asked to come back on Monday.
October 4th we reported for our appointment, only to be met with a flurry of nurses and doctors, but my doctor was still on the phone with Mayo Clinic finalizing a Medic Flight for me to their hospital. I was scared, but somehow they talked Mayo in to letting me stay in my city and stay in our local hospital. I was admitted by the end of the morning and would remain there until Casey was born. He wasn't due until November 25th, so I was in shock about spending 2 months in the hospital but the doctor informed be we would be lucky to be able to keep Casey in for a week.
Well let's just say he lasted more than a week! I was hanging out, bored to death on hospital bed rest but I knew it was worth it to save Casey. I had lots of family and friends coming to visit, making sure I wasn't losing my mind and I made some friends with the nurses. I even started charting my own paperwork at one point. Casey was passing his tests and I was catching up on Project Runway one day at a time.
On October 25th we had our bi-weekly biophysical profile when the ultrasound tech looked a little alarmed. I had learned not to panic but between the look on her face and the lack of amniotic fluid I was already nervous. They asked me to turn on my side and drink juice. They started using the buzzer and jiggling my belly...nope, Casey was not going to move. His heartbeat was strong, but after a half hour he had yet to move which meant he failed his test. Before I knew it nurses were coming in, asking me to call my husband and surgery had been scheduled.
I was 34 weeks and 4 days...Casey was going to be born exactly a month early. I was prepared to do this, the kind nurses had already taken me in a tour of the Special Care Nursery where he would need to be taken for assessment. I was scared but J let me know everything was going to be ok and the entire staff was reassuring. While I had planned on a "natural birth" we knew that couldn't happen, Casey was too small to go through the stresses of induction and labor and also the little stinker was breach! At 6pm I was wheeled into surgery and at 6:36pm Casey was born! 4lb8ox and 18.5"!
He made it though the surgery ok, but took a little while to "pink up" and his oxygen levels were a bit low. He was taken straight to the NICU and my husband went with him while they delivered my placenta and stitched me up. In recovery they wanted to give me morphine but I insisted on seeing my baby first, so once I was stable the wheeled my entire bed into the tiny little nursery and I got to touch Casey for the first time :) We were not able to hold him yet, but it was nice to know he was doing ok.
They had an oxygen dome on him for a day, but after that he didn't really need it. On day 2 we were able to hold him for the first time. I was so nervous, there were so many wires and monitors but nothing could've stopped us. We were already so in love. The had mentioned that he wasn't able to take food yet, so they would have to insert a feeding tube. I was terrified but knew he needed it, and it really wasn't that bad.
We spent the next 18 days in the NICU. Casey was doing good, except the occasional Brady, he was in and out of his incubator. He had to learn to eat on his own, gain weight and be able to maintain his body temp. He was such a trooper and before we knew it we were heading home!
4 months later Casey weighed in at a hefty 14lb12oz and 25 inches and is hitting all of his milestones. He's such a happy baby and loves to smile and roll around. It's only a matter of time before he takes over the world! Yay Casey!
I will make a post of NICU pictures, which aren't on my facebook. I wasn't sure people wanted to see a baby all wired up with a feeding tube, but we think he's a beautiful little fighter. :)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Fear the fuzzy...
This was posted on a board I am part of, and I just wanted to share because it made me smile...and we all deserve to smile!
Monday, March 14, 2011
New to this...
I would address this as "Hi Everyone" but no one reads this! :) I am new to blogging and really just plan to use this as a tool to express myself and maybe someone will care. I just need a new outlet and using my Facebook Status just isn't cutting it. I was always the girl who loved writing essays, so I am just going to think my my day-to-day life as one big question to be answered.
A little about myself...I am a lady in her late 20's who is married to the love of my life. Seriously. I couldn't ask for a better man. We met in 2008 and by August of 2009 we were married. <3 We just welcomed our first child, a little boy, this past fall. The pregnancy and birth were a bit of a roller coaster but he is here, healthy and thriving; we couldn't be more thrilled. We live in a little city in Wisconsin where he works and I work and attend school. It's a busy but wonderful life.
I tend to want to say a lot of things to people, but can't find the right words at the right time...or what I want to say isn't, ummmm, so nice or the popular opinion. Anyway, here I will lay it all out and you're welcome to join me in the adventure that is my life...
A little about myself...I am a lady in her late 20's who is married to the love of my life. Seriously. I couldn't ask for a better man. We met in 2008 and by August of 2009 we were married. <3 We just welcomed our first child, a little boy, this past fall. The pregnancy and birth were a bit of a roller coaster but he is here, healthy and thriving; we couldn't be more thrilled. We live in a little city in Wisconsin where he works and I work and attend school. It's a busy but wonderful life.
I tend to want to say a lot of things to people, but can't find the right words at the right time...or what I want to say isn't, ummmm, so nice or the popular opinion. Anyway, here I will lay it all out and you're welcome to join me in the adventure that is my life...
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