Three Weeks

I can't believe tomorrow will be three weeks already. It is going by so fast. I am already dreading going back to work on April 2nd.

I am getting better at making myself sleep when she sleeps, but I really just want to sit and hold her while she sleeps. I always wonder what she is dreaming about, she makes the cutest faces!

I can see her growing already. She is almost fitting into most of her preemie outfits now. I know that is a good thing, but I do wish she could stay small and cuddly forever. There is a new country song out by Darius Rucker - It Won't Be Like This For Long. Makes me cry because I know how fast the time is already going.

We are still on the every 2 hour feeding schedule, until she reaches her due date (Feb 2). It is exhausting. She is getting much better at nursing, which is great for me. The nursing, pumping, bottle feeding is getting old real quick!

Once she reaches her due date the doctor said we can start taking her out more. Because of her weight and being 4 weeks early, we have restricted where we take her. And I am anal retentive about who touches her and making sure they wash their hands.

We have taken her with us to church every week. We go to the early service now because there are less people, and we sit in the "baby room" off to the side. The clergy are great about coming in to see us and giving Melia a special blessing each week. We really count our blessings every day for her. Many of you followed our stress in this blog from the time I started bed rest. Although I gave the facts, I really neglected to talk about how bad things could have been. At 32 weeks, the doctor told us that "fetal demise" was a possibility we had to consider. Medically they couldn't do anything, just "go home and rest". At that point we put everything in God's hands. With lots of prayers (many from all of you), we were blessed with an healthy baby girl. We are still amazed that she didn't go to NICU and got to come home with us. She truly is a miracle.

Week 2 Check Up

Took Melia to her 2 week check up this morning. She is 5lb 2oz now! Of course, the preemie clothes (up to 5lbs) are still huge on her! The doctor said she looks great. He got the report about her echo and said we will just keep an eye on things. She is eating well, but still struggling with nursing. On our way now to the lactation consultant. I was hoping with the weight gain we could get away from the every 2 hour feedings. Ped says to keep with that schedule at least until she is a month old. It is exhausting.

I can't believe how fast time is going by. Chris thinks I am going to spoil her, but I can't not hold her. She sleeps so calm when I am holding her, plus she smells so good! I don't know how I am ever going to adjust back at work. Thankfully, I have had some help with people coming over to do housework. It lets me relax and spend time cuddling with Melia.

Week 1

I can't believe it has been a week already. People were telling me for months how life was going to change, and I knew it would. I knew it would impact social outings, work, errands, etc.. What I didn't know is how much being a mom would change me emotionally.

I am sure every new mom goes through these feelings. Not sleeping because you are watching every breath your baby takes. Constantly thinking about the what if's and the future. I can't wait for her to get big so we can do all kinds of fun things, but at the same time, I want to be able to cuddle her this small the rest of her life.

The exhaustion is setting it, but we are adjusting. As a preemie, Melia's weight gain is a huge concern for the doctors. So we have to wake her every 2 hours to eat. She is doing good with breastfeeding, but we are having some challenges. Because of her size, the hospital had me start pumping and bottle feeding so we could measure how much she was getting. While in order to keep my milk supply up while she is learning to breast feed, I have to pump every time she eats also. She is a slow eater. So between waking her up, changing her diaper, getting her on the breast, offering the bottle and then pumping, at least an hour goes by. The 2 hour intervals are based on when she starts eating. So if she starts the process at 2P, we finish the process at 315P, she eats again at 4P. Needless to say, there is not much time for anything else. If her weight goes up enough by next weeks Ped appt, hopefully we can move to the "feed her when she wakes from 11P to 7A" that the lactation specialist told us about.

First Pediatrician Appointment

We went to the pediatrician this morning. We had a list of questions, as any new parents would. He was wonderful. He also has experience with preemies from working at All Childrens, which was very reassuring.

My biggest concern was her weight gain. And again, my little fighter did it! She has regained her birth weight and is back to 4lbs 10oz.

He said she looks great for being 4 weeks early. He is requesting copies of tests from my ob and the high risk ob, just for follow up. We are going to have an ultrasound of her heart just to check on the echogenic cardiac focus and make sure there are no heart problems. He started her on poly vi sol supplement drops since she is breastfed.

We go back next Monday for her 2 week check up. Tomorrow my baby is 1 week old! How fast it goes is so true now!

Homecoming!

Melia and I were released from the hospital Friday, January 9th at 8pm. At just 72 hours old, I was so thankful my preemie was able to come home with us. We have special orders from the doctor and will see our pediatrician on Monday.

She looked so tiny in her car seat. Because of her size the had to do a 90 minute car seat study to monitor her in the hospital before we could go home. Many preemies have underdeveloped lungs and the position of a car seat causes them to stop breathing. The make a car bed for those issues. Luckily she passed and is good to go!

We came home to a beautifully decorated house from Grandma Webb. Aunt Lisa, Faith and Hailee cleaned the house for us and went grocery shopping. That was the best gift of all!

Molly came out to the car to meet Melia. She sniffed her and licked her foot. She loves her already! We put her in the bassinet to sleep. When she cried, Molly put her paws up on the bassinet and stuck her face in to see what all the fuss was about. Glad to see Molly is being so good with her new little sister!

Melia's Arrival

We went in Tuesday as a follow up with the high risk ob. He said he didn't like what he was seeing in the tests, so to schedule with him again on Friday. But first, he wanted to hook me up to the NST.

Because there was another patient getting an NST, Chris couldn't go back with me. I started on the NST and the doctor checked in on me a few times. After about 15 minutes he went out to the lobby and brought Chris back. The the doctor said based on what he was seeing, the baby had to be delivered and I had to have a C-Section. He had already called my regular doctor and told them to expect us.

We left his office in Tampa (near USF) and made the drive to Morton Plan in Clearwater. It was 345PM, but we managed to make it to Morton Plant in just 45 minutes.

We came in and they had already prepped the room for me. The nurse hooked me up to the monitor and started preparing everything, drawing blood for labs, etc... When she gave Chris the scrubs for the OR, I thought he looked a little pale. We talked to the anesthesia team and they said they could do a spinal numbing agent and wouldn't have to knock me out! (orginally that was a concern because of my lidocaine allergy).

They prepped me and brought me to OR. Chris had to wait until the spinal was in and I was prepped to come in. When they brought him in they had already made the first incision. He was wonderful during the whole thing. Very reassuring, holding my hand and keeping me calm. Surprisingly, I wasn't that nervous, I just wanted the baby to be ok.

The entire section only took about a half hour. Melia was delivered at 6:27PM. The first cry was the most amazing sound I have ever heard in my life. I still tear up thinking about that moment.

Melia weighed 2085 grams (4lb 10oz) at birth). 2000 grams or less would have put her in the NICU. Our girl is a fighter and was able to room with mommy and daddy!

It's A Girl!

Nine months seems so far away to wait for a miracle to come our way. Our new baby girl must have felt this way too, because she arrived earlier than she was due!

Announcing with love,

Melia Kaitlynn

Tuesday, January 6, 2009
6:27PM
4 lbs 10 oz
18.25 inches

Our baby girl arrived 4 weeks early. We are happy to report that she has not needed the NICU and has been rooming with Mommy and Daddy. So far she is doing great. Pediatrician was really impressed during her exam.

Because of her weight, they check her blood sugar before every feeding. The are looking for her to be above 50. She has been in the 60's and last reading was 80!

She sleeps alot, which is nice for Mommy. Except I dont get any rest, I just stare at our amazing miracle and thank God for bring her into our lives.

36 Weeks - 1 Day

We made it to 36 weeks - yeah! Today we had an appointment with the perinatologist for a biophysical profile. The BPP score should be 10/10. For my past few appointments, it has been, with the exception of last weeks 8/10 when I got sent to the hospital for monitoring. Today the cord flow looked much better. There was some concern about tones and movement, so they hooked me up to the Non Stress Test. The NST turned out well, but I still scored a 6/10. So the doctor wants me back tomorrow for another biophysical.

I really don't mind the testing and monitoring. I know it is in the babies best interest. I just wish there was something I could do to make everything better - besides sitting on my butt watching it get bigger!

Until tomorrow...

Happy New Year!

Yesterday (New Years Eve) was our 35 week appointment at the OB. I went in as normal and had my sonogram with biophysical and cord doppler. Amniotic fluid and everything looked great. They still hadn't received the report from the high risk ob, so they had me start my NST test while they waited for the fax.

Everytime they hook me up to the machine, it takes a while to find the babys heart beat. They can always get it on the doppler, but the NST machine is a little "touchy". The nurse said the baby is positioned closer to my back, which is what makes it hard to pick up. Anyway, I got strapped in and reclined for my normal 20 minutes on the machine. The doctor came in to check the print out and noticed the babys heart beat sounded "different". The heart rate was actually dropping below the normal range. So instead of unhooking me and continuing with my appointment, they unhooked me and sent me to Morton Plant Hospital for monitoring.

She told me not to eat or drink on the way to the hospital (it is only a block and half from my doctors office). I didn't think anything of the comment because it was only 10:30AM. Once I got to the hospital and hooked up on their machine, the nurse said they didn't want me to eat or drink anything in case they had to do a c-section. So I freaked out a little.

After 3 long hours on the monitor (at least the bed was comfy and I could nap!) my doctor came in and told us we could go home for an exciting New Years Eve on bed rest. Chris was hoping for the 2008 tax deduction, or the first baby of 2009, but he didn't get either. I guess he will just have to wait a little longer! Next appointment with the high risk OB is on Monday. I am starting to have appointments every 3 days now, so there will be plenty of Baby Webb updates in the days to come!!!