As most of you know, Maddie hasn't been gaining weight as we'd hoped. Two weeks ago she only gained 1.5 oz over a span of 7 days. Because of this slow gain, we had to start fortifying the breast milk with formula to up her caloric intake. She was to get 3 oz of fortified milk per day, which brought the milk up to 24 calories per oz from the normal 20 calories per oz.
After 7 days of fortified feedings, Maddie had another weight check yesterday. She gained EIGHT OUNCES!! A whole half a pound!!! She now weighs 4 lbs 5 oz. I cannot tell you how thrilled I was at her weight gain! We have another weight check on the 4th (her due date) to make sure she's still gaining and to hopefully give her the first Hep B shot because she'll finally weigh enough!
In other news, Maddie is starting to get her days and nights correct. She's been staying awake more often during the day doing tummy time and just hanging out. She's so alert a lot of the time...always looking around and taking everything in. And at night, she's actually been giving mommy and daddy some break! She's been skipping her 3 am feeding sometimes and letting us sleep right through to 5 or 6 am. That is MUCH appreciated!
Her new thing in gazing at me while feeding. I don't know if she actually can see me yet, but she spends a lot more time looking at my face than she ever used to.
That's all for now!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Pics of the Kiddos!
Here are a few pics of the kids from the last few days!
I have all of the Christmas pictures loaded on Facebook. Feel free to check them out when you get a chance!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
One Month Old
I still can't believe it, but Maddie is now a month old. We took a few pictures yesterday and here are some of them:
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Momma is Behind!
I'm so sorry that I've gotten so far behind on updating this blog. Maddie isn't a huge fan of sleeping so I try to catch some Z's when I can. And, now Trina is here too...so I have very little "down" time. Here are some pics from the family Christmas Party:
Maddie is one month old tomorrow! I can't believe it. I hope to be able to snap some pictures of her and I'll post those for everyone!
The Christmas Petting Zoo!
The kids all blowing kisses to their parents.
Trina got to be Rudolph!
Maddie is one month old tomorrow! I can't believe it. I hope to be able to snap some pictures of her and I'll post those for everyone!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Many Updates
This will be a long post, so brace yourselves!
Maddie and I made it to the 34 week goal that everyone had, and we made it by the skin of our teeth. As a matter of fact, my c-section was a bit delayed because my blood pressure was so high we had to take some meds and wait for them to kick in. Here I am the night before:
Madeleine Marie Ramsayer was born at 10:13 a.m. on November 23, 2011. She came out a whopping 3 pounds 8 ounces and 16.5 inches long. Here's her first picture:
The C-Section.
I don't think it's a secret that I didn't in any way want a c-section. My birth plan included giving birth med-free, laboring in a jacuzzi tub, and only giving in to the call of an epidural if it was absolutely necessary. I held on to the hope that something would go according to plan...even if Maddie insisted in making an early appearance, at least we could do an induction and life would be okay. Wrong. In the end, it was decided that a c-section was the safest route to take...so that's what we went with.
I was originally scheduled for a 9 a.m. section, but ended up going a bit later because of my blood pressure. The mostly prepped me in my room, and then we were taken into the OR where I received my spinal and had the catheter inserted. For what it's worth, the spinal didn't hurt at all. My OB was even sweet enough to kick the nurse out and hold my hand for it. The spinal started taking effect almost immediately and I was laid down on the table. 11 minutes after making the first incision, Maddie came screaming into this world. It turns out that a c-section would have been necessary anyway as Maddie had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck twice.
I'm not sure how long I held my breath, but I did. I held my breath until I heard her crying. The minute I heard her, I started to cry. A few seconds later, I was able to see her being cleaned up and looked over in the warmer:
I remember that it seemed like it took forever to get sewed up. I could feel a lot of pulling and pressure while they were working. Kind of like they were yanking down on a shower curtain, and that shower curtain was my ab muscles. Eventually, I was all put back together and wheeled into my room. Ryan went down with Maddie to the NICU and I hung out with the nurses while shaking uncontrollably. Ryan was in and out of my room a number of times to check on me and to take people to see Maddie.
Maddie's Birthday.
I missed her first bath, but Ryan took some shots:
And then, eventually, the moment I had been waiting for since the day I found out I was pregnant...I got to hold my sweet baby. After a number of hours, the nurses said that I was good to go down to the NICU to visit. After an incredibly slow and painful transfer to a wheelchair, we all made our way down to see Maddie. The nurses in the NICU had been adamant that momma always get the first "hold" so no one had been able to hold her all day.
I love this picture of her and her daddy. It's perfect.
We spent a lot of time in the NICU that night passing Maddie around and cuddling with her. Grandpa has consistently refused to hold her, insisting that he'll hold her "once she gets bigger." Grandma is already starting with the secrets:
Yes, Maddie, that's your Aunt Ashley ;)
Eventually, we let Maddie go to bed for the night.
Maddie's First Week.
At the end of the day, Maddie has done fantastic in her first week. She started at 4 ml per feeding and is up to 25 ml per feeding. She started with an IV to get her nutrients, but is eating so well now that they've removed it. She's doing a really great job regulating her body temp and is currently on the lowest temperature setting in her Giraffe. Her breathing has markedly improved over the last few days which means that she's been successful in working the amniotic fluid out of her lungs. She's still in the bili-blanket, but her bili levels have not been increasing which is very good news. And finally, we had our first breast feeding session yesterday. All in all, she's doing amazingly well. We're all so very proud of her and hope that she'll be able to come home sooner rather than later.
Here are a couple shots from our visit last night:
And yes, for all you Facebook nay-sayers...her hair is definitely blonde:
Maddie and I made it to the 34 week goal that everyone had, and we made it by the skin of our teeth. As a matter of fact, my c-section was a bit delayed because my blood pressure was so high we had to take some meds and wait for them to kick in. Here I am the night before:
Madeleine Marie Ramsayer was born at 10:13 a.m. on November 23, 2011. She came out a whopping 3 pounds 8 ounces and 16.5 inches long. Here's her first picture:
The C-Section.
I don't think it's a secret that I didn't in any way want a c-section. My birth plan included giving birth med-free, laboring in a jacuzzi tub, and only giving in to the call of an epidural if it was absolutely necessary. I held on to the hope that something would go according to plan...even if Maddie insisted in making an early appearance, at least we could do an induction and life would be okay. Wrong. In the end, it was decided that a c-section was the safest route to take...so that's what we went with.
I was originally scheduled for a 9 a.m. section, but ended up going a bit later because of my blood pressure. The mostly prepped me in my room, and then we were taken into the OR where I received my spinal and had the catheter inserted. For what it's worth, the spinal didn't hurt at all. My OB was even sweet enough to kick the nurse out and hold my hand for it. The spinal started taking effect almost immediately and I was laid down on the table. 11 minutes after making the first incision, Maddie came screaming into this world. It turns out that a c-section would have been necessary anyway as Maddie had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck twice.
I'm not sure how long I held my breath, but I did. I held my breath until I heard her crying. The minute I heard her, I started to cry. A few seconds later, I was able to see her being cleaned up and looked over in the warmer:
I remember that it seemed like it took forever to get sewed up. I could feel a lot of pulling and pressure while they were working. Kind of like they were yanking down on a shower curtain, and that shower curtain was my ab muscles. Eventually, I was all put back together and wheeled into my room. Ryan went down with Maddie to the NICU and I hung out with the nurses while shaking uncontrollably. Ryan was in and out of my room a number of times to check on me and to take people to see Maddie.
Maddie's Birthday.
I missed her first bath, but Ryan took some shots:
And then, eventually, the moment I had been waiting for since the day I found out I was pregnant...I got to hold my sweet baby. After a number of hours, the nurses said that I was good to go down to the NICU to visit. After an incredibly slow and painful transfer to a wheelchair, we all made our way down to see Maddie. The nurses in the NICU had been adamant that momma always get the first "hold" so no one had been able to hold her all day.
Eventually, we let Maddie go to bed for the night.
Maddie's First Week.
At the end of the day, Maddie has done fantastic in her first week. She started at 4 ml per feeding and is up to 25 ml per feeding. She started with an IV to get her nutrients, but is eating so well now that they've removed it. She's doing a really great job regulating her body temp and is currently on the lowest temperature setting in her Giraffe. Her breathing has markedly improved over the last few days which means that she's been successful in working the amniotic fluid out of her lungs. She's still in the bili-blanket, but her bili levels have not been increasing which is very good news. And finally, we had our first breast feeding session yesterday. All in all, she's doing amazingly well. We're all so very proud of her and hope that she'll be able to come home sooner rather than later.
Here are a couple shots from our visit last night:
Monday, November 14, 2011
Yo MTV Cribz
I thought I'd post a couple pics of where I've been living for the last week.
Pardon my mess bed :) but here's a shot of my bed, and one of the TV and bassinet.
There's a rocker/recliner that Ryan has claimed as well as a couch that turns to a bed. At this hospital, your room is for everything and you aren't transferred anywhere after the birth. So, there this area for the baby on the side.
I also have my own bathroom with Jacuzzi tub. I haven't used the Jacuzzi yet because my BP is too crazy to be up and about that long, especially in the heat.
Updates: We met with Dr. Murphy and Dr. Campbell today. We also had another ultrasound. In the end, Dr. Murphy decided that my BP meds needed to be increased because my pressures were getting out of control. They also took a bunch more blood. Later, Dr. Campbell said that Dr. Murphy is adamant about a 34 week delivery, but she wants to discuss waiting until 35 weeks with all her partners. Basically, 35 weeks would mean no NICU stay for Maddie. So, we'll see what everyone says.
In other news, some of my favorite people in the whole wide world sent me a giant Squishable platypus. I named him Hank in honor of Mr. Henry Ford. How cute is he???
I also had the CEO of the hospital stop by to see me this afternoon. I was totally taken aback. He said he was told I've been here a while and wanted to know how my stay had been. He asked about my nurses and doctors, as well as the food and housekeeping. He then wanted to know if there was anything he could do to make my stay better. It was crazy!!! Do hospital CEOs usually do that?!?
Saturday, November 12, 2011
NICU
Ryan and I got to take a tour of the NICU in anticipation of Maddie's stay. I have to say, it's quite nice. All of the rooms have pull out couches to sleep over if you'd like. The nurses we met were really nice.
We went over some of the things to expect. Whether they need it or not, all babies are hooked up to a central monitoring system so the nurses can see what's going on with them at all times from anywhere. Maddie will be hooked up to an IV as all preemies receive antibiotics initially. She'll be evaluated for whether she needs oxygen or a vent, but apparently at 34 weeks with the betamethasone shots most babies do not. She'll have her blood sugar evaluated until she passes 5 tests in a row. And finally, they will evaluate her ability to maintain her body temp. We are anticipating her weighing around 3.5 lbs at birth and they like babies to be about 4 before they leave. The NICU nurse said that if all thing go well, Maddie would likely only stay about a week. Depending on all of the above will depend on feeding. She might have to go straight into The Giraffe (her bed) and if that's the case we'll start me pumping right away.
All in all, I am glad we are at this hospital. Everyone has been wonderful and I've been impressed with their standard of care.
In fun news, Ryan snuck me Panera for dinner...including an M&M cookie. I was totally prepared for my sugar to be out of control and to get lectured by the nurse. Nope!!! My sugar was perfect!!! Now I want a cookie after every meal :)
We went over some of the things to expect. Whether they need it or not, all babies are hooked up to a central monitoring system so the nurses can see what's going on with them at all times from anywhere. Maddie will be hooked up to an IV as all preemies receive antibiotics initially. She'll be evaluated for whether she needs oxygen or a vent, but apparently at 34 weeks with the betamethasone shots most babies do not. She'll have her blood sugar evaluated until she passes 5 tests in a row. And finally, they will evaluate her ability to maintain her body temp. We are anticipating her weighing around 3.5 lbs at birth and they like babies to be about 4 before they leave. The NICU nurse said that if all thing go well, Maddie would likely only stay about a week. Depending on all of the above will depend on feeding. She might have to go straight into The Giraffe (her bed) and if that's the case we'll start me pumping right away.
All in all, I am glad we are at this hospital. Everyone has been wonderful and I've been impressed with their standard of care.
In fun news, Ryan snuck me Panera for dinner...including an M&M cookie. I was totally prepared for my sugar to be out of control and to get lectured by the nurse. Nope!!! My sugar was perfect!!! Now I want a cookie after every meal :)
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