This weekend wasn't too eventful in terms of Adi updates...we went on with our routine of eating, sleeping and diapers. Last night, she pretty much stuck to her 3 hour feeding schedule - but it seems she's been hungrier than she has been. We've given her the same amount in her bottle since we left the Hospital, but over the past couple of days, she's been wanting more than that - which is great - our motto is the more the merrier if she's still hungry! It's been exciting that she's wanted to eat more and we're glad to give it to her.
Other than that, yesterday was pretty uneventful and restful for Dan and I - we took a few naps in between feedings and watched a movie last night.
Today, I ventured out of the house on my own - first time driving myself or going anywhere alone for the past 2 weeks. I definitely felt like someone was going to pull me over the whole time I was driving - as if I were breaking the rules. Turns out, I wasn't actually breaking any rules - just felt weird since I haven't done it in so long! In the short time I was out of the house, I accomplished quite a bit - picked up more diapers, bought stamps, mailed announcements, got some groceries, and the real reason I was out...went to my friend Tiff's bridal shower! It was nice to be out, but I definitely still missed my little girl and kept wondering if she was awake or if she was smiling or crying. People kept telling me that as soon as that little girl was born, our whole world would change - I guess I hadn't realized just how much it would affect me. Dan and I continue to randomly say to each other, "I just can't believe how much I love her"! We feel SO blessed to have this little girl here - to change our world - and grow our hearts to love even more than we had before!
Pretty great Sunday...
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
first bath...
We got to bring our little girl home one week ago today - we were walking in the front door at about this time, actually. I know it seems like I've said this a lot, but it's still pretty surreal to me that we're home, with our little girl - still days before she was even 'due' to enter this world!
Today, Dan took the day off of work and we gave Adilyn her first bath at home. She had a couple while in the hospital, but today she was at the mercy of her rookie parents. She did a great job and only cried a little - I think due to feeling cold and wet (can't say I blame her).
Since we were both hands on during the actual bath, we didn't get any pictures in the tub - maybe we'll be able to capture those when she enjoys the experience a bit more. For now, our goal was to get in and get out as fast as we could!
Here's the little tub the hospital gave us to use.
And here's one of her trying to warm up and get dry.
That was our big event for the day!
Today, Dan took the day off of work and we gave Adilyn her first bath at home. She had a couple while in the hospital, but today she was at the mercy of her rookie parents. She did a great job and only cried a little - I think due to feeling cold and wet (can't say I blame her).
Since we were both hands on during the actual bath, we didn't get any pictures in the tub - maybe we'll be able to capture those when she enjoys the experience a bit more. For now, our goal was to get in and get out as fast as we could!
Here's the little tub the hospital gave us to use.
That was our big event for the day!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
2 weeks + 1 day
It's funny to think that Adilyn isn't even supposed to be here with us yet - not until next Wednesday! BUT, she had different plans and is already 2 weeks old as of yesterday! So hard to believe it's already been 14 days.
Dan took the day off of work today - and it's been nice to lounge together with Adilyn. She didn't nap as well as she has been today, but I kind of liked taking advantage of her being awake and cuddling with her on the couch.
Not much else to report, pretty uneventful day. This is how Daddy spends time bonding with her (well not all of the time, just had to capture it once).
Dan took the day off of work today - and it's been nice to lounge together with Adilyn. She didn't nap as well as she has been today, but I kind of liked taking advantage of her being awake and cuddling with her on the couch.
Not much else to report, pretty uneventful day. This is how Daddy spends time bonding with her (well not all of the time, just had to capture it once).
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
brag book
Pretty uneventful Wednesday so far. My mom graciously drove to our house this morning to bring me to the Dr. for my C-section follow up appointment. Everything is looking good and my blood pressure is finally back to a normal level! Kind of freeing knowing that I am 'allowed' to drive now - even though little Adilyn is pretty limited on where she should go still.
Now that I'm a proud Mommy - might as well share a "few" more photos of our little one.
Now that I'm a proud Mommy - might as well share a "few" more photos of our little one.
Cade still isn't sure what to think of her...though he's definitely intrigued by the noises that come out of her little body!
She loves her Paci!
you can see the band-aids on her heels from her test yesterday :(
showing off her full head of hair
ok - that's all for now. more to come - since taking pictures of her is my new obsession!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
1st trip...
I woke up feeling pretty rested and refreshed this morning (well this was the 3rd time I woke up "this morning" technically) - but I'm just counting the time I wake up at a reasonable hour, when the rest of the world is awake. I'm so thankful for the few hours of sleep I'm able to get in between feedings.
Today was Adilyn's first Dr. appointment - her newborn follow-up. This was our first family trip out of the house since we got home from the Hospital. It felt kind of nice to get out of the house together - and the weather cooperated with a high of 14 degrees -- heat wave!
Here she is in her car seat.
The Dr. said she looks great and we found out she's even put on 4 ounces since we've been home from the Hospital! She's now a whopping 4 lbs 4 oz! She also grew an inch since she was born - up to 18" long. She did great at the doctor's office and was cool as a cucumber while the Dr. checked her out.
We then had to run to North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale so Adi could get her metabolic test done again - poor little girl had to get pricked in BOTH heels because the first girl didn't get enough blood on the test paper for it to work. It was really hard for me to listen to our little girl screaming while she got pricked and had blood squeezed out of her little heel. I had to look away while they poked her - and am thankful that Dan was there to comfort her since I was having a hard time watching her so upset. Thankfully, the second person that came in to do the test was much quicker and seemed more experienced. I guess my maternal instinct is in full force, because I was very upset that they didn't get it right the first time and my little girl had to suffer another poke! Fortunately, she recovered and just has a couple of band-aids on her heels.
Quite the event filled day for little Adilyn and Mom - who have both been holed up at home for the past 4 days. It's been so fun having visitors and we definitely welcome more! I know there are many people anxious to meet Adilyn - and she's excited to meet you!
Today was Adilyn's first Dr. appointment - her newborn follow-up. This was our first family trip out of the house since we got home from the Hospital. It felt kind of nice to get out of the house together - and the weather cooperated with a high of 14 degrees -- heat wave!
Here she is in her car seat.
The Dr. said she looks great and we found out she's even put on 4 ounces since we've been home from the Hospital! She's now a whopping 4 lbs 4 oz! She also grew an inch since she was born - up to 18" long. She did great at the doctor's office and was cool as a cucumber while the Dr. checked her out.
We then had to run to North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale so Adi could get her metabolic test done again - poor little girl had to get pricked in BOTH heels because the first girl didn't get enough blood on the test paper for it to work. It was really hard for me to listen to our little girl screaming while she got pricked and had blood squeezed out of her little heel. I had to look away while they poked her - and am thankful that Dan was there to comfort her since I was having a hard time watching her so upset. Thankfully, the second person that came in to do the test was much quicker and seemed more experienced. I guess my maternal instinct is in full force, because I was very upset that they didn't get it right the first time and my little girl had to suffer another poke! Fortunately, she recovered and just has a couple of band-aids on her heels.
Quite the event filled day for little Adilyn and Mom - who have both been holed up at home for the past 4 days. It's been so fun having visitors and we definitely welcome more! I know there are many people anxious to meet Adilyn - and she's excited to meet you!
Monday, January 24, 2011
rest...
rest: relief or freedom, esp. from anything that wearies, troubles, or disturbs
I'm so thankful for the constant reminders I've been given to rest...to take advantage of naps when I can and to just rest in the Lord. It's been pretty incredible to see how this has all worked out - and we are still just so thankful to have our little girl home. Today I did a much better job of resting - of finding relief...even in an hour nap. It felt pretty great to have a few extra hours of sleep - even if it was broken up by Adilyn crying out for food!
It's amazing to me how fast the days go when they're broken up by 4 hour feeding increments. Today Adilyn's schedule was a little bit off from the norm, but I felt much more refreshed to flex with her to accommodate.
In the meantime, my new obsession is to have a daily photo shoot with Adilyn. Poor girl - has to play my little model for about 15 minutes each day. She's just so darn cute and I know that I'll look back soon enough and find it hard to believe how little she is! SO - why not capture it with some pictures. :)
Here's a little sneak peek from today:
I know I'm a little biased - but how cute is she?! :)
I'm so thankful for the constant reminders I've been given to rest...to take advantage of naps when I can and to just rest in the Lord. It's been pretty incredible to see how this has all worked out - and we are still just so thankful to have our little girl home. Today I did a much better job of resting - of finding relief...even in an hour nap. It felt pretty great to have a few extra hours of sleep - even if it was broken up by Adilyn crying out for food!
It's amazing to me how fast the days go when they're broken up by 4 hour feeding increments. Today Adilyn's schedule was a little bit off from the norm, but I felt much more refreshed to flex with her to accommodate.
In the meantime, my new obsession is to have a daily photo shoot with Adilyn. Poor girl - has to play my little model for about 15 minutes each day. She's just so darn cute and I know that I'll look back soon enough and find it hard to believe how little she is! SO - why not capture it with some pictures. :)
Here's a little sneak peek from today:
I know I'm a little biased - but how cute is she?! :)
Sunday, January 23, 2011
special little moments...
Last night was a little different than our first night home - I'm not sure if I'm missing the adrenaline of finally getting her home or if the sleeplessness just caught up to me a little...but it was a lot harder for me to get up for the late night feedings last night. Fortunately, Adilyn had a good 3.5 hour stretch of sleep from 5:30am to 9am. Even those few hours at a time are precious and I'm learning that I definitely need to take everyone's advice and "sleep when the Baby sleeps...". I now know how important that is and will be adjusting my schedule a bit to get less done around the house and spend more time napping when I can!
I have to admit that there is something very intimate and sweet about being able to get up and provide our daughter with the nourishment she needs - even if it is in the middle of the night. There's definitely a sweetness about getting up in the dark and cuddling up with Adilyn on the couch while she eats and just sitting in the quiet with her.
I have to admit that there is something very intimate and sweet about being able to get up and provide our daughter with the nourishment she needs - even if it is in the middle of the night. There's definitely a sweetness about getting up in the dark and cuddling up with Adilyn on the couch while she eats and just sitting in the quiet with her.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
welcome home Powers family, welcome home...
just a quick update - then back to enjoying our little peanut AT HOME! :)
Yesterday morning, we received a great report from the nurses; that Adilyn had gone another night without any breathing spells (48 hours spell free)! They let us know that they needed to hear back from her 12 hour monitoring to make sure there wasn't anything irregular, but we could pretty much plan on going home! I think I was in shock when the nurse asked me if I felt comfortable taking her home that day or if I wanted to stay another night with Adi in our room in case anything came up - because I had been trying not to plan for the day we'd go home, but rather take it one day at a time. Our nurse for the bulk of the day was amazing - she let me know that she was anxiously awaiting the phone call from the test and eventually ended up calling them to see what the status was once 2:00pm passed. She said they almost always got a call back by that time - and fortunately, her call spurred on some action - as the guy that picked up the test apparently hadn't gotten it back to the center to be analyzed yet. Dan left work early and went home to do some last minute preparation at home - some dishes, light cleaning (since he'd been the only one here for the last 10 days), picked up some groceries and made a trip to get some preemie diapers. Once he got to the hospital, we just hung out in the Nursery with Adi - waiting for the call. It finally came at about 4:30pm - saying the test came back 'normal' and we were free to take Adilyn home with us! It was a pretty incredible feeling as we packed up the rest of our stuff and walked our little girl down to the exit, put her in the car and drove away at 5:40pm! I am so thankful for the experience we had over the past 10 days - even though they were some of the most difficult of my life. We have learned so much - from the nurses, from each other, from our friends and family and from the Lord - that He is in control and LOVES us.
Here's the little peanut in her car seat - she's so tiny that we have to support her with rolled up receiving blankets on either side of her body to make sure she stays upright.
Yesterday morning, we received a great report from the nurses; that Adilyn had gone another night without any breathing spells (48 hours spell free)! They let us know that they needed to hear back from her 12 hour monitoring to make sure there wasn't anything irregular, but we could pretty much plan on going home! I think I was in shock when the nurse asked me if I felt comfortable taking her home that day or if I wanted to stay another night with Adi in our room in case anything came up - because I had been trying not to plan for the day we'd go home, but rather take it one day at a time. Our nurse for the bulk of the day was amazing - she let me know that she was anxiously awaiting the phone call from the test and eventually ended up calling them to see what the status was once 2:00pm passed. She said they almost always got a call back by that time - and fortunately, her call spurred on some action - as the guy that picked up the test apparently hadn't gotten it back to the center to be analyzed yet. Dan left work early and went home to do some last minute preparation at home - some dishes, light cleaning (since he'd been the only one here for the last 10 days), picked up some groceries and made a trip to get some preemie diapers. Once he got to the hospital, we just hung out in the Nursery with Adi - waiting for the call. It finally came at about 4:30pm - saying the test came back 'normal' and we were free to take Adilyn home with us! It was a pretty incredible feeling as we packed up the rest of our stuff and walked our little girl down to the exit, put her in the car and drove away at 5:40pm! I am so thankful for the experience we had over the past 10 days - even though they were some of the most difficult of my life. We have learned so much - from the nurses, from each other, from our friends and family and from the Lord - that He is in control and LOVES us.
Here's the little peanut in her car seat - she's so tiny that we have to support her with rolled up receiving blankets on either side of her body to make sure she stays upright.
FINALLY on our way home!
Once we got home, Dan and I did a LOT of laundry and unpacking -- we hadn't really prepared fully for her arrival, but we knew we had the basics. We settled in for our first night without the nurse's help!
When we first got home, she seemed to be on a 2 hour feeding schedule - which made me a little nervous. She had consistently been on a 4 hour schedule the last couple of days at the Hospital - but fortunately, she switched back to that late last night. I even had to wake her up for her 5:30am feeding this morning!
Dan was exhausted from his VERY busy week (work + everything else going on) - so he headed to bed around 10pm while I was still doing some of Adi's laundry. I contemplated putting her in her crib for the night, but wasn't sure I trusted the baby monitor and/or myself to hear her - so I ended up "sleeping" on the couch next to her in her bassinet. I am pretty confident that I spent most of the night staring at her, or putting my hand on her chest to make sure she was breathing - but it still felt great to wake up in our own home this morning - all together!
More to come - for now, we're just enjoying our little girl! Dan just gave her the grand tour. Cade (our dog) will come home tomorrow - so we'll see how that introduction goes!
Thank you all again for your support, love and encouragement through this process! We are SO grateful for our friends and family!
We definitely can't wait to show Adilyn off- but we also have to be careful with how many visitors we have and try to avoid any children (who may have germs to share with Adi) - since she is still pretty small, the Doctors advised us not to take her out for a while and to try to be aware of who is coming to visit. Please keep this in mind - but let us know if you'd like to come by at some point!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
...the Father of mercies and God of all comfort...
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our suffering, so also you are sharers of our comfort. --2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Just a quick update from today --
I have been so encouraged today; by resting in the knowledge of our Father's love for us - and knowing that He loves us so much more than I can even love Adilyn. I'm not saying that I haven't still been struggling with our circumstances, but I have hope that God has a plan for our family and that He wants us right here right now.
Since she didn't have any breathing spells last night, Adi was hooked up to the multichannel monitor today at about 3:30pm - and will remain on it through the night. The nurse let us know that we should have results from it by tomorrow afternoon - I'm not sure if that means that the Dr. will have looked at it by then or not. The monitoring will tell us what her breathing pattern is - and be able to tell us what kind of apneic event occurs (if she has any tonight). Just praying that she will be ok and just needed to grow out of her spells.
I'm just so thankful that she's being taken care of. More to come tomorrow...
Just a quick update from today --
I have been so encouraged today; by resting in the knowledge of our Father's love for us - and knowing that He loves us so much more than I can even love Adilyn. I'm not saying that I haven't still been struggling with our circumstances, but I have hope that God has a plan for our family and that He wants us right here right now.
Since she didn't have any breathing spells last night, Adi was hooked up to the multichannel monitor today at about 3:30pm - and will remain on it through the night. The nurse let us know that we should have results from it by tomorrow afternoon - I'm not sure if that means that the Dr. will have looked at it by then or not. The monitoring will tell us what her breathing pattern is - and be able to tell us what kind of apneic event occurs (if she has any tonight). Just praying that she will be ok and just needed to grow out of her spells.
I'm just so thankful that she's being taken care of. More to come tomorrow...
4 hours - stocking up!
Yesterday was day 2 of Adi's new feeding schedule - since she has been doing so well eating, and was putting on weight consistently, they moved Adi to a new 'ad lib' feeding schedule. So instead of waking her up every 3 hours to nurse, we just wait for her to wake up and feed her then. All day yesterday, she went about 4 hours before waking up on her own to eat - but when she did wake up, she was READY to eat and let everyone know :) She's started doing what the nurses call 'cluster feeding' where it takes a little longer for her to nurse, because she'll take a little break in between and eat much more each time. I think this is what's allowing her to go 4 hours in between feedings.
Last night was rough for me, feeling discouraged that I can't do more to prevent those spells from happening - and feeling inadequate, for not being able to just care for my little girl around the clock. Since sleeping is so important for her growth, weight gain and development, I try to just nurse her and limit my snuggle time when I go up to the nursery. It just makes it hard leaving her, since I could literally just stare at her ALL day. I felt really guilty last night when I had bundled her up and had to leave her there with the nurses - though all of her nurses have let me know how much they just adore her. :)
This morning, the nurse told me that she's been sleeping really well in between feedings - so I may luck out when we do go home, because she's so satisfied after eating. It looks like Adilyn knows what she's doing too - because she gained 29 grams last night alone (which is about double the night before)! She is now officially a 4 pound peanut!!
The nurse also let us know that Adi didn't have any breathing spells last night - which is a HUGE blessing! Just one day closer...
Last night was rough for me, feeling discouraged that I can't do more to prevent those spells from happening - and feeling inadequate, for not being able to just care for my little girl around the clock. Since sleeping is so important for her growth, weight gain and development, I try to just nurse her and limit my snuggle time when I go up to the nursery. It just makes it hard leaving her, since I could literally just stare at her ALL day. I felt really guilty last night when I had bundled her up and had to leave her there with the nurses - though all of her nurses have let me know how much they just adore her. :)
This morning, the nurse told me that she's been sleeping really well in between feedings - so I may luck out when we do go home, because she's so satisfied after eating. It looks like Adilyn knows what she's doing too - because she gained 29 grams last night alone (which is about double the night before)! She is now officially a 4 pound peanut!!
The nurse also let us know that Adi didn't have any breathing spells last night - which is a HUGE blessing! Just one day closer...
I'm not much of a morning person, but this little face makes it all worth it!
I can't believe how much I love this little girl!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
1 week
today at 12:44pm, Adi will officially be one week old! SO hard to believe it's already been 7 days with her - feels like I love her enough to have been with her for a lifetime!
Yesterday was a good day - Dan was able to leave the office early and come work from the Hospital for the afternoon, give Adi a bottle and spend some time together - definitely refreshing for me! After her afternoon feeding, Adi wouldn't fall back asleep, so the nurse called me to see if I wanted to give her a bath - my first one. It was a success! The nurse warned me that she'd probably let out some significant yells, since most newborns aren't fans of bathtime - but Adilyn did great, other than some squirming. When we shampooed her full head of hair, she kind of closed her eyes and relaxed in my hand - maybe she'll be a spa treatment kind of girl when she gets older :) I didn't get any pictures during the bath, since I was giving it - but here's one of her right after, all bundled up, clean, fed and content!
This morning, the Pediatrician let me know that she had another breathing spell last night - this one only lasted about 20 seconds and she came out of it herself, but still cause for concern. They want to watch her a couple more days and are talking about conducting a 12 hour scan - which would record all of her vitals throughout a 12 hour period to see if they can figure out why these spells keep happening (basically determine if she has Central Apnea or apnea of prematurity - which would ideally correct itself with a little more time).
I'm thankful for the great medical attention we have for Adilyn and that the Drs. want to identify the root cause before sending her home - when we don't have beeping monitors to tell us what's going on. We're just praying that the spells stop and the Drs are confident that it won't happen again - if that means we have to stay here longer, I guess I just need to get some more clean clothes and camp out. We love our little girl so much and just want her to be healthy and safe - even if that means she can't come home quite yet.
More to come -- one day at a time.
Yesterday was a good day - Dan was able to leave the office early and come work from the Hospital for the afternoon, give Adi a bottle and spend some time together - definitely refreshing for me! After her afternoon feeding, Adi wouldn't fall back asleep, so the nurse called me to see if I wanted to give her a bath - my first one. It was a success! The nurse warned me that she'd probably let out some significant yells, since most newborns aren't fans of bathtime - but Adilyn did great, other than some squirming. When we shampooed her full head of hair, she kind of closed her eyes and relaxed in my hand - maybe she'll be a spa treatment kind of girl when she gets older :) I didn't get any pictures during the bath, since I was giving it - but here's one of her right after, all bundled up, clean, fed and content!
I'm thankful for the great medical attention we have for Adilyn and that the Drs. want to identify the root cause before sending her home - when we don't have beeping monitors to tell us what's going on. We're just praying that the spells stop and the Drs are confident that it won't happen again - if that means we have to stay here longer, I guess I just need to get some more clean clothes and camp out. We love our little girl so much and just want her to be healthy and safe - even if that means she can't come home quite yet.
More to come -- one day at a time.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
another 48 hours...
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:4-7
This morning, during my 5am feeding, the nurse let me know that Adi passed her car seat test at night! However, she followed that up with letting me know that Adi had another breathing 'spell' - where she stopped breathing for about 15 seconds while she was sleeping. The nurse said she came over in time to see the end of it - and Adi was a little dusky in color, but was able to get herself out of it - which is great! Unfortunately, this means that she has to be here at least another 48 hours to see if another spell happens. The Pediatrician here spoke with me this morning, letting me know the plan - but it's still just one day at a time, since they don't know exactly what's causing it or whether it's a flukey thing or a bigger issue. At this point, we're praying that she makes it through the next 48 hours without anymore spells and can come home - but also understanding that if she's not ready, we want her to be here where she can be monitored and get the needed medical attention.
Instead of sulking thinking about not being able to bring my little girl home for another couple of days, I am trying to focus on this passage from Philippians and rejoice. I know it may seem like there's not much to rejoice about, but when I think about it, I am SO thankful for:
I will try to keep updating - just pray for patience, and trusting that the Lord loves us and has a bigger, better master plan than I could dream up!
This morning, during my 5am feeding, the nurse let me know that Adi passed her car seat test at night! However, she followed that up with letting me know that Adi had another breathing 'spell' - where she stopped breathing for about 15 seconds while she was sleeping. The nurse said she came over in time to see the end of it - and Adi was a little dusky in color, but was able to get herself out of it - which is great! Unfortunately, this means that she has to be here at least another 48 hours to see if another spell happens. The Pediatrician here spoke with me this morning, letting me know the plan - but it's still just one day at a time, since they don't know exactly what's causing it or whether it's a flukey thing or a bigger issue. At this point, we're praying that she makes it through the next 48 hours without anymore spells and can come home - but also understanding that if she's not ready, we want her to be here where she can be monitored and get the needed medical attention.
Instead of sulking thinking about not being able to bring my little girl home for another couple of days, I am trying to focus on this passage from Philippians and rejoice. I know it may seem like there's not much to rejoice about, but when I think about it, I am SO thankful for:
- Adilyn Rose joining us in this world as OUR daughter
- her health - overall - (she's passed all of the other major tests - and they don't anticipate any long term issues as a result of coming early)
- an amazing husband who loves and supports us through this
- being able to stay at the Hospital so I can nourish her and spend time with her throughout the day/night
- her little smiles, smirks, grunts and all of her already many expressions
- the way she smells - like a 'new baby'
- the love and encouragement of our friends and family
- being able to have time off of work to be here with her
- my health - being able to be up and at 'em to be here for our little girl
- rest - the few hours I can steal away in between feedings
- love - this incredible feeling I already have for our 6 day old daughter. it's really hard to express JUST how much I love her!
I will try to keep updating - just pray for patience, and trusting that the Lord loves us and has a bigger, better master plan than I could dream up!
Monday, January 17, 2011
3.2.1. welcome to the world Adilyn!
I had a regular doctor's appointment scheduled for 8am on Wednesday morning - the plan was to get measured quickly, hear the heartbeat and head in to work...I wasn't scheduled to see my regular Dr. since she was working at the other office location, so I told Dan he didn't need to come with this time - assuming it would be quick. He was planning on heading to Mankato for work that day anyway, so it seemed to work out well. Little did I know, this would be the day that would change our lives!
I went in with the nurse to get my blood pressure and right away the nurse asked if I normally have high blood pressure. I responded, "no - it's been normal for the whole pregnancy and I've never had any problems...". She led me back to the exam room and told me to lay down for 10 minutes and she would come back to take my blood pressure again since it was really high. She came in and took it again, and said the Dr. would be in soon as she walked out. I laid there for what seemed like forever and the Dr. came in with a somewhat concerned look on her face. She let me know that my blood pressure was very high and I had protein in my urine sample -- which was cause for her to be concerned. She asked if I had headaches or swelling - to which I answered yes, but thought those were both pretty normal aspects of being pregnant. She then told me that she was worried about the combination of what they were seeing and wanted to send me to the Hospital to get monitored for a while. She let me know that they were primarily concerned with me having preeclampsia - and having seizures if they let it go so long. So I called Dan to tell him I was on my way home and needed him to come to the Hospital with me - fortunately, he hadn't left for Mankato yet, so he called to let his business partner know he wouldn't be able to go. Then I called my manager at work to let her know the situation and that I would probably just be in the office later that afternoon.
When I got home, we quickly grabbed the 'Hospital' bags that I had JUST packed that week (just in case - since we didn't know what was going to happen). Dan and I headed to Fairview Southdale in Edina to get checked into the Maternal Assessment Center to be monitored. Right away, they brought me into a dark exam room and hooked me up to the machines to take my blood pressure every ten minutes and listen to the Baby's heartbeat. They told me to lay still and try to relax so they could figure out what was going on. I laid in the room like that while they drew blood to run some labs. After about an hour, the nurse came in and said my Dr. wanted to call me. Sure enough at 11am, Dr. Johnson called my cell phone and asked how I'm doing...I said I felt fine, but obviously wasn't sure what was going on. She said "Well, you are going to have a baby today! We'll be doing a C-Section at noon...I'll be in shortly". I hung up the phone and let Dan know the news - to which we both just kind of smiled and looked at each other saying "Wow! this is happening"!!
We decided to send out the signal (to our parents, friends and family) letting them know the news - especially since we weren't sure what was going to happen with my blood pressure situation and the Baby.
By the time everyone came in to talk me through what was about to happen, it was noon and they were bringing me into the operating room. Once I got my epidural, I couldn't feel a thing below my chest and the drape went up. Shortly after, Dan came in the room to hold my hand and stand by my head. The procedure seemed to go quickly - I could only feel people moving me around, I couldn't tell where they were moving or pulling. Then I felt a ton of pressure on my chest and heard her first little cry - our little girl was finally here with us! The Dr. had to finish stitching me up and then they reported back to me that she weighed in at 3 lbs 11oz and was 17 inches long. Adilyn Rose Powers was finally here! They brought her upstairs to the Special Care Nursery to be monitored right away - but said she looked healthy and was passing all of her tests and looked great! I was then quickly rolled into the recovery room to be monitored myself. I was hooked up to have my blood pressure watched again - so I didn't get to up to the Nursery right away - while Dan just kept going back and forth to check on Adilyn and me. It was nice to get reports from him on how she was doing even though I couldn't hold her yet. At about 2pm they said my numbers weren't dropping, so they had to start me on Magnesium. I had to wait until 3pm before they brought me up to see her - though they had to keep me in my hospital bed and wheel me up to her. She was all hooked up to monitors, so I wasn't able to hold her right away, but I finally got to see my little girl!
They brought me into our room down the hall - what they called the 'penthouse suite'. I spent the next 24 hours with an IV hooked up to me, being checked on by nurses about every 2 hours - blood pressure, pricks to draw more blood to monitor my platelets, reflexes and check my stomach. The nurse told me that once I was on the mag, I would feel like I was drunk or stoned - not sure if I would describe it as that, but I definitely felt like a different person. I pretty much just came in and out of sleep - waking up to see our excited parents standing bedside to congratulate us.
It's hard to believe our little girl is already 5 days old! I was discharged yesterday - and am officially no longer a patient at Fairview Southdale Hospital. I am, however, taking up residence in one of their parenting rooms downstairs so I can be near to my little girl for the rest of her stay here. Hmm - I'll try to document the progress/status updates we've had over the past days - though they all kind of blur together since my sleep has been very limited, walking back and forth down the hall to go feed her every 3 hours. It has been an absolute joy to spend that time with her while she nurses and she is definitely a good little eater for how little she is! It's usually 40 minutes to an hour each time I go up to see her - by the time she eats, gets her diaper changed and I tear myself away from just holding her and staring at her :) That has been a huge blessing in keeping my mind off of everything else though - being able to spend time with her, even if it's limited, is a wonderful thing and I'm SO thankful for the healthcare we have here and the facilities at this Hospital!
It has been nice having her on a pretty rigid schedule as well - she eats at 2am, 5am, 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm, 11pm - and, repeat.
Thursday - Jan 13
My blood pressure levels - though still high, dropped down to a more 'reasonable level' and maintained, so the Dr. took me off of my Magnesium IV - felt like a completely different person! I was able to get up out of bed and get wheeled down to see my little girl and actually interact without feeling like my eyes were going to close! Spent most of the rest of the day sleeping and trying to get back in it while Dan took over conducting all of the bottle feedings! He's a natural :)
Friday - Jan 14
I woke up feeling SO much better - was able to shower and eagerly go visit our little girl! Friday was also a day filled with visitors - even though we can't share Adi with the world yet, we were so thankful for the support of our friends and family stopping by to shower us with congrats, gifts and love!
On top of that - we received a report from the Pediatrician here at the Hospital, letting us know that Adi had passed all of the tests they ran - ruling out any viruses, diseases or long term effects of being early and so tiny. He said she was looking great and would expect her to continue on doing well, and get her home as soon as possible. He let us know that there wasn't a 'magic number' to hit for the "right" weight to go home - just had to make sure she was ready. I'm so thankful for his let's take this 'one day at a time' mentality when talking with us - helps keep things in perspective.
Saturday - Jan 15
My challenge for Saturday was to get rid of the wheelchair. I was able to walk behind it on the way down to the Nursery to feed Adi and eventually went down and back without it altogether that evening! I can't believe how much better I felt after getting off of the Magnesium and having some time to let my body recover from the surgery in general. Little Adi definitely serves as more than enough motivation for me to get up and at 'em to go see her every 3 hours!
We were blessed by more visitors on Saturday - it was great having some interaction with the outside world, having gotten SO familiar with our hospital room!
The report from the Pediatrician was positive again today - letting us know that she was still doing great - eating, holding her own body temperature without an incubator and generally acting like a 37 & 1/2 week old baby! We were told some less positive news during our morning feeding though. Over night, Adi had a drop in her breathing for a short period of time - causing the monitor alarms to go off and nurse's attention to wake her up from her sleep. The Nurse told us that this is completely normal for preemies, and that she was surprised it hadn't happened yet. She did say that typically, doctors like to see babies go 5 days without those incidences though - which broke my heart a little bit. We had kind of been thinking she would be able to come home around Tuesday -and now it was looking like at least Friday at the earliest. Just another reminder that God is in control and we are thankful that the breathing incident happened here, while she was being monitored and cared for - not at home, where we may not have known. **One day at a time...**
Sunday - Jan 16
We knew it was coming, discharge day. Dan and I started packing everything up to move out of our 'corner suite' in preparation for my discharge as a patient here at the Hospital. We packed up and went to visit Adi for her 11am feeding. Just prior to that, the Nurse came in to go over my discharge papers and help us load up our cart. We had assumed this meant I was released to go - so we decided to run home right after the feeding so I could get more clothes, etc. for the rest of my stay here.
When we returned to the Hospital for the 2pm feeding, we were told that my Nurse from upstairs was looking for me and they thought I was MIA. Apparently, I wasn't "officially" discharged yet - as they were still concerned with my blood pressure levels being high. So, they had us return to our original room to sit and relax in hopes of my BP levels going down. We were able to kick back and relax a bit and watch some football while waiting a couple of hours to get checked again. During my 5pm nursing time, the Nurse came in to tell me I had been officially discharged - and will just need a follow up appointment to get checked out in a week.
It was an emotional day for me - feeling like my time as a patient at the Hospital should equal Adilyn's time being done too - but that wasn't the case. My heart just aches to get that little girl home!
Monday - Jan 17
They say you don't get much sleep as a new parent....I always thought I kind of knew what that meant, but it's really true - I've been able to get about 4 hours consecutively thanks to the Nurses here, but other than that, feel like I walk around kind of half awake. Until I get to see my little girl, and I suddenly forget that I'm sleep deprived and healing from the surgery.
Adilyn is starting to figure out what how great it is to eat - I got a call from the nursery at 10:20pm last night asking me to come up early since Adi was wide awake and 'asking' for food! I also participated in the first 2am feeding for our little girl this morning - it was amazing to be with her, as always and she ate a lot - just over an ounce on her own!
During the 8am feeding this morning, the Pediatrician gave me another very positive update! He said that she's still doing wonderfully, and he wasn't as concerned with her breathing incident from Sunday night - as he doesn't see any implications of it occurring again - as sometimes happens with preemies. He let me know that he she is doing a great job eating, so I can continue to let her eat until she's satisfied and we don't have to weigh her in and out before and after feedings. Just one less step in the process - feels good - little victories! He also told me I should schedule an appointment with her pediatrician for early next week - as she needs to be seen right away. He gave us a glimmer of hope, throwing in - we may need to move it up to Friday if she goes home within the next 48 hours! :) I'm trying to keep with the one day at a time mentality - but am very thankful for the good news!
I went in with the nurse to get my blood pressure and right away the nurse asked if I normally have high blood pressure. I responded, "no - it's been normal for the whole pregnancy and I've never had any problems...". She led me back to the exam room and told me to lay down for 10 minutes and she would come back to take my blood pressure again since it was really high. She came in and took it again, and said the Dr. would be in soon as she walked out. I laid there for what seemed like forever and the Dr. came in with a somewhat concerned look on her face. She let me know that my blood pressure was very high and I had protein in my urine sample -- which was cause for her to be concerned. She asked if I had headaches or swelling - to which I answered yes, but thought those were both pretty normal aspects of being pregnant. She then told me that she was worried about the combination of what they were seeing and wanted to send me to the Hospital to get monitored for a while. She let me know that they were primarily concerned with me having preeclampsia - and having seizures if they let it go so long. So I called Dan to tell him I was on my way home and needed him to come to the Hospital with me - fortunately, he hadn't left for Mankato yet, so he called to let his business partner know he wouldn't be able to go. Then I called my manager at work to let her know the situation and that I would probably just be in the office later that afternoon.
When I got home, we quickly grabbed the 'Hospital' bags that I had JUST packed that week (just in case - since we didn't know what was going to happen). Dan and I headed to Fairview Southdale in Edina to get checked into the Maternal Assessment Center to be monitored. Right away, they brought me into a dark exam room and hooked me up to the machines to take my blood pressure every ten minutes and listen to the Baby's heartbeat. They told me to lay still and try to relax so they could figure out what was going on. I laid in the room like that while they drew blood to run some labs. After about an hour, the nurse came in and said my Dr. wanted to call me. Sure enough at 11am, Dr. Johnson called my cell phone and asked how I'm doing...I said I felt fine, but obviously wasn't sure what was going on. She said "Well, you are going to have a baby today! We'll be doing a C-Section at noon...I'll be in shortly". I hung up the phone and let Dan know the news - to which we both just kind of smiled and looked at each other saying "Wow! this is happening"!!
We decided to send out the signal (to our parents, friends and family) letting them know the news - especially since we weren't sure what was going to happen with my blood pressure situation and the Baby.
It has been nice having her on a pretty rigid schedule as well - she eats at 2am, 5am, 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm, 11pm - and, repeat.
My blood pressure levels - though still high, dropped down to a more 'reasonable level' and maintained, so the Dr. took me off of my Magnesium IV - felt like a completely different person! I was able to get up out of bed and get wheeled down to see my little girl and actually interact without feeling like my eyes were going to close! Spent most of the rest of the day sleeping and trying to get back in it while Dan took over conducting all of the bottle feedings! He's a natural :)
I woke up feeling SO much better - was able to shower and eagerly go visit our little girl! Friday was also a day filled with visitors - even though we can't share Adi with the world yet, we were so thankful for the support of our friends and family stopping by to shower us with congrats, gifts and love!
On top of that - we received a report from the Pediatrician here at the Hospital, letting us know that Adi had passed all of the tests they ran - ruling out any viruses, diseases or long term effects of being early and so tiny. He said she was looking great and would expect her to continue on doing well, and get her home as soon as possible. He let us know that there wasn't a 'magic number' to hit for the "right" weight to go home - just had to make sure she was ready. I'm so thankful for his let's take this 'one day at a time' mentality when talking with us - helps keep things in perspective.
My challenge for Saturday was to get rid of the wheelchair. I was able to walk behind it on the way down to the Nursery to feed Adi and eventually went down and back without it altogether that evening! I can't believe how much better I felt after getting off of the Magnesium and having some time to let my body recover from the surgery in general. Little Adi definitely serves as more than enough motivation for me to get up and at 'em to go see her every 3 hours!
We were blessed by more visitors on Saturday - it was great having some interaction with the outside world, having gotten SO familiar with our hospital room!
The report from the Pediatrician was positive again today - letting us know that she was still doing great - eating, holding her own body temperature without an incubator and generally acting like a 37 & 1/2 week old baby! We were told some less positive news during our morning feeding though. Over night, Adi had a drop in her breathing for a short period of time - causing the monitor alarms to go off and nurse's attention to wake her up from her sleep. The Nurse told us that this is completely normal for preemies, and that she was surprised it hadn't happened yet. She did say that typically, doctors like to see babies go 5 days without those incidences though - which broke my heart a little bit. We had kind of been thinking she would be able to come home around Tuesday -and now it was looking like at least Friday at the earliest. Just another reminder that God is in control and we are thankful that the breathing incident happened here, while she was being monitored and cared for - not at home, where we may not have known. **One day at a time...**
We knew it was coming, discharge day. Dan and I started packing everything up to move out of our 'corner suite' in preparation for my discharge as a patient here at the Hospital. We packed up and went to visit Adi for her 11am feeding. Just prior to that, the Nurse came in to go over my discharge papers and help us load up our cart. We had assumed this meant I was released to go - so we decided to run home right after the feeding so I could get more clothes, etc. for the rest of my stay here.
When we returned to the Hospital for the 2pm feeding, we were told that my Nurse from upstairs was looking for me and they thought I was MIA. Apparently, I wasn't "officially" discharged yet - as they were still concerned with my blood pressure levels being high. So, they had us return to our original room to sit and relax in hopes of my BP levels going down. We were able to kick back and relax a bit and watch some football while waiting a couple of hours to get checked again. During my 5pm nursing time, the Nurse came in to tell me I had been officially discharged - and will just need a follow up appointment to get checked out in a week.
It was an emotional day for me - feeling like my time as a patient at the Hospital should equal Adilyn's time being done too - but that wasn't the case. My heart just aches to get that little girl home!
Monday - Jan 17
They say you don't get much sleep as a new parent....I always thought I kind of knew what that meant, but it's really true - I've been able to get about 4 hours consecutively thanks to the Nurses here, but other than that, feel like I walk around kind of half awake. Until I get to see my little girl, and I suddenly forget that I'm sleep deprived and healing from the surgery.
Adilyn is starting to figure out what how great it is to eat - I got a call from the nursery at 10:20pm last night asking me to come up early since Adi was wide awake and 'asking' for food! I also participated in the first 2am feeding for our little girl this morning - it was amazing to be with her, as always and she ate a lot - just over an ounce on her own!
During the 8am feeding this morning, the Pediatrician gave me another very positive update! He said that she's still doing wonderfully, and he wasn't as concerned with her breathing incident from Sunday night - as he doesn't see any implications of it occurring again - as sometimes happens with preemies. He let me know that he she is doing a great job eating, so I can continue to let her eat until she's satisfied and we don't have to weigh her in and out before and after feedings. Just one less step in the process - feels good - little victories! He also told me I should schedule an appointment with her pediatrician for early next week - as she needs to be seen right away. He gave us a glimmer of hope, throwing in - we may need to move it up to Friday if she goes home within the next 48 hours! :) I'm trying to keep with the one day at a time mentality - but am very thankful for the good news!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
4 to go...
As of yesterday, 4 weeks left till this Baby is supposed to make her appearance in this world! It's still pretty surreal to me - but I'm definitely getting excited to meet her...It's fun to imagine what she'll look like - will she have my nose or mouth or eyes or cheeks? It's crazy exciting to imagine what she'll be like - what her personality will be and who she'll grow up to be. All of that is to come..4 weeks from now...and then for a lifetime! :)
Other than feeling excited, I'm definitely feeling a little anxious - about the labor part. I've been reading my pregnancy books to try to learn more about what to expect- though I have a feeling I can't prepare enough for what's to come. I just have to keep reminding myself that women have babies every day - and that women have more than one baby...We've visited 2 daycares now - and are feeling pretty good about one - just have one more place to visit to make sure we are sure. It's funny - when you really think about it, no one seems to be good enough to trusted to take care of our little girl every day...but we're thankful that we have options and that people are loving and caring enough to watch her while we are at work.
I've finally started to give some thought to packing a bag for the hospital - though I haven't quite gotten around to it yet. I'm also trying to figure out what to pick for her home from the hospital outfit. I bought a cute little winter hat - it has two little puffs that look like bear ears :) It's probably funny that I'm so concerned with her outfit when I'm sure it will get spit up on or soiled in some fashion before we even get her home that day. Still - have to try, right?
Now that we're in the final month, I've reminded Dan to keep his phone nearby - just in case the next time I call him is THE time. I've also prepped a couple of my co-workers to be ready to bring me to the hospital in case it happens at work (though I'm hoping that's not the case) - at least I know I'll be in good hands.
My body has changed quite a bit this week too...though I'm not very thrilled about it! I looked down at my ankles today after work and discovered that they no longer exist -- I now have VERY swollen, water filled kankles in their place. :( I know this is all part of the 'beauty' of being pregnant, but I'm definitely not a fan of that part. My fingers are swollen also and I notice it most when I first wake up in the morning and have a hard time closing my fingers into a fist completely. Other than that, I really can't complain. Just getting slightly less sleep at night as a result of having to wake up and change positions over the past week or so. I'm just so thankful that she's staying put, continuing to grow healthier and that I'm still mobile.
Not much else to report at this point - I have another Baby shower on Saturday - hosted by the wonderful women at our Church! I'm excited to celebrate the anticipation of our Baby with some of the most loving mothers I know. Next Wednesday I will have another Dr. appointment to check my status - then we move to an appointment a week which will bring us to week 39 (meaning 1 week till baby)!
Here's an updated pic from yesterday. 4 weeks to go - and I'm definitely looking pregnant! :)
Other than feeling excited, I'm definitely feeling a little anxious - about the labor part. I've been reading my pregnancy books to try to learn more about what to expect- though I have a feeling I can't prepare enough for what's to come. I just have to keep reminding myself that women have babies every day - and that women have more than one baby...We've visited 2 daycares now - and are feeling pretty good about one - just have one more place to visit to make sure we are sure. It's funny - when you really think about it, no one seems to be good enough to trusted to take care of our little girl every day...but we're thankful that we have options and that people are loving and caring enough to watch her while we are at work.
I've finally started to give some thought to packing a bag for the hospital - though I haven't quite gotten around to it yet. I'm also trying to figure out what to pick for her home from the hospital outfit. I bought a cute little winter hat - it has two little puffs that look like bear ears :) It's probably funny that I'm so concerned with her outfit when I'm sure it will get spit up on or soiled in some fashion before we even get her home that day. Still - have to try, right?
Now that we're in the final month, I've reminded Dan to keep his phone nearby - just in case the next time I call him is THE time. I've also prepped a couple of my co-workers to be ready to bring me to the hospital in case it happens at work (though I'm hoping that's not the case) - at least I know I'll be in good hands.
My body has changed quite a bit this week too...though I'm not very thrilled about it! I looked down at my ankles today after work and discovered that they no longer exist -- I now have VERY swollen, water filled kankles in their place. :( I know this is all part of the 'beauty' of being pregnant, but I'm definitely not a fan of that part. My fingers are swollen also and I notice it most when I first wake up in the morning and have a hard time closing my fingers into a fist completely. Other than that, I really can't complain. Just getting slightly less sleep at night as a result of having to wake up and change positions over the past week or so. I'm just so thankful that she's staying put, continuing to grow healthier and that I'm still mobile.
Not much else to report at this point - I have another Baby shower on Saturday - hosted by the wonderful women at our Church! I'm excited to celebrate the anticipation of our Baby with some of the most loving mothers I know. Next Wednesday I will have another Dr. appointment to check my status - then we move to an appointment a week which will bring us to week 39 (meaning 1 week till baby)!
Here's an updated pic from yesterday. 4 weeks to go - and I'm definitely looking pregnant! :)
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