Brandon, Brandon, Brandon.....

Hello everyone!! We have had a VERY busy couple of days!!! As some of you know, we have been transitioning Brandon over to formula. We started with one feeding a day of formula and after a day or two, we increased it by another feeding. We were up to three formula bottles a day, and he was taking between 4 and 5 ounces a bottle!!! He was doing great for about a week. Well, yesturday he projectile vomited after his afternoon feeding. It flew from the coffee table, to the couch!!! It really had some air to it. Anyway, we called the 24 hour nurse line to see if there was anything that we should look for, and she recommended that we take him to the ER to make sure that he wasn't dehydrated. So, we took him in and they said that he looked great, but they scheduled us for an ultrasound on his tummy to make sure that he didn't have a condition called pyloric stenosis. From what I gather, the condition is caused by a weak connection of the stomach to the small intestine and the remedy is surgery. We came home thinking that it was probably a fluke, and were suprised when he projectile vomited again after his evening bottle. So, then, we were really worried. We weren't sure if he was vomiting because his stomach doesn't agree with the formula, he was eating too much at one sitting (he was taking between 5-6 ounces last night), or he had a virus. Brian and I didn't sleep at all last night because we were so afraid that he would throw up and ingest it into his lungs. We went in for the ultrasound this morning and got the results at his 2 week check up (even though he is really 3 weeks today). The ultrasound came back negative for pyloric stenosis, but they suspect that he may have a little acid reflux. The pediatrician also noticed a few other problems. He has a cogenital defect in his neck from being so big and cramped in such a small space for so long. It will be corrected, but will require a little physical therapy. He also has a hydroseal, which is a pocket of fluid on the testicle. Apparently, it isn't anything to be concerned about because the body will reabsorb the fluid. However, you have to be careful with hydroseals because they can hide herias. So, we have to keep an eye on it and make sure that it doesn't get bigger. He also has a hernia on his belly button, which is also completely normal and will also correct itself. The only thing the pediatrician was concerned about was the vomiting. She recommended feeding him smaller portions more frequently using the same formula that we had been feeding him. If he projectile vomits again, we are to take him to the ER and he will have to be admitted and have an upper GI test done to see if they can figure out why he is vomiting. If he spits up, but it isn't projectile then we are to swtitch him to soy formula and see if that helps. Tomorrow he has his audiology appointment and he has to have a bunch of labwork done. He has to have a couple of blood tests, a urinalysis, and an electrolyte panel done. Then, we have an appointment with the pediatrician on Friday to follow up on the lab results and more importantly to check how he is eating. So far, so good though. He ate a 2 ounce bottle and hasn't thrown up yet. That was almost an hour ago, so it is looking good. I must say that having a sick baby and trying to figure out all of this formula stuff is NOT fun!!! I just Brandon to be his usual happy self. I will post an update on Friday with the lab results and any more info that I am given.

Little Hays Family Update

I have a few minutes while Brandon is sleeping and I am waiting to make a phone call, so I figured I'd post a little update.

Brandon is 2 weeks and 1 day old!!! He has lost his umbilical cord stump, and his plasti-bell circumcision thingy. So, he is free from all of the attachments from the hospital. We started tummy time to give him the opportunity to strengthen his neck muscles and hold his head up. He can hold his head up for a few seconds, but gets tired easily. At his WIC appointment the other day, he weighed 10 pounds 11 ounces, so he is gaining weight beautifully. We are still mostly breasfeeding, but I am just NOT having a good time with it, so we are gradually switching over to formula. We started the transition yesturday and will substitute one feeding a day with formula for a few days and gradually add another formula feeding until he is completely on formula. It makes me sad to stop, but I just can't do it anymore. It is very draining on me and causes me alot of anxiety which I am sure that he can pick up on. He has his 2 week check up on the 19 (even though he will be 3 weeks) and I will post an update after that appointment to share his weight and length and anything else that is neat.

As for me, I am hanging in there! I had a few rough days having some panic attacks which sucked. I think that it was mostly due to such a huge adjustment, plus my mom went back to the states. It is rough having a newborn. I wouldn't trade him for anything, but I can say that I am looking forward to him sleeping through the night!! I am quite attached to my sleep, and newborns make that virtually impossible. He doesn't get up too much though. Usually, it is every 4 hours or so, but last night after giving him his first formula bottle he slept for 8 hours straight!!! THEN, he woke up, got a diaper change, nursed a little, and went back to sleep for another three hours!! It was GREAT!!! Hopefully he will keep that up!! Brian and I were LOVING getting 8 hours of sleep. Although, for me the sleep was broken because I kept waking up to check on him. It was still nice to sleep for so long before having to get up and take care of him. Oh, AND...I am 10 pounds UNDER my pre-pregnancy weight!!! WOOHOO!!!! My pre-pregnancy jeans fit, and they actually fit better than before I was pregnant. That's awesome news!!! I was pleasantly suprised when I put them on for the first time today. I did a little happy dance and called Brian into the room to show him. Heh, it was great.

Brian is doing great too. He is absolutely the best dad EVER!!! He gets up everynight and changes Brandon's diaper and gives him to me to feed. He will take Brandon in the mornings and let me sleep for an extra hour or two. He will hold Brandon when he is fussy, and loves to play with him anytime of the day. I really couldn't ask for a better husband. It makes me so proud to be his wife and also so grateful to have such a wonderful husband and father for our son.

Emily and Kitters are adjusting. They are getting much less attention, but I know that will change once a real rountine is established with Brandon. Right now, we do everything on Brandon's time. They seem to be understanding for the most part, but every now and then will get really clingy. I try to make it a point to cuddle with them a little everyday. I'm sure that things will mellow out a bit in the next couple of weeks.

That's about it on the Hays homefront. We are hanging in there and taking in one day at a time. We are loving spending so much time with Brandon and watching him develop a little personality already. We can't wait to see him smile and hear him laugh. Oh what fun we have in store!!! Anyways, I better get to making that phone call and get myself to bed since I sleep when Brandon sleeps!! We love and miss you all!!!!

1 week old!

Brandon is 1 week old today! I swear it seems like it has been so long since he was born, yet it seems like it was yesturday all at the same time. He is doing great. When we were discharged from the hospital on Thursday, he was slightly jaundiced, so we had to have his levels checked on Friday. His levels had gone from 10.5 to 12. The pediatrician wasn't worried, but wanted us to have his level rechecked Monday at his 5 day check up. On Monday at his appointment his level had gone from 12 to 8.4, so all is well with that. He has lost about 4% of his birth weight, which is excellent considering it is perfectly normal for them to lose weight after birth, they just don't like to see them lose more than 10%. We've been having some trouble with breastfeeding, but we are being persistant and he is latching better and better everyday. It still hurts, but not nearly as bad. My milk came in about 3 days after he was born, so that's great as well. He sleeps great and usually only wakes us up once a night to be changed and fed. His schedule pretty much consists of waking up, Dad changes his diaper, Mom feeds him, and he goes back to sleep. In the afternoon/evening he will stay awake a little and we play with him and snuggle him. He is a delight and we fall more and more in love with him everyday. My mom, Allan, and Heather have been visiting since Friday and they have been an AMAZING help!!! It's going to be sad to say goodbye to them this Friday. Brian's parents fly in on Friday and will be here for 2 weeks, so they will get to meet the little guy and help out. It's great to have so much help right now. We had portraits done yesturday and I will post them tomorrow when I get the disc. They are adorable and I can't wait to share them with everyone. Well, that's it for now. I hope that you are all doing great!!!

Brandon's Birth Story

Ok, I have a few minutes while Brandon is sleeping, so I'm going to try to share Brandon's birth story.

On Tuesday I went in at 6am for my originally scheduled induction. They started out with a full oral dose of cydotec. After a few hours, I still hadn't made any progress. I was still only dialated 3cm, 50% effaced and Brandon was still sitting high up. Then they started me on pitocin again. After a few hours, I still hadn't progressed any. Around 4:15am on Wednesday they decided to break my water. They had to help guide his head down while breaking my water so he didn't drop too quickly and compress the cord. After the broke my water I started making steady progress. I was dialating about a centimeter an hour. I got the epidural when I was around 5cms dialated. I was expecting more pain relief, but no such luck. When the contractions really started picking up I could feel everything. In my opinion, either the epidural was put in wrong, or I just don't respond to the medicine. Basically, it sucked. They tried adding a number of boosters and other medications to the epidural, but none of them had any lasting effects. Around 7am my progression had stalled at 9cm with just a small lip of cervix. Brandon was sitting right where he needed to be, but I just couldn't get past the final little bit. By 8am I was screaming because I was in so much pain. They had called the anesthesiologist so many times for me, and there was really nothing much more they could do for me. I was SO tired and in so much pain that I was begging for a c-section just to get some relief. The nurse came in and wanted to do a few practice pushes. It still didn't help get me over the hump, but I needed to get a feel for pushing anyway. I started pushing around 8:30am and pushed with every contraction for 3 hours. After pushing for so long, the doctor gave us the option to use either the vacuum or forceps. I wan't really comfortable with either, but I felt more comfortable with the vacuum. Hospital policy is that if they try it three times and it doesn't work, then they go to c-section. I gave it my all those last three times, but he just wasn't coming out. So, our only option was to go into c-section. They prepped the room and Brian and I got ready. We went in and everything there after is a bit of a blur. Brian had to get dressed in scrubs, I was wheeled into the operating room. There were tons of people in there to assist, and I was REALLY nervous. Brian came in and sat next to me and I instantly felt better. They did the test pinches and I could feel them (more proof that the epidural didn't take) so they had to give me more meds. I could actually feel the incision, but it was more of a sharp sensation and because of all of the pain meds I was on it didn't hurt too bad. At 12:22pm Brandon entered the world and completely stole mine and Brian's heart. Brian got to see him first and got to bring him over to me. As soon as I heard him cry I started crying. Brandon's apgars were 8 of 9, and he was taken by Brian to the Transition room to be weighed and all that fun stuff. I was stitched up and then taken to post-op to be watched for about an hour. Throughout the entire labor, the epidural was making me shake uncontrollably. I also spent the entire labor vomitting, so I had to drink water so I would always have something in my stomach. It was definately not pleasant, and after the c-section, I was still shaking uncontrollably and vomitting. I was given more pain medication to help me stop shaking and vomitting. The medications were successful in getting me to stop vomitting, but I was still shaking like crazy. Eventually, they took me to the mother-baby unit where I got to meet up with Brian and Brandon. As soon as I got to hold him, I instantly stopped shaking and calmed down.

Brian and I are adjusting to parenthood as best as we can. It is really hard after a c-section because it is hard to move. Brian has been excellent and has been changing every diaper and bringing him to me for his feedings. He has been really fussy today, but I think we figured out the problem and now he is sleeping like a rock, until the next feeding in three hours.

I'm going to try to get some sleep while he is sleeping. I hope to post some more pictures and updates soon.

So, I'm home.

Which means that they decided NOT to keep me today. Here's the play by play of today's events:

8am- I wake up and call Labor and Delivery like I was told. They have no idea what I am talking about and tell me that they will call me back in a half hour.

10am- Labor and Delivery still hadn't called me back, so I called them. Apparently they got really busy all of a sudden and forgot to call me back. They said that to call back at noon and they would let me know when they wanted me to come in.

10:15am- Labor and Delivery called me back and said that they thought that they were too full to take me, but apparently I was on the list to come in, so to come in whenever I wanted to.

12pm- We get to Labor and Delivery (I had to get ready first) and they send me to the room and hook me up to the monitors.

12:45pm- The doctor comes in and says that baby is looking great on the monitors and that I am still not having contractions. She checks me and I am still only 3cm dialated. She strips my membranes and says that I can come back tomorrow.

Here is where it gets frustrating.

I asked her, since she was the one that was going to be working in Labor and Delivery tomorrow what the plan was. She said that she was going to start out with pitocin because my cervix is soft enough for it to work. I asked her what would happen if the pitocin doesn't work. She said that she couldn't really tell me. So, I said, "Well, I will be leaving here with my baby, right? You wouldn't send me home, right?" She said that it just depends on what my cervix does and if I am making any progress at all. I asked about them breaking my water, and they said that because he is still high, if he doesn't move down any more that they would not be able to break my water because when pushing, his head could squeeze the umbilical cord causing the oxygen he is receiving to be cut off. So, that may not be possible. Ultimately, a c-section sounds like the only thing that is going to get this child out of me. It's not what I want, but it is looking like I don't have much choice in the matter.

SERIOUSLY?!?!?!? OMG. I just may murder someone if they try to send me home without my baby!!! I am FREAKING 10 days OVERDUE!!!! So, basically, if they TRY to send me home before Brandon is born, I am simply going to refuse to leave. I will tell them that they can either give me a c-section, or have security escort me out. This is beginning to get ridiculous. It is NOT healthy for a baby to be overdue by so much. Eventually, the placenta starts deteriorating, and baby gets so big that a vaginal delivery is impossible. So, I am trying very hard to be positive and hope that the pitocin will actually do what it is supposed to tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone that has been praying and thinking of us. We are trying very hard not to get upset about all of this, but we are ready to meet our baby. We do appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers!! Hopefully, the next update will be letting you all know that Brandon is here and all is right with the world.

Tomorrow's plan.

I wanted to post a quick blog about tomorrow in case I am unable to get online for a couple of days.

Yesturday, the doctor told me to go in anytime tomorrow to have Brandon monitored for a little while, to have my cervix checked to see if I've made any progress, and to have my membranes stripped again. After getting home, I started thinking that there really is no point in me going in tomorrow afternoon/evening, just to be sent home and to go back at 6am Tuesday morning. So, I called labor and delivery and asked them if there would be anyway that they could just get things moving tomorrow evening instead of having me make two trips there within such a short amount of time. I told them that I didn't know how much difference a few hours made. The lady on the phone was very nice and checked the calendar and informed me that there was very little going on Monday, and that they may decide to keep me just because they are so empty. So, I'm hoping to go in and just have the induction started tomorrow instead of Tuesday. There is no guarantee of that happening of course, but I can hope right?

So, hopefully, I have made some progress on my own and they decide to just keep me tomorrow and get things rolling. I hope that the next time I post I will either have already had Brandon, or will be in the process of induction. Wish me luck!!!!

Still pregnant.....again.

I went in on Friday hoping to be induced, but as most of you know it was kind of up in the air because they wanted my cervix to be "favorable." At my appointment before Friday, I was at 1cm, 50% effaced and at a -2 station. Friday morning at 6am, I was still the same, but the doctor decided to try anyway because she was hopeful that we could work with it. So, I got the IV and signed all of the forms and got settled in the room. Around 8am they inserted a foli-bulb(sp?) to try and get my cervix to dialate some more. It was successful, and I dialated to 3cm in a few hours. After that, they started me on a pitocin drip. That did pretty much nothing. I was having contractions, but they weren't regulating or strong enough. They continued to up the dose and it still didn't do anything. So, around 8pm they decided to take me off the medicine, let me eat and get some rest and they planned on starting up around 4-5am this morning with more pitocin. So, this morning they checked me and I was still at 3cm, 50% effaced and at a -2 station. They hooked me back up to the pitocin around 5am. They continued increasing the dose all day until I reached the max, and I still wasn't having regular or painful contractions. The doctor came in and said that they wanted to try to insert the cydotec (sp?) pill but had to wait for an hour after the pitocin to see if my contractions would slow down. Apparently, the cydotec (sp?) cannot be given if you are having more than 2 contractions every 10 minutes because it can cause contractions to come on too quickly and cause distress to the baby. So, after waiting the hour, I was having exactly 2 contractions every 10 minutes. They gave me the cydotec (sp?) and said that it could take anywhere from 4-6 hours to start working. So, four hours later, I was having ZERO contractions. Nothing. So, the doctor decided that I just wasn't ready to have Brandon yet. She decided that it would be best for us to go home. She said that technically, there is no medically necessary reason to do a C-section and if they keep pushing the induction methods it could cause uterine damage, and distress to Brandon. So, the plan is to go in on Monday and be monitored for a couple of hours, have my membranes stripped, and if no progress has been made I will leave and come back on my originally scheduled induction date of the 29th. On the 29th, I will officially be 41weeks 3 days. She said that at that point, it would be medically necessary to try every angle to induce and if I fail induction then they will be forced to do a C-section. So, on Tuesday, she will start the entire process that I just went through for the past 2 days all over again with hopefully a better result and if that fails, C-section it is. I cannot begin to express how upset I am. I NEVER in a MILLION years thought that we would be leaving the hospital without our baby. I know that he "will come when he is ready" but that just does NOT make me feel better about the whole thing. All I can do is wait, which I am NOT very good at doing. So, that's my update. I'm a sad panda.