Caleb Part 1
I keep going back and forth about if I should try and catch up on events leading up to Caleb's birth or if I should just blog it and then go back and get caught up slowly. The result of my indecisiveness is a lack of blog posts. So we're just jumping right in.
Caleb's story actually starts on September 23. I had an ultrasound that day to check the size of the baby. I was expecting to hear that he was about 9.5 pounds based on how much he weighed at the 30 week ultrasound. I was not expecting that he'd be measuring 12 lb 4 oz! Even with the pound to pound and a half margin of error--he was looking massive. My doctor wasn't expecting those results either. There was some concern about blood sugar levels dropping drastically after birth which is common with large babies and sometimes that risk outweighs the risk with pulmonary maturity. So, he stepped out of the room to call one of the high risk docs downstairs to get a second opinion. He came back feeling like we should deliver a week earlier than Oct 10th. He was also taking into account my history with preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. I was, of course on board with his feeling as I was VERY uncomfortable and I didn't know how much longer my back could hold out. People kept saying "Oh, ultrasounds are wrong all the time" and "I'm sure it's off" but it didn't FEEL off. I felt like I was carrying a 12 pounder. We had to work out scheduling conflicts with the hospital and it came down to either September 29 or the 30th for the scheduled c-section. I was being a total spaz about having my boys' birthdays back to back so I kind of fought having it on the 29th (I also prefer even days and I know that sounds loony but it was also Grandma White's birthday so I wasn't feelin' it at first and I told the doctor I'd prefer the other day. However, Danny talked some sense into me and I called back to say I had changed my mind. I was freaking out. I guess I thought I'd just be pregnant forever...I didn't feel ready but I was ready to not be pregnant and to be done with the diabetes so I was excited too.
When we were almost to the hospital, a song from Hilary Week's new CD came on called "It's a Good Day" came on and the lyrics really struck a chord with Danny. He got really emotional and I was doing just fine until we pulled into the parking lot at the Women's Center and we said a prayer together. It was a special moment that we shared and I could feel the Spirit as we thanked Heavenly Father for this new little one and offered gratitude for the chance to be parents again. That song will forever be Caleb's song.
I hadn't even gotten inside the hospital and I was already wiping mascara off my cheeks. I was so excited to be a Mom again. What a blessing.
We were 10 minutes late to the hospital and I was just sure I'd be the first woman ever late to her own scheduled c-section. I was worried it'd throw things way off but they were actually running way behind schedule. We sat anxiously in the room for 45 minutes before a nurse even came in to say hello. So after all the preliminary check in stuff, I was walked into the OR to get the spinal block. Last time my nerve was hit and I puked all over Danny. Thankfully that wasn't an issue this time. It went really smoothly and the anesthesiologist was awesome. He helped put a lot of my fears to rest as he walked me through what each poke would feel like and then prepped me for the sensation of the numbing. It was crazy when I suddenly couldn't feel myself breathing because of the anesthesia. I started doing yoga breathing to keep calm and focused. I couldn't believe how different things were since the surgery was planned and not an emergency. Way less stressful.
The docs both came in and asked if I wanted a mirror to watch. Danny had planned on filming if possible but there was a rule about not filming the surgical procedure. I declined the mirror and wanted to focus on my breathing so I wouldn't hyperventilate or stop breathing altogether (I guess it's pretty common when you can't feel yourself breath). They got straight to work and the anesthesiologist leaned over to Danny and said he wouldn't say a word if Danny wanted to film! So Danny took short little videos here and there, mostly because he didn't want to get in trouble by one of the doctors, haha. Once my doc said he was opening the uterus, Danny filmed the whole thing of them pulling Caleb out. It's not too graphic at all from his angle and it's AMAZING. It makes me teary eyed. I was just laying there praying to hear his cries. Finally they said I'd feel a lot of pressure and a minute later I could gurgled cries. I just laid there quietly crying because I was so relieved. After they pulled him out, there was a great reaction from the doctors/nurses and NICU team. They couldn't believe how huge he was. He broke the doctor's record! He weighed in at a whopping 11 pounds, 15.2 ounces! The nurses said if he hadn't have peed right after they pulled him out, he would have easily hit the 12 pound mark. Danny got great video reactions of everyone.
His apgar score was an 8/9 and Danny held him by my face so I could kiss his cheeks while they sewed me up. It was so precious to have him in the operating room with me since Cole was whisked away so quickly and I didn't even get a glance of him until the next day! Soon enough I was being transferred to a regular bed and they wheeled me in to the recovery room. They wanted me to try nursing and skin to skin right away. Caleb was grunting and acting really weird and I just knew his blood sugar was low. They called a NICU nurse in to observe him and sure enough she said he was breathing really fast and was really fussy so they wanted to take him for monitoring. They gave us the impression it would only be for a few hours so while I was sad, I was also exhausted and was okay with it. A while later, a neonatologist came in and explained that his blood glucose was 37 which is very, very low. I could tell she was just trying to be positive but she did say with "sugar babies", it can take time for them to adjust their blood sugar. Usually a few days. So then we were looking at a few nights without him. I was so disappointed. They moved me upstairs to the room I'd be in for the rest of the stay and we started sharing the news on FB, etc. My parents arrived with Cole and he was anxious to meet his little brother. They couldn't stay long because he had to get back for the Primary Program.
I had kind of a scare after a few hours where I started gushing blood (more than is normal) and almost passed out. Visitors started arriving and I was getting really overwhelmed. I still couldn't walk so Danny had to take them down to the NICU in groups of 3. You have to scrub for 3 minutes up to your elbows before you can even go in. So if there's a line of people waiting, it can take awhile. So while Danny is trying to entertain the guests, I was up in my room alone which was super lame. At some point that afternoon we finally decided on Caleb Anderson since it was LITERALLY the only name that we both agreed on and we both felt good about paying tribute to his Grandma and GranDad Anderson who we both admire. That night I got up for the first time and wasn't prepared for the pain. I had forgotten how extreme it was! They just got me up to go to the bathroom to clean up a bit even though I had a catheter. It was exhausting. I think by midnight I got into a wheelchair and we were on our way down to see Caleb. It was good motivation for me to get up and get moving. I also need to document that I had THEE best nurse for these 12 hours. Her name was Heidi and we are seriously Facebook friends now. She was that cool. I want her to marry my brother in law...
To be continued...
Caleb's story actually starts on September 23. I had an ultrasound that day to check the size of the baby. I was expecting to hear that he was about 9.5 pounds based on how much he weighed at the 30 week ultrasound. I was not expecting that he'd be measuring 12 lb 4 oz! Even with the pound to pound and a half margin of error--he was looking massive. My doctor wasn't expecting those results either. There was some concern about blood sugar levels dropping drastically after birth which is common with large babies and sometimes that risk outweighs the risk with pulmonary maturity. So, he stepped out of the room to call one of the high risk docs downstairs to get a second opinion. He came back feeling like we should deliver a week earlier than Oct 10th. He was also taking into account my history with preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. I was, of course on board with his feeling as I was VERY uncomfortable and I didn't know how much longer my back could hold out. People kept saying "Oh, ultrasounds are wrong all the time" and "I'm sure it's off" but it didn't FEEL off. I felt like I was carrying a 12 pounder. We had to work out scheduling conflicts with the hospital and it came down to either September 29 or the 30th for the scheduled c-section. I was being a total spaz about having my boys' birthdays back to back so I kind of fought having it on the 29th (I also prefer even days and I know that sounds loony but it was also Grandma White's birthday so I wasn't feelin' it at first and I told the doctor I'd prefer the other day. However, Danny talked some sense into me and I called back to say I had changed my mind. I was freaking out. I guess I thought I'd just be pregnant forever...I didn't feel ready but I was ready to not be pregnant and to be done with the diabetes so I was excited too.
September 27th (a Friday night) I wasn't feeling well at all and Danny suggested I take my blood pressure. It had been pretty good at all my appointments and NST's so I didn't expect it to be high. It was borderline high so I layed down and took it again an hour later. Still high. Danny and I went to Walmart to get a couple last minute things that I needed to pack in my hospital bag and came back. I rested for a bit and took my bp one more time. Higher. I got so mad! I didn't want to have this baby the day BEFORE Cole's birthday or ON Cole's birthday (the 28th). I called the doctor on call and he suggested with my history and where my numbers were that we head into the hospital to be monitored. As luck would have it, Cole was sleeping over at Greg & Angie's so we packed our bags (just in case) and headed for the hospital. I was ticked which I'm sure wasn't helping my bp. We got checked in and sure enough my numbers were super high. I thought "well holy cow, our boys are going to share birthdays". The first reading came back at 181/90. The first couple readings were high and I mentioned to the nurse that it felt like my arm was literally going to be chopped off each time the cuff inflated so she grabbed the larger size to see how that felt. Immediately my numbers dropped to 140/70. I was SO relieved and the doctor was too. We stayed at the hospital being monitored for a couple more hours and then I was released. Phew! We had a party planned for Cole that day (it was now around 2 AM) and wanted to make it special before he got lost in the shuffle of his new sibling. We may or may not have each downed a huge Diet Mountain Dew to get through the day...
Saturday was a really fun and exhausting day and I'm so glad we were able to celebrate with Cole on his actual birthday without me being in the hospital. {blog post to follow}The next morning we had to be at IMC by 6 AM so after family left our little shin dig here, I got a blessing, took a bubble bath, finished packing and tried to catch some shut eye before the alarm went off.
I actually slept. Wonderfully. When the alarm went off , we nervously got our stuff together, showered and I even put on makeup and curled my hair because I wanted to look decent for my first photos with baby # 2. (Priorities, people). It was mostly in vain because of how things went down but you can't blame a girl for tryin'. We were still unsure on a name but I figured things would work themselves out before we left the hospital. I wanted to see that chubby little face.
We took a horrid pic of ourselves in the car at 5:45 AM with very little sleep the previous two nights:
When we were almost to the hospital, a song from Hilary Week's new CD came on called "It's a Good Day" came on and the lyrics really struck a chord with Danny. He got really emotional and I was doing just fine until we pulled into the parking lot at the Women's Center and we said a prayer together. It was a special moment that we shared and I could feel the Spirit as we thanked Heavenly Father for this new little one and offered gratitude for the chance to be parents again. That song will forever be Caleb's song.
I hadn't even gotten inside the hospital and I was already wiping mascara off my cheeks. I was so excited to be a Mom again. What a blessing.
**The following is taken from my journal since I have now forgotten most of the details**
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| My feet were massive and puffy but at least my toes were cute. |
Down in the NICU, the night nurse was telling us Caleb would probably be there until his due date because his numbers were so low and he wasn't eating much. We were totally shocked! It was so depressing. We went back upstairs and were both just stunned because it was way different news than we were originally told. The next morning we went down again (always a major ordeal with me barely being able to walk or move) and the docs had just done their rounds and said he was doing great and that he might just surprise us all. He had to have his blood tested every 3 hrs and if he could keep it at a certain level every time, they would wean him off the IV he had with sugar water that was helping him stabilize. She said he could be discharged from the NICU as early as the next day if he met all his requirements. We were so relieved and I wanted to go find the night nurse and punch her in the face. We immediately enlisted prayers from family and friends so that we could get Caleb out of the NICU as soon as possible!
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