We are home!

Hendrix was discharged from the hospital yesterday right around lunchtime.  Right before we left he got a bath and we got him dressed up in a really cute outfit for hospital pictures.  During the bath he peed all over th nurse, which was really funny!  We enjoyed getting to watch him get the bath, so now we know how to do it at home :)

He was't really all that cooperative in the pictures, but he was wide awake so at least we got to see his eyes.  He didn't want to keep his head looking the right direction - I don't think he likes the flash.

We had a little trouble getting the carseat to the right setting to put him in it.  He is so little that everything had to be on the lowest and tightest setting, and he got a little impatient with us while we were trying to get it ready for him.

Then, just before we left, he had a leaky diaper and peed all the way through his shirt, pants and blanket.  Luckily I had packed lots of clothes and we got him changed into something just as cute!  

And off we were!

We were so happy to be leaving, and so thankful for the fabulous nursing staff that helped teach us how to take good care of him.  I got a hug from the NICU nurse who was working when we left, and I realized that a small part of me will miss having them readily available to help me, teach me, and encourage me.  Now we venture on this new chapter just the three of us.

We took our 8 day old, 5 lbs. 10 oz. son home finally!  Daddy was so excited to carry him into our home for the first time.  He immediately got him "unpacked" out of the carseat and snuggling into his bassinet.  He seemed to like his new environment alot. :)


Later in the afternoon he got visits from his Nanna O'Polka, and many of his aunts and uncles on the O'Polka side.  He was definitely the star of the day, and everyone enjoyed holding him and staring at him.  

Hendrix really liked his nursery.  

All wrapped up like a little burrito, and I can't believe how tiny he looks in his crib!

Daddy was so excited to spend so much time with his son, and he was really helpful during all the nighttime feedings.  It was nice that we got to sleep in until 9 am this morning, and Daddy didn't have to leave to go to work!  We could all get used to this :)


I can't wait to get used to our new normal.

Lazy Day as a Family

We didn't get discharged from the hospital today as we had hoped, but we did enjoy a long day of hanging out as a family!

Hendrix only weighed 5 lbs. 8 oz. at his weigh-in last night, so he didn't quite reach the milestone of gaining weight yet.  He did however pass the carseat test (which was where they had him sit in the carseat for an hour with a monitor checking his oxygen levels to ensure that it would be safe for him to ride in).  Apparently this can be an issue for little preemies, so we are glad that he did well!  The carseat is sitting in the nursery as a reminder that we are close to going home, we just have to be patient.


In the meantime, he has been spending 3 hour stretches of time in our room with us in between feedings, and we are finally feeling like we are getting to know our son.  We get to hear the little noises when he sleeps, we get to snuggle with him when he is stirring, and we get to show him off to those who come to see us.  He still gets worn out pretty quickly, so we are trying to just take family visitors while we are still at the hospital; but he got to see his Aunt Kate last night for the first time.

He also got to enjoy some serious cuddles this afternoon with Grandma Nancy.

I have enjoyed some precious moments with him as we have been trying to make more progress with the breastfeeding.  Today he was able to nurse several times, along with taking the 50 mls of pumped milk that they want to see him consuming.  We have found that he can be a bit of a lazy eater in the late morning - afternoon hours, but is much more alert and vigorous about eating in the evenings and nighttime hours.  A Lactation Consultant has been working with me to figure out how to manage my pumping (because I was actually producing WAY more than he can keep up with - in fact, we have already taken like 12 bottles of pumped milk home to put in our freezer.......) and also to help us be effective at helping him gain weight.  They weighed him this afternoon just to see if it looked like he was making progress, and he was up to 5lbs. 10 oz.  Now that isn't the official report - that will be at Midnight - but he still has one more feeding between now and then to hopefully boost that number, or at the very least to keep it steady. :)

Hendrix also enjoyed some special time watching football with Daddy today.  to be honest, I think he was thoroughly uninterested, but Daddy was okay with that!  lol

Since it was the big Iowa - Iowa State football game (and Bud and I both cheer for opposing teams) we compromised and allowed our son the chance to ride the fence!

Isn't he about the cutest football fan you have ever seen?


Well, tomorrow is another day and we will see what it brings.  In the meantime, I am absolutely soaking up every moment I get to spend with my little peanut and doting hubby.  Life is good.

My little snugglebug!

Yesterday was a very big day for Hendrix.

He started out with a weigh-in at 5lbs 8.5 oz.  This was up two ounces from the day before so we were very encouraged that he is going to continue making progress with his eating.  

They also got the test results back on his Bilirubin, and it was all the way down to a 9, so they took him off the lights and graduated him to his first big boy bed!  

He is still in the NICU, but now he closely resembles what all the other babies in the nursery look like as far as care goes.  The exceptions include the heart monitor that is still connected to him (you can see it hanging out on the lower shelf of the crib there), and the way he is bundled up with four blankets and usually also a hat to stay warm.

The reason for this is simply that he has a harder time regulating his body temperature than full-term babies do.  We want to keep him plenty warm so that he doesn't burn his calories keeping himself warm - this will help him gain weight faster.

Do you see a little E.T. resemblance? 

 

This picture isn't the best quality since it was taken on my phone.....but I love it when I am able to snap him just as he is smiling!  He does alot of it when he is awake.

I think that was his last smile for a couple hours though, as he got circumcised shortly after that.  I didn't want to be there to hear him, and though I believe that the Plastibell is alot easier on little boys, my little boy happens to get worn out alot easier than most, and he was real sluggish on the recovery for most of the afternoon.  He wouldn't take his feedings very well, because it was just too much work for him to wake up and eat.  I did still get some very special snuggle times with him though as did Daddy when he got here from work.

No matter how well we get him wrapped up, he likes to kick out his little feet!

You know, my feet get really hot when I sleep at night too, and I often have to kick them out on top of the covers......I can relate to what the little man is dealing with!  I just laugh when he gets his toes all spread out like this.  What silly little feet he has!  lol

And here he is in clothes for the first time!  Like I said, it really was a BIG day for the little guy!

Now, when they weighed him again for today (they do the weigh-ins at Midnight), he was still 5 lbs. 8.5 oz.  This is good and bad at the same time.  We are very glad that he isn't losing weight.  BUT the doctor won't let us go home if he isn't gaining weight.  We (the doctor included) are all hoping that he has a fabulous day with feedings today and will just amaze us at his weigh-in tonight.  If that is the case, we should be homeward bound in the morning.   This is actually rather feasible too, since he has had time to recover from the circumcision and should be able to eat with a little more enthusiasm today.

Just to help the process along, we are actually adding some calories (in powder form) to his bottled breastmilk feedings today; and while we are trying to continue making progress by putting him to the breast, we plan to not push it too hard if it is tiring him out.  We have plenty of time to transition him from the bottle to the breast, and I am doing great with my supply of milk by pumping, so it isn't worth it to push him right now. 

In the meantime, I have just spent the last two hours alone with him in my hospital room which has felt amazing!  This is the first time he has left the NICU nursery, and while he has slept the whole time, I have loved having him with me.  They want me to bring him back so they can observe the feedings still, but I am happy with the baby steps we are making!

The nurse asked us to bring in our carseat so they can do some special preparations on it to make it safer for our little preemie.  This is definitely a good sign!  

Daddy gets off work at 12:30 today, so be it here or at home, we have the whole weekend and next week to look forward to spending quality time just the three of us!  I feel very blessed!

Arms are finally free!

Hendrix got to have his IV removed this morning!  He has managed to get his feeding levels up to accepting 35 mls at one time. At his early morning feeding he seemed to be rooting around still hungry after that so we even tried letting him nurse a little bit.  He did latch on and seemed interested in it, but it really tired him out.  We know that he was getting some, because we could see some excess running down his chin.  While his nourishment will primarily come from the bottle for now, we will continue to let him try the breast so he can get the hang of it.  :)

Look, we can finally see his right arm!  He seems to be so happy to have the freedom to move that arm around now the way he wants to.   It is so encouraging to see the tubes and monitors come off him slowly and surely, making him seem more and more like the other "big kids" in the nursery :)

He is going to be spending another day under the lights, though his bilirubin level did come down quite a bit after just one day in there.  It had started at 14.8 and the goal was to get it below 12.  It was right at 12 when they tested his blood this morning, so the doctor said that though it was kind of a fencepost decision, it just made sense to keep him in it since he will be here in the hospital anyways.  Wouldn't want to have it flair back up after we get him home and have to be readmitted.  

This picture is a little bit blurry because I was the one taking it while I was holding him, but I think his little position is just so cute!  I had just finished feeding and snuggling him, and he really enjoyed having his hands up by his face.  I sleep with both my hands up by and under my face, so I thought it was really neat to see him enjoying this position.  I am not sure how much he is going to like being swaddled the way most babies do, since he has spent the whole first week of his life naked and sprawled out so far!  

The doctor is looking at getting his circumcision scheduled for tomorrow.  We have requested to have the plastibell procedure done, and there is only one doctor here at the hospital that performs this procedure so we are working around his schedule.  The fact that we are moving forward with this now is a good sign, because he is actually well enough to handle it.  The doctor told me that he wanted to wait until just a day or two before he went home to do it.  He said that if he continues as he has the past two days, we should be home by the weekend. :)

You know, I never got around to my 35 week update post, which means that I have one final bump picture to share with you.

This was the day before Hendrix was born.

This picture was taken at the hospital two days after he was born.

Though my body definitely doesn't look the way it did pre-baby,  I am very optimistic that it will eventually look more normal again :)  I even have been able to get back into non-maternity clothes (though most of them have been sweatpants...) which is good for my soul!

My plans for the day include a couple naps, another good stint of fresh air outside, and maybe even a quick run to Target to pick up some essentials.  There are just a few things I am going to need before we take Hendrix home, and I think it will make me feel much more like a normal person to get out and run the errands myself!  

I also need to run home and pack a little bag of clothes for Hendrix!  After he gets out of the phototherapy tomorrow morning he will be moved to a normal crib and will be allowed to wear real clothes!  He will still have a heart monitor on, so I need to find some lil' outfits to bring here that have snaps on them for easy access.  I am looking forward to this little step making him look even more healthy as he keeps on growing and progressing!

Thanks for your continued prayers and interest!  We appreciate all the support!

New bed for Hendrix

This morning Hendrix moved to a little "tanning bed" for the day.

This is called phototherapy and it is a special incubator that he lays in and gets some serious bright rays all over his body.  This treatment is to counteract the jaundice (which is apparently a very common thing among preterm babies that shows up around day 3 or 4).  

His little eyes get covered up because the lights would be too bright for him to see.  He doesn't really seem to mind being in there though, and the only real downside is that we are not able to handle him any time outside of his feeding time so that he can get the maximum benefit of this treatment.  He needs to be in there for 24 hours for sure, and will have bloodwork drawn first thing in the morning tomorrow to see if his bilirubin levels will have gone down enough that he can come out.  The jaundice just means that his liver isn't fully developed yet, but he has been pooping, so that is definitely a good sign!


Hendrix has been doing a great job at increasing his eating abilities.  He has been able to eat as much as 25 milliliters at once consistently throughout the day today.  In fact that has been enough that they decreased the volume of the IV that he still has in his arm.  I was also able to do the feedings today which was a really neat experience for me.  Up until this point, they would just hold his head up to feed him while leaving him laying in his bed.  He tolerated food best this way because he was only focusing on one thing - eating.  Now, he actually has the ability to be held and focus on me and eat at the same time.  It is slow going and he isn't ready to try nursing yet, but it was really just a big step for me to feel more involved in his care.  

As you can see in this picture, I was just thrilled to be given this opportunity to bond with my son!  Daddy got to come over his lunch break to see us and took some super cute pictures of Hendrix smiling while I was holding him.

I guess this is just one more way he favors his momma over his daddy, as I have a big smile and love to share it - and Bud tends to be a bit more serious.  I am told that he was especially serious as a child, and often had kind of a 'worried' look on his face.

I don't think this kid looks worried at all!

We are patiently waiting for daddy to get to the hospital from work now so we can spend some time together as a threesome at his evening feeding.  Since Bud hasn't built up much vacation time at his job yet, he decided to go back to work this week while Hendrix is still in the hospital and save his time for next week (or later, but hopefully, next week!) when we are home as a family and I could really use his help with nighttime feedings etc.  I didn't realize how much I would miss having him here to go through each little milestone with me today.  What an amazing family dynamic it is - Mommy, Daddy, and Baby.


I took my picnic lunch outside this afternoon and enjoyed soaking up some sunshine.  I don't think I realized just exactly how little I have seen outside the walls of the hospital in the past few days.  It was super windy here, but the sun felt great and I enjoyed a long stroll around the hospital "block".  I am really looking forward to spending a few of these lazy fall afternoons taking Hendrix for walks in the stroller when we get home!  That is going to be a perk of him coming a few weeks early - more nice weather to enjoy together before it gets super cold. :)

Labor Day Weekend Surprise!

So we had lots of plans for this holiday weekend, and they hadn't originally included meeting our beautiful son, but I am thrilled to say that is exactly what happened!

Hendrix James Baumgartner

Let me start at the beginning.  Friday I was 35 weeks, and I had my first drs appt that included a pelvic exam. The doc told me that I was 1 centimeter dilated, and 70% effaced; which was within the normal ranges for someone at that stage of their pregnancy.  She didn't really say anything that led me to believe that I would go into labor anytime in the near future.  


So Friday evening we headed to our hometown of Grinnell (an hour drive from where we live) to get our maternity photos taken, and then go watch my high school siblings at the high school football game.  My brother played football and was in the marching band, while my sister twirled flags at halftime.  

I saw lots of people that I hadn't seen in a while, and everyone was asking about when the baby would be coming.  It is funny to me now that my response of 'not for a while', turned out to be very untrue!  I also think that I would have had more than just a nutritious walking taco for dinner that night if I had known what the next day was going to bring!  We enjoyed time with our family and stayed up until about Midnight, with my not having any idea that my body was up to something.  I had been feeling a few cramps in my lower abdomen, but I kind of brushed them off in the assumption that I was just a little sore from my appointment in the afternoon.


I woke up at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday morning with my first contraction.  I didn't really know what it was at the time, in fact I thought that it was just a cramp, and went back to sleep.  By 4:15 a.m. I was not able to sleep in between the contractions because they were getting stronger and closer together.  At that point I woke my hubby up (actually, he heard me squirming around and that woke him up), and we started timing and charting the contractions.  My water "broke" at about 5:00 a.m., though it didn't come in a huge gush, it was very clear that I was losing my waters.  At that point, we knew that the baby was going to be coming!


We continued laboring through that first easy part very quietly as we relished the special knowledge that only he and I shared that we were going to be meeting our son very soon!  I soaked in the tub for a few minutes which helped to relax me, and hubby started getting our bags repacked that we had brought for the weekend, and the car loaded up.  


Finally at about 6:30 am we decided it was time to get moving to Ames.  We stopped to pick up my Mom, who was my labor coach, and headed out of town.  It was the most uncomfortable car ride of my life, and as soon as we got into Ames I requested that we skip the stop at our house to pick up anything we thought we needed, and we just head to the hospital.  I was kind of distressed about the fact that I hadn't packed a bag yet; but we did have a bag full of things for the weekend away, so I figured we could make that do.


They sent me to an observation room when we first got here to assess my progress.  I was 3 centimeters dilated and they confirmed that my water had broken and got me settled into my room.  I immediately got into the whirlpool tub which was where I spent a good part of my labor.  The warm water was very soothing to me, and helped me to manage the pain.  


Around 2:00 p.m. I was having a very difficult time handling the pain, and when I found out that I was only 5 centimeters dilated, I requested some medicine.  I took a dose of Nubain through an IV, and that helped to take the edge off the pain.  The downside was that I had to lay in the bed for an hour while I got it to ensure that I didn't get sick, and also so they could monitor how it was affecting Hendrix.  The upside was that it allowed me the opportunity to get some rest in between contractions which was much needed for the 6 1/2 hours of laboring that were still in store for me.  


After the pain medicine wore off it took me a while to get the contractions going good and strong again, and I spent alot of time laboring on the birthing ball.  I was having a fair amount of back pain and Bud did an awesome job of helping to counter it by pushing on my back during contractions.  He was a rockstar in the laboring process, and I couldn't imagine how I would have made it throughout the day without him and my mom there to support and encourage me.


I got stuck at 9 1/2 centimeters dilated at around 5:30 p.m. which was difficult for me because I was feeling intense urges to push, but was being constantly warned to wait until I was fully dilated.  I had to really work on my breathing to hold back those pushes.  


Then we finally got to the pushing stage which lasted for about 2 hours before Hendrix arrived at 8:37 p.m.  This part took so much more energy than I felt that I had left to offer!  In fact, there was a time when I said that I didn't think I could do it anymore.  My mom and Bud were both encouraging me as they could see his head, and telling me all about his dark curly hair and that was some serious motivation!  

As soon as he was out they laid him up on my chest for just a brief moment before they whisked him away to the NICU to make sure that he was okay.  I thought that he was beautiful!  

Bud went with him to see how he was doing while my Mom stayed with me while I delivered the placenta.  

Overall he was in much better shape than they were expecting for being 5 weeks early.  They had warned us that he might have a hard time breathing on his own which would require some time in a ventilator.  They even tried to prepare us for the worst case scenario, in which he might have to be transported to Des Moines for further care.  On the contrary however, he  needed just some pumps of oxygen before he started breathing well enough on his own from that first day.  He did have underdeveloped lungs and they did have some fluid on them, but he was able to get his breathing regulated all on his own by just being given time without too much stimulation.  That part was very difficult for me, because they didn't let us hold him until the following day.  They let us go in and look at him, but whenever we would touch him he would start breathing too fast and they would have us give him some space. 

He was 5 lbs. 11.5 oz. and 19 inches long.  

He has dark curly hair, and really dark blue eyes.  The general consensus is that he looks more like his mother's side of the family than his father's side, but I guess we will see how he continues to change as he grows!

The other main concern because of his early arrival is his eating.  Because simply breathing has been so much work for him, they didn't want to try to feed him too early.  He got an IV which was the only way he got nutrition those first couple days.  He has been able to start eating now, though his coordination is still very immature and he isn't able to stay focused on his feeding to eat very much at a time.  I have been pumping so the milk they are feeding him is from me; but he isn't capable of taking it from the breast right now, and we are giving it to him through a bottle.


Today has been the day in which he has made the most progress!  The doctor told us this morning that our goal before he can go home is to be capable of drinking 45 milliliters at one time without spitting any up so he can go completely off the IV.  With his first feeding starting at 5 milliliters, he has worked his way up to 10 milliliters and is not spitting it back up.  We are very optimistic to see his progress in the next couple of days!

Snuggling with my son for the first time. :)  It was a very emotional moment for me.

Daddy has been so excited to spend every minute possible with Hendrix, and even got to change his first diaper ever this afternoon when Hendrix filled his pants. He is a natural daddy, and I have been really overwhelmed to see how great he is with his lil' boy.

We were able to spend a good hour with him this afternoon during which he was actually awake and interacting with us.  He has big bright eyes and was really taking everything in!  He just looks so little there in my hands, I can't believe what a small yet perfect package he is.  He has the longest toes I have ever seen and likes to spread them all out very wide in a very frog-like manner.  It cracks me up!

Thanks again to everyone for their prayers and well wishes.  I will keep you posted about his progress.  In the meantime, I have been discharged as a patient from the hospital; but am allowed to stay as a guest until Hendrix gets to go home.  This means that I am still staying in my hospital room, but I don't get meals or any care (in fact, I am pretty much being treated like a hotel guest.....I have the freedom to come and go as I please).  I am able to have visitors, and would love to see familiar faces if you are willing to work around my rigorous pumping schedule!  

At this point we are hopeful that he will be able to come home with us this weekend.  

I am feeling great and LOVING being a mommy!