Kay's story...

Well, Kay has continued on her night time party theme. It has been a wild several days and her trend of starting action at 1 am continued last night.

As I left off yesterday I was having contractions pretty much since we were checked in here Sunday at 3 am. Last night before bed they put me on a leg compression machine to make sure I did not get blood clots in my legs from being in bed so long. I laughed when they told me to get rest as I was now hooked up to 1) an IV drip (to help keep me from getting dehydrated to hopefully stop the contractions) 2) a contraction monitor around my belly 3) a fetal heart rate monitor around my belly 3) a pulse/oxygen machine around my toe 4) a blood pressure cuff that went off every hour 5) and leg compression things that pumped up every hour... not exactly in line with my "I want to get up and walk around during labor plan".

About 1 am I could definitely tell something was a little different. The contractions were the same strength, but felt very different. They decided to check and see how dilated I was. They had not checked since I was admitted for fear of infection. Sure enough, I was 9 cm, the doctor was called and alerted and Pitocin was started to speed things along. My contractions did not change too much with the medicine. By about 3:30 am they were telling me to push. The contractions were about 5 minutes apart still, so we had time for me to "rest" between pushes. Kay was born at 4:01 am!!

As soon as she came out she gave a cry to let us know everything was ok. She got a APGAR score of 9 one minute and five minutes after being born. She was stable enough Craig got to help cut the chord and I got to snuggle for about a minute. Craig went with her to the NICU while I was stitched up and repaired.

We then moved to our 4th room since Sunday. We took about an hour nap while we waited for the doctors to tend to Kay. They have been encouraging me to pump until Kay is able to feed.

We were able to see Kay in the NICU. We will be very limited on visitors and she can only be held two times a day. Overall she is doing wonderfully. She is stabilizing her temperature and breathing on her own. Now, we just need her to continue on and "fatten up". Probably easier said than done with her "skinny" jeans from her mom, yes she does have our skinny legs :)

It is very unknown in terms of when she will be coming home. We are praying and keeping our fingers crossed things continue as they are!

We were a little sad to learn that we will be unable to donate the umbilical chord because she was less than 34 weeks. We were really hoping to be able to do so.

She has a sweet quilt over her bed that was donated. We learned we get to take it home. I plan to make one in return for someone else who has an adventure like ours!

Craig and I both got a great nap in this afternoon. I am feeling much better and will let everyone know how he is doing after he wakes up.

Grandma and Grandpa were able to quickly peek in and see their granddaughter. It is very hard not to snuggle and give kisses, but we know that is what is best for Kay right now. We are hoping to make it up to the Special Care Nursery for her next feeding at 5:30 tonight.

Thanks!

This blog post is for my loving husband and all our friends and family. We have received so many thoughts, prayers, emails etc. throughout these past few days. We could not ask for anything more. Although I am not responding to each individual email, phone call, and comment on the blog we appreciate them all! They keep our spirits, up and keep them coming! I am trying to focus my short amount of time and energy on the blog so I can update everyone at once.

Craig has been nothing but wonderful. I know he is getting tired of tending to me non-stop. It is really really hard to sit back and not do anything. I feel like a ticking time bomb and don't want to move the wrong way. I think he had prepared himself for tending to a new born, but tending to a helpless wife is a whole new challenge.

Things remain about the same. I am still on the monitor, baby is still sounding good on the monitor, and contractions are about the same. Mom stopped by and helped give me a sponge bath. I think she is going to come back tonight to let Craig get out for a few minutes and maybe get some fresh air. It is pretty boring around here. We spend our days anxiously listening to the monitor, getting my vitals checked, getting helpers to get unhooked for the bathroom, and watching tv/resting.

Thanks for everything. Hopefully baby Hardin will leave us all in suspense a little longer for its gender :)

Baby is still cooking!

Well, we made it through the night. I had contractions pretty consistently every 20 minutes throughout the night. Although I woke up for most of them, my sleep medicine really helped me catch a few minute naps between them. Craig was a trooper too. He did not get a lot of sleep, but did get a few hours of shut eye between all the nurse checks and me making it through contractions.

We met with my doctor this morning. My favorite doctor is on call today. She is letting me eat a light breakfast again. They have taken more blood and continue to check vitals, temperature, and tenderness in the belly. As long as there is no change, they are going to keep baby Hardin cooking. If anything starts to turn, they will induce immediately. My doctor seemed very positive with the progress so far and said she felt very comfortable if we had to induce today because we have bought so much time.

At this point, the baby is not really gaining weight, but just putting its energy toward developing and getting ready for the outside world.

We continue to lay and rest and hope things continue like this...The more relaxed I am, the lighter the contractions and more spread out. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers!

Ahhh... Dinner...

Well, I got the ok for some non clear liquids and a light dinner. I feel like a new woman with food in my belly. I am still having regular contractions. I am aiming for a 8 pm bedtime with some sleeping medicine tonight. Craig is camped out in his chair and we are hoping for some shut eye. Hopefully this baby will not be ready to party tonight at 1 am like it has in the past! Here are a few pictures from the past few hours. You can see that I really enjoyed my root beer. A welcomed change from ginger ale and sprite.


Craig and I would also like to say what wonderful staff we have had here so far. It is amazing how many nurses have been in and out of our rooms and they have ALL been so helpful, understanding, informative, and attentive. It is so comforting to know we are in good hands!

Dreaming of...

...a healthy baby and a cheeseburger :)

I am still on my jello, clear liquids, and broth diet. Man am I hungry! My stomach has been growling at me all day. I am already dreaming of what food I am going to request as soon as I get to eat again. I am also thankful I know two excellent dentists because I don't think I have ever had more sodas, jello, and Italian ices in such a short amount of time. I can feel my cavities at work :) I have been trying to get every calorie I can out of my "liquid" choices.

Well, we are still waiting...they declared me stable enough to get an ultrasound a few hours ago. The specialist downstairs gave our baby a grade of C vs A for two main reasons. The heart, weight, etc. looked looked as it should, but the water surrounding it was very low and the baby did not practice its breathing for the 30 minutes we were having the ultrasound done. We told them that the baby had hiccups twice last night so we know the diaphragm is working. Their hope was it was asleep and resting. They wanted me hooked back up to the monitors as soon as I got upstairs and we are still waiting to hear from our doctor on their opinions. The babies heart is still beating happily away right beside me so that is very comforting.

We still haven't gotten more than a few minutes cat nap. Every time I settle in to fall asleep I get a contraction and every time Craig gets settled in they seem to come in to check on everything.

I thought I would post a picture of my view of Craig from my bed. He has a very fancy "pleather" or plastic leather recliner to hang out in.


I will post more when we hear from the doctor as long as we are in the "hurry up and wait" pattern...

Thanks for the continued love and support. Baby Hardin needs all it can get!

On the move again...

Well, I am beginning to wonder if this is my baby (even though I have carried it for 33 weeks). 1) This baby does not appear to be a planner or like to follow the plan 2) This baby likes to party at night (not at all like its mother!).

About 1 am this morning I felt a bunch of fluid, which in turn started contractions. They were about 10 minutes apart and stronger than the ones I had been feeling earlier. They monitored until about 4 am and decided to move us back down to labor and delivery. We are now in our 3rd room since Sunday at 1 am when we arrived.

I am back to monitoring the heart rate and contractions constantly, checking vitals and temperature every two hours, and a liquid diet. They are still hopeful to slow this as long as possible. To help in that I am limited to bed full time still.

I am sure it goes without saying that we are pretty tired from another night of no sleep. Craig thinks he got maybe an hour and I probably got about two 10 minute naps.

Here is a new picture of our room.


One tired mom...


Keep praying and hoping this little one decides to hang out with mom a little longer...but, on a positive note...we made it to our first benchmark!

A new room...

Well, as I type this the baby has hiccups and it is so comforting to feel it in its "normal" movements etc.

We have changed rooms! The doctor stopped by about an hour ago and said since everything is so stable he wanted to move us to a more long term room in the hopes this baby will stay in for awhile. The new room will have a more comfortable bed and I will not have to be hooked up to so many machines.

Here is a picture of our first "home away from home"


Here is a picture of our new room



Here are the benchmarks we are trying to hit:
* 48 hours from when the water broke and our two sets of steroids (for the babies lungs)- 9:00 am Tuesday June 16
* 72 hours from when water broke, decrease in chance of onset of labor and greater chances of stabilization- 1:00 am Wednesday June 17
* 34 weeks pregnancy, increased chances of lung development- Friday June 19
* Keep baby in as long as possible and as long as there is no concerns of infection or stress to the baby

Still a waiting game... thanks for all the calls, emails, prayers, thoughts etc. This baby is well loved and we appreciate it!!