Hello. I am frequent reader of these boards, but not really a poster. I saw this thread and my eyes lit up. What an inspirational thread. It gives me hope for my son.
My sons expected due date was 11/27/07. He was born on 9/16/07. I had a fairly normal pregnancy. I had one episode of bleeding in May, which they found nothing wrong with me. My OB said it was most likely my body thinking it was time for a period. There was no placenta previa and my son had his heartbeat. The bleeding occurred for 3 days and then I never saw it again. I am healthy and continued that in pregnancy.
On 9/15/07, my fiancé and I were moving into our new, bigger, apartment. I didnt move anything, just watched my friends and family help. That evening a bunch of us went out to dinner and came back to our new apartment to watch the classic, Space Balls. From dinner on I was having mild lower back pain. I had experienced back pain throughout the pregnancy and thought nothing unusual about it. That evening, when trying to sleep, the back pain got worse but eventually I dosed off. I woke up at 8AM that morning, still with the back pain. At this point I started getting a little worried. I did some research online to see what contractions are supposed to feel like. I brushed it off, as my fiancé and I had to go to Target to get organizational things for our home. On our way to target I started feeling the pain all around my lower back and in the front, lower stomach area. It was coming and going. I thought I was having bad stomach pains relating to needing to go to the bathroom. While shopping, my fiancé and I split up in the store to get done faster. I kept having to stop every 5 minutes because of the pain. My fiancé saw me standing by a wall and asked me if I was okay. I told him what I was feeling and he freaked out saying I was probably in labor and I should call my doctor. I told him that no, I wasnt and I didnt want to call the doctor to become one of those women with false labor. But eventually, as the pain was 4 minutes apart (I was timing) I called the doctor and she told me to rush in.
We drove to the hospital and traffic was horrible. The hospital is near the beach and it was a beautiful say, so the roads were jammed. Finally made it there. They determined that I was dilated and contracting. My sons heartbeat was healthy. They gave me Magnesium to try and stop the contractions and a steroid shot. The magnesium made me very sick and woozy. And it didnt stop my contractions. I was moved to a room and right as I was moved the doctor examined me and I was completely dilated. She could feel the sac and broke my water. There was no stopping him. After two pushes, my son Evan was born. I was admitted at 11:30AM and he was born at 12:47PM. He was screaming and crying. Born at 29 weeks 5 Days, weighing 2lbs 6oz 14 inches long.
He was in the level 2 NICU. He had no breathing problems. He didnt need a vent or nasal canula. Everything looked good, he was just tiny. He spent a week in the level 2 NICU before we had a phone call the following Sunday after his birth, that he was having intestinal issues and they saw a perforation in his intestine. He had the beginnings of NEC. They transferred him at 3PM to a level 3 NICU and by 7PM he was in surgery to correct the perforation. They said that if he didnt get the surgery ASAP, he would not make it. My fiancé, family and I were freaked out and we were all a wreck. Thankfully there was no dead intestine. They sewed the perforation in his small intestine and cleared out all of the bacteria that had been backed up. He was out of surgery within an hour.
He has been doing pretty well since then. Gaining weight, he is at 3lbs 9.5oz as of yesterday. He has had a replogle tube in since the surgery. And they have tried removing it twice. But both times, no luck and they placed it back. He has been fed via IV since surgery. We have just found out, per the doctor, that he should have been eating a week ago, but for some reason isnt taking the replogle tube out. This caused them to do an upper GI, lower GI and an ultrasound. The surgeon said he has scar tissue in the small intestine which is causing a narrowing in that area, preventing things to pass. And that his bowels arent functioning as properly as they would like. Before they attempt surgery, they wanted to see what the gastro team had to say about it. They put him on Reglan yesterday to hopefully increase digestional flow and expand the area where the narrowing is. But ultimately, if that does not work, surgery will be needed.
This has been the hardest experience of our lives. I am doing better since his birth, but I break down every day. Seeing him is such a joy, but at the same time, it is hard. All of the wires, beeping, etc. I try not to look at the monitors, but it is hard. The As and Bs scare me, but I know it is common for preemies. He doesnt have them often. I know he is in the best hands, but I still want him home. And now all I am praying to God is for him to be home before Christmas. Thats all
I couldnt imagine going through his first Christmas with him still the hospital.
Thanks for starting this thread. It helps reading all of the stories and triumphs. Like I said, it gives me hope that he will be home soon and recovering well.
Jessica
