Intro - For Reals This Time
Hi ladies. You might remember me from a previous post. https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/67292524.aspx
You gave me the wake-up call I needed and I really cannot thank you enough for that. After getting a second opinion, having multiple labs done and watching my trace protein rise and fall a few times, it was decided that I did not have pre-e but rather the swelling was a result of blood loss. In a few days, my blood level dropped from 10.8 to 8.4 which they told me was pretty drastic in a short time. I ended up getting a blood transfusion and the swelling was gone within 24 hours. It was pretty interesting how that worked. Needless to say, I was relieved.
I was due September 21st with a Csection set for September 5th. I had previa, which later moved but my doctors thought it would be smart to deliver at 38 weeks to avoid labor, should it cause severe bleeding. I'm sure you can guess where this is going. On August 23, I went into labor...FAST. Sparing the details of the progression of events, I was sent from my doctor's office to the hospital (four blocks away) at 2:30pm and delivered at 4:45pm via csection. My husband made it just in time. It went too fast for me to process the reality that my son was early, until he was born and rushed to the nicu.
5 pounds, 14 ounces and 19 inches long. He was on the vent for the first 24 hours, moved to CPAP for another 48 hours and is now on the high flow canula. He has fluxing respiratory rates and I'm told that although he mostly stays in the normal range, he does like to creep up to 100 every so often. Apparently he is breathing too hard or fast, or something like that. But he's doing well enough that they continue to move him along with new oxygen/breathing machines so while they are keeping an eye on his resp. rate, it doesn't seem to be of huge concern. He's currently at a 3 on the high-flow and will stay that way for 24 hours. He started getting breast milk via feeding tube on Sunday night and is now on the breast and bottle - only keeping the tube for now to check residuals. His levels are borderline jaundice so we will see what develops with that. We were originally told to expect at least a two weeks stay but now nurses are taking bets on a discharge this weekend. We'll see.
Aside from premature issues, he has a disease (maybe it's a disorder? not sure) where his organs are inverted. They mirror normal anatomy so his heart is on the right side instead of left, etc. He's had several exams, x-rays and ultrasounds to check each organ and so far, everything is perfect...just on the wrong side of his body. I cannot remember the name of this, but my husband and I call it "oopsie daisy". We've been told that it should not be an issue for him, other than the obvious like appendicitis presenting on the wrong side of the body, etc. He will have to wear a medical bracelet and be educated on his condition but other than that, it shouldn't interfere with his daily life.
I promise not to write essays every time. It's a bad habit and I'm going to make a real effort to keep it simple and short from here on out...just giving myself a freebie for this re-introduction. Thanks so much for your support and for sharing your stories. I'm gaining strength just from reading what you have endured and it is inspiring to see how well you (and your children) are doing. Thanks!
Re: Intro - For Reals This Time
Congrats on the birth of your son. Glad he is doing well in the NICU, and hope your stay is fairly short.
My brother's niece has that same disorder as your son with the inverted organs. They only figured it out when she was older, and had to have an xray for something else unrelated. It's good that you know so early!
Best of luck to you and your little man!
I remember you - and welcome back (always sorry to say that)! I had a small chuckle at "I'm sure you can see where this is going" - uhh yeahhh
Ughh! I'm sorry! But that's a fantastic BW! and I hope NICU will be short. I've heard of that "condition" (is that the right word?) and it's very interesting. Cute term you and H have given it. They couldn't tell during the u/s?
Thanks for sharing all you have!
We've been wondering the same thing. The nurses in the NICU asked that too, but apparently we are really lucky to know about it now as most people have no idea until they have some sort of emergency or accident later in life. And since they don't know until later in life, I assume the u/s tech didn't catch it for them either. It seems crazy, because they measure the organs during the growth/anatomy scan and you'd think they'd notice. Who knows. We still have a lot to learn about the oopsie daisy (Situs Inversus).