Hello, Board! Intro and birth story

+ASH+ · June 2013

Hi all - I've been popping in and out a bit, and decided to make a formal introduction. My baby girl was due May 19 - my water broke at 31 weeks and one day (no reason for it, it happened in my sleep and I'd had an exam the day before that didn't predict a thing) and I was sent to a great hospital a few hours away. They got me to 33 weeks and my little Easter baby was born weighing 3lbs 10 ozs. She came out breathing on her own and went right to the Nicu. After 6 days, she got moved to a step-down unit and was doing great. I stayed with her and we were just waiting for the NG tube to come out and the bottle feedings to go up.

12 days later (in a roller coaster of events that I never ever want to relive) she had a lethargic morning, lackluster feeding, and enlarged belly. We put her on her belly, hoping to help everything digest - an hour later we checked her diaper and it was full of blood. It makes me anxious just typing this and having to relive it in this small way. She got whisked across to the children's hospital right away, x-rays, IV, and more. She had developed NEC. Thankfully, surgeons were never called in and it was treated with antibiotics (at this point she was almost 3 weeks old - 35 weeks gestation).

After about 10 days, we moved to another step-down unit. 5 days later we were discharged.

We've now been home for over a month. She's had a few specks of blood in recent diapers, so I'm in panic-mode all over again (although her doctor has tried to reassure me that a relapse of NEC is extremely unlikely - especially because she's getting exclusive breastmilk that I'm pumping ). She wasn't concerned enough to do X-rays, but she did take a stool sample to send off to the labs. We're waiting to hear back from that, but in the meantime I'm cutting milk and cheese out of my diet. She's happy, she's growing and thriving (two pounds since we came home - she's nearly doubled her birth weight now), but I'm still a nervous wreck - we're under quarantine for a few more weeks.

You might see me pop up on the boards from time to time.

punky917 · June 2013

Congrats on the birth of your daughter! T&P that her tests come back normal.

ahollo02 · June 2013

Welcome and prayers!

jcsntms06 · June 2013

Congratulations on the birth of your baby girl. What a roller coaster of a NICU stay. Glad to hear that she is home and growing. Praying that you get a good lab results. Please stick around and join in the discussions on the board.