Monday, January 18, 2010

Our Little Girl

Last night there
Her last night there

Kisses from mommy


She had to have an IV in her head



Proud daddy




She was holding her own pacifier in by herself






So many cords and IV's and monitors






First time I got to hold her







First family picture







The first time I got to see her







The morning after she was born


So, my pregnancy came to an abrupt end about 3 weeks early. When I was 36 weeks the doctor put me on strict bed rest because my blood pressure was high and they weren't too sure why. I didn't like bed rest at all. I hate sitting around the house and not doing anything. This also changed my plans. I was suppose to graduate this semester, but being on bed rest I couldn't go to school either. So, I am taking a lot of online classes and will have to go one more semester, but I will only be taking two classes which will be very nice. While on bed rest I had to go to the doctor every other day which was also a pain, but it's something you have to do. One week after being put on bed rest (January 11th) I went to the doctor again and little did I know that would be the day I would be having our little girl. I went to the doctor at 9 am and they did an ultrasound to make sure she was ok and then they checked my blood pressure and decided it was time for her to come out. So I checked into the hospital at 11 am and they put me on medicine to help lower my blood pressure. At about 2:45pm they started me on pitocin to start everything up. When I went to the hospital I was already progressing on my own, but the pitocin made things go a lot faster. So, they started things at 2:45pm and our little girl was born at 9:49pm that night. Things went very fast, no time for an epidural or any pain meds. It was a really neat experience to do it all completely natural, but very painful! Then came the biggest scare of my life. I pushed her out and they put her on my chest, nothing happened. She wouldn't cry and she was quickly turning blue. Immediately they took her and 6 nurses surrounded her and started doing CPR and putting tubes down her lungs and doing everything they could to make her breath. She wouldn't breath and she didn't have much of a heart beat either. I fell apart and didn't know what was going on. Jay wouldn't let me look over at it all, he was trying to help me. Then they rushed her away to the NICU. I didn't know anything and was very panicked. Jay was able to go see her at about 11:30pm. He was a mess also and was very happy to get to go see her. The medicine I was on for my blood pressure was the worst stuff ever. It made me so sick and I couldn't focus my eyes on anything and I was in a complete fog and daze. I didn't know what was going on around me and I had to stay on it for 24 hours after she was born too. We didn't hear anything about her condition for a while. At about 1:30am they brought in some pictures of her for me to see and they told us she was stable. That was a big relief to me. Sorry this is getting really long. So, to make a really long story short, I was discharged on Wednesday evening and went home and did the hardest thing ever, leave my baby at the hospital and go home without her. Then I began to live at the hospital. I am at the NICU probably about 17 hours of the day. I come to feed her at all of her feedings except one (which is during the nurse rotation so nobody can come in) but I even come during the nights. I feel like I live here. (Yes I am here right now). It has really been wearing me out. I am excited to be able to feed her in my own home with no nurses coming in all the time and I don't have to drive to go see her and report everything she does. I know I am already a mom, but I think I will feel more like it once I am her full caregiver and she is at home with me. Guess what... she is going home today!!! The doctor just came and checked her over and did her discharge paper work. Now she is doing what is called a car seat challenge. This is where they put the baby in the car seat for one hour and watch her vitals to make sure she can breath ok and can get enough oxygen and that her heart rate is good. She is about half way through and is doing great! They do this with babies that are pre-term. She was only pre-term by about 2 hours, she was 36 weeks and 6 days, but only two hours away from 37 weeks. I think it's kind of funny she has to do it, but better safe than sorry right. So, once she finishes this she will be good to go home!!! We are so excited to finally be able to take our little one home after a week of her being here. But I am so grateful it is only a week. There are some babies in here that will be here for weeks and even months, I don't know how they do it. I am so grateful for our little girl and she is such a miracle. She almost didn't make it, but she fought through it and is doing wonderful. She is so sweet and loves to sleep. Here are just a few pictures of our little angel.
Karlee May Christiansen
Born- 9:49pm on January 11, 2010
6 pounds 4 ounces 19 inches long

3 comments:

  1. Way to go Savannah!! She is absolutly adorable! I wish I could see her. It sounds like things have been pretty ruff, I am glad you get to bring her home. I hope everything keeps going well.

    Congrats again!

    Leah

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  2. Congratulations Savannah! I would have been so scared too to have my baby wisked away to NICU and not know what was going on! You must have been so strong to make it through all that. I'm glad little Karlee is doing fine now and that you all made it home. She looks so sweet and you'll have so much fun raising her!

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  3. Yay for Karlee being home! Thanks for writing down and sharing the story. I can't wait to see her :)

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