My little brother who lives in Wyoming came down with his girl friend on Tuesday for her brothers wedding. She was 23 weeks pregnant and when they got here she was in some pain and was bleeding so they took her to American Fork hospital. The dr checked her and said it was normal and sent her home. (another reason to add to my list to never go to that hospital) The next morning it got worse so they went back. When she was checked this time the dr could feel the top of the baby's head and had them rushed to Utah Valley hospital.
She gave birth to her 1 lb baby girl, she didnt even get to see the baby. They rushed the baby into the NICU and wouldnt let the mom see her for 5 hours.
The cause was an infection in her cervix, the mom is doing fine and they are planning on moving back to Utah. The baby is also doing fine for now, she is proving herself to be quite the little fighter. She is not supposed to be breathing on her own, most babies at 23 weeks use the machine for a while, but she is breathing on her own about 80% of the time and has the machine just for a back up. She is being fed her moms milk thru a feeding tube and taking it very well. So for now we just get to watch her grow and if things come up its all up to the baby and how she will respond to what the drs can do.
She sleeps on a little water bed attached to a machine that wiggles her to make her feel like she is still in the womb. The pictures are her diaper compared to a newborn diaper, and compared to a face card. Her head is always covered so she cant open her eyes. If she were to open her eyes she could go blind. So her head is wrapped in a little hat and covered with a blanket. She is on her tummy in all the pics because she was starting to get a scare of jaundice so they flipped her to get her back and bum some light.
The NICU has soooo many babies there! Every baby is assigned their own nurse so when we walk in there are dozens of nurses that all sit together unless they are checking on their baby. I always see at least 3 or 4 drs in there at a time too. It kind of feels like I am walking into an egg hatchery because they all have their own little boxes with lights above them.
No one is allowed to hold or touch her, her skin is still not developed. The tubes down her throat are covering her vocal cords, she cries but makes no sound. You just have to watch her facial expressions to see if it looks like she might be crying. The most The mom has been able to do so far is change a diaper.
I definately teared up the first time I saw her, I have been back to see her about 4 times now and hopefully get to go again soon. I cant believe how attached I am getting to my little niece that I wont get to officially meet for at least 5 more months. The biggest tear jerker moment I had so far was the first night we were there the nurse turned off the lights to take the stuff off her face so we could see her, while she was undoing the wrap little Noelani reached her tiny little hand up to grab the nurses thumb, she wrapped her fingers around as far as she could but only got about half of her thumb. It just felt like she knew someone was there and she wants to interact with them, but cant.
This is my first niece, little bugger snuck in and took the first grandbaby spot from Marlee.
In my baby news so I dont have to do another post....My dr didnt even check my dilation last time because he is determined that Marlee is going to be induced on the 23rd. His plan is to have us come to the hospital Sunday night the 22nd, get started, get the epidural. Sleep all night and then have her sometime Monday. He guessed she will weigh between 8 and 8 1/2 lbs. If she doesnt come on her own then she will be here Monday and this Friday will be my last Dr appointment. FINALLY!
3 comments:
She is stubborn like her dad. She won't be coming on her own I don't think. But I'm freakin excited. I am happy that your neice is doing well. That is such a blessing that she is in that hospital.
How scary! I don't know what I would do if I had my baby that early. 23 weeks is soooo small! You have to let me know when Marlee makes her debut. The 23rd is coming quick! I can't wait to see pictures of her!
It's incredible to me that a baby can be saved at 23 weeks! How lucky! My parents lost their first baby because he was born at 33 weeks and they weren't able to save him. He lived 9 hours. Lung problems. Anyway, I hope the best for them. A girl in my ward had her son 3 months early (3 days before I had Kiersa) at 25.5 weeks, and he did just fine and is healthy as a horse now with no residual bad effects. His development is slower than Kiersa, but that's because he's about 3 months behind from being born 3 months early. I hope things go as well for Noelani!
Hey I just saw that Marlee Matlin spells her name like your baby. She's the deaf girl that was on the baby einstein sign language video, and she won an Academy Award back in the 80s.
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