Lil' B's Perfect Arrival

So, this is a little late in posting, but OUR BABY IS HERE! Braedan was born on September 20th at 10:!3pm. He weighed 5lbs. 11.5ozs. and was only 5 weeks early! We like to call him our little miracle baby...aka the fighter, because had he come on time, he may not have made it. When he came out we saw that the cord was wrapped tight around his neck and around his body. Had we even noticed anything had changed, it would have been too late. But not to dwell on that, he is here, safe, and totally healthy!! I gave birth totally drug free, completely and comfortably natural (other than being on a hospital bed of course), and with the help of a friend to act as a Doula. I labored mostly at home which was awesome. The best part was my friend's little daughter (2 yrs. old) even helped to rub my back with a heating pad. It was so cute. She's a little mini chiro-doula! Labor was only about 6 or so hours for me. Pretty short I think. All in all, quite the experience. Now that I am out of it, I think I can do it again!

On another note, the week following was not so fun. Since our baby was preterm, he had to  stay in the nursery to be checked out and tested on to make sure he didn't have any infections etc. He did have fluid in his lungs, but that was about it. He ended up being on antibiotics for a couple of days, and then we didn't start even feeding him till after that. He was fed through IV initially. James and I were very frustrated because the nurses kept not telling us anything. The first thing that made us mad was that they didn't even let us know about the first time they fed him. We didn't get to know, and we didn't get to be there, and it was very upsetting. So we demanded to be told from there on out when he was to eat so we could do it. After birth the next time I even held my baby was around 24 hours. He had to stay in an isolette to regulate his temperature  for a few days, and we could only touch him through the holes in the side. It was sad to see him in there with things all hooked up to him, but we understood why. So as he progressed, we began asking when he would get to come home...what a roller coaster ride of emotions.

At first the doctors kept saying that Braedan would have to increase his eating and continue to eat a certain amount. He did that, and even kept increasing what he was eating, and then still no answer. Then they kept weighing him every night and said that he needed to stop losing weight. (BTW, all babies lose weight after birth and gain it back about a week or so after). Every ounce mattered. Everytime he got weighed and lost another ounce like a normal baby would, it would just break our hearts because we would get no word on when he could come home. I never even got to have him in my hospital room with me. Braedan was born on a Saturday night, and I was discharged Monday. But I decided to stay at the hospital every night in a room specially for moms. Of course no dads were allowed to stay, which made things even worse. Our entire, new family separated every day, every night.

Days kept going by and we would ask to speak to the head Doctor, but no communication was given. We weren't doing anything at the hospital that we couldn't do at home: feed him, change him, monitor him, and bring him in for weight checks. All we wanted to know was what the exact criteria was for him to be able to go home, and all we would get were "beat around the bush" answers. The worst was when they would threaten feeding tubes for him anytime he didn't meet a certain amount of food in a certain amount of time. No baby is going to eat the exact same amount in the exact amount of time every 3 hours around the clock. Not normal. We were just mad. Of course they also were saying that he had to maintain his weight before he could go home. So he needed to not lose any more weight. So James and I thought, "Ok, if he'll just weigh the same here then he can go home". Nope, some nurses started saying, "no he needs to gain weight." We were getting so angry now because it was always a different answer! It had been such a frustrating week already and a huge emotional roller coaster! Finally Friday night rolled around and he was to be weighed. He had gained a few ounces!! I was so excited. There was no reason now why he shouldn't be able to come home.

Saturday came, and hours kept going by, and I was waiting to hear anything about him being able to go home. No word, no communication. Finally a new set of nurses were here and one said "So they're discharging him today?" I had no idea. No one had said anything to me. I was excited and mad at the same time, so I decided to push the subject all day. Finally I was told that he would be discharged and was ready to go, and all we needed now was just our ride to go home. We were there an entire week.

Now I know that there are many mothers who might be thinking, "our child was in there for months, you have no idea," and they're right. But I do know that even that one week was torture, not being able to be the parent to your own child, having to be monitored all the time, someone else setting the rules. We hated it. And, I cannot imagine what other mothers have gone through being there for longer. I don't think I could do it. But I would if I had to.

The good thing is Braedan is home now, and is as strong and healthy as ever. Today he weighed in at 7lbs. 4oz. He is getting big! We couldn't be happier to have him home (even when he is up screaming through half the night or not cooperating...he is still our cute little baby boy). LIfe is good and we are adjusting. Although it's been a roller coaster ride, I wouldn't change it for the world!