Hawke in the NICU

Hawkins spent 5 days in the NICU. The first couple days he was in the incubator and had fluids through an iv. They allowed me to start nursing him right away which I was so happy about. And surprisingly this little boy latched like a pro and was doing so good with his nursing. They said typically babies that little have a hard time in the beginning. But he did great! 

We started asking when he'd be able to go home, and got a few differing answers from different people. We had heard he needed to meet a certain weight, or that he would have to transition to a different nursery outside of the NICU first... But we finally got some answers from his NICU doctor who was just amazing. He's a big advocate for breast feeding and the babies going home as soon as they're able. He's done so much research for the hospital, and many of the new things they're implementing in the NICU is because of him.  He said if he can prove he can live outside the hospital, he'll be able to go home, no matter what his weight is. 

So if he could nurse and get enough, that he wouldn't need an iv, show no decelerations in heart rate or breathing, and maintain his own body temp, then he would be able to go home.

After a couple days they decided to test him and see how he did without their help. They took him off the iv fluids and took him out of the incubator. 

His weight went down to 3pounds 11 ounces. 

He was able to nurse and acquire enough dirty diapers to show them that he was eating well, and he did manage to keep his body temp up, when double swaddled and double hatted ;) We were instructed that qwhen we did get to home, to keep the house warmer than usual and to keep him wrapped up, because when he was out of a blanket for a 30 minute nursing session, his body temp dropped down. 

In the middle of the night, the night before we were expected to be discharged and bring him home with us, his billi level shot up and they said we couldn't take him home with us. He needed some phototherapy. 

We were so sad that we had to go home without him! I couldn't believe I was actually leaving the hospital without my baby. It made me think back to the first time we delivered there and we left the hospital without our baby. It was because she had died. And here we were again, leaving the hospital without our baby. Thankfully he was doing okay and in good care if we couldn't be there. I could barely sleep at home that night, despite how tired I was. 

The next day me and Harlow went back to UAB and spent the day there with our boy. 

They checked his billi levels and they had come back down to a safe enough degree, that they were okay with him going home, as long as we followed up with his pediatrician at the end of the week. 

It was so nice driving home with both of my littles in the backseat asleep :)

Welcome Hawkins!

The 2 days following our last appointment and last BPP, were spent cleaning the house, doing laundry, and packing a hospital bag for the 3 of us. Thursday came and I woke up doing my 'last' good morning snuggles with Harlow and couldn't help but feel sad for a moment, that her whole world was going to change and I wouldn't be giving her 100% of my attention, 100% of the time. I was also starting to feel so nervous and was praying it would be a successful induction and delivery. 

We loaded the car and began to make the trek down to Birmingham as we heard the first ball snap over the radio to kick off college football season. 

We got to the hospital at 530pm and checked ourselves into the 3rd floor like we had done 2 times before. I can honestly say, UAB women & infants center feels like my second home. 

Despite getting there at 530pm, we weren't setup in a labor and delivery room until around 730pm, in which case I was ready for Adam and Harlow to go get some dinner, and get this induction going. 

For about 15 min, I was contemplating having us go home and come back in the morning, because a nurse informed me I'd be under watchful monitoring for the night and they would start the induction in the morning. Now, I had strategically planned to get the induction started at night, so the long and boring beginning part could have been taking place while Harlow was sleeling. I figured we'd have about 12 hours under our belt by morning, almost guaranteeing he would be born at some point during the day on Friday, and when my sister in law Amy would be at the hospital to help with Harlow. 

After explaining this to my nurse and the doctor on call, they surprisingly were ready to go and called for the foley bulb to be inserted. I was also pleasantly surprised to know I was 1cm and 25% effaced all on my own :) I had been 100% closed and not ready when I was induced with both Lyla and Harlow. We officially got started at 840pm Thursday night! 

That night, was a bit of a challenge getting Harlow to sleep. I'm normally the one who 'puts' her to bed and am her comfort. So when I was in bed with wires and an iv, unable to be across the room putting her down, it was a sad day. Harlow cried and cried as Adam tried so hard to get her down himself. Finally, we ended up with a solution for our little sweet pea :)

After several ins and outs of doctors and nurses, this proved it was not going to work. Several attempts later, Adam was able to get her down and Harlow and daddy got some snuggle time! 

I wasn't checked again until 6am, in which the foley bulb came out and I was just 3cm, still 25% effaced and still a -3 station. I couldn't believe after 9.5 hours and already being 1cm and 25% to begin with, that I was still so slow to progress. Amy texted me and I let her know it wasn't a rush to get down there. 

The contractions slowly for worse over the next 2 hours and around 830am, I cried as I gave in to the epidural. I was really hoping to not get one this time around. With Harlow it didn't work, and was so painful I swore I would never be able to do it again. Yet here we were again, 16 months later ;) 

These contractions were way worse than either of my other inductions and I could not take it anymore. I didn't know how I would survive each contraction as they came. I called for the epidural and cried to Adam about it as i waited for them to come. For some reason, it took them about an hour to administer the epidural, but finally found some relief at 10am when they were finished. 

I was feeling intense pressure and as the anesthesia team was all still in my room cleaning up, the doctor came in and wanted to check me out of curiosity since I kept saying I was having intense pressure. She did and looked up and said, "you've got to be kidding me. You're complete and he's right there. Are you ready to push?" I couldn't believe it. And my doctor couldn't believe it either. Just 4 hours earlier I was a 3, 25% and -3 station and here we were ready to go! I guess it is true, the more kids you have, the faster the labors are! 

25 minutes were spent with the doctors and nurses getting ready, me calling Adam who had taken Harlow for a walk outside to tell him we were ready, him calling Amy asking if they were close to the hospital yet, and the nicu staff coming down to be ready for his arrival. 

Harlow had fallen asleep in her stroller, and Amy and my mother in law showed up just in time. Adam handed off the stroller to them and was back in my delivery room and ready to go. 

By the time I started to push, I looked around and here were 10 people in the room waiting on our little boys arrival. I was so excited to see what he looked it and just how small he was, and was also so nervous for how his health was going to be once he was out. In just 5 pushes, I was shocked as blood burst everywhere and startled everyone in the room as he made his arrival. It's so funny now, because everything was okay. But right when he made his arrival, the doctor was like, "what was that?!" Thankfully all was okay, and there weren't any complications. It did shock and scare me though. 

I watched as is little body was taken by the nicu staff to be examined in the corner. He looked so little and so sweet and te nicu staff couldn't stop smiling at him :)

Hawkins Soren Epperson came into the world August 30,2013 weighing 3lbs15oz and was 17.5 inches long. He started crying the minute he came out and after being examined, they brought him over to me and he stopped crying the minute I held him. I will never forget that :)

I was so sad when they had to take him away to the nicu. I made sure Adam went with them. As they were finishing up with me, Adam sent me this picture:

It only took about 2 hours before they wheeled me down to go and see him. He was doing well, but was needing to be in the incubator to help keep him warm. He was unable to maintain his body temperature and they gave him an iv with fluids to help him regulate his glucose levels.