Too Busy

I keep meaning to post but I have just been too busy. My day goes like this


12am: wake up to pump,
12:45: back to bed
3am: wake up to pump
3:45: back to bed
6am: wake up to pump then start the day. Get Rawley up for school. Take him to my dad's or the sitters for 7:30.
8:45: be at hospital, Change diaper, take temperature, feed via breast, bottle or tube depending on how alert and ready Everett is. Then pump.
9:15ish: Come home and eat
11:30: Head back to hospital to do it all again
2pm: pick up Rawley if I do not have someone to watch him after school
2:45: back to hospital
4:15ish head home for dinner, laundry, time with Rawley
5:45: back to hospital
7:15: back home
7:45: back to hospital for weigh in, bath and the rest.
10:15ish: home for the night
Then I start all over again at midnight.

I am so tired.

Everett has been doing awesome. He is growing stronger everyday. A couple days ago he was taken off extra Oxygen and has been doing really good. Yesterday he finished off his last antibiotics for the pneumonia and then finally got his IV removed. It is so nice to see his arm free from the needle and all the tape. Today He got to give him his first bath. It was so much fun. Ryan held him, I bathed him and Rawley video taped it all. The video may make some people seas sick, but it is so special that he was there to tape it for us.

Everett has had a lot less rapid breathing which is so amazing. we are so proud of all his little accomplishments. Tomorrow he should be moved out of his incubator and into a big boy bed. Then we will get to start dressing him in real clothes. Although I do love his naked little body, it will be nice to see him in his cute little preemie outfits.

So that is the little update i have and now here are a few new pictures.

Pictures

A few on my favorite photos.

Not Enough Hours in a Day

I am finding it really hard to be home and have Everett still in the hospital. Besides the obvious reasons of just not having your baby with you, I am just running out of time to get everything done in a day.

I try to show up just before 9am, 12pm & 3pm everyday for sure. This way I arrive just as he is waking up. Through the port holes of the incubator I get you change his diaper, take his temperature, move his O2 monitor from one foot to the other and then feed and burp him. This takes about a half hour, then I stay there and pump which takes just over a half hour. By the time I leave I only have just over an hour to come home to eat, clean up an bit and try to sleep for 30 minutes. It is really hard but I don't want to miss any opportunity I have to be with him.

Most nights this week we have also gone back as a family at 6pm and then at 8. Just after 8pm they take him out to weigh him and if his vitals are all good, we can sometimes sneak a little cuddle.

Everett has been showing signs of getting better everyday. They have confirmed he has pneumonia in one lung so he has to remain on antibiotics. Yesterday they were able to take him off Oxygen and his levels stayed good all day long. This is huge because when he does not need the extra oxygen we have more chances to take him out and hold him.

They have been giving him my expressed milk for a few days and that seems to have calmed him down a lot. He sleeps better between feeds and his breathing and slowed a bit. They want his breathing to be under 60 and Everett is often up around 100. So he see it slow and see him calm down is wonderful.

Yesterday I got to take him out and give him his bottle at 3pm because all his vitals were so good all day.

He also managed to finish off 2 consecutive bottles of 35mls. He does have a feeding tube now because 35 mls is a lot for a little one to try to suck so if he gets tired they put the remaining milk down his tube. The feeding tube is really not as awful as I thought is would be. Ryan still hates it though. Last night Auntie Merry kept Rawley so Ryan and I could go to the hospital at 8pm by ourselves and spend some quality time with Everett. He was doing so well that they let me try to breast feed him. He was so eager and was latching really well. He does have an incredibly small mouth so we still had some troubles, but he did amazing for his first attempt. We were able to keep him out for almost 2 hours and Ryan and Everett had the most amazing cuddle ever. It was so cute. Everett seems to do really well when being held. He calms down and all his vitals stay within the range they want. He really loves his daddy.

As for me. I was discharged at noon on Wednesday. They sent me down to the NICU to wait for Ryan to come get me. The discharge did not go well. I was given 30 minutes to pack everything up and leave my room and I was all Alone and not feeling great so I had a good cry. One of my two favorite nurses came to see me and she hugged me and helped me with everything. They never told me much when I left....like when I need to see my doctor again, when I need to have my staples removed...what to do if I get the gas pains.

Turns out at about 5:30 that night I got the gas pains again. The worst ones I had ever had. We were at home and had to return to the hospital. It was awful because Rawley was with us and I was crying/moaning A LOT. I could barely take a breath and Rawley seemed very scared. When we got to emerg they took me right in and I was seen by a doc within 15 minutes. The nurses had an IV in (my 5th) and were giving me morphine before the doctor even had time to come see me (bless her heart). Finally I felt some relief. The doctor still checked to make sure gas was all it was, he did an ultrasound to rule out fluid in the tummy and checked me over really well. Then before leaving he gave me morphine pills to take home with me. Poor Rawley had a rough night. Once I explained that I am okay and nothing is really wrong except I am in pain and I just need some medicine to make it go away he seemed to be okay.

I also found out that I should probably have had my stitches out already. After 3 or 4 days the skin starts to heal over the stitched and then it hurts a lot to have them out. Today is day 6 for me. I called the dr. office as soon as I found this out and they tried to get me in yesterday but I could not make it, so I am a little nervous about my appointment today.

I will just keep thinking about Everett and how well he is doing, how cute he is and how right after my appointment I will get to go see him.... that should get me through it. :)

And The Husband of the Year Award Goes To.....

RYAN WALKER!

I cannot describe how loved and cared for I have felt through this whole experience. Ryan has been by my side for every contraction, bathroom trip, needle,(and there have been lots..4 IVs, and epidural, plenty blood work...) chest pain, vitals check.... He has been my food getter and often feeder, my water fetcher, my bed tucker, my foot rubber, my forehead kisser, my coach, my cheerleader, my encourager....

Nothing has grossed him out or made him look away. When he looks at my huge swollen elephant feet he tells me they are beautiful. When I say I look awful he tells me I look like a mom. He let me hold Everett the entire time Monday night. He lovingly pushes me in my wheelchair and has managed to maneuver holding open heavy door while pushing through my wheel chair and IV pole.

...to be continued. I am being discharged right now.

Tuesday May 25

I tried to blog earlier today but blogger was deleting everything I wrote. After 3 tried I finally gave up.

Yesterday was a Awful and Wonderful day all rolled into one.

Awful: I was still having really bad chest pains from the gas/air in my diaphragm. When the pain comes I can not move and I can barely breath. The usually pump me full of morphine and in 15 minutes I start to feel better. Poor Ryan has to sit beside me feeling helpless. He has been my hero though it all though. He holds my hand and talks me through everything. He is very encouraging and repeatedly tells me what a good job I am doing (even when I am crying and screaming in agony).

Wonderful: I got to hold Everett last night. We were not expecting to be able to hold him for a week or so because his Oxygen levels are so low and his breathing is so fast. Yesterday afternoon we had told them that we planned to be back at 8 pm to see him again and the nurse in the NICU said that is when they will have him out of his incubator to be weighed. Once he was weighed his levels were good so she told me I could hold him. I got to hold him for about 7 minutes and it was the most amazing feeling ever. He was actually pretty content and if his Oxygen levels were better he probably could have stayed out longer. Both Ryan and I cried though as I held our tiny little baby in my arms.

Yesterday when I spoke with the pediatrician he told me that they suspect he may have pneumonia. He had 2 x-rays already and will have another chest x-ray tomorrow. If he does have it he will have to stay on antibiotics a little longer.

Today Everett made huge leaps and bounds. He has showed signs of being interested in eating so they tried him on some 5ml of breast milk and he totally sucked it down then became very calm. His breathing slowed and he was more peaceful. Normally babies like him can not handle sucking from a bottle because it requires too much effort and energy so they get a feeding tube. We were told that Everett will probably have one, but if he can keep this up he will not need one. They have already bumped him up to 8 mls and at midnight he will get 11mls. Also he finally had his first poop today. Which if you are unaware is a huge deal. We are so proud of him.

Tonight we were back for 8 pm and I got to change his diaper, feed him his bottle and then Ryan got to to hold him. While Ryan was holding him Rawley was touching his head, talking to him, kissing him and letting Everett grab his finger. During this time Everett had the most steady rates on the monitor. Even while out of the incubator his Oxygen levels were higher than when he is in. The nurse was so impressed. She told Rawley that Everett must really love him and the sound of his voice. It was a very wonderful moment.to hold him.

Everett Lee Walker

Everett finally came into the world just in the nick of time to have a May 22nd birthday. My wrist band says he was born at 11:12pm. I was not awake at the time so I will go by that. He was 4lbs 7.5oz, but the doctor gave him the extra half ounce and called him at 4lbs 8oz. He was 45cm long, but I have no idea what that is in inches.

After two very full days of trying every other option for a natural birth they finally booked us for a c-section. I was completely exhausted and Everett had been working so hard for so long that it was time to just get him out.

The C-section did not quite go as smooth as we expected. After they had me open and started working I could feel the pain so they quickly kicked Ryan out of the OR and put me to sleep. It was all very fast and scary for both of us. Ryan did not know what was happening or why they were kicking him out. I guess in a situation like that they don't have time to explain things they just have to act. Because I was put out I did not see, hear or get to hold Everett while in the OR but I have been assured he came out screaming and very alert.

Ryan and his mom got to see Everett shortly after delivery while I woke up in recovery. Apparently it was extremely emotional for both of them. Wish I could have been a apart of that.

Everett was very tired so they had to give him an IV for get him some nutrients.

Once I had been awake for almost an hour and the spinal block started to die off they wheeled me on my bed into NICU to see Everett.

OH MY GOODNESS. He is so cute. I know he is small at 4lbs 8ozs but he actually isn't as tiny as I was expecting. He has really dark skin and dark hair. I have no pictures to post at this time as we are still in the hospital and I can barely move.

Yesterday was a rough day of recovery for me. I have been having a lot of pains that are associated with a c-section. When they have you open air gets into your abdominal cavity and you experience a lot of chest pains (they are referred to as gas pains) that shoot up into your shoulder. If I sit up for more than 45 minutes or use my right arm the pain is quite intense. They have had me on morphine for that.

Yesterday however was amazing. I got to visit Everett in the NICU 4 times. Rawley got to come meet his baby brother. It was so amazing to watch him stare at Everett with such love. He was scared at first to put his hand in the incubator and touch Everett, but before he left he had rubbed his back and cupped his head. Rawley also bought Everett a little tiny stuffed animal. Rawley has a stuffed Monkey at home named Lickety. So, Rawley brought Everett the miniature version of the same Monkey and named him Lickety2.

Ryan's mom has been here since Saturday morning at 11 and it has been so wonderful to have her here. She has been a huge support for both Ryan & I. We were very lucky to have her hear through the extremely emotional and exhausting delivery day.

I am not sure what else to tell you at this time. It is 6:30 am on Monday morning and I actually managed to sleep from midnight till 4am this morning. Ryan is still asleep and I think I am going to try to go back to sleep now too.

Just so everyone knows I am unable to do anything on facebook but read. The Internet browser here is not very compatible. I will comment or reply once we get home if needed.

Little To No Progess

This day has gone on forever. I have made little to no progress all day. Everything we have tried has not worked. Nudge's head is no where near ready to make an entrance.
Ho Hum
Oh and this: They turned my epidural off last night when contractions stopped but promised as soon as they started again it would get turned back on. However, the message was not properly given to the morning crew which meant 3 hours of ridiculously hard labour before anyone did anything. The doctor was not pleased with them when he came back and i was crying.
I am done with this now. I just want him out.

Doctor should be here in a few minutes to check me again. If there is still no progress we move on to plan....C..or D....I am not sure anymore.

Will update tomorrow.