Lunch time!

Today has been a pretty busy day so far. Daren was down in the NICU this morning when the ped surgery team stopped by to check Willa out. They examined the om and then wrapped it back up again to start applying a little bit of pressure to try to encourage it to start settling back inside. They also decided that it would be ok to start feeding her! So, after grabbing a coffee, Daren reported back to me with the story.

At 11:30, we went back down to give Willa her first real meal. But before that, Daren performed his first diaper change. Little Willa wanted to see him struggle, but after much squirming, the deed got done. After that, Willa got her suction tube removed from her throat (much to her pleasure, no doubt) and it was feeding time with mommy. And she found her thumb!!! Perfect timing, starting to suck on her thumb for the first time.

Things started slowly, but eventually Willa got a couple of nice gulps! We'll head back down around 2:30 to try round 2.

Peds Surgeon Update

Daren has the ability to come and go from the room as he pleases. I had to go through the process of having the catheter removed, getting unstrapped from the IV and leg massage thingies. While waiting for the nurses arrival, Daren sent me a pic of Willa just before she had an echo.

Pre-echo nap

Not to worry about the splint looking thing on Willa's arm. She didn't break her wrist overnight. They moved the fluids IV from her foot to her left hand. The covering is holding the IV into her finger. She likes to flail her arms a good bit. 

I showed up not long after the echo. Daren was cleaning up the goop from her chest. The tech thought he saw everything looking all good but the final sign off will come from one of the doctors. 

Dr. Adamson stopped by and said he is very happy with the state of things. He said a baby with a giant omphalocele is not normally breathing on their own this early. Willa still has the tube down her throat sucking out the junk from her stomach. 

Dr. Adamson said they are weighing two options of care. If the heart looks good, the breathing is good, the abdominal walls look like they can tolerate it, and the om shrinks a little (as a result of losing some fluid), it may be possible to try to start squeezing the om back into place. But, since the integrity of the om is sound, there's no rush to start anything. So, if any of the other things look like they aren't quite ready to start putting things back into place, we'll wait for the skin to start growing around the om and plan for the surgery later in time.

I got to hold Willa for about 30 minutes. This kid sure is prone to some hiccups. She also likes to bop herself in the face with the covered IV hand. I'm not sure she appreciated the bright flashes of light as daddy took pictures.

My first time getting to hold Willa

Size comparison - Willa's foot and Daddy's hand

We are back in the room for the afternoon. I'm going to be watching UNC W Soccer v. UVA in the first round of the ACC Championships. Daren will be watching Nascar. I think we both want to catch a quick nap before heading back to the NICU at 5pm for care time.

Oh, just got off the phone with my older sister. Sheila does not like it that Bean is unclothed. Not to worry folks, the om is wrapped and she is wearing a diaper. Also, her "incubator" has a heat lamp. I think she is staying plenty warm. 

October 27th

Prep for the c-section started around 730am.  We got pushed back slightly due to another procedure about to get underway. I think I headed to the OR around 945am.  Never realized what a process it is getting hooked up and ready for a c-section. The epidural wasn't the funnest part of my day. Daren came in the room just before the cutting started which was around 1045am.  It was about 1120am when the doctor said the baby is out and we heard the cries. Someone in the room, I'm guessing our nurse, said they don't know what they are having. The doctor quickly let us know that Bean Streett is a girl!!!

After a quick google session, we decided to spell Bean's first name as Willamina after my Grandpa Keizer.  Her middle name is Grace after my Grandma Keizer. She is perfect. We had strong cries and breathing so the doctors didn't need to intubate.  Daren got a quick peek of Willa and then went back a few minutes later to snap some pictures.

Once I was all sewn up, I was moved to the recovery room and Willa was at the NICU. Daren was with me for the first 30 minutes or so before he went to the NICU to check on our baby.  Most of what was happening was Willa was getting hooked up to monitors. The pediatric surgeon, Dr. Adamson seemed happy with the current state of the omphalocele.

We spent most of the afternoon watching sports and texting/talking with folks.  We've also had our first visitor. Our UNC doctor friend Emily Chang popped over for a quick visit.  Daren made a second trip to the NICU to see what was happening. Willa has a tube down her throat to suck out air and fluids from her stomach.  She also has an IV in her foot giving her fluids. The results were not yet back from the ultrasound of the om performed shortly after the birth. Dr. Adamson also said they were going to do an echo of her heart.

What I really wanted to do was go visit Willa in the NICU, but the nurses said I couldn't get out of bed until after 730pm.  I was finally wheeled down to the NICU a little after 8pm.  Willa has plenty of company in the NICU. I'm guessing there was about 8 other babies in the room. It appears each baby has their own nurse. We got there right as Willa's nurse was changing her bedding. I think Willa might have had an "accident." Daren helped with the linens and even got to hold Willa. I was just happy with getting to hold her hand and stroke her little head. She is such a trooper! While we were in the NICU Willa was wracked with hiccups. She handled them like a champ and promptly fell asleep. It seems she has my super power for sleeping.

Tomorrow I want to spend more time in the NICU and fingers crossed I get to have some skin to skin contact. We also want to see a doctor and find out the results of the tests they have run.  Over the next 3-4 days we should know more about when the surgery could be. That seems to be the million dollar question.

Off to bed for me. I just took another Benadryl to help ease my itchiness from the epidural. Daren is tucked in tight watching his Tigers stink it up in the World Series. Thank you all for your love and support. It really means a lot to us. Here are some pics we got throughout the day -

Bean is a...

Hi everybody!  Little sis Suzie here.
I just received the official word from Daddy Daren.  Bean is a little GIRL!!!!!!

Willamina Grace Streett.

Stay tuned for more info.

She weighs 5 lbs 9 oz and is oh so beautiful!  I can't wait to meet you baby girl!

Almost game time!

We just had a visit from two of the doctors that will be performing the delivery, checking in on us. There is a procedure on the floor at the moment, but as soon as they're underway we'll be heading back.

4am

Well, I'm awake. The two biggest things on my mind are how long to wait before I page the nurse so I can go to the bathroom and that my arm hurts from the t dap shot.  I have to hit the pager b/c when I'm in the bed I'm hooked up to the non-stress test monitors. I also forgot to mention about how they gave me the vaccine for tetanus, diptheria and pertussis just before I met with Dr. Vora. Sneaky little folks over here at UNC.

We still don't know the exact time for the c-section. Shift change happens at 7am so the thought is between 8 - 9 am.  I told Daren he is not allowed to bring any food or coffee into the room because I know I will be super hungry and thirsty in the morning.

Surprise!!!

This has been a busy week. I accomplished most of the things I listed in the 36 week post. However, everything from after the Friday ultrasound has been cancelled.

I came in this afternoon at 1pm for my 37 week u/s.  Daren didn't join me for this visit b/c things have been progressing smoothly.  The u/s tech left me in the room to go show the pictures to the doctor. It wasn't long before Maya, our case worker, and Dr. Stuebe came into the room. Dr. Stuebe noticed there was some fluid in Bean's abdomen as well as the bladder looking a bit large. Dr. Stuebe wasn't sure if the fluid would be concerning to my regular doctor.

Well, the fluid did concern Dr. Vora. She thought there was a chance some of the fluid could end up in the Bean's lungs so I was sent up to be admitted to labor & delivery. Oh, and Dr. Vora wanted to know where Daren was b/c he always attends my appointments. Unbelievable.

I quick called Daren and let him know the craziness that was ensuing. At first it seemed things could happen as quickly as 630pm. The doctors needed to wait at least six hours before starting the c-section because I ate an apple just before heading to the hospital.  Daren quickly left work and headed home to pack the hospital bag. We had yet to start packing but I had made a list which was posted on the fridge. After that I called my mom and texted my sisters.

Once admitted I saw a ton of people. The ball got rolling with the nurse who was going off shift at 4pm. Next came one of the anesthesiologists. I believe next came night nurse Sarah who will be with us until 3am. I'm not even sure who the next woman was. Oh, I also had an echo on my heart since I didn't have one on Wednesday at Duke.  After speaking with all of the many people involved with the c-section, it was decided I will go under the knife tomorrow morning. This meant I got to eat supper!!!! I was pretty hungry at this point since I had planned to grab something while heading back to the office. Daren arrived just before I ordered my food so I added a chocolate shake to my order of mexican food. Gotta keep the boy happy.

I finished eating a little after 6pm and we had another visitor. Dr. Evers, my original OB, heard the news I had been admitted. He came to check on us and also gave us some more details of why they were taking Bean earlier than planned. To summarize - the fluid could indicate a number of things and could continue to collect. Dr Evers said right now everything looks great and Bean is close to full term. If we wait and more fluid collects, things could go downhill. Makes sense to me.

So now we sit and wait. My butt fell asleep about three hours after being in the bed. I'm also guessing Daren will have a rough night sleeping on the sofa/bed.  I'm currently enjoying watching UNC M Soccer defeat NC State on ESPN3.

A combination of Daren and my little sister will attempt to update the blog as things occur. Thank you all for your texts and calls throughout the afternoon/evening on Friday. Our blog will be our main of way of keeping everyone informed. Feel free to share the address with others.