So, Sam was born at 4:23 am and Lauren and I were taken to our hospital room around 6am. The nurse said they needed to clean the baby and do some tests and it would take about 2 hours and asked if we wanted that done in our room, or in the nursery. We had both been awake for about 24 hours so saying we were exhausted was an understatement. We decided to have them take Samantha to the nursery so we could get a little nap. We woke up around 7:30ish and Tina and Bob (Lauren's Dad) were in the room visiting us. Around 8 my parents came to visit. We knew we should get Sam back into our room any moment.
I decided to walk my parents down to the nursery so they could see their new granddaughter. As we walked up, I noticed the nurse giving her some oxygen. A few minutes later the nurse came out, asked me if I was Dad and proceeded to tell me that Samantha was breathing too rapidly and they weren't sure why it was happening. They told me they requested a Dr. come from Children's for a consult and they would keep us advised. My heart immediately dropped! The last thing you want to see is your new baby be in pain or discomfort. Not to mention hearing someone say she may have a cardiac issue but just were not sure.
I walked back to the room and my heart was beating out of my chest. I told Lauren the news and she was obviously upset and concerned.
We all walk backed to the nursery and just looked at her through the glass as the Doctors examined her. A few minutes later the nurse came out and said the Dr. arrived and directed us to a conference room where they would share with us what they thought was happening.
Lauren and I are both doing all we can to hold back our tears (we were not successful at that). We're in the room just waiting for the Dr. to come in. Finally, the Dr. came in and said her breathing is just too quick and they are not sure why. They were sending her down to the NICU to run some tests (Chest X-Ray, Bloodwork, Ultrasound). They bring Samantha in one more time for us to say goodbye before they took her away.
Fast forward about an hour and Lauren and I are in NICU waiting for the Dr. and we're standing by Samantha's bed. Lauren had a fever during labor and the Dr. said the most likely explanation was an infection passed onto the baby. They said it would take 48 hours to get the bloodwork back. They ran an X Ray and said her chest was a little hazy and thought pneumonia was also possible. Seeing our daughter that was about 6 hours old laying there with an IV and oxygen was absolutely heart breaking.
Fast forward more...we would visit Samantha and every time we were there, she would be doing better. Eventually they lowered her oxygen needed and then finally removed all together. They couldn't find an infection and couldn't find any other real problems. Her breathing had resolved itself on it's own. I know God heard everyones prayers and He definitely had our little angel in His hands and took care of her.
Right when we think things are finally looking up, we are told she is becoming jaundice. I know this is very common in babies and the actual diagnosis wasn't concerning but when we found out she more than likely wouldn't be able to come home with us when Lauren was discharged was devastating. To summarize the events, her jaundice levels rose and she needed light therapy and would not be released when Lauren was going to be (Saturday).
This feels like getting punched in the stomach. We know we have to leave but cannot take our baby girl home with us. We leave the hospital around 5pm and come home, shower, eat, and head right back. We spent the night in her room while she had her light therapy. She didn't like it at all. She cried and was only consolable when she was being touched or caressed. We were also not allowed to pick her up.
Lauren and I were on an emotional roller coaster. We had a total of about 8 hours of sleep in the last 4 days.
We were eagerly awaiting the results of her last jaundice test that we would receive on Sunday around 2pm. This is when we would find out if she would be leaving with us. Thankfully, we received that good news and around 2pm on Sunday we ALL left the hospital and heading home ready to start our life.
I decided to walk my parents down to the nursery so they could see their new granddaughter. As we walked up, I noticed the nurse giving her some oxygen. A few minutes later the nurse came out, asked me if I was Dad and proceeded to tell me that Samantha was breathing too rapidly and they weren't sure why it was happening. They told me they requested a Dr. come from Children's for a consult and they would keep us advised. My heart immediately dropped! The last thing you want to see is your new baby be in pain or discomfort. Not to mention hearing someone say she may have a cardiac issue but just were not sure.
I walked back to the room and my heart was beating out of my chest. I told Lauren the news and she was obviously upset and concerned.
We all walk backed to the nursery and just looked at her through the glass as the Doctors examined her. A few minutes later the nurse came out and said the Dr. arrived and directed us to a conference room where they would share with us what they thought was happening.
Lauren and I are both doing all we can to hold back our tears (we were not successful at that). We're in the room just waiting for the Dr. to come in. Finally, the Dr. came in and said her breathing is just too quick and they are not sure why. They were sending her down to the NICU to run some tests (Chest X-Ray, Bloodwork, Ultrasound). They bring Samantha in one more time for us to say goodbye before they took her away.
Fast forward about an hour and Lauren and I are in NICU waiting for the Dr. and we're standing by Samantha's bed. Lauren had a fever during labor and the Dr. said the most likely explanation was an infection passed onto the baby. They said it would take 48 hours to get the bloodwork back. They ran an X Ray and said her chest was a little hazy and thought pneumonia was also possible. Seeing our daughter that was about 6 hours old laying there with an IV and oxygen was absolutely heart breaking.
Fast forward more...we would visit Samantha and every time we were there, she would be doing better. Eventually they lowered her oxygen needed and then finally removed all together. They couldn't find an infection and couldn't find any other real problems. Her breathing had resolved itself on it's own. I know God heard everyones prayers and He definitely had our little angel in His hands and took care of her.
Right when we think things are finally looking up, we are told she is becoming jaundice. I know this is very common in babies and the actual diagnosis wasn't concerning but when we found out she more than likely wouldn't be able to come home with us when Lauren was discharged was devastating. To summarize the events, her jaundice levels rose and she needed light therapy and would not be released when Lauren was going to be (Saturday).
This feels like getting punched in the stomach. We know we have to leave but cannot take our baby girl home with us. We leave the hospital around 5pm and come home, shower, eat, and head right back. We spent the night in her room while she had her light therapy. She didn't like it at all. She cried and was only consolable when she was being touched or caressed. We were also not allowed to pick her up.
Lauren and I were on an emotional roller coaster. We had a total of about 8 hours of sleep in the last 4 days.
We were eagerly awaiting the results of her last jaundice test that we would receive on Sunday around 2pm. This is when we would find out if she would be leaving with us. Thankfully, we received that good news and around 2pm on Sunday we ALL left the hospital and heading home ready to start our life.
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