As you probably know, Saturday was my birthday and I was having a good time celebrating it in the hospital with Matt, Carter and some friends from church. The impromptu party had just wrapped up around 12:00 and I was settling down for a rest at about 1:00. Matt and Carter had just driven back to Lincoln so that Carter could go down for a nap at our house.
About 2:00 I awoke from my nap with some painful cramping. I called the nurse just to make sure everything was ok. She hooked me up to the fetal heart monitor and contraction monitor and tried to figure out what was going on. Turns out my ruptured membranes had become infected (as was most likely going to happen) and hence the pain. The infection triggered the contractions and so I started laboring with contractions about 4-5 minutes apart. I called up Matt, who was just getting ready for a nap himself, and asked him to head back to Omaha.
Things started to pick up after that as they monitored me and prepped me for an emergency C-section. Baby has been breach nearly the entire pregnancy so there was no chance of a vaginal birth.
They wheeled me into the surgery unit a little after 4:00 and luckily things were running a tad behind, which allowed Matt just enough time to make to Omaha for the C-section. He came into the room about 4:30 and Spencer arrived at 4:39!
Spencer was immediately taken by the NICU team to be cared for and Matt stayed with me while they stitched me up. I spent about an hour in recovery and then we got to go right up to the NICU and meet Spencer and hold him.
I thought he was beautiful from the minute I laid eyes on him.
He has been such a little rock start right out of the gates. He has not yet been put on a ventilator or oxygen but just has a little CPAP tube providing him the same air we breathe. He has good blood pressure, is taking fluids well and likes to sleep. They just put him "under the lights" for jaundice today so he gets to wear the cutest little purple sunglasses while he gets his tan.
Typically, they just feed preemies protein-sugar-water for the first 7-10 days but he is doing so well that they have already started giving him my colostrum (breast milk) via feeding tube. This is exciting because hopefully it will help ward off infection in the gut.
How are we? Well, overwhelmed, exhausted, thrilled, emotional, cautiously optimistic.....We are so many things all at once. We are either laughing or crying most of the time.
But one thing for sure, we are overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation for you - our support system. Your prayers, texts, calls, gifts, flowers, offers for help, etc... mean so much to us. It is so nice to know we are not alone on this very long journey. THANK YOU.
It is predicted that Spencer will stay here in Omaha in the NICU for 3-4 months. I will most likely be discharged on Wednesday and then we will start working on some sort of plan where I will spend time with Spencer each day.
Things you could pray for:
- Continued strength and growth for Spencer
- Healing from my c-section, toleration of the pain meds/nausea
- A sense of normalcy for Carter
- Endurance and strength for Matt
He is so incredibly beautiful! Congratulations Matt, Stacy and Carter! We send lots of love and are praying for you.
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Mary and Jim
Congratulations! Glad that he is doing so well and is so strong, 1 lb 13 oz preemies are strong trust us from exp. Call if you have any questions or need support. Jessie, Jared, & Jett
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