Birth Story and Baby Girl's First 24 Hours

I finally have a moment to sit and reflect, so I will update everyone on the most eventful last 48 hours. My AFI was getting very low, the baby had lost the brain sparing effect, and was not growing as much as she should have. The doctors all got together and had a “very long meeting” about the situation and decided to deliver. Although I was “first in line” Wednesday morning the surgery didn’t start until around 10am. When she was born, the doctors said she was barely breathing. She was taken off to the NICU where they spent the next 2 hours stabilizing her. At the same time, I had some internal hemorrhaging that needed to be fixed so the surgery went longer than they expected. I left the OR with a drain in place. Over the next several hours the drain continued to fill quickly and needed to be emptied often. They were discussing the possibility of another surgery when things B”H (thank G-d) got better. The bleeding slowed and my hemoglobin levels started to go up. This morning they decided that I will not need a second surgery. Thankfully, we dodged the bullet on that one.

Meanwhile, baby girl was in the NICU with her own fight. She was started on CPAP but could not keep her O2 levels up. It seems that she has RDS (Respiratory Distress Syndrome, a syndrome in preemies that is pretty much just what it sounds like). They then intubated her and gave her a round of surfactant and put her on 20% oxygen.  They later extubated her hoping that she would be able to breathe on her own or with the CPAP. However, she could not and they had to re-intubate. Later she was having more difficulties. She was given a second round of surfactant and put on 40% oxygen. She is still not being given milk (she will have to start with a feeding tube) and is currently receiving all her nutrients via IV. She has an arterial line in to enable fast and frequent blood draws and she is currently receiving antibiotics. She was moved to an incubator this morning (as opposed to a warming bed) to help better regulate her body temperature and because she is apparently not a fan of neither the NICU environment nor of her intubation tube. The nurses are hoping that the quieter environment will help to keep her more comfortable.   

So far all the nurses in the NICU have been very helpful, caring and encouraging. Dov and I have an appointment with a senior doctor on Sunday to discuss her progress and prognosis, however, in the meantime, they give me constant updates and have gone out of their way to make sure we know what is going on.

I have now been up to see her three times. I was able to touch her, but will not be able to hold her until her arterial line is removed. However, this morning at around 6:45, before shift change when everything was very quiet in the NICU, I sat with her stroking her head and talking to her, and she opened one eye and looked at me. I know it may sound silly, but in that moment I felt like she was acknowledging my presence and accepting me as her partner in this long fight we have ahead of us.