Our Caleb

 

(Warning: this post is quite lengthy :)

I awoke that Tuesday morning feeling light headed, dizzy, and simply not feeling right. Since I had preeclampsia (a pregnancy related condition with symptoms that include high blood pressure, low platelet count, and issues with ones liver and kidneys that can lead to seizures) with my previous two pregnancies, I asked my dad to drive me to the pharmacy so I could check my blood pressure. Sure enough, it was high. I placed a phone call to my doctor's office and was told to go to the hospital (a routine I was all too familiar with).

After 2 days in the hospital monitoring my blood pressure, contractions, our sweet Caleb's heart rate and other various tests, my doctor sat with me and explained that I had, again, developed preeclampsia. At the moment, it was just a mild case, but she was admitting me to the hospital to remain on bed rest and to be monitored for 2 weeks. At that point I would be 37 weeks pregnant and they would then deliver our sweet son, Caleb, via c-section. If, during that two week period, my condition worsened or I went in to labor again, then they would go ahead deliver him at that time. (It was such a blessing that a dear friend from church arrived while the doctor was sharing this news with me...thank you, Katie!)

 Brian, after having a very long day at the office and his SUV breaking down and needing to be towed to our mechanic (could the day get any more difficult?), surprised me by coming to the hospital late that night after he got home from work. I had told him he could wait until the morning to come by, but boy am I thankful he didn't listen to me. Not long after he arrived, my contractions began coming every 7 minutes and I dilated to 3 cm. Things were quickly set in motion and I was transferred to labor and delivery.

By 4 AM the following morning, my contractions had become much more intense (holding-on-to-the-bed rail-and-moaning intense). My doctor came in at 7:30 that morning to find me 5 cm dilated. After a flurry of activity, I was wheeled to the operating room. Despite this being my third c-section and there being many familiar and kind faces in the operating room (one of the few benefits of being admitted to the hospital so often throughout this pregnancy was getting to know much of the nursing staff), I was extremely nervous. Just before my doctor began the c-section, I told her I had changed my mind about having this baby :) And, of course being me, I had to remind my surgical technician, Barbie (yes, Barbie), not to leave any surgical tools inside of me (have I mentioned before in this blog that I stress over everything?! :)

After a very difficult pregnancy, 7 weeks on bed rest, and 4 hospital admissions, our sweet Caleb was born weighing 4 lbs. 10 oz. on December 1, 2011 at 8:30 in the morning. He was beautiful. I was able to get in a quick snuggle before they took him to the NICU. The anesthesiologist then asked if I wanted her to give me something to help calm me down. Brian quickly answered with a yes :) The next thing I knew, I was back in my hospital bed in my hospital room....the anesthesiologist  had completely knocked me out. I kept waking to my nurse saying, "Tara, you need to breathe." Apparently, the pain meds along with the meds given for preeclampsia affected my breathing. I remember asking the nurse (in my semi-awake state) if I was going to die :) To which she replied with a resounding "no" and a giggle. Will I ever NOT freak out about things!?

Our sweet Caleb remained in the NICU for 2 long weeks. He spent about 24 hrs under the lights to help with his jaundice. The first week in the NICU, he had no interest in eating. He received most of his nutrition through a feeding tube.

Once he began eating like a champ, doctors were ready to let him come home. The night before he was to be discharged, we received a call from the NICU doctor with some difficult news. We had just gotten home from the NICU and had started packing our bags to room in with Caleb that night. They have special rooms for parents to "room in" with their baby the night before discharge to ensure the parents are prepared to care for their little one and their little one is ready to go home. But those plans were quickly cancelled. The doctor told us that Caleb's breathing and heart rate dropped significantly while sleeping and he would, unfortunately, need to stay in the NICU for another 7 days. Research has shown that if a baby can go 7 days without having bradycardia or apnea, then he/she will likely never have another episode. We were devastated.

On our way back to the hospital that night, Caleb had gotten worse. We were met by the doctor to hear that he had another episode where he did not want to breathe at all. They had moved him to a more critical area of the NICU and placed a tube down his throat and into his tummy (to keep air out of his tummy), a nasal cannula giving him room air to encourage him to breathe, and an IV in his foot for IV fluids and antibiotics. Since the bradycardia and apnea episodes came on so suddenly, they were doing blood work to see if he had an infection.

When I first saw our dear Caleb in that condition, I had to walk away. I couldn't bear seeing him like that. After regaining some semblance of composure (thanks to my amazing husband), Brian and I stood by his side...me in tears. Because of the tube down his throat, he was foaming at the mouth and his whimpers broke my heart. The kind nurse allowed me to hold him and snuggle with him for quite a while. My sweet, sweet baby.

 When we arrived back at the hospital the following morning, the tube was no longer down sweet Caleb's throat. He still struggled keeping his oxygen levels up, but he looked much more comfortable. His blood work was coming back showing no sign of infection....such a blessing. Just to be safe, they continued the IV antibiotic for 48 hrs.

Caleb remained in the NICU for an additional  7 days....getting stronger everyday. While his stay in the NICU was only 2 weeks, we came to know and love the nursing staff. Not only did they care for our sweet little one, but they cared for Brian and me as well (maybe taking them the birthday cake and donuts had something to do with that :).

We were so blessed to bring our sweet Caleb home on Dec. 16, 2011...just in time for Christmas. He was not strong enough to leave the NICU in a car seat. When tested, Caleb could not get enough oxygen while sitting in that position. So our dear one gets to ride in a car bed until he gets a little stronger (our Hannah wishes she had a car bed, too). Other than that very small issue (and possibly having acid reflux), he is thriving and doing very well at a whopping 7 lbs. 11 oz. and 6 weeks old!!!!!

 I am continually in awe that God has given us three amazing children to love and care for. We are blessed beyond words and truly grateful that our sweet Caleb is home and healthy. God has, again, granted us His amazing grace, mercy, and favor. We are so unworthy of His lovingkindness....