Right before Jose arrived at the hospital I heard some nurses talking outside saying they were ready for me and my nurse said, "But her husband isn't here!" I must admit I almost lost it! I would not be having a baby without Jose there. Luckily, he walked in right then.
We ended up waiting for a couple of hours though because they wanted my lab work to come back first. As we got closer I had to drink some bictra and it actually didn't taste that bad. Once we got the go ahead I left with my nurse to the OR and Jose stayed back with my mom and sister to wait until they finished getting me ready.
As they wheeled me into the OR I thought...Oh here we go. I should be meeting my little guy soon! Then I thought, Oh dear....what will this be like?! As soon as I was wheeled into the OR they put me on the surgical table. It was super cold in there too!! I gave consent for the spinal and was put into position. They told me what would happen and I must say, the spinal was pretty uncomfortable and painful. I kept feeling pain in one hip. Finally the anesthesiologist had to come place the spinal (the CRNA was doing it at first). He got it on the first try. Then they laid me down and started getting to work (ie placing the foley, positioning me, etc). After a few minutes they started testing how numb I was and up to what point. They also had to place me in trendelenburg (head down) and put oxygen on me. Once I was nice and numb up to my chest Dr. Tabor came in. I made sure then they didn't forget about Jose and next thing you know he was in there. It was very odd to be staring up at a ceiling and a big blue drape in front of me. I was comforted in knowing Jose was there. I kept praying to myself as well. The NICU team came in then and introduced themselves to me and asked if he had to go to the NICU would I want him there or at Cooks. Of course I chose Cooks because of insurance reasons. I had also contacted on of the Neos I worked with to let her know I was in labor, ahead of time, and she passed on to the on-call doc at Harris and Cooks to be on the look out for me. Dr. Tabor asked me before he started if I was ready to meet my little boy. I sure was. Of course I started getting nervous, anxious, etc and started shaking really bad in my shoulders and arms. It was weird because I could hear the clamps but I never heard them get started. All of a sudden I heard, "Wow, he has lots of hair" Then all of a sudden I felt lots of pressure and heard the second sweetest cry ever. Then Misael was whisked away to the warmer to be tidied up, weighed, assessed, etc. He got a clean bill of health with APGARS of 8 and 9. Jose was able to take pictures and tell me all about him. They brought him to me and I was instantly in love all over again with a little boy.
We thought he looked just like Ipolito but was super duper hairy, short, and chunkier. Misael Leonardo was 6 lbs 4 oz (10 oz lighter than his brother) and 18.5 inches long (3 inches shorter than Ipolito). Once I was closed up they took me back to my room with my baby in tow. My mom and sister were waiting and he was passed around. I was still shaking pretty badly so they gave me some demerol and that helped tremendously. We soon noticed Misael had at least one dimple. After everyone held him I started trying to breast feed but he was not interested. About an hour later (after trying and trying to get him to eat) I noticed he was nasal flaring. I mentioned it to the nurse and she said, "You're right." She took him just to assess him and then decided to try to feed him a bottle. After a few minutes she said, " I just want to get a sat on him real fast." Ok...I thought....she told me it was 86%. That isn't normal. All I could think of was it's his heart! I tried not getting all worked up and soon she told me she was going to call the NICU to assess him. A nurse came into assess Misael and told me his sats were low 85-87% and they were going to watch him in the NICU for an hour. After that hour they would decide what to do. Again I was asked if I wanted him there or at Cook's. An hour later I was informed he was going to Cook's because he was in respiratory distress and on bubble CPAP. I remained calm and Jose went with Misael over to Cooks.
My baby was transported across the street in an isolette with his father by his side. Of course being a pediatric nurse and NP all I could think was the worst possible scenarios. It was his heart...it was his lungs...etc. I was a nervous wreck. I sent a text message out to my closest family and friends asking them to pray. I must say it was agonizing. My nurse was amazing though. She stayed with me and made sure I was informed of the latest happenings from Cooks. I updated by Jose as well and was told the Neo from Cooks was going to come over and talk with me as soon as Misael was stable. I was originally told he might be there a couple of days but when the doctor came and spoke to me she told me he would probably be there a week! A WEEK?!
I was told that Misael, while classified as late term premature, was a great weight (probably due to my gestational diabetes) but his lungs weren't mature enough. He was requiring bubble CPAP and a little oxygen. His xray looked like this was all due to premature lungs not his heart. We were not ruling this out yet because of my history so he would be getting an echocardiogram in the morning. If this was his lungs I was told he would not have any lasting effects. By the time I took him home he would be a normal baby. Looking back on this I think I was in a haze. I couldn't believe this. This isn't how this was supposed to be happening. This was supposed to be a joyous time for us all. Right now, I was scared out of my mind and all alone (I had Jose go to Cooks and my family had left). I wanted Jose with Misael though. I didn't want him alone.
As people started to wake up I started getting calls and texts. My mom was beside herself with worry, as was I. Again, this isn't how this was supposed to be happening. I should have been dreaming of Ipolito and Misael meeting for the first time, not what I was living through.
All during my remaining time at Harris I had great nurses who were understanding. I was also able to be taken over to Cooks as many times as I wanted and for as long as I wanted. The only time I came back was to take meds, eat, and sleep. I was discharged from Harris on Sunday, December 23. I went right over to Cooks where I vowed to stay until my baby was discharged. I always said, if my child was in the hospital I would be right by their side and I was. Jose and I were always with Misael with the exception of about 20-30 minutes here and there.
Next up...daily updates I had posted to facebook.
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