Birth Story Continued: On to the NICU

Today marks 1 week since little Mr. Brady Kyle came into this world. In a way, it feels like a complete blur, probably because I've pretty much been in an exhausted stupor since the birth. On the other hand, it feels like it's been a month because of all the running back and forth between home and the hospital, trying to take the best care of the girls without upsetting their lives too much, and trying to get things done at home while pumping like mad.

To continue my story...

Brady was taken to the nursery right after the birth and about 3 hours later, Jake and I were able walk down the nursery and go in and see him. They had already put a nasal cannula on him and were giving him oxygen, but it seemed he was still struggling. Unfortunately, the hospital I delivered in doesn't have a NICU, so the pediatrician said they were going to have to transfer him to the next city over, where the best NICU around was located. The other hospital was already getting at team together to come get him. 

It was so fast by the time the NICU team came to talk to us, and they put him in the oddest looking contraption for transport. They brought him in our room so we could say goodbye. He looked pitiful; he had tubes and wires all over him, and we couldn't even touch him. The next thing I knew, they were gone, and I was a complete wreck. As soon as they left, I just started bawling. I couldn't believe I wasn't even going to be in the same place as my baby. And on top of that, Jake had to go pick up the girls and take them home, so it looked like I was going to be in the hospital all by myself that night, and I didn't think I could handle it.

I had a wonderful nurse. When she came in and saw me crying, she checked me and asked how I was feeling. I had been up and walking ever since delivery, and I told her I felt fine and wasn't in any sort of pain, so she was kind enough to get the doctor who was there that night to come check me and see if I could be discharged so I could go be with the baby. Thankfully, he said I could go, so after they finished up with all my paperwork and I got dressed, we got to leave around 8 pm. (I couldn't believe they let me go less than 12 hours after delivery, but thank God they did!) We headed straight for the other hospital to see Brady. We obviously didn't get much info. that first night. We basically just stared at him and cried for a while.

Fast forward a couple of days: They finally caught that he had a pnuemothorax on his right side when they did a chest X-ray. They first tried to remove it with just a needle, but it built back up again, so a chest tube was inserted in hopes of draining the extra air from the outside of his lung. He pulled out his IV, so they had to put an umbilical line in as well. He also was put on a C-pap to keep his lungs open. Our poor little guy had tubes and wires all over him. He was huffing and puffing like a freight train, and he just seemed to be in distress all the time. It was hard to see him like that.

Elena meeting her little brother.

The rest of the days seem like a blur. He was first taken off the C-pap and the warmer. The next day, he was taken off the oxygen completely. He's breathing had improved so much! His chest tube had to be re-positioned because it wasn't getting to the air, though. They also started feeding him the breast milk I had been pumping through a tube. He didn't handle it well at first, and they stopped feedings, but the next day they tried again, and he's been improving ever since then. His billirubin levels got really high, so he had to be under the big blue lights for a day, but he is off that now as well. 

As of today, he'll be having his umbilical line removed and replaced by a PICC line. Also, he had his chest tube replaced again because he pulled it loose, and they also started him on antibiotics just in case of infection where he pulled the chest tube loose. 

We still aren't sure when he'll be able to come home. The pneumothorax hasn't improved much, so that's basically the main thing we're waiting on. Also, once that is taken care of, he'll have to be able to eat from breast/bottle completely before they can send him home. So far, they've only tried to feed him with a nipple once, and it didn't go well at all, so they said they'll keep feeding him through the tube and keep trying periodically to nipple feed him, so I just got to keep pumping. I expect it'll be at least another week, maybe longer before we're talking about bringing him home, which breaks my heart, but I want to do anything to make him better!

We just asked for continued prayers for our little guy! 

Until next time,