Ok, so I obviously have not been as on top of blogging as I hoped I would be. But, I am going to try harder!
I figured I had better blog about our experience in the NICU before I forgot everything (because, let's face it, I would really like to forget it).
Logan was born at 3:40 PM and everything seemed fine. He scored well on his Apgar. But after a couple of hours, it became apparent that he wasn't breathing as well as we hoped. His color started to get a little dusky when Chris was holding him while the midwives were taking care of my bleeding issues. When I got to hold him again skin to skin and he was put on a little oxygen, his color came back. So, it was just thought that it was taking him a little longer to transition. My Mom took over Logan holding duties while the midwives prepared to finish taking care of me. It took me a half an hour alone to walk to the bathroom, so that was fun. His color started to get dusky again and they were running out of oxygen. It was decided at 7:20 PM to take him into the ER to get him checked out. Chris and my Mom went to the ER in Conway while the midwives stayed with me.
Logan's breathing problems ended up being a whole lot worse than any of us anticipated. Chris' experience in the Conway ER was less than pleasant (but we won't get into that). But, they did do one thing right and they had Arkansas Children's Hospital on the phone right away and got a life flight helicopter on it's way. Chris was able to ride on the helicopter with Logan (which we found out later NEVER happens) and my Mom drove back to the house to tell me the news and to spend the night with me.
It ended up that Logan aspirated some fluid into his lungs during birth, which ended up developing into pneumonia. The doctor told us that nothing we did or could have done differently would have prevented this. It was just one of those things. Logan had to be intubated, which made it so we couldn't hold him. That in itself was so hard. But, my wonderful husband on Tuesday (Logan's 3rd day in NICU) asked the doctor when I could hold Logan. The doctor consented to letting me hold Logan that night as long as the nurse and respiratory therapist were there to help me. They let me hold him for an hour and it was wonderful.
Logan ended up getting the tube taken out on Wednesday or Thursday (we can't remember, lol) and was put on oxygen through his nose. Which made it easier for us to hold him, but we still weren't able to when ever we wanted. Once he was taken off his oxygen and was breathing completely on his own (YAY!) we got to hold Logan almost all the time!
After Logan finished his round of antibiotics, we had to get him to the point of being able to eat on his own and not through a feeding tube. This was probably the most frustrating for Chris and me. We didn't think it would take that long, since babies are supposed to eat all the time! But, eating just wore Logan out. So, it took 5 days for Logan to get to the point where he could take a whole bottle on his own in the allotted time limit (he was only given 20 minutes to finish a bottle and then he was given the rest through his feeding tube). We decided not to nurse while we were in the hospital, since it was so stressful for both of us and we wanted to get out of the hospital as soon as possible. Luckily, I was able to pump enough milk that he only had to be supplemented with formula twice.
I'm so thankful for the doctors and the nurses at Arkansas Children's Hospital. They took such wonderful care of our little man. They made an awful situation the best it could be for us. I can honestly not say enough good things about the staff there. They kept us up-to-date on everything and talked to us like we were their friends and not just a patient.
We were discharged on Thanksgiving Day and it was wonderful! It was definitely the best Thanksgiving I have ever had. My wonderful mother stayed home and made us a fantastic meal while Chris, Dad, and I brought Logan home.
Once again, I'm so thankful my parents were able to be with us the whole time Logan was in the hospital. It made things a whole lot easier for Chris and I. Their support was so wonderful throughout the whole ordeal.
Thank you all for your prayers and support throughout that trying time. They meant so much to us and I truly believe the Lord was working miracles for Logan. The nurses were surprised at how fast Logan progressed through it all. We are so thankful for the Arkansas Children's Hospital for helping our son and keeping him in our lives. Logan is such a blessing!
