My husband and I already had four children, the youngest of which are 13 year old twins. We were looking forward to being able to travel without the kids in a few years. I had an IUD in and never thought I would get pregnant this late in life. I am 39 years old after all. SURPRISE!! Right around Father's Day 2010 I realized I was feeling pregnant even though my period wasn't even really late yet. Sure enough a home pregnancy test confirmed my suspicions. At first I cried and then I laughed. Personally I was happy to have another addition to our family. However, I wasn't certain how the hubs would take it. Thankfully, he was over the moon as well!
Due to the fact I had the IUD in the pregnancy was high risk from the start. The IUD was removed and they made certain the embryo was where it was supposed to be. I breathed a sigh of relief and believed in my heart that all would be well. On the Fourth of July I started bleeding and I thought I was having a miscarriage. Fortunately, an ultrasound confirmed my baby's heart was still beating. I spent a few days on bed rest, followed up with my doctor and all appeared to be well. July 22nd found more bleeding and another ultrasound revealed a strong heartbeat. I was beginning to understand what a little fighter my baby boy was. I had a feeling I was having a boy all along although not one ultrasound ever confirmed it for me. More bed rest and more follow up with my doctor and we were on our way again.
For more than a month everything was good. On August 28th I again started bleeding. The ultrasound showed an active baby with a beautiful beating heart. Another few days of bed rest and follow up visit to my doctor who recommended I also see a perinatologist, which is a doctor that specializes in high risk pregnancies. September 1st was the scariest ER visit yet. I was pretty sure I was losing amniotic fluid. I thought they would do another ultrasound to confirm my baby was alright but I was sent home and told to follow up with my doctor the next day. An ultrasound at my doctors office confirmed my self diagnosis. My membranes had ruptured, however, my little fighter was still going strong. I had never been so happy to hear that little freight train of a heartbeat. It amazes me how quickly as parents we fall in love with our little ones before we ever actually meet them.
Later that week we followed up with the perinatologist who quickly earned the name Dr. Doom. I had never met this man in my life and here he was advising me that my baby was going to die and there was no fluid, never mind the baby's strong heartbeat. He told me to come back in a week if I was still pregnant. Needless to say I left his office in tears. I was NOT ready, nor was I going to ever be ready to give up on my baby. Thankfully I had another appointment with my doctor the next day. He did an ultrasound and advised it looked like my fluid was trying to build itself back up. He put me on permanent bed rest and advised me to drink LOTS of water. I begged him not to have to back to Dr. Doom. He agreed to wait a few weeks to have me go back there. Each week I saw my doctor who monitored my fluid levels and checked for the baby's heartbeat. He asked me to return to the perinatologist after a few weeks, when my fluid had built back up some. Dr. Doom was surprised to see me but still less than optimistic. He kept telling me there were no guarantees.FYI even in a perfectly normal pregnancy there are no guarantees.
As my pregnancy progressed I could tell my baby and I were confounding Dr. Doom who obviously did NOT believe in the power of positive thinking. Secretly it made me happy to know we had him on his toes. A few weeks before Derek was born at my 25 week check up it was determined that he had IUGR or IntraUterine Growth Restriction. He was smaller than he was supposed to be for his gestational age. They advised they would probably be delivering him early. I kept praying to get to at least 28 weeks. One more day and I would have been 29 weeks.
I had an appointment with Dr. Doom on December 1st and during the exam he checked the umbilical blood flow several times. He finally got readings that he felt comfortable with and told me to come back the following Monday. Well, my little Sagittarius decided he couldn't wait that long. I started bleeding again on the morning of Friday December 3rd, 2010. By the time we got to labor and delivery I was feeling contractions. They still wanted to try and wait until Monday to deliver just to give him a couple more days to grow and mature. After they hooked me up to the baby monitor they realized his heart rate kept decelerating and then it would come back up. They put an oxygen mask on me and left the room to discuss options. Suddenly the baby's heart rate dropped and did not come back up. I was so scared. I was about to have my husband go get the nurse when about 8 or 10 people came running into my room and started whisking me off to deliver my baby.
Derek Jerome was born at 3:41PM on Friday December 3rd, 2010. He weighed 1lb 11oz and was 13 1/4 inches long. He was breathing on his own but not very well so they put in a respirator. They tried to remove that on day 3 and he did good for awhile but he eventually had to put it back in for a couple of days. He needed 3 blood transfusions and a phototherapy light to help with jaundice. Today, day 10, Derek has gained 2 oz. So he is currently 1lb 13oz. He has a nasal cannula to help with his breathing. They put a PICC line in, which is a long term IV. He has been able to maintain his own body temperature and his blood pressure since birth. Although today he was running a little cool. They continue to increase the amount of my breast milk he is given per feeding. He is up to 9 mls every 3 hours. He has been tolerating feedings pretty well although, again, today he had a little bit of residual left after one of his feedings but the nurse did not seem concerned. He no longer has the phototherapy light and looks pink and beautiful.
The nurses tell me he gives them attitude when they have to mess with him. Wonder where he gets that from?? He already has a little personality. He likes to have his arms above his head or to lay on his stomach. I am in awe of him and his will to live every day.
I never in a million years thought I would have a preemie. I carried twins full term. I feel in a way betrayed by my body. On the other hand, somehow we made it long enough to give my little man a chance. I am trying to recover from an emergency C-section which presents its own challenges. Those challenges have been made worse by the fact that my incision has come open. Tonight as I type my husband is visiting with Derek, who really responds to his daddy's voice. I am at home trying not to think about the fact that I am not there. I have a very low grade fever of 99.2 and felt it would be better not to expose Derek. I am sure I am fine but I would rather be safe than sorry. Emotionally this has been a roller-coaster and I have been told that we will have ups and down just like Derek will have good days and bad days. I get emotional about things like his belly button falling off and me not being there to see it.The hardest part is not being able to be with him every second. I also wish I could do more to take care of him.
The doctor that runs the NICU has been doing this for 25 years and is dedicated to these babies. The nurses are wonderful. They are incredibly knowledgeable. They are patient and kind and compassionate with us as parents and they are taking amazing care of my baby. I also want to thank my doctor, Dr. Berman. Not only did he never give up on my baby even when things look bleakest but he also got Derek out in time. All in all my little Peanut, as he has been known since conception, has had a rough start but he is a fighter and he has angels on his shoulders. He is in the best place he can be right now but I am looking forward to the day I can bring him home. During the darkest days of this pregnancy I held an image in my head of my baby suckling peacefully while I hold him. I can't wait to make that image a reality.
If you are still with me, thanks for reading to the end of this first installment. Here are a few photos of Derek, including my favorite ultrasound photo. I will be updating this blog at least once a week if not more often so check back for updates.
God bless you both. He's a fighter and I'm sure he's going to be up and running around in no time!
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