Tiny But Mighty

10:02 AM Unknown 0 Comments

Over the past several weeks, Lana has experienced difficulties with the pregnancy. She's battled hypertension, abnormal swelling in her hands and feet, unexplained weight gain, and constant headaches (sometimes accompanied with dizziness). No matter what measures she took to combat these symptoms, they were relentless. Our biggest concern, however, was that the babies heart rate begin to decelerate. Though some deceleration is common, Karson's heart rate remained low for several minutes at a time and repeated the pattern often. The doctor's grew worried enough to place Lana in the hospital for countless days, hooked up to a monitor and prepared if necessary for an emergency C-section. They performed test after test, but could not detect the issue.

Eventually it was decided to perform a test that would simulate labor and monitor the fetal heart rate. The plan was if the heart rate drops, the baby would be delivered immediately. If it the heart rate remained stable, they would let Lana go home, but as a high risk patient. Meaning she would have several appointments a week to monitor the little one's development.

My daughter was hooked to Pitocin, a drug that is often used to induce labor. She had some pretty intense contractions, thankfully, the baby's heart rate remained consistent, and she was allowed to go home.

A week later, at a routine appointment, the baby's heart rate was again plummeting. An ultrasound revealed the umbilical cord was tightly around the baby's neck, and to add insult to injury, those earlier ailments Lana was having, was now known a condition called Preeclampsia. Pairing both concerns, doctor's felt it was time for baby to be delivered.

My granddaughter was born at 35 weeks gestation. She weighed just over 4lbs. Although tiny, she was mighty. She was able to give mom and dad a quick hug, before being whisked off to the NICU to receive a little help with breathing. She remained in the neonatal care for several days, getting stronger and stronger. By the 2nd day, she was able to breathe on her own, and the CPAP machine was removed. On Day 3 she was able to be begin nursing from mom.

The NICU nurses worked round the clock to ensure she was doing well, and set milestones that needed to be mastered, in order for her to graduate neonatal care. She needed to be breathing on her own, regulating her own body temperature, and eating well. She also had to past a Jaudice test, and be able to sit in a car seat for at least an hour with no complications. That's a lot of work for someone so small! Our littler warrior, repeatedly conquered every task thrown her way. On the afternoon of day 5 Karson was ready to be discharged.