Before Life Changed:
For about two weeks I had not been feeling well. Headaches, chest pain... But Tylenol was working and I was sleeping okay. On Friday night, the 22nd, the Tylenol stopped working and I was very uncomfortable for most of the night. I even got sick twice and couldn't keep any food down. In the morning Gabe wanted me to check my blood pressure. It had been great the whole pregnancy, so I had stopped checking it way back in July! But, sure enough, it was very high. 151/98
Being a Saturday morning, we called the 24 hour nurse help line at Kaiser. They were very nice and transferred us over the Labor and Delivery (the only pregnancy help there on a Saturday morning). The nurse on the phone wanted us to come in and get checked out. Gabe and I were there by 9:00am.
We got checked in and taken to a room. The nurse with us needed to get the basic tests from me, but I could barely pee in the cup for her. She took over the little I gave her and Gabe and I settled in for what we thought would be a few hours of tests, some blood pressure meds, then sent home.
That night, 23rd, was Gabe's "big" birthday dinner with his buddies. They had a big night ahead of them with bbq and beer! We really thought we would be out of there by mid afternoon.
(We ended up celebrating Gabe's birthday very differently!)
I was able to pee a little bit more for the nurse and she took the rest of the sample to the doctor. We flipped on the TV and started to watch Willy Wonka (the original!) in our room. About 20min later, the doctor came in the room, greeted us and said something that will stay with Gabe and I for the rest of our lives,
"
Things are going to start moving very fast."
She then went on to tell us that I had Preeclampsia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-eclampsia with the rare paring of HELLP syndrome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HELLP_syndrome. These two are not only dangerous to me, but also to our little Rosemary.
A C-section was the only way to insure both her safety and mine.
This hit Gabe and me like a ton of bricks. I wasn't due until mid-late
January (My due date was Jan 25th, but she was measuring to about Jan. 16th.) Either way... we were not ready. Gabe allowed himself to process this news, I however jumped from "everything's fine" to "Let's do this!" in a matter of seconds. I knew that if I thought about it too much it would overwhelm me and stress me out even more.
At this point Gabe and I started calling family and friends to be praying. We didn't want our family to come down yet, (they told us it could be up to 8 hours before I could have the c-section) and didn't want them to have to wait around...
They are
all bad listeners and within the hour they were all on their way. We are forever grateful for their bad listening skills. :)
We were on hold for a little bit to make sure the hospital had blood platelets in the building, because of my low blood platelet level, (normal is about 150. Mine were at 51.) Thankfully, they had some and I would be ready for the c-section by about 1pm.
Because of the chance of the seizure, I had to be put completely under. This sadly also meant Gabe couldn't be in the room. Like I said before... Didn't want to think too much about what we would be missing.
I was given a few different meds to prep for the c-section, kissed Gabe, and was wheeled into the OR. The last thing I remember was the doctor telling me to take slow deep breaths.
On Saturday, November 23rd, at 1:51pm our little Rosemary Luna came into the world, screaming her head off. (They told us that's a good thing.) Born at 31 weeks along. 9 weeks early.
By 2pm I was in recovery and by 2:30 I got to look at my little girl for the first time. (Sadly I don't remember any of this... thank God for pictures!) That night I was finally able to process what we had been through. I was finally able to get in a good cry and let out all the stress.
The family came in to celebrate with us and Rosie and I started our road to recovery.
Gabe was checking in on Rosemary every few hours. The first day was really rough because they had to take my vitals every hour. Yes, they had to wake me up every hour and check me out. Because of the medication they had me on, I couldn't leave my room, but by the next day at 1pm, they took me off of that one medication and I was able to walk down the hall to see our new little girl.
Finally getting to hold my Rosemary was like nothing I had ever experienced before! The joy Gabe and I felt made all the stress, pain, and fear melt away. For me, that is when the healing could begin. Peace had come.
Our first family photo! (She is hooked up to a c-pap breathing mask. At 31 weeks, this is standard for preemies.)
This is Life:
Gabe and I now go to the hospital every day. We are watching little Rosie get stronger and stronger. They tell us she may even be home by Christmas! (A whole month before her due date!) She is now off the IV and breathing on her own. She is getting breast milk from a donor and soon I will be making enough to feed her.
Rosemary and Daddy!
They took her off the c-pap breathing mask after 2 days!
Rosemary and Mommy! Then they took her off the breathing tube completely a few days later! So Strong!
The nurses made a Thanksgiving card FROM Rosemary for us! Best card ever!!!
Gabe and I are learning how to change the diaper of a 3 1/2 lb baby! We are getting better. (Rosie is not impressed...)
She has a nice strong grip too and loves to hold our fingers.
Rosemary Luna: 11 days old!
Rosemary Luna is doing great! She still has a feeding tube, and will until she can multitask eating, swallowing, and breathing at the same time. (They tell us that starts around the 33/34 week mark.) We were able to bring in clothes for her to wear this week too! Who knew seeing your baby, looking like a "baby" would be such a big deal! As she gets stronger and stronger every day, it's getting harder and harder to leave her.
We are so thankful for so much. The day she was born couldn't have gone smoother and the nurses and doctors could not have been more patient or helpful. Our friends and family are the best! Each and every one of their visits, notes, phone calls and texts made this time that much easier to handle.
We know Rosemary is in wonderful hands. Once she is strong enough, we'll be over joyed to take her home. Until then, we know she is in the right place, getting the best care she can!
Grow Strong and Brave baby girl. We pray for you every day and thank God for His blessing in our lives. We'll see you soon.
