FRIDAY September 2, 2011
Around 10:00 PM I woke up to find that my water had broken...not a lot, just little trickles of amniotic fluids. I tried to go back to sleep but was way too excited, knowing that our baby boy would soon be born! I woke Ian to tell him and then we tried to get some more sleep but it was quite useless. An hour later I started to feel the first contractions, mild, but they started building in intensity towards morning.
SATURDAY September 3, 2011
I didn't get much sleep that night, really - none at all. Just excitement. The contractions were coming regularly every 10-11 minutes but by morning, around 5:00 were more irregular. I called the hospital at 6:00 and they told me to come in right away since my water had broken already. The contractions started being a little more uncomfortable and we called grandma and grandpa to watch Megan, Austen, and Mason. We left and got to the hospital around 7:30. They got me set up in an assessment room where they determined that yes, I was indeed in labour, and then transferred me to another room which would be the birthing room. I did a lot of walking and went from 3-4 cm, slowly to a 5-6 cm, and then 7-8 cm. Even for my fourth, we had anticipated a quick labour, but it actually took a lot longer than I thought. I got some pain meds at 10:00 AM which left me in a completely dazed and dizzy confused state. Really odd. Slurring my words and the meds didn't even really work or take the edge off the pain. The pain meds "worked" till 2:00 PM which is when I was just about done with the pain. Good news though - I was 10 cm and within 20 minutes,
Ethan Caydin Jacob was born.
Caydin is my name, Cindy, letters rearranged plus an "a", and Jacob is after my grandmother, Jacoba.
He weighed 9 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 19 inches long. He is a very happy baby and started to nurse immediately. We spent the afternoon loving our new baby and Megan, Austen, and Mason came to see their new baby brother that evening. The night went well and Ethan seemed to be quite healthy, nursing and sleeping like a newborn.
SUNDAY September 4, 2011
Ethan started developing a fever earlier in the morning. The policy is that one spiked fever might be a fluke but two spikes in temperature (that is, well above 37.5 Celsius in a newborn) is cause for concern. Around 10:00 AM, he spiked his second fever at 38.6 C and the nurse whisked Ethan off to check him. I was told to wait in my room and they would come tell me what was going on. In my room, the fire alarm went off so all the staff closed the doors. And the time ticked. After an hour I didn't know what was going on. The fire alarm had stopped going off 10 minutes before but I still had no word on how my baby was doing. I didn't think I was allowed to leave my room due to the fire drill. I pushed the nurse's button and after awhile they came. I was in tears by then (hormones AND worry). They took me to the nursery.
We had anticipated going home today but the doctor was quite concerned. She didn't feel comfortable sending him home quite yet and ordered some tests. He had a chest x-ray done and some bloodwork. The bloodwork required at least a 48 hr wait for us to get the results, and then would still sit on culture for another 3 days after that. It would indicate whether Ethan had an infection or what was going on.
I was very emotional because, of course, after giving birth, your hormones are out of whack. I had also really wanted to go home because I do not like being stuck in the hospital.
The doctor got some of the results back and said that she would not start the IV of antibiotics yet because his tests showed he was borderline on infection. However, she did want us to wait to go home.
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5, 2011 - Labour Day.
The worst day.
What I can remember from this day is the afternoon when Ian had just joined me. The kids had come visit in the morning and Ian had come in the afternoon, by himself. The kids were with grandma and grandpa and grandma was going to come bring them by a little later in the afternoon, after naptime. Ian and I were in my hospital room with Ethan when the doctor came in and gave us the news. She felt that it was really necessary to do a lumbar puncture (a needle in Ethan's back) to extract fluid to test for meningitis. Also, she wanted to start an IV and get him started on antibiotics for an infection. She had been in contact with CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa) and they too had recommended that this is the best thing to do. She had another pediatric doctor assist her with the LP. She mentioned that Ethan could have an infection in his blood, like sepsis, an infection in the brain, that it could be meningitis, or something else.
This all came as quite a shock to us. We were devastated. Our little baby had to undergo quite a lot of prodding, poking, and picking. We were advised not to be present for the lumbar puncture as it is not something you want to see. We waited and waited in my hospital room for what seemed like forever. We were also told that if the tests came back positive that Ethan might have to be transferred to CHEO. Another blow, not only for the seriousness of Ethan's health, obviously, but also for the rest of our family as then Ian wouldn't even be able to come visit, what with school starting tomorrow. We were absolutely drained. So much crying and praying and worry.
After an hour and a half, we were able to go to the nursery and see Ethan. He was asleep in the isolet/incubator with an IV protruding from his umbilical cord and a bandaid on his arm from blood tests. I didn't (and still haven't) seen the puncture wounds on his back. The doctor told us that they were unsuccessful in getting a sample from his back and had tried several times. They called in an anesthesiologist to try and he also was unsuccessful. They had many questions for us as to a potential virus that might have circulated and all in all there were a lot of people in that tiny nursery for our little man. A few nurses, 2 doctors, the anesthesiologist, and us. It was so hard to see him asleep in his little isolet. He was worn out, obviously. He had a nurse assigned to him - one-on-one care. I was able to come and hold him and feed him in the nursery but that's where he would have to stay. The trek down the long hallway from my hospital room to him was a great distance for me. Much bigger than I was used to with my babies. Emotionally this was awful. Neither Ian nor I slept much that night and I emailed Ian every time another temperature reading was taken. He started off at 38.6 and we were aiming for 37.0 for Ethan. Prayer chains were started that day and Pastor also stopped by to give us support and strength. The next day was the first day of school and I had so hoped I could be there to see the kids off on their day. Especially for Austen, who was starting school for the very first time. My mom came to visit towards later evening time but we were all so drained that conversation was pretty hard.
TUESDAY September 6, 2011
After a long night of crying and nursing and no sleep, Ian stopped by with the kids so that I could see them off for school. It was only 7:00 and the nurses were quite surprised to see 2 little kids, with backpacks on, come onto the maternity floor that early. I was able to take a picture and kiss them goodbye. Thankfully they were super excited to start the day, which helped a ton. Mason was at grandma's house for the day and Ian had to start his grade 4 tasks.
My mom came to visit again with her friend and they offered me a lot of support during the day. I spent the day nursing, checking on Ethan very often, and updating Ian on Ethan's temperatures. Slowly the antibiotics started to work today and by 9:00 AM it started coming down. Every 2 hours when a temperature reading was taken, it descended by 0.1 degree, which is not much, but a victory for us. I wasn't ready to celebrate yet, as we had been told to wait 24 hrs for a sign of the antibiotics working to fight the infection.
By afternoon, his temp readings were closer to 37.5 and more normal.
The kids and Ian stopped by on their way back from school and they had wonderful reports. They loved their classes, their teachers, and had had a great day. Ian and I were grateful that at least the start of school was an easy hurdle and that we didn't have to deal with kids who didn't want to go to school. They went to see Ethan and went home with my mom. Ian stayed with me for a while and went home too. We were all exhausted.
That night I got a bit of sleep but Ethan was a lot more fussy. He hadn't pooped for over a day and had a ton of gas. I thought maybe he had some tummy cramps and the nurse did say that with all the glucose through his IV and the antibiotics that he could have some cramps. He was up every 2 hours to nurse but I was happy to hold him and comfort him. His temp readings were around 37.0 and some even registered at 36.8. So happy!
WEDNESDAY September 7, 2011
The kids stopped in again and it was great to see them. I've never been away from home for this long and it's strange for everyone, especially them. By this day, I also haven't seen Mason for 2-3 days because we found he just couldn't be in mommy's hospital room without climbing all over the furniture and pushing all the buttons on the beds. Mason spent the day at Grandma's house again but started asking for me a bit more. The kids had a great day at school again and Ian ran pretty much all day, trying to get ready for the day. It's been tough on him, having to "single parent" at home and trying to prep for a new school year.
Ethan was pretty fussy early in the morning but slept most of the day away, only to wake a few times to nurse. They drew more blood, just like every day. I spent the day walking the halls and checking on Ethan. Ian and the kids came at supper time and Grandma brought Mason (and it was great to see him, finally). They saw Ethan in his isolet and Mason had a ton of questions:
"Why my new baby brother in there?"
"Why he have bandaid?"
"Where his bed?"
"My new baby brother coming home soon?"
"Why he sick?"
"Why he have windows on his bed?"
"Where his food?"
We also got more blood results today and they looked very good too. His white blood count (which indicates infection) was down again and his temperature stayed normal all day. Thank God!
At about 10:00 that night, the doctor removed his IV line and he was transferred to my room, although still in his isolet/incubator. He spent the night in there, only to feed every 2 hours or so. The nurse did his vitals and temperature readings every 2 hours as well so we had a super busy night.
THURSDAY September 8, 2011
At 7:00 AM, Ethan came out of his isolet for good! He got dressed in a sleeper, for the first time, really, since all this happened, and wrapped in a blanket. His challenge today is to remain at a normal body temperature like all other babies. He spent the day in his bassinet, although I admit I cuddled him a ton, since I hadn't had the chance to do that in awhile. He took some time adjusting to a bit of a different environment again, not his 'oven-like' existence from the last few days. No poking and prodding and needles today. Just 2 hour check-ups for temp readings and vitals. The kids and Ian came to visit in the morning and everyone was quite exhausted, myself included. They went home for lunch and a nice quiet rest time/nap time.
Ian and the kids were on their way to see us again in the afternoon when the doctor stopped by. She totally surprised me because she examined Ethan and then said "What do you say you dress him in his clothes and take him home?"
Awesome!! So happy!! Ian and the kids were so surprised too and we packed up my room in record time to go HOME. By 4:00 PM we were home, healthy, happy, as a family of six for the first time.
Thank you to everyone who kept us in their thoughts and prayers during this time. It meant so much to us to have that support and we feel truly blessed in every way.
