First and foremost, thank you all for your sweet messages and prayers. We have received them and greatly appreciate them. I appologize for not being able to respond to each of them. Our activities throughout the day keep us so busy that it is impossible to. I do hope you all will understand. I'm hoping to blog daily to every other day in order to update everyone and keep my time spent with Holden instead of with my phone or computer. It is hard to respond to a vibrating phone when I'm staring at a beautiful baby or listening to the nurse update me on what he did that day. And I honestly don't want to. My priority is him! I love him completely and more than anything else in this world.
Background:
Holden was born Tuesday, June 7th at 923pm. Bryan and Charla helped me with my 32 hour labor. I could not have done it without them. Their constant support and never leaving my side helped me accomplish my goals of a natural childbirth. I appreciate my family being so respectful and waiting so patiently in the lobby for the big moment. It was a lot more fun out there then dealing with the sweating, fear, pain, denial, giving up, and shock of the laboring in my room. Just believe me when I say that it was not my best 32 hours. I will try to post pictures soon.
After I held Holden for about 5 minutes, the nurse began her screenings of Holden. She noticed his gums were a little blue. She allowed us to begin bonding and attempt nursing. After about 45 minutes, she took Holden to the nursery where she could finish the tests. Bryan went along with him. The family was eagerly watching at the window (The pictures of your faces smashed up against the windows is adorable.) During the screenings, the nurse noticed that Holden's Oxygen saturation levels were really low (60-70%). They should be 100%. She closed the blinds of the nursery to begin administering oxygen and so the family would not be worried. We initially were told that babies do this sometimes and it shouldn't be a problem. He was expected to be back with us within a few hours. So everyone left that night without being able to hold or touch Holden.
Bryan and I went to sleep for about an hour when a pediatrician came in to tell us that his levels kept dropping and they were bringing in someone to perform a heart ultrasound and chest x-ray. A few hours later, they could not determine what was wrong and at 4:30am they decided he needed to be flown to Little Rock to Arkansas Children's Medical Center. We said our tearful goodbyes and watched him be loaded into a tiny little box on top of a stretcher. The team took him away. Bryan was fortinate to get to ride along with him. This was a huge blessing!
Upon arriving in Little Rock, Holden was assessed and it was found that he had transposition of the greater vessels of the heart. A couple hours later, he was in his first surgery to provide temporary improvement to his situation. That surgery was successful and his oxygen saturation levels rose to 70-80%.
I left the fayetteville hospital around 4:30pm Wednesday and Charla and my wonderful friend Christina took me home and began packing bags for Bryan and I to stay in Little Rock. They did a wonderful job and made me lay down the whole time. I was thankful for their rule enforcement since I could hardly walk from one room to another out of complete exhaustion and muscle soreness.
Thursday morning Christina drove me to Little Rock. I got to see my sweet baby later that afternoon. He had tons of tubes all over him and stickers everywhere. He looked amazing to me though! Bryan and I spent time talking with him and holding his hand. We found out that his second surgery, to correct the heart abnormality, will be performed Monday, instead of the initial two week time frame we were given at first (BLESSING). We left the hospital late that night and stayed with Christina's parents in Little Rock.
Jimmy and Diana Alessi have been so wonderful to us. At their house we have our own bedroom and use of bathroom. It is far superior to being in a hotel. And they are constantly praying for us and wishing us well and encouraging us to get up to "see that baby."
Today:
So tired! That describes my day. We arrived at the hospital with absolutely no plans and then before we knew it, it was 6pm. We absolutely did not sit down to rest at any point. Today, we received confirmation that surgery will in fact be Monday. He will be in the surgery room at 10 but the actual surgery will not begin until 1230 or so. It will take approximately 4-5 hours. Family is welcome to join us in the family waiting room during this time. The nurse will update us every hour.
We took a tour of the Cardiac ICU that he will be in after surgery and until discharge.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat.
We met back up with Holden at 3 to attempt breastfeeding. The doctor is hoping to introduce him to it before surgery so that he will remember how to feed after surgery. Average stay after this surgery is about 2 weeks.
Holden did pretty well during breastfeeding. His Oxygen saturation levels stayed up! And I loved getting to finally hold my little man! After about an hour and half, Bryan took over and got to hold him. It was such a treat! It took forever to organize and place all the cords in correct place- but so worth it. That nurse was the best and so patient!
By then, it was 5:30 and we grabbed some dinner and then headed home.
ashley
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