I haven't posted in so long partly because we were staying in the hospital for so long, and partly because I knew this one was going to be a long one...
Ezekiel Jackson Bastian
was born
October 19, 2010
weight and length:
6 lbs 13 oz, 19 inches
Even though I was having contractions 2 minutes apart 3 weeks before Z was born, I still had to be induced two days after his due date. On the 18th of October I was scheduled to be induced at 6:00 am. They were pretty busy at the hospital, so when I called them at 5:30 they told me to wait til 10:00. I pouted a bit, went back to bed, and got a call at 7:30ish saying, "come now!", so I did. :) I was only dilated to a 3, so they gave me pitocin and after a few hours the contractions got intense. :) I was so happy to be in so much pain because it meant Z was so close to getting here! At noon they gave me the epidural and I was so happy that I was no longer in pain and Z was still coming! (I didn't experience a single discomfort others had told me about. I was very pleasantly surprised and lucky, I think) Unfortunately, around midnight that night my epidural ran out, which happened to be right when pushing began... The anesthesiologist was in the middle of something else so he took a long, long time getting to us. It was killing me to push, but it was almost worse not to. It was just bad news! I remember saying repeatedly, "This sucks!" and "Jeez!" Haha, Pretty weird things to say when in labor, but hey, it could have been worse. :) FINALLY, the anesthesiologist got there and put more medicine in the IV thingy and for my very last contraction (so last 3 pushes) I was ok, again.
After about 18 hours of labor our son was finally delivered and was set on my chest. He was so alert! His bright little eyes were open and when he heard my cry he kept looking up toward my face. He was so beautiful! Nick held me as I held Z and we all cried. Our beautiful, perfect moment together only lasted a minute or two. I don't remember at what point, but either the Dr or nurses realized there was something wrong with Z's color and breathing. After cleaning him off a little they took him away where I thought they were just giving him his first bath. Nick went with them, and I waited while I got stitches for the multiple 3rd degree tears that helped get Z here. :S
What seemed like an eternity later, (really about an hour maybe) They put me in a wheelchair to bring me to see my baby. Eventually, Nick came back to get me and mentioned that they said something about his breathing not sounding quite right. I didn't actually read much into that, though, I was just happy to go see my new little baby. The seriousness of the situation didn't register until they called the respiratory specialist in from his home at 2:00 am. He came and examined Z. After a while he compassionately explained Z's situation. Basically he had pneumothorax in both lungs, which is the collection of air in the space around the lungs. The air puts pressure on a lung, so it can't expand as much as it normally does when someone takes a breath. People refer to it as a collapsed lung. The reason this happened is because he contracted viral pneumonia from a sickness Nick had from the MTC and I pushed him out too fast, (at the end of an 18 hour labor), so the nurses described it as "popping his lungs." The Dr said that Z would have to be in the hospital for a minimum of a week until his lungs healed and he'd gotten the proper medication through IVs for the pneumonia.
I cried, because I'm emotional like that, and we were worried, but as the days passed I got to hold him, then to feed him, and eventually to change diapers and the rest of the good stuff. :) We went through so many changes and scares through his time there, but now he's a happy, (nearly) perfectly healthy baby who's just on oxygen and is highly susceptible to pneumonia and RSV. :D We ended up staying in the hospital for 10 days and now I'm home with Z tied to me in my homemade 'moby' wrap (which he LOVES!).
Because Z is at such a high risk for pneumonia and RSV we've been advised not to go to church or the grocery store with the baby until spring. We can't bring him anywhere that has children under 14 years old, and no one may hold him if they even have the sniffles. :S It looks like it will be a long, but wonderful winter. :)
Ezekiel Jackson Bastian
was born
October 19, 2010
weight and length:
6 lbs 13 oz, 19 inches
Even though I was having contractions 2 minutes apart 3 weeks before Z was born, I still had to be induced two days after his due date. On the 18th of October I was scheduled to be induced at 6:00 am. They were pretty busy at the hospital, so when I called them at 5:30 they told me to wait til 10:00. I pouted a bit, went back to bed, and got a call at 7:30ish saying, "come now!", so I did. :) I was only dilated to a 3, so they gave me pitocin and after a few hours the contractions got intense. :) I was so happy to be in so much pain because it meant Z was so close to getting here! At noon they gave me the epidural and I was so happy that I was no longer in pain and Z was still coming! (I didn't experience a single discomfort others had told me about. I was very pleasantly surprised and lucky, I think) Unfortunately, around midnight that night my epidural ran out, which happened to be right when pushing began... The anesthesiologist was in the middle of something else so he took a long, long time getting to us. It was killing me to push, but it was almost worse not to. It was just bad news! I remember saying repeatedly, "This sucks!" and "Jeez!" Haha, Pretty weird things to say when in labor, but hey, it could have been worse. :) FINALLY, the anesthesiologist got there and put more medicine in the IV thingy and for my very last contraction (so last 3 pushes) I was ok, again.
After about 18 hours of labor our son was finally delivered and was set on my chest. He was so alert! His bright little eyes were open and when he heard my cry he kept looking up toward my face. He was so beautiful! Nick held me as I held Z and we all cried. Our beautiful, perfect moment together only lasted a minute or two. I don't remember at what point, but either the Dr or nurses realized there was something wrong with Z's color and breathing. After cleaning him off a little they took him away where I thought they were just giving him his first bath. Nick went with them, and I waited while I got stitches for the multiple 3rd degree tears that helped get Z here. :S
What seemed like an eternity later, (really about an hour maybe) They put me in a wheelchair to bring me to see my baby. Eventually, Nick came back to get me and mentioned that they said something about his breathing not sounding quite right. I didn't actually read much into that, though, I was just happy to go see my new little baby. The seriousness of the situation didn't register until they called the respiratory specialist in from his home at 2:00 am. He came and examined Z. After a while he compassionately explained Z's situation. Basically he had pneumothorax in both lungs, which is the collection of air in the space around the lungs. The air puts pressure on a lung, so it can't expand as much as it normally does when someone takes a breath. People refer to it as a collapsed lung. The reason this happened is because he contracted viral pneumonia from a sickness Nick had from the MTC and I pushed him out too fast, (at the end of an 18 hour labor), so the nurses described it as "popping his lungs." The Dr said that Z would have to be in the hospital for a minimum of a week until his lungs healed and he'd gotten the proper medication through IVs for the pneumonia.
I cried, because I'm emotional like that, and we were worried, but as the days passed I got to hold him, then to feed him, and eventually to change diapers and the rest of the good stuff. :) We went through so many changes and scares through his time there, but now he's a happy, (nearly) perfectly healthy baby who's just on oxygen and is highly susceptible to pneumonia and RSV. :D We ended up staying in the hospital for 10 days and now I'm home with Z tied to me in my homemade 'moby' wrap (which he LOVES!).
Because Z is at such a high risk for pneumonia and RSV we've been advised not to go to church or the grocery store with the baby until spring. We can't bring him anywhere that has children under 14 years old, and no one may hold him if they even have the sniffles. :S It looks like it will be a long, but wonderful winter. :)
Wow! What a story! Congrats guys!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for all your scary stuff! But so glad he is doing well now. Your right to just stay home and let him heal. It's hard because you want to get out and show him off...but better to be safe than sorry.
Good luck with everything! I can't wait to see him!
Congratulations. Grandma told me about all the issues the day you had him but I hadn't heard much since and was waiting for news. Glad he his home with you now. Good Luck with all the new stuff, sorry about having to keep him cooped up but glad he is healthy now.
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