Here's Parker's story:
As some of you may know, we had quite a long and trying pregnancy with Hayden 4 years ago. I had a lot of trouble staying pregnant and he arrived 6 weeks early at 4 pounds 12 ounces. He had a 2 week long stay in the NICU but recovered quickly and joined our family. Parker's story was supposed to be a little different. We were supposed to take home a big, chunky baby at full term but it just wasn't in the plans for us. I had been getting progesterone shots every week with our wonderful doctor, Dr. Hutchison and had extra visits and ultrasounds to make sure I made it to full term. I had a couple of hiccups along the way this time, like a gallbadder attack and a couple of visits to labor and delivery for terbutaline shots but it appeared to us at 34 weeks that we were really going to make it this time....until Wednesday night when something just wasn't right. I went to bed feeling fine at around 9:00 and woke up an hour later with a very strong pain in my chest and upper rib cage. I assumed this was another gallbladder pain so I tried to drink some water and relax to see if it would go away. The pain intensified over the next hour and Matt and I decided it was time to get it checked out. We arrived at St. Joe's hospital and went straight to labor and delivery to see what they could find out. I waited around for some test results and they determined it definitely wasn't my gallbladder. I was in labor once again. I was given a shot of terbutaline, which did not take affect at all. The nurse checked me and I was already 3 centimeters dilated, which is significant but still in the range of being able to stop labor. The doctor on call, Dr. Priestly decided to put me on a powerful drug called Magnesium Sulfate to attempt to stop my contractions. I went over to a labor room and spent the whole night still having the contractions and just feeling generally yucky. By Thursday morning, the nurse decided to give me extra medicine and put me on the highest dose of magnesium sulfate that anyone my size can tolerate. I felt terrible the whole time....shaky, like I was going to vomit, hot then cold, etc. but at around 8:30 in the morning, suddenly I couldn't see straight, my vision was blurry and I couldn't breathe. My amazing nurse Genevieve knew there was something wrong with me so she immediately yelled for Dr. Mainman, the doctor on call that morning and he immediately unplugged the magnesium pump and they checked my blood pressure. It was at a VERY scary 55/26 and I remember my eyes begining to roll in the back of my head. The doctor got a shot of epinephrine, which is a stimulant to the heart and gave it to me in my leg. I don't remember the next few minutes but suddenly I began to feel better and could breathe again. Dr. Mainman checked me again and now I was 4cm dilated and there was nothing left they could do to stop labor. He immediately broke my water and called the anesthesiologist to give me an epidural. Once that was in place and I was out of pain and more stable, they started me on pitocin to get things moving along since I had been in labor for so long. I was worried about Parker's health and so frustrated that again we were being cheated out of having a healthy labor and delivery and a healthy baby. We were under the impression that Parker was about 5 1/2 pounds based on the ultrasound I had on Monday the 21st. Once the doctor could see the head, he asked for the NICU team to be brought to my room for delivery because it was clear that Parker was MUCH smaller than anticipated. The rest of my labor went fairly easy, with about 4 hours of slow progress until around 5:00 when I could definitely feel that it was time for him to come. The doctor came back in and with 2 quick pushes, our Precious Parker was here! I remember my first look at him...he was SO tiny...I was terrified at the sight of his tiny purple feet and his little sweet face. I knew he would need some extra help breathing and he definitely did right away. He was weighed and when the nurse announced 4 pounds 3.5 ounces, I broke into tears knowing that our little man was in need of lots of help. The nurses brought him over to me for one very quick kiss, then he was whisked away to the NICU before I could even get to meet him. The next hour was very surreal. The room was dead silent, everyone packed up the labor supplies and just as quick as it began, it was over. We were left in this big room without our baby and with only the promise that in a couple of hours we would be able to see him. I was moved to a room upstairs which only made me feel more empty and upset because the room had a little bed for a newborn in it and all I could hear was crying babies all around. When Dr. Mehrabani, the Neonatologist came to see us, he said that Parker was going to be alright but he needs a few weeks to grow and get stronger. He was placed on a breathing machine called Nasal CPAP to help open his lungs and was being given IV fluids. We were told he could take up to 6 days to begin breathing on his own. My thoughts immediately turned to Hayden. What would the next few weeks be like for him? He didn't ask for Mommy to have another baby and for that baby to be sick and need all of her attention. I felt endless amounts of guilt and frustration at that moment and I could do nothing but cry, cry for my sick little 4 pound baby and cry for my precious 4 year-old son who until Thursday at 5:15 was the very center of my universe. I decided to go straight away to see Parker and just let him know we were there for him. He was so tiny, so fragile but just absolutely gorgeous. He looks exactly like Hayden in every way and I immediately felt such a strong sense of love and accomplishment. Look at this precious baby we had created and look at his wonderful big brother who was going to watch over him and protect him. Hayden was unable to see Parker due to RSV season so explaining where his brother is was the biggest challenge. We explained that Parker was tiny and needed a little extra attention, just like he did as a baby and he seemed to accept that as an answer. Matt was my rock through all of those first 24 hours. He assured me that Parker and Hayden will both be ok and they are here for a reason. Overnight I didn't sleep much, just thought of Parker and went several times to the NICU to stare at him. He held his own through the night and in the morning, the doctor took him off of the CPAP after just 12 hours on it. He was placed on regular oxygen and I was allowed to hold him for 2 hours that night, which was just heaven. His little body is so tiny and warm and I just could have sat there for hours and hours. The next morning I arrived to visit Parker to discover that he was off of his oxygen and doing very well. They also decided that Sunday he would get to start feedings. Unfortunately I had to be sent home from the hospital Saturday afternoon and it was so hard to leave but I was glad to be with Hayden for a little while. Sunday was a great day of me sitting at the hospital all day with Parker and he enjoyed his tube feedings and spent a lot of time just relaxing in his little bed. He was also started on the phototherapy lights for jaundice and they seem to be working nicely but he will need them for a little while. I will try to post every couple of days with an update but for now I thank everyone for their well-wishes and support and prayers for our baby boy and our family! :) These photos are a couple of days old which is why you see the oxygen and such on him. I will post some more as I have time!
