It all began on a beautiful clear evening, when I went into labor. Robbie was out of town for training in Bend, three hours away. I called him at 1am in the morning to say I think this is it. We had specifically asked Hannah (Plus One at the time) to wait until the weekend, but I guess our daughter has a mind of her own. After a conversation with the hospital, I drove myself in between contractions, and got checked out. Well at 3am on April 1st, I was officially admitted, and was dilated to 3.5cm.
It was now time for Robbie to figure out how he was getting back to John Day. He went over to his training with the government rig, but luckily Super Spencer came to the rescue, and drove Robbie all the way back to John Day and then directly returned to head back to Bend. What a saint Spencer is. At 8:30am Robbie arrived and we were set to have a baby.
We had our Birth Coach, Debbie with us the whole time as well. She gave us the extra confidence to go through labor and delivery, especially since I went the all natural route. After a long night and day, the pushing stage began, and two hours later, baby Hannah was born. It is already a vague memory, the pain of childbirth, as now that we have Hannah with us, it is all so worth it.
Unfortunately Hannah became jaundice a day into our stay at the hospital, and her bilirubin levels were so high that she was lethargic, and not staying hydrated. The hospital here tried many, many (like 20) times to get an IV in Hannah, but with no luck and we had to begin feeding her through a tube into her stomach through her nose. After several days, the decision was made to take Hannah to Bend's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Our little girl got to take her first ride in a helicopter to Bend, while Robbie and I drove the three hour trek.
Once in Bend at the NICU, Hannah's bilirubin levels slowly came down and she was removed from the Isolet and bili lights. Before we were allowed to take little Hannah home, the hospital wanted to make sure she was eating well, and gaining weight. Hannah was breast feeding, bottle feeding (breast milk) and being fed what ever else she needed through a tube. The NICU had a certain number of ml that Hannah was supposed to be eating at each feeding. Any time she didn't meet that number via the breast and/or bottle, the food went down the tube. At one point we were told if she gained weight for two days in a row, she could come home, but the doctor we had reneged on that , because she didn't feel Hannah was gaining enough. Luckily there was a shift change 8 days into Bend, and the new doctor was satisfied with with Hannah's progress, so we finally got to come home, 17 days after her birth.
We were so happy to be home with her. Our stay at the hospital and their focus on her weight had us a little scarred about her weight gain while home. But since we've been home we have been going in for weight checks and she has been gaining acceptable weight.
Sorry it has taken so long to write this portion of our tale. This is the short story, and I could go into major detail, but it would bore you, and isn't important anymore.Home, Sweet, Home
