We're home, and everyone is taking some time to get accustomed to their new roles. Kiernan's role seemed to come pretty naturally.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Finally, good news!
Sorry it's taken me a few days to post a new update. It's amazing how little time (and sleep) Billy and I have had since Kiernan came along. And to think, he's not even home yet!
On to the good news: As of this morning (Monday) Billy and I have completed our "rooming in" that the NICU requires before we can take Little Guy home. Pretty much it meant that Billy and I had to spend another 24 hours at the hospital (didn't we just leave here?) to show that we could take care of our "premie" baby. Yes, I know how ridiculous it sounds to call a 8 pound baby premature.
More good news: Kiernan was taken out from under the lights for his jaundice as of yesterday morning because his bilirubin levels (still not sure if I'm spelling that correctly) had dropped to a normal level. He's also had all of his leads removed and actually looks like a real baby now, not part baby part machine. Billy and I have been joking that when the microwave beeps at home Kiernan will probably perk up and say, "Momma?" because of all the machines he's been hooked up to in his short week of life. It's been an adventure, that's for sure.
And ending with some good news: We have it on good authority that we will be able to take home our baby at some point today. Kiernan's scheduled to be circumcised and then he'll have to be observed for several hours, but I'm pretty sure that unless his bilirubin levels that they drew for at 5 AM come back crazy we will be heading home this afternoon/evening with a baby. Wow, what a crazy week this has been! Thank you all for all your prayers and support. Seriously, Billy and I feel very, very loved. And hey, if you're feeling like throwing a few more good thoughts our way, please pray for Billy as he heads to a job interview in Dallas this morning. The job is more temporary work, but it would be wonderful if he had a 9-5 kind of job.
I'll be sure to post some pictures as soon as we get home and I have access to the camera cable. Sorry we've been such slackers about getting more stuff up here. Like I said, it's been crazy!
On to the good news: As of this morning (Monday) Billy and I have completed our "rooming in" that the NICU requires before we can take Little Guy home. Pretty much it meant that Billy and I had to spend another 24 hours at the hospital (didn't we just leave here?) to show that we could take care of our "premie" baby. Yes, I know how ridiculous it sounds to call a 8 pound baby premature.
More good news: Kiernan was taken out from under the lights for his jaundice as of yesterday morning because his bilirubin levels (still not sure if I'm spelling that correctly) had dropped to a normal level. He's also had all of his leads removed and actually looks like a real baby now, not part baby part machine. Billy and I have been joking that when the microwave beeps at home Kiernan will probably perk up and say, "Momma?" because of all the machines he's been hooked up to in his short week of life. It's been an adventure, that's for sure.
And ending with some good news: We have it on good authority that we will be able to take home our baby at some point today. Kiernan's scheduled to be circumcised and then he'll have to be observed for several hours, but I'm pretty sure that unless his bilirubin levels that they drew for at 5 AM come back crazy we will be heading home this afternoon/evening with a baby. Wow, what a crazy week this has been! Thank you all for all your prayers and support. Seriously, Billy and I feel very, very loved. And hey, if you're feeling like throwing a few more good thoughts our way, please pray for Billy as he heads to a job interview in Dallas this morning. The job is more temporary work, but it would be wonderful if he had a 9-5 kind of job.
I'll be sure to post some pictures as soon as we get home and I have access to the camera cable. Sorry we've been such slackers about getting more stuff up here. Like I said, it's been crazy!
Friday, January 23, 2009
One step forward, two steps back
More from Tyf...
I was discharged late last night (think midnight) after we'd had a great afternoon loving on Kiernan. We had a very successful breastfeeding session in the afternoon and both Billy and I were feeling very optimistic about our chances of introducing our little one to three rowdy Ridgebacks in the very near future. We'd also heard from the lactation consultant (shhh) that she'd overheard the NICU nurses saying he'd probably go home in two days. So exciting! And then, last night. We happily went down to NICU around 9:00 for his feeding and were told that he'd relapsed and was back on the feeding tube because of his rapid breathing. In addition to that blow (and it really was a blow, hormotional or not, I burst into tears), his billirubin (sp?) numbers had continued to climb and they were thinking more and more that he would end up under lights to try to stop his jaundice. Oh yes, fun times all around. I was super excited by the amount of breastmilk I was able to pump (these are the things you learn about when I write the posts instead of Billy, it's the risk you take), so much so that I was glad to take on the nickname "Momma Cow." To all you guys out there, tread carefully with that one. Calling your loving spouse a Momma Cow is a very thin line. Mooing, for those of you taking notes, is *over* the line.
So, back to the house sans baby (nothing like an empty carseat in the back of the car to drive that point home) to have a fitful night of waking every 2 1/2 hours to try to pump (pretty much useless when I'm not near Kiernan) and stressful thoughts. We've just come back from the hospital after being there this morning and, although there really wasn't much change in his respiration rates, we were able to breastfeed and spend some time cuddling with him. Ooh, and awesome news to report: his IV in his *head* was removed around 10:00 this morning. Such a cuter look.
My mom is in town and she and I are going back down to the hospital after I get a few hours of sleep (Billy's going into work for a few hours tonight). Please continue your prayers and happy thoughts that Kiernan will be ready to see the outside of the hospital soon. I know the little guy has never been to our house, but it already feels weird not having him with us.
I was discharged late last night (think midnight) after we'd had a great afternoon loving on Kiernan. We had a very successful breastfeeding session in the afternoon and both Billy and I were feeling very optimistic about our chances of introducing our little one to three rowdy Ridgebacks in the very near future. We'd also heard from the lactation consultant (shhh) that she'd overheard the NICU nurses saying he'd probably go home in two days. So exciting! And then, last night. We happily went down to NICU around 9:00 for his feeding and were told that he'd relapsed and was back on the feeding tube because of his rapid breathing. In addition to that blow (and it really was a blow, hormotional or not, I burst into tears), his billirubin (sp?) numbers had continued to climb and they were thinking more and more that he would end up under lights to try to stop his jaundice. Oh yes, fun times all around. I was super excited by the amount of breastmilk I was able to pump (these are the things you learn about when I write the posts instead of Billy, it's the risk you take), so much so that I was glad to take on the nickname "Momma Cow." To all you guys out there, tread carefully with that one. Calling your loving spouse a Momma Cow is a very thin line. Mooing, for those of you taking notes, is *over* the line.
So, back to the house sans baby (nothing like an empty carseat in the back of the car to drive that point home) to have a fitful night of waking every 2 1/2 hours to try to pump (pretty much useless when I'm not near Kiernan) and stressful thoughts. We've just come back from the hospital after being there this morning and, although there really wasn't much change in his respiration rates, we were able to breastfeed and spend some time cuddling with him. Ooh, and awesome news to report: his IV in his *head* was removed around 10:00 this morning. Such a cuter look.
My mom is in town and she and I are going back down to the hospital after I get a few hours of sleep (Billy's going into work for a few hours tonight). Please continue your prayers and happy thoughts that Kiernan will be ready to see the outside of the hospital soon. I know the little guy has never been to our house, but it already feels weird not having him with us.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Parenthood: One crisis after another
I should start this off by saying this is Tyf reporting in. There's been so much to update on and we've both been a bit overwhelmed. Maybe you'll understand a bit more after reading this post.
As Billy reported earlier, little (or not-so-little, depending on who's birthing him) Kiernan made his way into the world a little after midnight on the 20th. For that next day we cuddled him and loved him and snuggled with him in our room. We had a couple visits from the lactation consultants for tips on breastfeeding and he did well enough a couple of times to give me a glimmer of hope that we would be able to breastfeed. Both Billy and I did notice that Kiernan did seem to get frustrated with trying to latch on (is that the famous Boettcher temper or the famous Burke temper?), but we were assured it was normal. Around 9:00 that evening we decided to send him to the nursery for a couple hours for a cup feeding of formula (his last good latch on had been around 2:00 that afternoon) and for Momma and Daddy to get a couple hours of sleep before our midnight attempt at breastfeeding.
Around 11:00 pm a new doctor came into our room and woke us up to tell us that they had just admitted Kiernan into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Um, those are pretty scary words to throw around to people who haven't even been parents for 24 hours. I honestly thought the guy was in the wrong room. Unfortunately, he was not. They admitted Kiernan into NICU because he was having rapid breathing, which thankfully was noticed by a very observant nurse (and not by his parents who had been in the room cuddling with him all day!). This also contributed to his inability to latch on during breastfeeding. Apparently, given the choice of breathing or latching, our brilliant son chose the former.
It took me about a day to really wrap my head around the fact that our sweet baby was in NICU. He's doing amazingly and every time we're down to visit him (which is pretty much constantly, for those of you who can't reach us on our cell phones) he's been so aware and wonderful. He just opens his eyes and stares are you. Sigh. We still need lots of prayers for him and for the doctors and nurses taking care of him. They say that we should know more around this time tomorrow as far as test results go. Most tests that have come back for him have been normal, with a few exceptions. He's diagnosed with Type 2 Respiratory Distress Syndrome, also called TTN (Transient Tachypnea of Newborns) or wet lungs. Because it was such a rapid delivery (who ever thought that could be a bad thing?) he didn't have time to have all the fluid compressed out of his lungs in the birth canal (score one for Kiernan: he doesn't have the cone head) and he didn't have time for a certain hormone to kick in that helps little bodies absorb the fluid properly.
Overall, and with another day's worth of perspective, we're hanging in there. He's such a tank compared to the "other" premie babies (I'm using that term very loosely here) that I just know he's going to be okay. They've implied they want to keep him in NICU until probably Monday but, like I said earlier, we'll know more tomorrow. Please keep our little one in your thoughts and prayers. It's been very hard for both of us to see him hooked up to tubes and IVs (he has an IV in his head!). I should get out the hospital this afternoon and we're hoping to get everything ready for him to come home to us very soon.
As Billy reported earlier, little (or not-so-little, depending on who's birthing him) Kiernan made his way into the world a little after midnight on the 20th. For that next day we cuddled him and loved him and snuggled with him in our room. We had a couple visits from the lactation consultants for tips on breastfeeding and he did well enough a couple of times to give me a glimmer of hope that we would be able to breastfeed. Both Billy and I did notice that Kiernan did seem to get frustrated with trying to latch on (is that the famous Boettcher temper or the famous Burke temper?), but we were assured it was normal. Around 9:00 that evening we decided to send him to the nursery for a couple hours for a cup feeding of formula (his last good latch on had been around 2:00 that afternoon) and for Momma and Daddy to get a couple hours of sleep before our midnight attempt at breastfeeding.
Around 11:00 pm a new doctor came into our room and woke us up to tell us that they had just admitted Kiernan into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Um, those are pretty scary words to throw around to people who haven't even been parents for 24 hours. I honestly thought the guy was in the wrong room. Unfortunately, he was not. They admitted Kiernan into NICU because he was having rapid breathing, which thankfully was noticed by a very observant nurse (and not by his parents who had been in the room cuddling with him all day!). This also contributed to his inability to latch on during breastfeeding. Apparently, given the choice of breathing or latching, our brilliant son chose the former.
It took me about a day to really wrap my head around the fact that our sweet baby was in NICU. He's doing amazingly and every time we're down to visit him (which is pretty much constantly, for those of you who can't reach us on our cell phones) he's been so aware and wonderful. He just opens his eyes and stares are you. Sigh. We still need lots of prayers for him and for the doctors and nurses taking care of him. They say that we should know more around this time tomorrow as far as test results go. Most tests that have come back for him have been normal, with a few exceptions. He's diagnosed with Type 2 Respiratory Distress Syndrome, also called TTN (Transient Tachypnea of Newborns) or wet lungs. Because it was such a rapid delivery (who ever thought that could be a bad thing?) he didn't have time to have all the fluid compressed out of his lungs in the birth canal (score one for Kiernan: he doesn't have the cone head) and he didn't have time for a certain hormone to kick in that helps little bodies absorb the fluid properly.
Overall, and with another day's worth of perspective, we're hanging in there. He's such a tank compared to the "other" premie babies (I'm using that term very loosely here) that I just know he's going to be okay. They've implied they want to keep him in NICU until probably Monday but, like I said earlier, we'll know more tomorrow. Please keep our little one in your thoughts and prayers. It's been very hard for both of us to see him hooked up to tubes and IVs (he has an IV in his head!). I should get out the hospital this afternoon and we're hoping to get everything ready for him to come home to us very soon.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
He's Here!
At 12:41 am January 20, 2009 Kiernan William Dempsey Boettcher-Burke was born. He weighed in at 8 lb.s 2 oz and was 20.25 inches in length. Mother and baby are doing great.
Monday, January 19, 2009
It's Time!!
I truly feel like a slacker. I have fallen far short of the updates needed to make this blog function as the tool I had hoped, however, I will soon be correcting this.
WE ARE IN LABOR! Well, Tyf is in labor. I am in the labor and delivery room.
Tyf has been in labor for about 12 hours now, and thankfully the last 2 have been under the control of an epidural.... she's able to nap a bit. Thanks to a generous gift from my parents, I will be able to upload actual footage of little baby-boy Boettcher-Burke shortly after he arrives. That my friends is how I shall make up for being a blogging-slacker, near instant access to the baby. Isn't them interwebs grand!
I'll post again soon. We love, and thank you all.
WE ARE IN LABOR! Well, Tyf is in labor. I am in the labor and delivery room.
Tyf has been in labor for about 12 hours now, and thankfully the last 2 have been under the control of an epidural.... she's able to nap a bit. Thanks to a generous gift from my parents, I will be able to upload actual footage of little baby-boy Boettcher-Burke shortly after he arrives. That my friends is how I shall make up for being a blogging-slacker, near instant access to the baby. Isn't them interwebs grand!
I'll post again soon. We love, and thank you all.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Sorry Sorry Sorry
I know we have been absent for a while but it is what it is. Things are going well for baby and baby-mama. Tyf had a doctors appointment (finally) this past Tuesday. Dr. Guerra told us that the little one is doing great. The weight estimate is just shy of 6 lbs. and he has turned. He has not engaged, however. For some reason every time I say "he has not engaged" I get a mental picture of a baby strapping on some old school flying goggles and leather gloves. Maybe that's just me. Dr. Guerra did take some of the fear out of Tyf by telling her that she still has about 4 weeks to go, which for Tyf and just about anyone who has seen her lately is a little surprising. (Love you honey!)
I have to run I should technically be working . . . more on the new job later. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers, please keep them coming.
I have to run I should technically be working . . . more on the new job later. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers, please keep them coming.
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