On Friday, April 22, I went to the doctor with what I thought was a minor issue that I just wanted checked out before the weekend. My doctor began checking me over and found that I had a bulging amniotic sac. She also believed that my cervix was fairly dilated already. She immediately began getting things in place to have me transported to Stormont Vail in Topeka. At this point we were both trying to stay as calm as possible since we still didn't have a ton of information... we just knew we needed to get to Topeka as quickly as possible.
John and I went directly to Via Christi in Manhattan where they got an IV started and gave me my first shot of steroids. We knew the steroids would help Rowan's lungs develop, but we didn't realize just how important they would end up being. They got me loaded into the ambulance and we headed out on our incredibly bumpy and loud trip down I-70.
Long story short, they got my labor stopped, did a procedure to close things up and then found out Monday morning during a sonogram that there wasn't any amniotic fluid left. The baby was still doing ok at that point, so the plan was to just watch closely for infection and try and stay pregnant as long as possible. Monday night was a rough one and the baby's heart rate was pretty elevated all night long.
Tuesday morning, the doctors decided that the baby was under too much stress and that the elevated heart rate could indicate that he had an infection, so they decided it was time for him to join us. He was breech (actually he was laying sideways across my belly), so they had to perform a c-section.
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| Daddy ready to head to the OR. |
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| Mommy before heading to the OR... it had been a rough morning! |
Not gonna lie, it was extremely nerve-wracking going into surgery and not really knowing what kind of shape he would be in. John sat beside me until they had him out and then he went with Rowan while they finished closing me up. Rowan was born at 10:14 a.m. They got him intubated and hooked up to the ventilator and headed to the NICU.
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| Rowan's first picture. |
**Fun story: As John was with Rowan while they were still in the OR, he was talking to the NICU doctor. John mentioned that he was also a premie and was born 10 weeks early. Turns out, Rowan's NICU doctor was actually the chief resident of the NICU at Wesley Medical Center where John was born and was his primary doctor all those years ago. So we know that Rowan is in really good hands! :-)
From there, I went to recovery and John went to the NICU with Rowan. Dr. Sidlinger stopped at the elevator so that my mom and our Pastor could take a look at Rowan. We were all surprised by how much he weighed. The sonogram we had on Monday estimated that he would only be 1 pound 6 ounces, but he ended up being 1 pound 11 ounces. After a little while in recovery, they wheeled me down to see him. The machines that he was hooked up to were a little overwhelming, but I was beyond excited to meet our son.
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| Rowan all hooked up and comfy in the NICU. |
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| Rowan's stats... we didn't decide on his name until about an hour after he was born. Needed to meet him first. :) |
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| Mommy meeting Rowan for the first time. |
Tomorrow, I'll type up a run through of our days from Tuesday afternoon through today, but for now, it's time for bed!
