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| well, no turning back now! |
I’m not much of a journaler. I’m the type that documents everything about my life via photography (a term I use loosely since it’s mainly Instagram!) I think photos tell more than my words ever could.
Six weeks ago today we welcomed our miracle baby, Joshua Michael. With the exception of gestational diabetes (which I controlled with diet only), my pregnancy was uncomplicated. Perfect weight gain, perfect ultrasounds, perfect fetal heart rate. My OB, Dr Dianne Edgar of Parkwest Women’s Health was absolutely amazing, every step of the way.
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| Who loves induction with pitocin and cytotec? THIS GIRL! |
I was induced three days after my original due date of May 29. And on June 2 we welcomed our beautiful baby boy (actually, he torpedoed his way out after 30 minutes of pushing. Don’t ask what that did to my body!). He was a little yellow, and the next morning, the pediatrician noted his right hip would dislocate. The plan was to monitor, as sometimes this is a result of a hormone called relaxin, something my body produces to facilitate labor, that circulates in a newborns body after birth. So, we were discharged two days after my delivery.
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| Welcome, Little Champ. 55 minutes old... |
We had a few hiccups the first week: Josh was readmitted the day after discharge when his bilirubin jumped from 9 to 20. The jaundice resolved with about 28 hours of phototherapy. But a few hours after, a doctor noted some decreased tone in his neck and arms. While that could be nothing, normally tone improves after jaundice is resolved. So Josh was sent to the Neonatal ICU. NICU is scary even for an ICU nurse like me. They were talking “blood cultures” and “possible spinal tap”. Amazingly I was able to get a hold of my husband, who was plowing fields in Palmyra, to tell him to come to the hospital immediately.
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| admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit...our worst nightmare |
Scooby doo fast forward, Josh was in NICU for 48 hours (the “standard” to rule out sepsis), over which he received antibiotics. The pediatric orthopedic surgeon also evaluated him, and said he should come in for a formal evaluation right after his discharge, as the right hip continued to come easily dislocated. He did briefly explain the course of treatment: harness, then case, then surgery if necessary, although in about 90% of the cases, the harness will do the trick. He said we were fortunate to find the condition early, and reflected how one case which was referred to him wasn’t noted until the child was 2 years old, and thus surgery was the only option. To hear that Josh needed more treatment to an already busy 7-days of life was disheartening. We were exhausted. But in a way we were ready to get the treatment started, quite frankly so we could get it over with an not have to think about it again. Josh’s case was a little unusual: Developmental Hip Dysplasia typically happens in girls, often times the left hip, and in breech babies. Josh is none of these.
Josh’s bloodwork and blood cultures came back completely normal his bilirubin remained stable with minimal rebound, and his muscle tone resolved. The neonatologist was confident that this was not a neuro or infection issue and allowed us to go home at 45 hours. She was kind enough to call the next day to see how we were. In closing that chapter, I cannot say enough wonderful things about the lactation consultants, nurses, mid-levels, residents and attendings at Golisano Children’s Hospital. Every single one was incredibly patient with our incessant questions. One of my nursing school instructors, a DNP, happened to be on Josh’s treatment team. I remember in nursing school thinking “if anything was wrong with my baby, I want him to be there”. God works in mysterious ways like that.
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| Going home, take 2 |
