Introducing...

Hey, this is husband Nick writing for an exhausted Rebecca.  Yesterday was a whirlwind.  The Magnesium that was lowering Rebecca’s blood pressure was also causing baby’s heart to slow (the Magnesium relaxes ALL muscles).  Slowly, over the course of about 30 hours, baby’s heart rate went from a baseline of 130, to 120, to 110, and the doctors started considering doing the c-section early.  When it hovered around 100 for about 20 minutes, the doctors decided to go ahead with the c-section while everyone was still healthy and not under duress.  Waiting until the next day would provide little benefit compared to getting baby out while he was still healthy.  We were briefed on the c-section, then whisked to the OR before we could even call our families.

And so, at 2:03pm on June 21, 2011, Ian James was born to this world at 31wks, 3days gestation.  He weighed 3lbs 7oz and was 16 ¼ inches long.  Ian cried right away and started breathing on his own.  He even peed on the nurses a couple times (atta boy!).  He scored a 6 on the APGARs at 1 minute, and a 9 at 5 minutes past delivery (0 is awful and 10 is perfect).  We got to see him just briefly and take a couple pictures before I accompanied him to the NICU while Rebecca got stitched up.

They put him on a CPAP to help keep the lungs open and prevent apnea, and stuck a bunch of monitors to his tiny little body.  His stats were strong and everything looked perfect.  But… as the neonatologist commented, everything was going just a little too perfect for a 31 weeker.  We had our first little hiccup this morning when Ian’s tiny little left lung got an air pocket around it.  The doctors did a chest x-ray and removed the air pocket with a tiny needle.  They also gave him some medicine to help his lungs soften and inflate better.  They went ahead and put in a breathing tube as well.  Doctors are hoping the remaining air around his lungs will be reabsorbed into his lungs.  He’s doing great and stats holding strong and steady, and his prognosis is excellent.

Here are a few pictures of our new arrival:





Rebecca is doing well but still completely exhausted from the Magnesium.  She's been limited in her visits to the NICU, so she’s looking forward to getting off of that medication this afternoon to dote on our little miracle all day long.  Please keep Ian and Mom in your thoughts and prayers.