My real due date was October 7th. My mom thought she could plan things out and I would come on October 3rd, but I decided that I was sick of waiting and came early. About 6 in the morning on October 1st my mom thought she had a bad stomach ache. She laid around for about 2 hours hoping it would go away. My plan to come early wasn't working so I had to speed things up a bit. The pain started in hard and fast and she finally demanded that Daddy take her to the hospital. They grabbed my big brother, Benson, out of bed, still in his pajamas, and rushed off as fast as they could to the hospital.
We made it to the hospital at about 8:30 AM, and mom found out she was dilated to a 7 already! Here I come ready or not! I decided to be nice and hang out in the pool for a while and let mom's epidural kick in. Then some mean lady decided to pull the plug and empty out my warm water at 10:30. Unfortunately I am like my older brother and didn't want to use the potty and I pooped in the pool. 20 minutes after the plug was pulled I was born.
I tried to cry a few times but it was just too hard. There was a room full of doctors, nurses, and specialists waiting to see if I was going to breathe on my own. The cord was cut and I was whisked away from my mom. I guess pooping in the pool was not a good idea. I aspirated some into my lungs and it was making it hard for me to breath on my own. Everyone worked really hard to get me breathing again. They intubated me and got my heart rate up enough they didn't have to do a tracheotomy. But I was still in big trouble, and not breathing on my own...
I had my parents pretty freaked out by then. My mom didn't really know what was happening, (she was stuck in bed being sewn back together by the Doctor) and things were looking bad. Luckily my Daddy was able to come with me as they took me to the nursery and continued to try and help me breathe on my own. Let me tell you, I was pretty upset that I had this tube stuck down my throat. I tried everything I could to get it out. They had to tie my arms down so I wouldn't pull it out on my own. I still like to grab things and pull on them. They also took a chest x-ray to see if they could see what was causing me to not breathe on my own.
Down in the nursery they weren't having the success that they needed to and they were going to send me to the IMC. I guess Riverton Hospital doesn't have a NICU so I convinced them to let me take a ride in their big red helicopter. I was flown on Life Flight over to the big IMC building so they could take care of me better. I got to go and say goodbye to my mom before I left and to see big brother for a few moments.
They wheeled me into Mommy's room. I was hooked up to a big machine on a stretcher and there were so many tubes all my mom could do was rub my arm as she said goodbye. Big brother and my daddy walked me out to the Helicopter. Big brother got to sit in the copter and touch me one last time before I was taken to the IMC. The Life Flight people were really nice. I even got a t-shirt out of it. My mom is a little mad that I decided to take my first helicopter ride that day (She says the bill is coming out of my allowance). Big brother went to stay with Grandpa Tom and dad followed me by car to the IMC. Sorry, no dads allowed in the helicopter. Grandma Peggy stayed behind with mommy while she made her way through recovery, so she didn't have to be all alone.
After my helicopter ride I made it to the NICU at IMC around 12:00 and got hooked up to all their big machines. I tried to take my tube out again, and again they had to tie my arms down. I really wish they would stop doing that. I finally decided that I really didn't like that tube in my throat and the only way to get rid of it was to start breathing on my own, so I decided to cooperate. The nurses were nice and let me help pull out my tube. I was off of the respirator and the oxygen by 4:00 that same day. Everyone was so proud of me and surprised that I was doing so well after such a short time. I of course immediately made friends with everyone in the NICU and stole the hearts of many a nurse.
Even though I had made so much improvement in such a short time I still had a ways to go before I could get out of this place. They monitored my O2 levels and poked me for blood samples over and over. I had an IV stuck in my head because that was the only place left that hadn't already been poked and prodded repeatedly. Luckily I had my dad to hang out with me most of the day. Grandma Grayce, Aunt Melanie and Uncle Dawson also stopped by. Mommy was a little bit jealous of everyone who was holding me and kissing me before she got to. Sorry about that Mommy. The nurses in the NICU made a scrapbook page that Daddy took to my Mommy at the other hospital.
Day 2 in the NICU was a lot calmer. I even started to eat on my own. I like food, unlike my big brother Benson. I had a few visitors that day. Uncle Trevor, Aunt Michelle and Grandma Peggy came to see me. But my favorite visitor was my mom who checked out of the hospital early to come and see me. I also got my name on this day. My parents still hadn't decided on a name for me when I arrived and wanted to wait until my mom could see me before they chose. The nice nurses in the NICU made fun signs to hang around my room with my new name on them.
I spent a couple more days in the NICU, continuing to improve each day and the nice pediatrician decided that I could go home early! I convinced her that I didn't need my IV anymore (by pulling it out myself), and instead of putting it back in they let me leave it out. Aunt Jana and Papa Tom came to visit me as well.
Friday morning the hospital called my parents to say come and get me. I had one last test to take before I could go. I had to sit in my carseat for 90 minutes. Luckily I slept through the whole thing. I felt a little bad that I got to go home and so many other babies had to stay. Everyone still talked about how surprised they were at my quick recovery. I guess it is pretty rare to leave in under 7 days (let alone 3). I finally made it home to be with my family on Friday, October 4. Benson was so excited to see me again. He is a great big brother.
A note from my parents:
We feel so blessed that Oliver made such a quick recovery! We recognize that things could have been a lot worse and a lot more serious for us. We are so grateful the Lord has blessed us with a beautiful healthy baby boy! We are grateful for the many prayers of support on our behalf and on behalf of our little guy. We are so glad he is a part of our family.
1 comment:
Love that post! So glad he is here healthy and happy. He is such a cutie!
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