June 23, 2009 Baby in a box

It is a tradition to weigh our babies on the shipping scale. Why leave work and go to the doctor's office when you can do it for free and see how much it costs to send them to Phoenix! Here is a pic of Isabel in a onesie on the bottom and Elora aunatural!

July 8, 2009 - Rolling Over

I set Elora on the floor for her mandatory tummy time, which is obviously not her favorite activity. After a few minutes I noticed she was too quiet. I went to check on her and she had rolled from her tummy to her back and had her play keys in her hand!

March 2009 - Noisy!!

We have been home for a little bit and little Elora still doesn't cry, but she grunts! It is the cutest thing, she actually sounds like a little billy goat when she is waking up to feed, it's like my little warning to get the bottle ready!

Feb 5, 2009 - Coming Home

Finally after 9 days in the NICU Elora was coming home. The night before her discharge they ran a bunch of tests, one of which was to keep her hooked up to the monitors and have her stay in her car seat for 6 hours. Here is a picture of her coming home at 4lbs!

It was so nerve wrecking taking her home, you get used to the monitors telling you that everything is all right and then you get her home... Needless to say I was a bit of a wreck! Not to mention that we had to wake her up every 3 hours to eat and a bottle typically took her 45 minutes to complete! She didn't learn how to suck/swallow/breathe in the womb so she has some maturing to do.

Also, weird thing is, she didn't cry. I guess it is a preemie thing, but she is the quietest baby :)

In the Hospital

Once Elora was in the NICU she had to be on the oxygen for a few hours. I think this was because she came out screaming and she used up too much air:)

I guess standard procedure for a small baby in the NICU is tons of tests. Unfortunately they wouldn't let us touch her for 24 hours. Ric would go to the NICU every 3 hours for her feedings and take a video on my camera. We would then load the video onto Ric's laptop. I survived thru these videos until I could be wheeled in to see her 24+ hours later!

By this time we were allowed to touch her thru the incubator. She was soo tiny but soo sweet. She soon became a favorite with all of the nurses.

Every 3 hours either Ric and me or just Ric would go to the NICU for her feedings as these were the only time you could hold her. Eventually little by little we were taught to take her temperature, change her diaper (while attached to ALL 7 monitors) and be with her.

I stayed in the hospital for 5 days and was discharged without her. It killed me to leave her behind, but she had to gain back the ounces she lost after birth so she could come home.

The first day home without her was so hard. It was great in the hospital, she was a few halls away. Now Ric and I would jump in the car, drive to Huntington, feed her, drive home and would only have an hour before we had to get back in the car. Needless to say this was not to healthy for me having just gone thru major surgery. I finally had to realize my limitations and Ric or I went to every other feeding.

The Delivery Jan 27, 2009

We'll needless to say she didn't make it to week 38! I am telling this story from 4 month ago so the details might be a little sketchy!

We went in for our usual appt on Jan 26 and she had only grown 2 days out of 7 and was still showing her weight at 4lbs. Dr Jick felt the risk outweighed the benefits and schedule a c-section for the following day. We came home kind of dazed... Ric and I went to have our last night out and had dinner at the Arroyo Chop House.

We arrived at Huntington Hospital at 5:30am. They didn't wheel me in until 7am to get my spinal. They finally got the spinal in at 8am. Both Ric and Heather were present when Elora Grace Hutchins Mejia came out screaming at 8:12am. She was exactly 4 lbs! They wheeled her to the NICU because of her size and Ric left with Elora while Heather stayed with me.

I am then in my room and am completely miserable, turns out I had a bad reaction to the spinal and have vertigo, not to mention that the painkillers aren't working on me. Luckily the vertigo only lasted about 24hrs.

4lbs! 17 days to go

Elora is officially 4lbs!! If we can make it to 38 weeks which is 17 days away, she will be 5lbs which seems to be the magic number. I was talking with my doctor and ultrasound tech Rachel (we see her for a level 2 ultrasound every Monday) and they both agreed that we all didn't think we would make it this far. Ric and I joke that before each appointment we go in thinking this is it, we are delivering this Monday. The theory behind this is that everytime we went in positive and excited we received bad news. Now we go in prepared to deliver and luckily get sent home for another week. So bear with us for hopefully 2-4 more weeks. Ric wants to make it to 41 weeks, I just want her to come home with me after my 4 day stint with the c-section.

Yes I am stuck with having a c-section. I asked Dr Jick since she was doing so well, could I try a regular birth, hoping to gain my freedom from bed much sooner after Elora's birth. I was given a resounding no, unless she goes into labor on her own, which if anyone knows about Isabel's labor and delivery, I would be more likely to win the lottery!

So Heather and Ric get to be at her birth via c-section. Ric will be holding my hand, and Heather's job will be to take pictures and make sure that Ric stays vertical :)

Funny Stories

I am posting a few stories that my aunt says "must be written down".

Little Elora Grace has been the little "diva" as named by the nurses in the High-Risk Perinatal Unit at Huntington Hospital. She has other pet names from Ric and I that can't be voiced out loud. I go in for 2x weekly NST tests. NST tests make sure that the baby isn't under any kind of stress. What they are looking for is for the baby's heartbeat to go up by 15 beats and to stay there for 15 seconds. If the baby is not being reactive, they will give the mom sugar of some kind and as a last results will use what I call the "baby zapper" which is a noise making device that they press against your stomach that essentially startles the baby.

Elora has taught Ric and I and most of the hospital and doctor personnel that she does what she wants when she wants. She completely ignores the sugar and repeated "giggling" of the belly by mom. She even ignores the zapper. She eventually gives you quite good results but on her time, not ours. This test is supposed to take 20 minutes and has taken at least 2 hours!

The other funny story is of Isabel. She is really excited about being a big sister. For Christmas she asked Santa for a doll that pees! I remember her running into my room screaming "Mommy the dolly peed on me" and she had the biggest smile! We'll last weekend she decided that she needed some practice diapering and decided to put a diaper on our cat Missy. Suddenly I hear a very angry cat and Isabel saying "stand still" and then a cat streaking down the hallway! Needless to say a cat even Missy will only put up with so much!

Passed Again (34 weeks 3 days)

We passed our growth check with flying colors! She grew 7 out of 7 days and is now measuring 4lb 1oz on the ultrasound. Most likely she is around 3 1/2 lbs but that is still great! We got prints of her cute little foot and her face. We were even able to see her hair, boy are these machines amazing!

Dr Jick has lifted the restrictions a bit and I am allowed out of the house a bit more. I probably wont take advantage of that too much since the bed rest seems to really help her. But it is nice to know I can have "mental health breaks" as I like to call them!

Thank you to my visitors and e-mail buddies you have really helped me thru this!

34 weeks

I know I haven't added to this blog in a long time. I struggle over the fact that this is supposed to be for Elora and not my struggles. To catch everyone up:

We have made it further than our doctor though possible. Every week is a roller coaster, some almost putting me back into the hospital. I am at some test or checkup at least 3 times a week, more if she isn't cooperating which is most of the time. She is a VERY stubborn baby who does what she wants when she wants. She ignores the technicians attempts at getting her to increase her heartbeat (NST test) which shows that she is not stressed. One week we were at the hospital or doctor's office 6 days out of seven! My only sanity saver is that she is very active! I know she is healthy inside me despite her antics with the nurses and technicians. My specialist Dr Bruce even had a hard time chasing her around in order to get a good Doppler on her umbilical cord. He eventually gave up and diagnosed her healthy if only based on her movements.

Each Monday we have our dreaded "growth" appointment where they takes every measurement possible to she how she is growing. I stopped reading the measurements on the screen because it is too stressful, I just wait to see my doctor's face when he comes in, he is either smiling or grimacing. As of 4 days ago she was measuring around 3lb 7 oz. She is still really behind on her stomach measurements so Dr Bruce recommended I gain some weight, which turned out easier said than done. It's funny, when I am not pregnant I can look at food and gain weight, but when I actually try it is hard!

So in 2 days we go in for another growth check. Ric and I always go in figuring this will be it, it will be time for the C-section only to be pleasantly surprised when we are sent on our way again.

Thank you for following me on this long journey and I promise to post more often.

Home at last!

26 weeks 1 day - 98 days to go

I am finally home! Dr Bruce, my specialist did an ultrasound Friday morning and found that my fluid had jumped to 14 cm (normal is 5 to 20) from the previous 10. It is still to early to see growth in the baby but since 2x daily heartbeat tests are always amazing and my blood pressure was totally in check WITHOUT meds, they sent me home to continue my bed rest here!

Ric picked up Isabel from school and surprised her with me being in MY bed not the hospital. Boy was she a sight for sore eyes! I was able to see her everyday but to see her light up because I was home was just priceless. We will still be going in for 2x weekly ultrasounds and check ups but for now, everything is stable.

So here I am at home being a good girl so my little Elora Grace can grow into a big beautiful healthy baby girl :)

I have been lax in posting even though I have had plenty of time on my hands. On Nov 3rd we went in for our 24 weeks check up and were worried to find that my amniotic fluid had dropped to 8.5. Dr Jick put me on bed rest for the week and sent me to a specialist for a second opinion. We saw Dr Samuel Bruce the following day and Elora was diagnosed with IUGR Intrauterine Growth Restriction. In other words she has entered survival mode but we are not sure why. I was then put on sever bed rest, added some blood pressure medicine and followed up with Dr Jick on Thursday.

Dr Jick gave us the scary news that Elora might have to come out early if her amniotic fluid doesn't improve and she doesn't grow. We went home scared but optimistic. As long as I had extreme bed rest and drank TONS of fluid she would just get better. We arrive the Monday for a checkup to be told that her amniotic fluid had dropped to 7.5 and I was being admitted to Huntington Hospital. They were going to have Dr Bruce look at her again and hopefully would make it to Friday before a c-section was needed.

At Huntington they did a heart beat test on her for an hour where they clock her heart beat. She REALLY does not like to be monitored and kicked the monitor repeatedly. She wore herself out for the hour and was quiet when Dr Bruce came in. He did another ultrasound and found 10cm of fluid and that she was growth-restricted but not the level Dr Jick saw on his scans. For once we received some positive information. I was given my first course of steroid shots to help develop her lungs just in case she was going to be arriving early (4 doses are needed, 1 ever 12 hours).

Tuesday arrived and I see Dr. Jick. He is optimistic with her and my progress and tell s me that I might get out in a week or 2 to finish my bed rest at home or I could be here for the duration, it depends on Elora's fluid and growth. Each heartbeat test done is a trail (I get 2 a day) because she HATES to be monitored. She either kicks the monitor the ENTIRE time and squirms and hides so the test takes 1 1/2 hours instead of one. Last night, going on 36 hours of no sleep (hospitals are really not a place for rest) the nurse had to hold the monitor on her the entire 1.5 hours because she kept on falling of the monitor from her antics! Luckily once we finally finished at 11pm I was given a sleeping aide and Elora and I slept for a blessed 5 hours!!! before we had to be checked on again.

So here I am Wednesday morning, one more day to go before I get another ultrasound to see her growth and my fluid level. I am cautiously optimistic, I have to be with the roller coaster ride we have been on!

I promise to post more often now that I have gotten the hard post our of the way.

Base Anyone?

24 weeks pregnant today!

I was working listening to some No Doubt when I felt her thumping me. On a whim I took my computer speaker and placed it at my belly, wow did she start moving. Heather caught me chuckling at my desk and so the experiment moved to her desk and we tried Classical, no go. I then figured it had to be the drums. We put on some Bon Jovi which she liked. I then played so techno with alot of base and she started rolling!

Black & Blue

We'll little Elora is making sure her presence is felt. She loves to roll and do somersaults! Her favorite active is to karate chop my bladder which sends me running to the bathroom! Her daddy especially found this funny last night when she did it twice in an hour!

It's a girl!

We are 100% sure it's a girl. My parents went with me to the ultrasound office in Glendale. They sat on a comfy black leather couch in front of a huge flat screen tv. They turn on the ultrasound and not only has she move from head down to pointing up, but she is looking straight at the ultrasound wand with her legs wide open! So we can be pretty sure we are having a little girl!