Memorial Weekend 2011

Memorial weekend for me has been camping since I was 4 years old. I was introduced to this by my step dad, Bumby. He has a group of friends that get together every Memorial weekend and they call themselves Tent City. We take over entire campgrounds. I believe they are on their 42nd year. This year was the first for Jolynn. We decided to take it slow and go to their cabin first, then go camp for one night. When we got to the cabin we discovered that all four of us were sick with the same cough. After listening to the forecast of rain for 3 days, we decided not to camp out. Good plan on our part because being sick, sleeping on the ground, and packing up wet gear=no fun.

Here are some pictures of our fun filled weekend.

One minute I see this...

The next I see this.

Bath time in Ducky!

Having some bananas and cheerios before our trip to Tent City.

Made it to Tent City for a few hours.

Playing with Marge Gamache at Tent City.

When we got back from TC I tried my hand at the Bobcat. Did pretty good until...
I got it REALLY stuck. Neighbors brought over a tractor to get it out.

After trying to dig it out, my mom and I went for a trip into town for a little spa time. Jolynn slept through most of it.









When she woke up my mom gave her a swim lesson (since she missed this week)

Florida

Mike and Margaret invited Jolynn and I on a trip to Florida this past week. It was Jolynn's first time on a plane. She did very well. Everyone's advice was great. She ate at the terminal when we first arrived. Then ate again about an hour into the flight. The take off wasn't too bad, she had her pacifier and my ears weren't popping much. When it was time for her to eat again is when the air pressure was a bit more intense. So the timing was great. Then she slept for a little while, then visited Mike in first class.

Before getting to the resort we stopped at Denny's. The room at the resort was awesome! Jolynn and I had our own room with a king size bed, bathroom, and mini kitchen. She had a metal bar crib that creaked and was very low for me to lower her into. She ended up sleeping with me. In a king size bed she could have been in a completely different bed for all I could tell. Mike and Margaret were in the main room that had a large kitchen, dining room, living room, balcony, king size bed, jacuzzi, (two person) shower, and his and her sinks; my mom had a room within this room with two single beds and her own bathroom too. The room also had a washer and dryer. This came in handy for all the changing of outfits daily.

There was an Outlet Mall within walking distance of the resort. We ended up going there 2 of the days. We also went to a Thrift Store on another day. Margaret went off on her own when the rest of us decided to go swimming. She ended up at a Goodwill that was like a main corporate building or something. It was HUGE. Between all the different stores we went to, I really didn't need to bring any clothes for myself or Jolynn. A bathing suit and pjs for me would have been fine. Everything else was provided by my mom and Margaret.

Monday afternoon Mike, my mom and I went to a lobster all-you-can-eat. I had 5 lobsters, 3 mussels (for the first time), and 2 oysters Rockefeller (first time also). This was a lot of fun and our waitress was great. Jolynn stayed back at the room with Margaret.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning I used the workout facilities. They were as nice as my old gym membership equipment. Tuesday - the grandmas joined me. Wednesday - my ankle and knee were bothering me, so I did laps in the pool instead. The water was like bath water it was so warm. Not a soul in the pool either. When I was done, I soaked for a while in the hot tub. It was great.

My mom and I had one last adventure together - we both got tattoos of our hubbies names! Okay, so they were temporary, but it was still fun :)

The flight home was less eventful. Jolynn was fussy when we got seated, then Mike got her to sleep. She slept from take off to touch down. We even passed her around and she still didn't wake up. Margaret's ticket was upgraded, so this time my mom was in first class. She needed it. A little relaxation and pampering before heading back to the frozen tundra.

When we arrived at the terminal, Jon was there waiting for us. Jolynn was so happy to see her daddy!

Bumbo

Popcorn

Jolynn was upset when she was in her swing so we went upstairs. For some reason I smelled buttered popcorn. When Jon got home he was holding Jolynn and asked why she smelled like popcorn. I looked back at what I ate that day - no popcorn was consumed. Jon started feeding her and she stopped taking it in, so we went to change her (this wakes her up or reminds her that she is still hungry). When I unzipped her nightgown I found poop all the way up to her belly button. Guess who got a bath.

My Morning

My typical day now that I am a mommy.
Anywhere between 3am and 5am there is a feeding. This is the last feeding before I would need to be out the door for work. I have started a regime.
1. Boil water in electric kettle to thaw days worth of milk.
2. feed Jolynn
3. pump
4. measure out individual containers for each feeding
5. bag up pumped milk from day before for freezing
6. wash all the bottles
7. eat breakfast
8. take a shower
9. get myself ready
10. get diaper bag packed
11. get Jolynn ready (depending on how long everything else took-may be time for a feeding again)

Mornings aren't too bad because she is still sleepy that I can get stuff done. During the day she is awake longer. Feeding and then staying awake for 1-2 hours, then sleeping for only 1-2 hours before wanting to be fed again. I'm hoping that she starts to drink more and less often soon.

Going Home!

Jolynn had a weigh in at midnight. She gained 2oz! She also slept each time either 3 1/2 hours or 4 hours and we had to wake her for the 4 hour ones. She ate 35-40ml at each feeding. Seeing her progress with the bottle feeding makes me want to just pump as much as I can and feed her by bottle. The only down side to bottle feeding so far has been if she is still hungry after she finishes her bottle. She has to wait for another portion to be warmed up. If she was breast fed I could just whip it out and give her a little more.

Last feeding was at 7:30am. If she is anything like she was all night then she won't be up until 11:30. Around 9:30 we went back up to see if the doctor had been in or when he would be in. He had been in early and did his exam. He said she was okay to go home. They are scheduling a home visit by a nurse for Monday. Nurse said we would have to wait for her to wake up or her next feeding to do the bath and go over discharge information.

Her bath: We really already knew how to give her a bath, we just wanted them to do it before we put her cute clothes on. Nurse Terri said most kids don't like getting this done and scream bloody murder. Jolynn was swaddled and then Terri washed her hair. Jolynn practically fell asleep. When Terri was done she started drying Jolynn's hair - then Jolynn whimpered.

It took almost an hour and a half to get our discharge papers. We had Jolynn in her car seat ready to go and Nurse Amy said it was going to be a while. It took us quite a bit to get her in the seat I just thought we would wait it out. When it had been almost 1/2 hour I decided to take her out. Glad I did seeing that it took them 1 1/2 hours to get everything together. Finally at 1:30pm we had our papers and we were out the door.

Jon's parents were at our house painting the craft room. Mike had jimmy-rigged our broken fence so the dogs couldn't get out. As soon as we got home I went straight to her room to get her in her crib because she was sleeping. 4pm would be her next feeding if she stayed sleeping. With everyone all around, there was so much going on that she didn't sleep. Margaret finally got to hold Jolynn. She probably had the best time because there were no wires and cords. When every one left I tried to get her back on the hospital regime. At 8pm I took her temp, changed her diaper and held her for a bit while Jon made her bottle. Then she was fed, burped, fed, burped, and put down to go back to sleep. So far so good.

I thought I would breastfeed at night and bottle feed during the day. It really didn't work that way. I got up at midnight to feed her and she wanted nothing to do with the boob and I was too tired to try and concentrate on doing it correctly. So I had Jon get up and show me how he was doing her bottles. She drank 20ml at that feeding. We went to bed and at 1:45 she was crying. I did everything all over again - diaper, feeding (30ml) and back to sleep. I couldn't believe that she downed the whole 30ml when she just had 20. That made her sleep until 5:30. Thank goodness. She drank 35ml. and went back to sleep but was a little fussy so I had Jon rock her for a while. My boobs were so full I had bumps on one, they were sore, and leaking. I had to pump. I am producing over 100ml on each pump now. Hopefully she'll start to drink more soon or I am going to have an abundance of frozen breast milk.

Hospital Stay : Day 8

I won't lie. I thought the title for this post was going to be Going Home. I've decided I'm not getting my hopes up on anything until I see the paperwork that says she HAS BEEN DISCHARGED. Yesterday Dr. X said 2 days. Then a nurse came in and did an examination around 11pm saying she was getting to go home tomorrow (today). That same nurse was in this morning and said she thought Dr. X would agree that Jolynn could be discharged today. Dr. X shows up and tells Jon (he was there for her feeding) she will be here one more night. Now her reason for staying here is that she did not gain weight.

We switched to on-demand feeding. The nurses will call the room when she is getting hungry or stirring. We are only going to do bottles that way we know how much she is taking. It will still be breastmilk but we will know her intake.

I nursed at 5 and 8am. Both being about 15-18 min. After the 8am feeding I went back to the room and pumped (9am), then took a shower, and started to pack up the room. Don't count those chickens before they hatch. I should have known better. The NICU called at 9:30 and said Jolynn had not gone to sleep and was still hungry. Since I had just pumped I sent Jon down to give her a bottle. That's when he met with Dr. X. Jon got done giving Jolynn her bottle at 10am. Her next feeding was at 11. I showed up anyway, but they said we were doing on-demand feeding so they would call when she woke up. It got to be 1pm and I thought being that it was 3 hours from when she last finished maybe she would be hungry - nope, still sleeping! They don't let them go more than 4 hours with out feeding so I know we will go down by 2. I am just surprised that she is sleeping this long. This is the way I wanted to be feeding her though. Babies should eat, sleep, and poop right now. I didn't feel the feedings were productive because we were waking her up and she was falling asleep 10 min into the feeding. Hopefully she will be more awake for the feedings now.

It seems to be working. The last two feedings Jon has given her 30ml or more. One feeding he had to change 3 poopy diapers. She has been sleeping 3-4 hours between feedings, is awake for the whole feeding, and then stays awake a little after so we can converse with her or rock her to sleep. A lot less frustrating than before, and we are getting more rest in between feedings.

Hospital Stay: Day 7

Who knew we would be here one week ago. It has been 4 days since Jolynn was born. She has made such great progress and so have I. Jolynn has no tubes inserted anymore and I am currently pumping 60ml each time. That's enough for two feedings if needed. Jon has fed Jolynn twice and I am finding it very helpful. Our 11:00 feeding took almost an hour because she basically fed twice. I had enough time to go back to the room and pump, cook some Easy Mac in the micro, and they were calling me down because she was hungry again. Shoveled my food down and fed her again. Fell asleep with her in my lap. It was getting close to her 2:00 feeding so I thought I better check if we were going to have anything to give her. Nope. Thank goodness for the bottles. Jon gets those feedings. So from 11 to 2 she has been fed 4 times!

Dr. X did a check up today. Her Bili levels were up a little again, but not enough where they have put her under the light. Deb, her nurse, said if she keeps pooping and peeing the way she is, they won't need to. Dr. X said if they need to they can send us home with a bili-blanket. She is having more trouble with jaundice in general because of a A,B, O blood type match. She is A- and I am O-; so our blood type match is causing her red blood cells to be attacked. Sorry honey.

Jon just returned and said they told him to bring in the car seat!

Tamara came after work to visit Jolynn. It was during her 5pm feeding so I bared all. It had been 3 hours since the last feeding, but that was the feeding that she ate 4 times at. I was surprised she would want to eat. She really wasn't sucking, just laying there with it in her mouth. So we had to give her 30ml by bottle. Since Tamara was there, Jon gave up his bottle feeding to her.

Grandpa Mike and Great-Grandpa brought us dinner but couldn't touch Jolynn because she was having her car seat test. That's right. CAR SEAT!!! All premature babies have to sit in their car seat for 1 1/2 hours and hold their head up. If it drops forward her airway would be compromised. So they went to dinner and came back. Jon and I decided that since the Grandpa's were here during her feeding time and I have an abundant amount of breast milk right now that we would do a bottle feed at 8pm and Jon again will give up his bottle feeding duty to his dad. They came back a little late so I started her feeding and they finished it.

I'm on my own tonight for all the feedings. Jon is going to sleep and make sure he is well rested so everything we are told tomorrow at least one of us will remember. Doctors are visiting more frequently and if we are as close as they say to going home I'm sure there will be instructions that need to be followed and remembered.

Hospital Stay: Day 6

My production has increased. Jolynn's night nurse has always been very easy-going with me about coming down for feedings at the 2am time. She said at this point (because we don't have breastfeeding established) it is better to have me get sleep than come down. So last night I went to the 11pm feeding, then came back and pumped (around 15ml). At 2am I pumped again and got a little over 15ml. When I went down for her 5am feeding I brought all the milk and she was able to have an entire syringe of just breast milk. After the 5am feeding I pumped again and got over 30ml. They gave me stickers to label the containers now because most likely I will be producing more than she needs. Jon and I have been talking about our options if the breastfeeding doesn't take. I really want her to be on breastmilk. I would have loved to breastfeed, but the milk is more important. Eventually I would be going back to work anyway and she would be bottle fed, plus Jon would be feeding her occasionally by bottle also. So if she doesn't catch on soon we may switch to bottle feeding with breast milk.

Jolynn was a little trouble maker last night. She pulled her feeding tube out and had the monitor wires pulled off and in her mouth. They ended up putting the tube back in, but on the other side and used a different kind of tape that looks thicker. Then they put socks on her hands and taped them on.

8am feeding: Jolynn was taken off the bili light and nursed for 20 min! They did not hook her up to the syringe with the breast milk that I pumped (which I had enough for a full feeding again). Now the only thing I am concerned about is how much she actually took in. At least with the syringe we knew how much breast milk she consumed; with nursing, I know she was latched on the whole time and she was sucking and a few times I heard her swallow. How much did she actual take in - apparently you can only tell by weight gain. So far she has only been losing. This was a big hurdle though. I really felt like we accomplished something. I had to use the nipple shield again. This time we were both in a better place when using it. She was sucking and I was producing. I know we will have this down by the end of the night.

11am and 2pm feedings: still no bili light and no syringe feeding. At the 2pm feeding we decided to switch to on demand buffet style feedings. She falls asleep very easily when feeding so whenever she wakes up now she will be fed. Jon stayed down with her while I pumped.
5pm feeding: We were told if she didn't feed for a minimum of 15 min then she would be supplemented with 15ml of stored breast milk. They told us this could be given in bottle form. They mentioned this because we had asked earlier - Jon wanted to feed her, and eventually I would be going back to work so she would be on a bottle anyway. This was also asked when she was having trouble nursing. I was upset at first about her taking a bottle, but had a little talk with Jodi and felt better. Like for tonight - Jon says he is going to take the 2am feeding and give it do her in bottle form so I can sleep. I still get up to pump, but that is only 15min vs. an hour.

Grandma and Grandpa Benson brought dinner and then visited with Jolynn.

8pm feeding: She barely made it. I got the 15 min but then wanted to try for a few more minutes just for good measure. Not happenin. When she falls asleep she is out. We poke her tummy, rub the back of her neck and shoulder blade, or tap under her chin; trying to get her to nurse again. Lift her arm and it goes limp. Thank goodness she is still hooked up to monitors or I would wonder if she was dead. She has no response, no movement. A very solid sleeper.

11pm feeding: made the 15 min mark and went a little beyond. She fell right asleep when done.

Hospital Stay: Day 5

Late Monday night, Jolynn was diagnosed with jaundice. So they put her on a Bili Light and I was told to get as much sleep as I could because she could not be removed from the light for more than 30 min. If I happened to wake up I would pump and bring whatever I had down to the NICU. I woke up around 2 or 3, pumped and then looked with astonishment. I had some in the actual container! I ran it down there and they got a dropper to suck it up. I was so happy. I went back to bed, but woke up at 4:45. Waking up several times is normal for me anyway with going to the bathroom. Now, instead of going back to sleep, I pump. So I went at it again. Again, getting some into the container. I brought it down and this time they gave me a kit of smaller containers and some syringes to suck up the milk and bring down. Each time I have pumped today I have gotten more than the last. I am hoping that by tomorrow night my supply will have come in.

Jolynn is still on the bili light. Getting a nice tan. Her bilirubin levels went up again so they added a Bili Blanket (looks like a blue glowing pad). Since she can be off the light for 30 min at a time, they have me breastfeed at her scheduled feeding times and then put her back on the light to get the supplemental formula. My last pumping I had 12ml so eventually she will be feeding only on my breast milk. Goal now is to get her to take it from the breast, otherwise we will have to bottle feed.

I was discharged today. We moved our stuff into a "boarding" room that is a little ways away-but free and still in the birthing wing of the hospital. Jon and I went home and gathered a few things then headed back to the hospital. They really want to promote breastfeeding if that is your choice. I was worried once I was discharged that I would have to go home and leave her here.

Hearing test results came in yesterday also. Forgot to add that to last post. Despite shooting handguns and shotguns at BOW, Jolynn's hearing passed.

Maple Grove Hospital had their 1000 baby born today. We found out Jolynn was #987.

Hospital Stay: Day 4

We had a few more visitors today; Jodi, Brian and the girls, Olaf and Knute.

Today was the day to get my butt in motion. They told me I would be concentrating on getting my milk to come in. I was getting very discouraged. She was improving every time we went in to check on her, and I was still the same-pumping only a smear of milk onto the collection cups.

When we checked on Jolynn she was sucking away on her pacifier. The nurses have been working with her on the sucking so when I come in at least I have that. We have been trying different holds for breastfeeding. I like the football hold on the left side, but Jolynn does not. She doesn't mind it on the right side, but my right side isn't producing anything right now. When Jodi came she watched and suggested different things while I tried to feed again. It was really helpful. I was supposed to meet with a lactation consultant but they have very odd hours and had left early.

Jon has been absolutely wonderful. He is such a proud papa and really took today to be with her any moment he had. I have a thing about waking a sleeping baby-they look so peaceful I don't want to disturb them. He said he didn't want her being alone in the little tray they have her in, so he would rather be holding her. So sweet. He also asks all the right questions and remembers everything.

Jolynn's temperature was regulated enough that she was controlling it so she was switched to a regular bed instead of the warmer. Her glucose levels were normal and stayed there so the IVs were removed. Since the IVs were removed she still had to get nourishment and my milk has not come in yet, so they put a tiny tube in her nose down to her stomach. She is getting supplemental formula as well as breastfeeding and taking whatever I get from pumping.

Hospital Stay: Day 3

So Day 3 was really this post.

We had so many visitors, but they were all perfectly spaced out. First was Grandma and Grandpa Moritz, then Grandma and Grandpa Benson with Great Aunt Sally. Followed by Nate and Uncle Jason, Jared and Naomi, Erin, and Sara K. Doesn't seem like many people, but it worked out perfect to have time to rest, pump and take our time visiting.

Jolynn improved by leaps and bounds every time we checked on her. She had a good bowel movement and many wet diapers. She was spitting up a bit of amniotic fluid because the birth was so quick it didn't squeeze it out of her.

Jolynn Rochelle Moritz

Born 7/18/10, 7:17 am, 4 lb 11 oz, 18 inches

Our beautiful baby girl decided she needed to come out 4 weeks early. This is her story:

At 10am I was given a drug called Cytotec (a pill put next to my cervix that ripens it).
I slept until 2am and then was checked-1 cm-then given another dose of Cytotec. Because of having preeclampsia Dr. Hessel said she was surprised I was given a second dose of Cytotec; this drug is known to put you into labor.
Around 4am I was awaken by severe cramping and need to go #2. Very similar to most of my mornings when I was at home. Being new to pregnancy I did not know what contractions would feel like. Labor I knew was menstrual like cramps, but mine were accompanied by the need to go the bathroom, so I thought it was just that. Once I got in the bathroom I was stuck for a while because my "cramps" were so bad I couldn't get up. Once I got up we called my nurse (Jane). She said she had been watching my monitor for the past 2 hours and I was having some major contractions and then when I wasn't plugged in for a while she thought she better come check on me. She was absolutely right. It was breathing time. Jon was great. Jane checked my cervix and I was at 2 almost 3 cm. My pain was so bad she decided it was time to call for an epidural.
Epidural doctor showed up at 4:30. By 4:40 they were putting in a test dose. By 4:50 I was completely numb and feeling great. The other nurses were getting a little nervous because they were still watching my monitor. My contractions were not having a down time. I was given two shots to try and slow my contractions (which I was not feeling). I started to feel pressure in my groin and that turned into pain in my stomach. We called the epidural doc back to give me an extra dose. That dose helped me, but slowed Jolynn's heartrate. They put me on my side. That didn't work. They asked if I could get on all fours. Normally with an epidural you are not supposed to be able to move from the waist down. I somehow was still able to move, but didn't feel anything. So I got on all fours and then swayed my hips back and forth. They also put O2 on me. This all helped because Jolynn's heart rate came back up.
At this point I really don't know what time it was, but everything went VERY fast.
I started to feel pressure again in my pelvic bone area. The doctor checked my cervix and I was 5 cm. Around 7am she checked again and I was 9cm. There was not much time between the 5 and 9. Jon sent out a text message saying I was at 9cm. I told the doctor that it felt like she was coming out. She checked again and sure enough she told me to start pushing. Still having trouble with Jolynn's heart rate, they kept me on my side to push. I had 2 good pushes and then the doc said next push she was coming out. She wasn't kidding. At 7:17am, she shot out like a torpedo. Jon had wanted to catch her and then cut the umbilical cord. Unfortunately, she had the cord wrapped around her neck, so he wasn't able to. This was another reason her heart rate was so low. They wisked her to the NICU. I told Jon to go with her. He was fantastic. He knew everything going on and had the nurse report everything back to me.
Jolynn was doing great but because she was so small her sugar levels were low. She scored an 8 at the first minute after birth for the APGAR test and a 9 at five minutes (out of 10). Her blood sugar level was a 32 when she first got into the NICU she was put on an IV to get the sugar and a supplemental IV in her by 10:30 her level was at a 62 (normal is 50). As soon as I could I headed in there and tried to nurse. She was able to latch on! Now I just have to get something for her to drink.