Friday, October 10, 2008

In the NICU

If there was one thing I did not expect in delivering a baby at 41 weeks it was a NICU stay, but that is exactly where Jillian is at this moment. Yesterday around 4pm she spiked a temperature of 102 degrees. That is when the chaos broke loose. Our family practice doc who we're using for Jillian's pediatrician recommended a bunch of tests that needed to be done in the NICU. Jeramy was at a union meeting, so I went over with the nurse to have them done. Needless to say I was pretty scared and emotional but had managed to keep some control. Well when we arrived in the NICU, we found out that out doc, Dr. M, had talked with the NICU doc, Dr. L, and decided to transfer her to the care of the NICU (first Dr. L told me this and then Dr. M talked to me about this on the nurse's cell phone. They wanted to give her antibiotics, and they cannot do this in labor and delivery. Plus they wanted to run all sorts of tests: CBC, chest x-ray, blood culture and spinal tap. Obviously now I'm completely in tears, trying to talk with Dr. L in some sort of coherent manner, and watching them start a bunch of procedures on Jillian. In the meantime my Aunt Cheryl had arrived to visit in the middle of all this, and was brought into the NICU with me. Plus the nurse had let me call Jeramy on her cell phone to get him back to the hospital. There were a million things happening and there were lots of scary words flying around from sepsis to meningitis. Right after Jeramy arrived and met Dr. L, they sent us back to our room so that they could do the spinal tap.

The good news is that the early tests and chest x-ray came back clean. They were not able to get any spinal fluid from the spinal tap, but they did not need to repeat it at this point at least. By later that night her temperature had also gone back down. This morning another NICU doc said she'll finish the rest of her antibiotics by tomorrow, and if her temp stays down we can probably take her home then. In the meantime, the on-call OB offered to let me stay in the hospital another day, which is more comfortable than hanging out in the NICU the whole time (although it is nice and Jillian has a private room). She's also now on a combination of breast feeding, pumping and supplementing with formula, but the lactation consultant here is excellent and has spent a lot of time with me trying to figure out how to make it work for the transition home. Prior to the NICU I had only breastfed her.

Anyhow, this is a long and rambling email. But honestly that is kind of the chaos that describes the past few days. I am thankful that at least we were still at the hospital, because except for the thermometer readings, Jillian did not seem at all sick. She didn't even feel feverish. They had kept me in the hospital one extra day because I was running a temperature during labor, which peaked right after delivery. So they needed to keep me on antibiotics for 24 hours after delivery and then monitor me for another 24 hours after that. They never figured out why I ran a temperature, but if it was an infection of some sort that could have been passed to Jillian. At this point, it is hard to say exactly what happened, but thankfully doctors are extremely cautious when it comes to infants.

Once again it feels like my blog title seems to resound with me. No matter how well I prepare, no matter how much I read, and no matter how straight forward my pregnancy may have been, I just cannot prepare for everything life hands to me.


14 comments:

Kelly said...

Oh sweetie, I am so sorry you are having to go through this! The silver lining is at least they caught it before you went home because that could have been much worse. Jillian and you and Jeramy are in my thoughts and prayers. She'll be just fine, I'm sure of it! Take care of yourself.
((hugs))

Amanda said...

I'm so glad that she is being so well taken care of. I'm sorry that you've had this scare at all, though. I hope and pray that you all get to go home quickly (and healthy)!

Monica Fayth said...

I'm sorry you're going through so much right now. But I'm glad she's being taking care of. And she is absolutely adorable!!

Jennifer said...

Oh Jen (and Jeremy), Our thaughts and prayers are with you all, I can't even imagine what you are going through, I know that there are no words to make you feel better or less scared, she is in good hands.She is going to be fine! I am sending you a BIG hug!!! Take care of yourself and that little pumpkin... Jillian not Jeremy ;)
Todd and Jenny

RBandRC said...

I'm sorry you're going through this, but I am glad to hear that you have so many doctors and nurses taking good care of Jillian. She is absolutely beautiful and I hope you make it home soon! ((HUGS))

jenn said...

I'm sorry you to go through this, but like you said- thank goodness you were in the hospital & the docs are so attentive to newborns!
she is beautiful & I hope you get to take her home soon!

Jennifer said...

Sending lots of prayers and positive thoughts your way...I can't imagine going through what you are going through. I'm glad that it sounds like she is getting excellent care.
Please keep us posted and again - you are in my prayers.

PS - Jillian is just beautiful and precious!

Meghan said...

How scary! We had a brief NICU visit too and it was the worst few hours I could ever imagine. I'm glad they caught it and she's getting better

Sunny said...

Oh no!!! I was not expecting to read this when I came to see how you are doing. I'm so sorry, I can't imagine how horrible you must have felt. It sounds like Jillian is in very capable hands, and she's on her way back to perfect newborn health. Thinking of you!

Anonymous said...

Jen, Jillian, and I are all home. Jillian was released from the hospital around 2pm today.

Birdee said...

I'm so sorry you had to go through that, I hope you're doing better now, can't wait for an update of how things are going at home.
You're in my prayers.

Worrying never end's does it - it only gets worse ~hugs~ Were here for you through it all. ~hugs~hugs~

George said...

Wow, what a scary time that was for you all! I'm glad you're home now and doing well!!!

Mazzy said...

Oh man, that is so scary! I am so glad everything is ok, though, and man, Jillian is just BEAUTIFUL. She really is. Hope all is well..
*hugs*

nancy said...

Hey Jen - I hope things are going better for dear little miss jillian.