Sydney Claire's Grand Entrance

Day 1: I pictured Sydney's birth many times while I was pregnant, but never do I think I could have imagined what actually happened.  When my water broke at about 12:45 in the morning, Blake and I rushed around with all sorts of emotions running and headed to the hospital.  Once there, the nurse hooked me up to monitors and did not like what she saw.  When our doctor came, she agreed and decided immediately to take me in for an emergency c-section.  We arrived at the hospital at about 1:30 am and Sydney was born at 3:36 am!  Because she was in distress they took her from the operating room without us being able to even see her.  The doctor did not want her to start crying because they wanted to make sure she did not breathe in any harmful substances.  Nurses came in intermittently to give us updates that she was breathing but small.  At birth, she weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 inches long.  After the doctors finished with me, I was taken to recovery for about an hour.  During that time, Blake was able to go with Sydney to the special care nursery while the doctors monitored her breathing.  My doctor, Dr. Martin, was so kind to bring in our camera to the recovery room to show a few pictures Blake took of her because he was not allowed to come into the recovery room.  When I finished in recovery, I was taken upstairs to go to my room but was met by Blake and a nurse at the special care nursery.  Blake had used his persuasive ways to convince the nurses to let me in to special care to see Sydney...stretcher and all!!  She was on a small bed and looked beautiful-and exactly like Blake!

Birth Card

Special Care Nursery right after I was born!

Being held by my dad for the first time

Being held by my mom for the first time... I think she may have been on some drugs still :)

Day 2: I figured this is where our crazy adventure would calm down (as much as it can with a newborn), but I sure was wrong!  During the day Tuesday, Sydney was in our room but had to go to the nursery (regular care) a few times because she was having trouble maintaining her temperature.  She would lay on a warmer, raise her temperature, and come back to the room.  Sydney's pediatrician, Dr. Murnane, came Wednesday morning and decided it would be best for Sydney to return to Special Care and stay in an incubator until she was able to regulate her temperature on her own.  We were thinking this would be a 24 hour stay at this point.  When we were able to go back to Special Care to see her, I was not prepared for what I saw, not that I knew what to expect.  Sydney had several monitors hooked to her, all typical for Special Care, not that that made it any easier to see.  She also had an IV in with antibiotics as a precaution in case the temperature regulation problem was due to an infection and because her blood sugar level was low when she was first brought back to Special Care.  The IV was probably the hardest for me to see in her tiny hand.  We were able to take Sydney out of the incubator to feed and then had to put her back.  Luckily, Sydney ate well during this time.  Blake and I went back and forth between the nursery and my room for the rest of the day: feeding and resting, trying to remember that I needed to recover from surgery.  We also had many visitors that day, which helped keep my mind off things in certain ways.  Overnight, we continued to go back to the nursery for feedings every three hours.

My original ride

Sleeping in the incubator

Laid out in the incubator

Well hi!

Day 3: Thursday morning, we got some good news- no infection!  The nurse was able to disconnect the IV, but left the heplock (the needle part) in her hand, so they would not have to restick her if they needed to reconnect it for any reason.  The goal for this day was to get her temperature regulated.  The nurse checked her temperature every hour and was able to lower the incubator temperature bit by bit if she could maintain.  The setback for this day was that she was not having any wet diapers so she was reconnected to the IV to receive fluids.  Blake and I settled into somewhat of a routine continuing to feed and rest and Sydney continued to be a champion eater!

Me and mom

Me and dad...and what is up with the Uruguay shirt?

ZZZZ's

 Day 4:  Friday was actually a great day.  Sydney continued to eat well, the temperature in her incubator continued to be lowered, and she was taken off the IV again after several wet diapers.  We were super excited because I was to be discharged Saturday and if she continued the way she was going, Sydney would leave with us- it would be perfect timing!  Friday evening, they even put Sydney in a regular bed- one of those plastic hospital basinets that Blake was able to wheel to the door of the Special Care Nursery so visitors could see her through the window.  Overnight, we would head to the nursery every three hours to feed our bottomless pit! :) 

My second ride

My dad trying to change my diaper in the incubator....looks fun!

Day 5: Blake and I headed to the Special Care Nursery to do the 5 am feeding thinking we would soon be able to bust her out and take her home!  When we got to her room, she was back in the incubator with two nurses drawing blood from her heel.  Unfortunately, her bilirubin levels were up and she had to go under the lights to help her body get rid of it.  The nurse put her back in the incubator to keep her temperature up since she could only wear a diaper under the lights.  While under the lights, she had to wear goggles of sorts to protect her eyes. We were still able to take her out for feedings, but she suddenly refused to eat- the one thing we had going well the entire time!  The doctors let us know she didn't want to eat because high bilirubin levels make babies lethargic.  It quickly became a double edged sword because she needed to eat in order to rid her body of the bilirubin but she was expending too much energy trying to eat which made her more tired.  When they rechecked her bilirubin later that afternoon, we got excellent news!  Her levels were low enough for her to be transferred to the pediatric floor where we could room-in with her.  At 7:30, we met a Special Care nurse and were whisked off to the 7th floor for the night.  The room was a huge change from the plush Women's Hospital, but it made us even more sure of being ready to get Sydney home where she belongs.  She stayed on a bilibed during that time but we were finally able to be her parents...we were in charge of everything and loved every minute of it!

Tanning in prep for Spring Break 2028

This is what I look like when singing classical opera

Day 6: Sunday morning was a whirlwind.  The nurse practitioner from Special Care came to check on Sydney and based on her bilirubin levels decided we could go home!  We had only to wait on audiology to screen her hearing which she passed with flying colors.  Finally, we got to dress her in her going home outfit which swallowed her alive, but we didn't care one bit.  Putting her in her car seat and being wheeled out was the best feeling in the world!

About to bust out of the hospital

Ready to roll out

I am glad to have Sydney's birth story now so we can share the exciting story with her one day.  While in the hospital, we had a range of emotions, but there were many lessons I learned. 


#1- I love Blake more than I even thought possible!  He is an amazing father and is there for every moment.  Never once did he leave the hospital and he came for every feeding in Special Care even though there were no bottles to be given.  He changed his first ever diaper while Sydney was in the incubator- with his hands in the small circular openings, quite a challenge!  Sydney and I are so incredibly blessed to have him.


#2- While our experience was difficult, there are many others that have much harder journeys than we did.  The Special Care Nursery was filled with babies in much worse shape than Sydney.  It helped keep things in perspective for us.


#3- It takes a special person to be a nurse.  We were surrounded by so many different nurses that cared for Sydney as well as for me.  Each one was patient, understanding, and kind.  It made a tough stay just a bit easier.


#4- We are blessed to have wonderful friends and family.  We were surrounded by visitors and phone calls wishing us well.  What a morale booster that was for us!


Now on to more exciting posts- lots of Sydney's firsts- her first bath, doctor's visit, smile, the list will go on and on.  I like to think I will cherish these moments even more because of our experience.