Our Little Princess is FINALLY here!

Ethan decided to help me write the blog while we are in the hospital.  So as you read through the blog we have indicated from whose point of view it is written. This post is more of a journal entry from our life. This was one of the longest and most rewarding days of our lives and we wanted to make sure that we captured it all. 

  

May 13

Ethan: Today is the big day!! Our day started at 6 AM with my alarm sounding the start of a new, and life changing day; which seems to be every day in the Bennett household these days. Kelli and I both got ready for the day, man my wife is hott. We said our good byes this morning, which went better than expected.  I thought Kelli did very well saying goodbye to Jack. I am sure it helped that he will be coming down tomorrow, to see us.

Kelli was calm and collected all the way down to the hospital. She took a nap for most of the 2 hour long trip. When we arrived at the front desk I announced “We were having a baby today!” I loved seeing their reaction; all three receptionists and a volunteer standing near the desk whipped their heads around, ready to jump and rush us up to labor and delivery.   When they realized it was a scheduled C-section they all went back to work and gave us directions.  

We found our way up to Labor Delivery and met the most wonderful nurse, Robin. Robin is an experienced nurse who I am sure has calmed the nerves of hundreds of scared young mothers over the years.  She hooked Kelli up to monitors to measure the baby’s heartbeat and Kelli’s contractions.  Turns out Kelli was having contractions every four minutes apart and had been feeling these for a couple of days.  It looks like we wouldn’t have had much time left.  It’s a good thing we didn’t wait until the 20^th.  Robin walked us through what would be happening throughout the day and had us fill out the needed paper work. We met with, what seemed like, half of the hospital staff over the next two hours before they took us back into the Operating Room.  

 Us waiting to go to the operating room

We told all the nurses, anesthesiologist, and doctors about my “love” of anything medical.  (For those of you that don’t know, I pass out at the mere mention of blood).  We also told them that I want to try and be in the delivery room with Kelli.  We came up with the plan to bring me in the backdoor of the OR once Kelli was situated (so I couldn’t see anything) and they would sit me down in a chair next to her.  

They took Kelli back to the operating room 5 minutes before noon to administer the anesthesia and prepare her for surgery. Robin had told me that she would come get me in about 20 minutes and that she would not let the doctor start before I showed up. I sat and waited for what seemed like forever. The 20 minutes had come and gone, 25 minutes, 30 minutes. Finally, Robin poked her head in after a long 35 minutes of waiting to tell me that they were ready to go. 

Kelli: The OR staff was phenomenal they all laughed and joked with me as they prepped me for surgery.  The anesthesiologist was having a difficult time numbing my back enough so they could administer the spinal anesthesia. She had to inject more numbing shots so I couldn’t feel the spinal infection.  I kept shaking and trying to be brave and deal with the pain, but the anesthesiologist decided to give me more and more numbing stuff until I couldn’t feel the spinal injection anymore.  Once she finished with the shots they had to immediately lay me down so I wouldn’t roll off the bed face first, that’s how fast the spinal worked.  Once I was lying down they had to wait for the anesthesia to spread.  Turns out it spread way too high on me (I was numb clear up to my neck and my hands and arms were tingling).  They adjusted my bed so that my head was slightly higher than the rest of my body, that way the anesthesia wouldn’t spread any higher.  This small movement, however, threw me into a bout of nausea and dizzy spells.  They waited for this to subside before they brought Ethan in.

Ethan: They brought me back into the OR once I had put on my good looking paper scrubs. I was brought in behind the curtain so I wouldn’t see anything, not that I wanted to. Many of you might be thinking how crazy, stupid, and reckless it is to have a Bennett, in the OR for a major surgery. To be honest I was thinking the exact same thing, but I knew how badly Kelli wanted me there.  So I had to cowboy up and not think about it.  They brought me in and sat me down in an armed chair. Usually they have dad’s sit on a metal stool with wheels. The stool would have posed a much larger problem if I had fainted.

 

They placed the anesthesiologists near me to monitor my condition. She was very sweet and talked me through the whole thing. I did ok until I started hearing what the doctors on the other side of the screen were saying. I tried to tune it out, but it was too late. I started to get light headed and feel really queasy. I quickly assumed the “I’m a Bennett in a hospital” position (head down, eyes closed, and start singing your favorite song to block out everything else.) I started to recover and Kelli provided a lot of great words of encouragement.  Kelli later told me that she had prepared for these “fainting” moments with certain topics we could discuss that would take my mind off things.  She brought these topics up when she knew I was losing it.  The most successful ones were us placing bets on how much our new baby weighed, her height, and her hair color and us talking about our cruise.

Right now I am sure you are thinking, who in the heck is this guy? Kelli is the one being cut open and having a baby pulled out of her and you are sitting here, as white as a ghost, drenched in a cold sweat, while your wife tries to tell YOU it is going to be alright. What can I say I am pretty awesome. I came really close to passing out twice, but wanted to say that I was successful and did not end up on the floor.  Kelli: He did much better than expected and I was so proud of him.  I was so grateful that he was willing to even consider going in the OR with me.  He made it through successfully while holding my hand.  It was so comforting just having him in there with me.

Ethan: Before we started the C-section they told us that if little miss cried when they brought her out then they could give us a little peek of our baby girl before taking her to the, “Island”. If she didn’t cry we would have to wait to see her.  The island is a room right off the operating room which has everything that the doctors and nurses need to provide the necessary life support to the new babies.

About 15 minutes into the procedure we heard them pull our sweet baby girl out. She announced to the whole room very loudly, that she had arrived. Hearing her cry for the first time help get my head back in the game and gave me the chance to pull myself back together.  However, Baby Bennett decided to take a gulp of fluid soon after coming up for air and had to be taken directly to the Island to so they could help clear out her lungs.

One of the nurses offered to go take a picture for us while they were taking care of her in the island.  She brought the camera back to us the OR (they were still stitching Kelli back up) and we were able to get an idea of what she looked like.  They also told us she weighed in at 7lbs 4oz and was 20 ¼ in long.  Kelli and I were grinning ear to ear as we talked about our little princess. 

These are the pictures the nurse took while we were waiting in the OR.

Before removing the curtain the nurses escorted me out of the OR.  They still had a few things to finish with Kelli.

Once out of the OR they took me back to the Island where I was able to lay eyes on my beautiful baby girl.  She look just like a beautiful, whole, “normal” baby to me. All of the nurses told us a half dozen times how cute she was, and I whole heartedly agree.  

The nurses then explained the next steps that they needed to take before transporting her over to Riley’s Children’s hospital. The two hospitals are side by side with each other. The infants are taken underground in a tunnel to Riley’s where they are admitted into the NICU. I was given the option to either wait with Kelli in recovery or to follow our baby over to Riley’s. What a tough decision. I opted to stay with Kelli as she needed my immediate attention. If I would have followed our baby over to Riley’s I would have sat and waited as she was admitted into the NICU and they ran some initial tests on our girl. 

Kelli was moved from the OR to the recovery room around 1:15 PM. Her short journey across the hall did not go so well. Kelli got extremely dizzy and nauseous and threw up a couple of times as they moved her to the recovery room. 

Once in the recovery room we finally had an opportunity to post how everyone was doing on Facebook and attempt to call family members. We had very spotty coverage while in the OR and in the recovery room which made it difficult and frustrating to get in contact with anyone.

Kelli’s motion sickness dramatically increased to the point where she would throw up every time she would move her head. Robin, the nurse, continued to monitor Kelli’s condition and started to get some fluids and simple carbs into her system with the hopes that it would help, it didn’t. 

After 30 minutes or so they brought by the isolette that our baby girl would be transported in over to Riley’s Children Hospital. This was Kelli’s first glimpse of little miss. Kelli was able to put her hand through the isolette to hold her hand for the first time. Our baby girl was only allowed to stay in our room for a minute or so before they whisked her away to Riley’s.  However, this short moment gave Kelli the comfort she needed as she knew that she would not be able to see her again for quite some time.

After an hour they decided to move Kelli to the postpartum suite, 2 South. This was not a very long trip from the recovery room, however it took a considerable amount of time because Robin was trying to be sensitive to Kelli’s nausea. After a few minutes of Kelli throwing up they threw caution to the wind and sped things up.  They wanted to get Kelli to her final destination so her recovery process could start. Robin had mentioned while moving her that she had never had a patient so sensitive to motion.  

Once in the postpartum suite, Kelli continued to throw up and also started itching. Kelli had a similar itching issue after Jack was born, but it was concentrated in her legs. This time her entire body itched like crazy. She has multiple doctors, nurses, and the anesthesiologist attempting to determine what the root cause was and how to eliminate the problem. Kelli tried multiple medications over the next couple of days with no avail. One of the nurses, Jackie, noticed that the anti-itch medicine Kelli was taking was more of a pain killer than an anti-itch medication. This medication can relieve itching in some, however in some patients, in this case Kelli, it can cause an allergic reaction causing them to itch. They decided to give Kelli Benadryl to hopefully help with the itching, however Kelli continued to itch over the next couple of days as we waited for the medicine she had the allergic reaction to wear off.

Kelli continued to be very nauseous and dizzy and continued to throw up. Kelli knew that one of the problems is that she had not eaten anything substantial; however she couldn’t keep anything down because of her nausea. They finally decided to give her a motion sickness patch, similar to one that we wore on our cruise. This seemed to help Kelli’s condition enough that it allowed her an opportunity to eat. 

Because Kelli was so dizzy and weak she was not able to go and see our baby the first day over at Riley’s. I however made the trip over to Riley’s to see our new daughter. This was about a 10 minute walk. We hadn’t decided on a name because we both wanted to see her before making the decision. It seemed like everyone we talked to asked if we had decided on a name. This almost became a point of frustration because I think everyone we talked to asked us that question. When I first arrived at the NICU, I was told to come back in 30 minutes because they were placing some IVs and getting her situated in her bed. 

I went downstairs to check out the Ronald McDonald house that is set up in the Hospital. For those who don’t know, this is an area were families can relax and reenergize while their child is a patient in the hospital. They typically have volunteer groups that come in and provide meals through the day at no cost to those who are family of the patient. They have beds that can be reserved for afternoon naps as well as places to shower and do laundry, all at no charge. There aren’t words to describe how thankful we are for such an amazing resource.  Below are pictures of the Ronald McDonald house located here in the hospital.  Here is a link to their website: http://www.rmh-indiana.org/

After waiting my half hour I went back up to the NICU to finally see where my baby girl would be hanging out for the next week until she has surgery. I checked in with the secretary and was admitted back into the NICU. The NICU is set up in 6 individual modules with up to 10 infants in each module. As you can see from the picture she was moved from her isolette onto her little bed. One of the first things they told me is that she is very warm even though she only has a diaper on. The mattress she is laying on is heated and there is also heat that radiates down from a lamp above her, which warms the air around her. The situation looks a lot bleaker than it really is. The majority of the tubes and wires are only there to keep close tabs on her vitals. She does have some other “accessories” which are essential to maintain her critical life functions, but for the most part she is supporting herself pretty well. 

 Princesses NICU space

One thing that little miss has really struggled with is remembering to breath. One of the drugs they have her on is called prostaglandin (PGE). This is the drug which keeps her PDA value open allowing oxygenated blood to flow to her brain and the rest of her body. This drug however has a lot of side effects. The side effects include: irritability, rash, and increased apnea (basically she forgets to breathe). Because our baby girl only has half a heart she tires very quickly. To try and help reduce the challenge it is for her to breathe they placed her on a CPAP machine.  Initially she was placed on CPAP machine with just the prongs in her nose; however, she continued to have trouble breathing and they had to place the nasal mask on her instead. The breathing mask is similar to those used by people that have sleep apnea. The little hat she is wearing helps keep the mask in place. It is scary watching your baby have an apneic episode. She stops breathing and her heart rate quickly drops and her oxygen levels in her blood quickly drop as well. The nurses are right on top of her and they wake her back up so she starts breathing again. They told us that if her condition digressed they would have to look at putting her on a ventilator. Luckily for little miss (and her parent’s sanity) there is also a respiratory therapist in each module that monitor the baby’s breathing and make adjustments on a regular basis.

To ensure that she has all the nutrients and medicines she needs, she also has 3 IV lines in the belly

button. These lines allow them to feed her, monitor her blood pressure/gases, draw blood without having to stick her every time, and give her the medicine she needs. She currently has a feeding tube in her mouth which is not being used other than as an outlet for some extraneous stomach gases. Later, that will be used as an actual feed tube, but this still a couple of days out. 

During my visit, one of the cardiologists stopped by and asked me how I was doing and what we knew and understood about her condition. I told him that we had already been briefed on the detail of her surgery, but I would love for him to explain and clarify again.  We went through a diagram of the heart and how our baby’s heart looked right now and what they are going to do to fix the problem. I asked when they would know when they would be able to perform the first surgery. He told me that they want to wait until she is “used to be born”. He said this is typically a week or two. The concern that they have is right after babies with HLHS are born, their blood pressure and their oxygen levels are not very consistent and they struggle to maintain these levels on their own.  If they were to go in and immediately do surgery it would cause too much stress on the body and could push her over the edge.  The cardiologist informed me that soon after she was taken over the Riley and before she was placed in the NICU the doctors did another Echocardiogram which allowed them to take a good look at her heart. He had a lot of positive feedback about the current condition of the heart. He said that the vessel which takes the oxygenated blood from her heart to the rest of her body is almost the size of a heart healthy child. He also mentioned that the natural hole between her two upper chambers of her heart was intact and in good shape to help support the future function and purpose of her heart. He explained in detail what would be done in this surgery as well as the future surgeries that will be done. I really felt that this man cared about what was happening in my life and in the life of my child. He took 30 minutes out of his busy day to ensure that he knew that I understood how my life was about to completely change.

Over the course of the next couple of hours I (Kelli was still back in the room recovering) met with a social workers, lactation specialist wanting to talk to Kelli, nurses, doctors, lead nurses, secretaries, and it seemed like everyone else under the Riley roof. I finally left the NICU, weighted down with papers, but brimming with confidence that everything is going to work out.  

The first night was a long and miserable night for the two of us.  Kelli had a rough night because of the pain and the itching. There also seemed to be an endless stream of doctors and nurses that came into our room to check on her. We loved that they were there to help monitor Kelli’s condition, but her lack of sleep was not helping improve the situation. Not to mention that she was up every 3 hours to pump. I had the “privilege” of sleeping on the fold out arm chair which never seems to lay perfectly flat.  I was also up every time Kelli was, helping so she didn’t have to move too much.

After day 1 in the hospital Kelli and I were completely and utter worn out, both physically and emotionally. We had started out the day at the crack of dawn and it seemed like the day would drag on forever.  

We are trying to keep everyone informed as things change, but please understand that our focus lies within our little bubble right now; which encompasses the two hospitals where the two most wonderful and important women in my life lay recovering. We will try to do a better job keeping this up to date, but we ask for your patience and understanding.  Thank you for your continual prayers.