Caden Milestones/facts

I am having issues with my babies online page. For some reason it says that my account doesn't exist. So, just to make sure I do not lose all this info I am transferring both C and R's info here.

Said Mommy - Monday, November 16, 2009 Okay not really, but he will say ma ma ma ma over and over.



Crawled For The First Time - Thursday, October 01, 2009
A real crawl!


Crawled For The First Time - Saturday, September 26, 2009
It is just army crawling but it is a start right?


First Tooth - Sunday, August 23, 2009



Held Bottle - Thursday, August 20, 2009



Growth Chart - Tuesday, July 28, 2009
19 lbs 4 oz 25.5 oz


Discovered Feet - Thursday, July 23, 2009



Came Home From Hospital - Sunday, February 01, 2009
YAY!! We were finally able to bring Caden home! After 74 days in the NICU he was well enough to join us.

He was released with oxygen and an apnea monitor.


Off the vent! - Saturday, November 22, 2008
Caden came off the vent today. He is now on the CPAP. He has lost a little weight but that is totally normal. He is down to 2 lbs 4 oz.

His feedings have increased, he is now taking 2 ccs of milk. Which 2 ccs isn't much that is about 1/2 teaspoon if that. And here I was worried that I would not be able to keep up with him.

Caden has started having Bradys, which is his pulse will drop from 150 down to 50. It doesn't take much to bring it back up. But if it continues he will have to go back on the vent.


Birthday - Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Caden made his appearance on Nov 19th 2008 at 423 pm. Weighing in at 2 lbs 7 oz 14 inches long. He is a tiny little peanut, but perfect in every way.

I could do a birth story but there isn't much excitement. I woke up at 530 am covered in blood. I called my nurse who hooked me up to the monitors and found I was contracting every 45 seconds. They gave me a shot of terb which didn't work. She called my Dr who came in and told me, well it looks like you may be having a baby today.

As the day progressed, the contractions would come and go, but never longer than 1 hour between them. At 3:30 the call was made to do the c/section then just to make sure all the staff was on hand and ready to go. At 4 pm I was wheeled into the OR. The first cut was made at 4:15 and Caden was out at 4:23. He didn't cry, but we didn't expect him to.

He is doing well at 3 days old, he is off the vent and onto the CPAP. His heart is perfect, well as perfect as an under developed heart can be, he has PDA, which is totally normal for preemies. I have not got the results from the head u/s yet. But I am sure if there was an issue I would have heard.


26 weeks baby!! - Friday, November 07, 2008
26 weeks, that is my magical number. That is my goal. When and if I pass 26 weeks, my goal will be 28 weeks.

So what happens last night?

They hook me up to the monitors I go about my business, playing my games, checking out my boards. Waiting for the hour to pass. The hour passes the nurse comes in and asks me if I am crampy. I say no. She then tells me you are contracting every 2-3 minutes. OH SHIT. First off I am not feeling a thing. Second CRAP.

So she leaves me hooked up and comes back about 20 minutes later and tells me okay I can't get ahold of Dr O, but I found that you have a running order for terbutaline buried in your chart. She looks at the strip and tells me your not contracting now. Lets me get up go potty, she asks me for a sample. I get back in bed and I am hit with the most God awful cramp you can imagine. It was running across my belly around to my back, down my legs, I felt like my cervix was on fire. Holy shit! And it didn't let up. I sat there for at least 5-10 minutes with this cramp. The whole time the nurse is watching the strip. So we decided since I had ONE contraction that I could feel and a ton that I couldn't to go ahead with the terbutaline injection.

So I get the injection, and EVERYTHING stops I am talking within moments stops. Then I dealt with shaking and cotton mouth the rest of the night, but shaking and cotton mouth is pale in comparison to a possible birth.


Hospital Week 1 - Tuesday, November 04, 2008
First off we made it through the first milestone, which is 48 hours after the first steroid. Which means I still sit in the hospital pregnant.

Many questions have been asked. I will try to answer some of them (okay no questions here but yeah).

Can a fetus live without water? Yes, your amniotic fluid is actually the baby's urine. So it is replaced every hour. In my case what is happening is, that fluid builds up all day, then I gush at night. Why this is happening I have NO idea. The only thing I can think is that I have a break higher in the sac. The Dr himself has not told me why.

The blood in the fluid, my placenta has pulled away from the uterus. As long as 50% of the placenta stays attached it is not a worry.

Will I get to go home? No I am here until Caden comes. So God willing it is a very long stay.

What are Caden's chances, that all depends when he is born. Every day that he stays where he is his chances increase by 3%. This chart was copy and pasted from Nancy.
21 weeks or less: 0% survival rate
22 weeks: 0-10% survival rate
23 weeks: 10-35% survival rate
24 weeks: 40-70% survival rate
25 weeks: 50-80% survival rate
26 weeks: 80-90% survival rate
27 weeks: greater than 90% survival rate
So you can see our goal is at least 27 weeks. I am 25 weeks 1 day as of today.

What has the Dr said? Pretty much because I am showing no signs of infection, my blood pressure is right in line, no fever, Cadens heart rate is steady, no contractions. He thinks I will go long term. What his idea of long term is I don't know, but I think it is more than one week. 50% of pprom cases deliver within one week of rom. Two more days and I am past the first week. The 50% of women will continue to deliver each week. Leaving very few pregnant 3-4 weeks post pprom.

Now on to my stay, it actually has not been bad. The nurses are great, they know I am here long term. I have a couple that are more friendly then others, but I think it is just the different personality.

The food is horrible, but I have learned to speak up with dietary, and told them nope I will not eat that. Or can we have this with that. Now that they have figured out I am here long term, they have been very cool with me.

I do get tired of TV and Internet. I am thinking of having P go pick up a cross stitch quilt for C. That will give me SOMETHING to pass the time. I found some very cute patterns at JoAnn's. Note to self next time P calls ask him to go to JoAnn's. He will have to pick the pattern, but that is okay.

I asked P to bring me books, I am still waiting for them. But his grandma W brought me some magazines. I have read one of the three.

My sister gave me a link to a place that I can catch up on TV shows. Which helps pass sometime. It is really not a matter of trying to pass time, it is a matter of staying in bed. I am such an active person it is the staying in bed part that is so hard. I find myself HAVING to move limbs if I ignore it, it gets to the point it will actually burn with the desire to move. If I didn't have restless leg before, I sure have it now, but it is also in my arms. Which okay we can deal with it.

I have a lot of people ask me how I can stay so calm, well, there is several answers here. Number one, what choice do I have? I can't change this, I can't control this, so I roll with it. I also know the calmer I stay the better it is not only for my blood pressure, but for Caden. I know as long as I am suffering it is giving him a better chance. I would rather it be ME suffer with my numb ass, boredom, and whatever other thing I could complain about. Then have Caden suffer with tubes and wires hooked all over his tiny body. I know that day will come, but it is one less day that he will have to have it.




My water broke - Wednesday, October 29, 2008
I had just got to work, I was sitting on the floor shredding some paperwork. I got a call stood up and felt a gush, but C had just kicked my bladder, so I figured again I wet my pants.
BUT as I was on the phone call I felt several more gushes, then I felt it run down my leg. I went into the potty, BRIGHT RED pad 100% full. Made the phone calls, off we went (this time to reno)
When we got here they decided that they just wanted to watch me overnight, and the dr would be in in the morning.
When Dr Scame in he did the u/s Caden is weighing in at 1 3/4 of a pound or about 680 grams. The first thing that I could see, there was NO fluid. So the IV was started, steroid was given. My strep test from last week was negative, so I am not on antis at this time. I just have the needle in my arm for the IV but no fluids. (they are not pushing the fluids as much).
We are doing a c/section there is two reasons here. One Caden is breech. Even if he flips, I would prefer not to put any strain on his heart so I have requested we do this c/section which the dr agrees with.

The paperwork for the tubal has been signed. I just have to have the paperwork signed 72 hours before the tubal for insurance to pay. We talked about IF C does not survive. If I will still want it. P and I talked in great detail several times. We first decided (back when I had the spotting) that we were done. Then we talked just the other day, we don't want to feel like we are replacing C if he doesn't make it.



The false alarm - Thursday, October 23, 2008
so on Thursday, I was getting ready for work. I went in to go potty and I had felt a lot of pressure when I went. I sometimes have that pressure but this felt different.
I don't know that that had anything to do with it, but I think that is where it started.
So I sit down and I am eating dinner. DH and I are talking, I get up to go potty and feel a gush. I was like crap baby just kicked my bladder, when I got about halfway to my room, I felt another gush.
I went out and told DH I think my water just broke. He asked if I was sure and I told him no. I had smelt it, and it didn't smell like urine, but I am not sure what it smelt like.
So I lay on the couch for a few minutes and nothing. (I had put a pad in) I get up and start getting ready for work again figured I had just peed my pants. Then I felt another gush, I went and check and I had a pretty large spot on my pad, and it was pink.
So off to the hossy we go, I still figured that I had just wet my pants. We get to the hossy, they checked me, and I went off for an u/s. When we got back from the u/s they told me okay your water did break your being airlifted to Reno.
I totally lost it I was crying my eyes out freaking out.
They gave me two IVs one in my hand and one in my arm. They took I am not sure how much blood. But I have so many holes in my arms it is not funny. I think they gave me the steroid, but the nurse at the hospital doesn't think so. She didn't have my chart, and I didn't ask again. The started the mag drip, that stuff is the devil himself. My eyes burned my lips cracked, I STILL can't breath out of my nose. Oh and holy having to pee batman.
The care flight people got there strapped me on the backboard (holy ass cramp) and off we went.
I have to tell you when we got to Reno I HATED the Dr, he was an ass, even said something about abortion. He pretty much told me the baby is going to be mentally handicapped or dead. they checked me for fluid, nothing it was negative.
So the next morning, the dr comes in again, does another u/s told me my fluid was still low, but maybe things didn't look as horrible in the morning? He then said it all looks good and wanted to keep me one more day okay....
Not much happened until this morning and it is pretty much the same.
I found out VERY good chance I will have to have a c/section, they really don't want to put any strain on Caden's heart. I have to see the Peri about once a month, I will have an appointment in the next couple days, where there is a pediatric cardio Dr there. When he is born I will have a cardiac team waiting, at 34 weeks I need to have the amino just to see if this is chromosomes or a birth defect.
I think that is all of it. Oh I am on bed rest, which is going to totally suck monkey balls.




Ultrasound Showed It's A Boy!!!!! - Monday, October 06, 2008



Ultrasound - Monday, September 22, 2008
No we don't know the gender. *sigh* this u/s was a total joke. I do have to go back sometime in Nov for another scan. We plan on paying for a 3/d scan before then.


Doctor Appointment - Monday, August 18, 2008
I met with my new Dr today, I am very happy with my choice to switch Drs. He took the time (even though the appointment got canceled) to talk to me. He explained why one of my blood tests keep coming back positive. Not what I wanted to hear, and will require more testing after the pregnancy. My brother has an unconfirmed case of Lupus, the blood test I had also tests for Lupus. Not that the Dr thinks I HAVE Lupus, he just thinks I am a carrier for it, but I need to be tested at a later date to be sure. I also found out this Dr will NOT allow me to go into labor on my own. I will be induced sometime between the 2nd and the 16th.

Next appointment is the 25th. I hope we will schedule the 20 week ultrasound. I am still on the fence about finding out the gender. If I do find out, I will not be telling. Too many people knowing increases the chance of Paul finding out.


Doctor Appointment - Friday, August 15, 2008
We got to see the little one again. I had no idea how worried I was until they placed the ultra sound wand on my belly. Little one was jumping, and kicking all over the place. S/he was measuring a week ahead. Weight 144.1


Doctor Appointment - Monday, July 28, 2008
My first REAL appointment. The Dr tried to find the heartbeat was not able to find it, so we got to see little one on ultrasound. S/he is measuring 2 days behind, and kinda looks freaky still. Weight 144.7


Heard Heartbeat! - Wednesday, July 16, 2008
123 bmp! I have to say that is the most wonderful sound I have heard. The tension of is this one going to make it melted away.


Doctor Appointment - Monday, June 16, 2008
Nothing special, my weight was 136. They took 10 vials of blood, and gave me an anti for an ear infection. Next appointment 7-28-08. I will get an u/s at that appointment.


Positive Home Pregnancy Test - Tuesday, June 03, 2008