Happy 2 Week Birthday Maci!

What a whirlwind of a two weeks it has been.  We've had ups, we've had downs but seem to have gained somewhat of a balance the last few days....emotionally anyway. 


Background on Maci's birth at 5 weeks early.
On Saturday, November 19th I work up early for one of my many daily potty breaks and felt Maci move.  It was either 3 or 5 am.  I went back to bed for a few hours before getting up to go take some photos for a football team at 11 am.  It was a busy day and usually when I was active, Maci was quiet.  After photos, I ran home and Rick, the kids and I went to visit his grandfather for the day.  I was up moving around more than usual but later that afternoon I realized that I hadn't felt Maci move.  We headed home and while Rick was cooking dinner I did a few things that normally would stimulate movement from Moo.  Knocking, tapping, patting on my belly....didn't work.  I drank a coke and the sugar which normally gets Maci moving....didn't work.


Rick's mom is a nurse and has a fetal doppler stehoscope so we ran over to make sure we could hear the baby's heartbeat.  Heartbeat was strong so I felt beter.
I posted on facebook that Maci had made me nervous with her lack of movement but that I had heard her heartbeat and felt better.  Two people who posted a response mentioned that they had lost their child due to decreased/loss of fetal movement and suggested I call my doctor.  I did exactly that and the nurse suggested I go to the hospital and be checked out, just to be safe.  Those two facebook responses and my going ahead and calling my doctor's office saved my baby's life!


It was an extreme surreal moment when a neonatologist and neonatal nurse practitioner tell you that had you not come in, you wouldn't be looking at your baby!
I was hooked up to the fetal monitor and after having two contractions that I couldn't feel and Maci's heart rate dropping from the 160's to the 50's the nurse spoke with the OBGYN on call.  She returned to my room, said she had talked to the doctor, he was on his way and we were going to have a baby.  I was shocked and terrified.  Maci had not responded well to the mild contractions and they knew something was going on and that if I were to have stronger contractions the reaction could be worse.  Within 45 minutes of getting to the hospital, Maci was born.


I don't think that I had ever been that scared in my life....and not being able to hear my baby cry was hard.  Maci had aspirated (inhaled) meconium and they did not want her taking a breath until she was suctioned and put on a breathing tube.  If you REALLY wanna know more, here's a link.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meconium_aspiration_syndrome
I learned later that the plancenta had torn and Maci lost more than half of her blood volume and bled back into me. 
Over the next few days, I cried and prayed hard, a lot.  Maci was on a ventilator for almost 4 full days, had 3 blood transfusions, lots of tests and had a UAC (IV line directly into an artery via her umbilical cord) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbilical_line and it prevented us from holding her. 
It was 11 days before Rick and I ever held our baby and it was the longest 11 days of our lives.
There were several things wrong with Moo that resolved themselves.  The only exception was that her kidneys were not filtering the "junk" out of her blood.  This caused her BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen) and Creatinine levels to be high.  Being told your baby is in Intrinsic Renal Failure is a punch to the stomach. 
A normal BUN is less than 25-30, this morning, Maci's was 100.
A normal Creatinine is 1.1-1.2, this morning Maci's was 6.02


We transferred to LeBonheur from Methodist Germantown NICU Wednesday night to be downtown where the nephrologist (kidney doc) works. 
Maci had surgery yesterday to get another central IV line and a catheter for dialysis.  She is scheduled to start peritoneal dialysis on Monday, 12/5.  We are hoping and praying that her BUN/Creatinine levels go down and/or her kidney function of filtering the blood will kick in soon.  Otherwise a kidney transplant is in our future at about the age of one year / 22 lbs. 


Today they are in the process of weaning her off her oxygen.  YAY!  Maci says she plans to just rest and lay around in bed all day.  :)


We want to thank EVERYONE for their calls, texts, concerns, facebook comments, emails, and prayers.  I don't know how I can thank you all enough for anything and everything that so many have done for us.  Please continue to pray for Maci.  Miracles happen and I firmly believe that God gave me my precious daughter for a very good reason and that she has a great purpose.  This has been a long two weeks but with the support of friends and family and most of all FAITH, Rick and I have gotten through it.  We may face more long weeks and tough times but I feel that we can get through it if we continue to lean in the directions we have been, on each other and our wonderful Father above.  My Maci is in good hands on earth...and above.